by Lexi Ostrow
“Alcott, you are certainly every bit what I had been expecting, but that?” She gasped for air as another fit of laughter rolled through her. “I was unprepared for such a he-man reaction, especially given all we’ve done is get to know one another. And for the record, I have no interest in women, and yes, that is the part I am laughing about.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, his foot began to tap. “If you are quite finished, I would like to see to it that we get some use out of whatever ridiculous amount of money you’ve spent on this room.”
She wiped at her eyes but continued to laugh for what felt like minutes. Her amusement was contagious, and the more she chuckled, the more he felt some of his fury slipping away. While he wasn’t about to give into laughter himself, he did smile as he slowly realized that he had been a bit out of control — something he couldn’t completely blame on the Guardian connection.
Kellie was special. She had taken everything in with a lot more grace than he suspected most Word Speakers did, especially older ones. Her childhood had been different. Money hadn’t made things easy, and she had grown up to be a woman searching for purpose because of it. He knew from their small time together that she was so much better than the jobs she was doing — just as Ryce had said when he’d first shown her to Alcott. She was stunningly beautiful, seemingly accepting of everything around her and had an ease with people that he found admirable.
Then there was that kiss. The thought floated, unbidden, through his mind, and he attempted to will the blood to stop rushing to his cock. It was a wasted effort, but he shifted his stance and opened his arms, determined to not allow her to see his arousal.
“Come at me.”
She sucked in a deep breath of air and looked up at him, a few locks of hair falling over her face. “Excuse me?”
“Come at me,” he repeated, refusing to give her any further instruction because she knew why they had come.
She scrunched up her face and pushed her hair out her eyes, though a rebellious teal section refused to be pushed back. “You’ve got to be kidding me? Just like that?”
“Come. At. Me.” he repeated a third time, his voice significantly closer to a growl.
She launched herself then, shooting through the air at him. He was taken off guard by the suddenness but was still able to shift his foot between hers, wrap a hand around her wrist and drop her to the floor. He winced at the thud she made as her back connected with the typical beige hotel carpet.
“Get up and do it again.”
She pushed up off the floor, threw herself at him a second time and found herself staring at up at him from her back once more.
“Again.”
She grunted, shoved herself up and charged again. However, she swung her right arm and managed to punch him in the side of the head. It wasn’t enough though. Arm around her upper chest, he spun her so that her back was against him. The move drew a growl from her, which nearly undid the small hold he had on his arousal.
He released her, partly so she could try again, but more so she wouldn’t feel how hard he was behind his jeans. She looked moderately pissed as she spun, which was good. Anger tended to be too much of a distraction for a person when fighting. Ryce taught him that — painfully and multiple times.
“I get it. I need to learn how to jump someone. How about you show me something different? Something that I might stand a chance of learning. Other than what it feels like to be dropped on the floor.”
He couldn’t stop the small lift of his lips. She had fire all right. With every passing moment, he was finding more and more things to like about Kellie. More and more that had absolutely nothing to do with the lustful connection they shared and all to do with who he was learning her to be.
It’s going to be a lot harder to resist the bond than you ever even dreamed. Before he knew what he was doing, he reached out with his mind and began to snake a path through her mind. He rarely intruded on people in such a fashion, and he wasn’t in control of his actions as he did it to her. Kellie’s mind was much more straightforward than Ryce’s had been. He could see hundreds of doors and turns in the maze, but the walls weren’t quite as high, and if he’d been looking for something specific, he had a feeling it would have been easily found.
All at once, he was blinded by a roaring golden glow. He’d seen something similar when Ciara had been thinking about Derrick as a teen, but his author had never written him knowing what it meant. He knew it was a damn strong emotion of some sort, even if Ciara and Derrick hadn’t been right for each other.
Curious and confused, he pushed himself farther into her mind as if walking toward the light. He needed to see what was in it, he didn’t know why, but he simply did. Nothing prepared him for what was silhouetted in the glow. Himself.
Quickly, he pulled from her mind like a rock being shot from a slingshot. He was breathing heavy as his thoughts and actions slowly returned. Doubling over, he tried to calm his breathing. He’d seen himself, which could only mean she had strong feelings for him he wasn’t ready to deal with. If he thought about it long enough, he’d realize Kellie certainly was a woman he could fall in love with, and he certainly wasn’t ready for that either.
“Well, let’s work on your punches then. They were less than proper.” His voice sounded far away.
“Are you all right?” Concern laced her voice as if she’d noticed that he’d mentally checked out.
“Fine. Just thinking about what to teach you. Put your hand like this.” He showed her the proper way to make a fist.
***
Throwing himself into teaching her the things he had learned while training with Cal did a lot to distract him from what he’d seen in her mind. By the time the noise outside the window on Bourbon Street had grown too loud to ignore, his body was actually sore from their interactions.
Somewhere around four hours had passed since they had begun, and she still lacked the power needed behind most of her attacks. However, she was landing ones strong enough to give him hope. She’d even managed to sock him in the jaw hard enough to make his head spin while he’d been too busy staring at how beautiful she was to focus on the task at hand.
