Braving the Elements Page 5

  *****

  I came awake slowly, my body sore and the grief still fresh. I’d run for a while, blasting through underbrush and dodging around trees, but my directionless plight finally sank in. Until I got on my feet, I needed Stefan’s hospitality. The only other people who could possibly take me in were my foster family, and they’d already done so much of that my whole life, I couldn’t ask for more.

  Hopelessness washed over me again. I needed to get a job. I had to quit the crappy school job I had when I took up this gig. I had renter’s insurance, so I probably had some sort of money coming my way, but I needed a steady income to live. That was probably step one. Except, there was that tiny problem of monsters tracking me down and dragging me away to a group of people even less hospitable than Stefan’s clan…

  Sitting up painfully, having slept for an indiscriminate amount of time on jagged rocks, I sensed a presence in the failing evening light. My head swung to the left as my midsection gave a lurch. I recognized the supportive, luring feeling of the link between us before my eyes hit his perfect face. Stefan stood some ten feet away, leaning against the tree, staring at me with his striking, dark eyes.

  My body immediately leaned forward, wanting to go to him as I always had before. My mind, however, rebelled.

  “You’re angry.” His voice was so deep and thick. It coated me in pleasure just by reaching my ears.

  I mentally slapped myself and retorted, “Did the scowl give me away?”

  “That was one indication, yes. Plus, I can feel you as you can feel me. I can sense you as you can sense me. Always have been able to, but now it’s clearer since you’ve taken large quantities of my blood in a short period of time.”

  No problem. I imagined myself lifting a giant, rubber drain stop and smothering that blasted pit in my chest that constantly asked to be filled with him. I may learn incredibly slowly, but eventually I do learn, and since doing it in the height of my emotional crazy, I knew what to do now.

  His head tilted and his eyes hardened. “That trick is not supposed to be possible. How do you do it?”

  “A woman never tells.”

  His eyebrows lowered a fraction, his long black lashes casting shadows over his eyes as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. I’d lost a whole day atop a pile of rocks. “I wish you would leave it open. Let the connection last. It’s comforting.”

  “So you know I’m not in enemy hands? That I’m right under your nose where you can keep tabs on me? Like a pet.”

  “Yes. Be thankful it isn’t a shock collar.”

  His chiseled face remained impassive, as did his eyes. I couldn’t tell if he was joking.

  Lifting my chin like it didn’t matter, I climbed to my feet and dusted myself off. “Well, you’ll be happy to know I have decided to stay on for a while until I can sort myself out. I will put up with your crap—to some extent. I will take the classes, and I will even bear the a-holes who call me your pet.”

  “I am delighted to hear it.”

  Again with the impassive delivery. It was almost as if he mocked me somehow. Or shared a joke that I didn’t find funny. This was unfamiliar ground with him. Usually, he was stodgy and leader-like—super commanding and dominating. And while he was still dominating (that trait seemed built-in) he seemed more relaxed. Relaxed enough to joke?

  Did he joke?

  I surged on with my agenda. “I’ll only be around for a while, though. And when I want to leave, I’m leaving. You know I can.”

  He studied me for a long moment. “I don’t usually have this much problem with minions following orders.”

  His eyes twinkled, which didn’t stop my eyebrows from lowering dangerously.

  A strange flash of guilt covered his face before the wisps of a smile died. He sighed. “Look, let me be honest with you. You have an extremely rare type of magic, a powerful magic, which makes you extremely valuable. Both to my clan, and to our larger organization as a whole. You come at exactly the right time, because we badly need someone to take on Trek, the Eastern Territory’s mage. We both need you trained—you and me—because without it, you run the risk of doing too much and killing yourself. You’ve been in that situation twice.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. He didn’t need to remind me.

  “There’s nothing I can do about others calling you a pet,” he went on. “It’s a stigma with humans. We see so few of them, and those can always be so easily manipulated, they do become a pet, of sorts. They usually have low ranking power. As such, they are sniffed at. Being labeled as my pet, you have some clout. Now, with the type of magic you possess, and your value, you will have even more. But that stigma will be a slow thing to erode. I cannot counter that. Anything I do or say will be passed off as my affection for you. We all have a hard road. You are no different.”

  “I’m homeless. Charles burnt all my possessions. I’m hated. I now sound like a whining jackass—a little compassion might be nice.”