Alcott wanted to take every moment of training her seriously, but there had just been something about the hard determination in her eyes and the slight glistening of sweat on her body that had driven him to distraction.
He threw a punch, felt her hand deflect it and he dodged to the right to avoid her swing, realizing she was predictable. Dropping to the ground he wrapped a hand around her ankle and tugged her forward.
She fell, but not before turning up her toe enough to kick him under his chin. Rolling sideways, he quickly pushed to his feet and moved to lean over her with his arm against her throat just hard enough to apply pressure. Her knee slammed into his lower back just as he’d taught her to do, and sharp nails bit into his forearm. He let go, even though a real monster wouldn’t, but she wasn’t ready to go full out.
She deserves to know that she might have special powers she can wield. He shook the thought off and offered her a hand up. All Word Speakers had the ability to develop any powers their Guardian had, but that didn’t mean they all did.
He’d never forget the moment Ciara had thought she was going to level her house when a fit of anger had triggered her ability to make the ground shake. He hadn’t been able to explain anything to Ciara until it had happened, and he knew it was the same with Kellie.
Besides, telling her about the amazing powers she could have, only to have them never develop, was cruel. He knew humans desired the ability to do magic, to twist the elements and have them do their bidding, so he wouldn’t bring it up unless she started to show any signs. Even Ciara, with all her powers, had never fully developed every elemental control until after he had been dismissed.
Kellie’s hand almost slipped out of his, both covered in a sheen of sweat. Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he pulled her up, ensuring that he didn’t let her fall. She was battered, a
nd her hair was a streaky mess of colors clinging to her face and neck, but she was still utterly breathtaking. Kellie was made to be a Word Speaker, even if she had come into her powers late.
You’ll never let her fall. The thought popped into his mind, and he knew there was absolute truth in it, regardless of how far apart emotionally he wanted to keep them.
One moment, he was thinking about protecting her, and the next, he felt the distinct slam of body weight into his abs and an ankle wrap around his shin. Alcott crashed to the hotel room floor with a loud thud. Kellie’s body landed on top of his, her weight a delicious temptation as she pressed into him — eyes were gleaming with delight.
“I suppose I’m learning the benefits of a surprise attack.” She smirked down at him and shifted her weight as if she’d meant to get up.
Alcott bit the inside of his cheek so hard he tasted blood. It did nothing to hold back the arousal the feel of her on top of him wrought. He moved before he’d thought about his actions, threading his hand underneath her drooping ponytail and dragging her face down to his. Her lips were warm when he pressed his against them, and the mewl of pleasure she made sent shivers through him.
As his mouth moved against hers, he traced the seam of her lips with his tongue until she parted them for him. Sinking deep inside her mouth, he didn’t hesitate to stroke her tongue with his, exploring and tasting her in all the ways he hadn’t during the shock of their first kiss.
She slid down, pressing her chest against his and matching him, stroke for stroke, in their kiss. Pulling back, Kellie nibbled on his lower lip and began to place a trail of kisses down the muscles of his neck. Everywhere she touched, he felt his body heat, and his dick was throbbed so hard that he couldn’t think of a moment when he’d wanted to be buried inside a woman with such intensity.
With a growl, he tore her shirt off over her head, barely breaking the contact of her lips on his throat. Her hands grabbed the hem of his boring blue tee, and he lifted his head off the ground to help accommodate tugging it off. Watching as her eyes darkened with pleasure as she trailed over the muscled section of his chest and lower. He’d never appreciated working out more than in that moment.
He’d never been a big dude until he’d stayed out of his book and had trained. The way Kellie was looking at him as if she wanted to sink her teeth into him made every sore muscle worth it. Once again, her mouth dropped down to his neck, and his hands clenched as her warm tongue traced the outline of the gifted tattoo that lined his collarbone and dipped down onto his chest. It was a miracle he didn’t come in his pants from the electric sensation that swept through his body at the feathery, hot touch. The muscles in his neck tightened and an impassioned groan tore past his lips as she nipped at his right nipple before returning to trace the tattoo with her finger.
“This. You didn’t have this in your book.” Her voice was shallow, consumed with lust.
As quickly as his arousal had begun, her reminder of his past slammed him out of it. He rolled out from under her, not caring as he launched her to the side. Scrambling to get up, he scooped his shirt off the floor and began to put it back on. He looked at her, after he’d redressed, unable to fight the pain he felt from seeing the hurt in her eyes.
“I’m sorry —”
Nothing made any sense — except for the way her body hummed with need and pulsed rapidly with the desire to continue what she and Alcott had begun. His reaction to her comment stung as if she’d been slapped.
“I don’t think I want to hear it.” She tried to force her voice to sound stony and was irritated at the amount of lust she could hear in her words.
Alcott’s gaze dropped to the floor as she stomped away and dropped down onto the bed. What Alcott was doing made him no better than the Grade-A asshats she’d dated — not that she was dating him. However, he couldn’t keep talking about a distance and taking things slowly until they were comfortable and then jumping her bones.
“Kellie,” he said as he ran a hand through his sweaty, short hair.
She crossed her arms over her chest, mainly to help calm herself down. She was a hairsbreadth away from breaking into tears of frustration. Instinctively, she tucked her legs against her chest. Realizing how childish she must look, she dropped her legs back down.
“Let me explain what happened.”
“What happened was that, you tried to try dry hump me for the second time, and then you shut me down any fucking time I want to know something about you. You won’t tell me your past, and you claim you want nothing to do with me sexually until we ‘grow into it,’” she said, using air quotes around the last part. “And then, you do that.” She could hear the anger rising, replacing the hurt in her voice with every word she spoke.
He stared at her with a dumbfounded look on his face. The look would have been endearing if she hadn’t been so thoroughly pissed off.
“You’re not the man you appear to be. I’d say I don’t care what you went through in the past, but of course, that would be a fucking lie. I want to know, but you won’t tell me. ” She stood up off the bed but didn’t dare to walk closer to him for fear that if he touched her she would calm down. “So this is me telling you that until you want to be the man I connected with in that fucking book, we’re done.”
She expected some sort of push back from him. A verbal spar or even, a frustrated display of powers, or even some sort of disappointment in his expression. Instead, he sighed and walked across the room to sit in the cozy looking wingback desk chair.
“We can’t go on like this. We’re clearly a match right down to the fact that you aren’t afraid of what my powers can do, what witchcraft can do. I’m trying to do what I think is best, which is keep you at a distance for as long as possible. That way, when the time comes, if I’ve failed, it won’t hurt as bad.” Utter defeat resonated from his words, the slump of his body in the chair, and the sorrowful look in his bright blue eyes.
“Well, supposedly, we’re stuck together. So what are we going to do about it?”
“I’m going to tell you about Ciara, about the only other Word Speaker I’ve ever known — the only woman I think I’ve ever been in love with.”
The weight of his reveal was enough to knock her off her feet and back onto the bed. His words swirled over and over in her mind. “The only woman you think you’ve ever been in love with.” His refusal to get close suddenly made a lot more sense than when she’d supposed it was just about not being a man slut.
“I’ll listen,” she croaked the words out, terrified if she said too much he would change his mind. Slowly, she drew her legs onto the bed, her eyes never leaving him, even though he refused to look at her.
“She was very young and very powerful. When I was pulled to be by her side neither of us knew what we truly were. We found out together. From the start, it was obvious she had a crush on me. However, as I said, she was young — only fourteen — and I was nineteen. I saw her as nothing more than my kid sister. In fact, I don’t even remember feeling the sort of lust I feel with you right away with Ciara. It was like the connection knew she needed a true protector, and only a protector, at that age.”
For the first time since he’d begun, he looked at her, distress lacing his eyes as if checking to make sure she was still paying attention and hadn’t written him off. She didn’t know what to say, so she simply nodded her head, urging him to continue.
“As she grew, so did her powers. Not to mention, she was reading ages above her grade level and topics that were . . . well, far outside my realm as a character intended to be enjoyed by a teenage audience. I didn’t think anything was wrong. Each time a more malevolent force came from the books, I stopped them. In fact, it was exceedingly rare for Ciara to ever even know her life was in danger. We were a well-oiled machine, and as she grew older, the desire began to set in.”
“So you did have the traditional bond with her then?” She couldn’t stop the disappointment in her voice. He’d said the Ciara woman had been his only love
, so it shouldn’t shock her.
Alcott gave a sharp jerk of his head, his eyes clouding over, just before he let out a bark of laughter. “No. See, I’d done such a wonderful job of reminding her I was like a brother, she had a steady boyfriend the entire time. By the time she realized that the guy wasn’t the one for her, I was already long gone.” The bitterness in his tone could fill a room.
“So . . . what happened?”
“I fell in love with her. Little by little, she grew, and we grew together. Ciara Miller was gorgeous, talented, caring, smart as hell and entirely too powerful for a Guardian like me. Supposedly.” He shrugged his shoulders, as if he didn’t entirely believe his words. “I was suddenly gone. Tossed back into my book. Something I hadn’t even realized because, we haven’t covered this yet, but time stops when a character is in their book. It wasn’t until the brother you met, the one in the trench coat, pulled me out to tell me I was going to say goodbye that I even knew something had happened.”
“You cease to exist?” she asked alarmed by that prospect more than anything else he’d mentioned. She had inched toward him as he’d spoken and was sitting on the corner of the bed. Still a great distance from him, but leaning forward, practically falling off the furniture.
“That is correct. See, we don’t just go back into our worlds. We stop being. Most of us. There are some Word Speakers with a gift to walk into their Guardian’s worlds. Ciara was one. For those pairs, it’s a strange sort of daily life. Nothing happens, and the Guardian remembers everything. However, for all others, they simply stop being until their Word Speaker sends an unintentional, or intentional, shout of distress to pull them back out.”
“And you just weren’t enough for her?”
“No. I was not written to harness the power she wielded. Someone stronger was. A man that I am rather jealous of to this day, two years later. However, I saw her with him. She gave up everything to spend forever with him, and they are happy.”