  The wisps of a smile were back. He apparently found my black moods humorous. “An account has been opened for you. Funds have been deposited for your employment within this clan, as a mage in training, and as recompense for Charles’ accidental…sabotage. Buy new possessions.”

  “I can’t buy new memories.”

  “No, but with a computer, you can re-download your photos. Or did you not back up to the cloud?”

  Oh yeah. I had. I had signed up with my new computer before I even knew what I was signing up for. Then it just kept backing up there because I didn’t know how to stop it.

  Fate was getting awfully nosy.

  Sensing a losing battle, my eyebrows lowered again. “Okay, why are you hiding me away in a secret residence?”

  “We have a leak somewhere in my clan. The enemy seems to know important information they shouldn’t. I don’t want you accessible. They know I protect you, which means they know you have value. Now that you’ve demonstrated your kind of power, they’ll pull the walls down to get you. You, me, and Charles know where you stay. For your own safety, that needs to remain between us, alone.”

  “Why are you always such a dick to me in front of others?” I fired next, trying to unsettle his perfectly calm demeanor.

  A large breath escaped his mouth in a whoosh. He shook his head, the first sign that he didn’t sit on top of the world like he pretended. Guilt flashed again, my curiosity starting to get out of control as to why. “I suddenly regret this honest discussion.”

  He put his hands on his hips and leaned against a tree, looking out at the falling night. “You’re…different. You affect me differently than others. As I affect you…”

  His eyes swung toward me, the question in that statement ringing through the night. I stepped closer before I could help myself.

  Eyes on my face, he continued, “But I’m the leader of his clan; all decisions go through me. I’m responsible for every single member’s life, wellbeing, and prosperity. At first, you were nothing more than an intriguing nuisance with strange and puzzling human traits. You’ve come up against our human stigma first hand. I admit, it darkened my thoughts.”

  I scrubbed my palm against my jeans. “And now?”

  His eyes bore into mine. A decision rumbled around in his head. The pause lengthened, the approaching night muffling the sounds of day, muting the light.

  “I…” Something clicked into place. His face hardened. “I’m still a leader, and I have obligations. I need to take on a mate. To stabilize my role, give my clan another means to resolve problems, and continue my line through the offspring of my chosen. As I’ve said a few times, I don’t take pets, whether my own race or yours.”

  “You’re a one woman kind of guy? I find that hard to believe in this place…” My eyes started to sting and I had no idea why.

  “I prefer the solidarity of one mate, yes. Although that’s not the norm, no. You’re right. Not for me until lately, and I certainly can’t expect that from my future mate.” His jaw clenched.

  “I d
on’t understand why you need someone with a mate title to have a few kids. Charles explained it like you guys were good with just creating kids randomly.”

  “Charles is young. He’s flippant in his execution of our customs. My children may not carry my genetics, but through a union, they’d be born to my mantle. I’d provide for them as my own. Regardless, the clan needs a pair. A steady, stable pair. It’s how it’s always been. Similar to your kings and queens, arranged mating is not unusual. Many factors go into the choice. Reproduction is one, yes. As is ability to lead, politics, magical power, lineage as it concerns magical power…”

  “Darla is your chosen.” My heart filled with lead and squished down into my shoes. I knew that, but I needed to hear it from his mouth, once and for all.

  Stefan stared at me, his face unreadable. “She is the most acceptable candidate.”

  That was a professional answer.

  “When does this happen?”

  “I should’ve made the decision before now. It needs to be formalized soon. The Regional needs to approve of my final choice. He’s scheduled to visit in a few months’ time.”

  I shook my head as my eyes trained on a spot of dirt next to my shoe. “How does that concern me? Why can’t you just be nice? Friendly?”

  “You were a distraction. A pleasant one, but not one I could allow to take my attention away from my clan. Now that you’re an asset, you are under my protection. Your prosperity and overall comfort are my responsibility. I now treat you no differently than anyone else under my care. Except for this discussion. And for my checking up on you… Sometimes.”

  Not as professional.

  “And except Darla,” I muttered sulkily, wishing I’d just shut up for once.

  “I treat you no differently than anyone else under my care.”

  I glanced up, startled. His hand was out, directing me in front of him. “Please, walk with me.”

  I trudged forward, my lingering sulkiness immature, but not something I could help. Somewhere deep inside me, I knew I belonged with him. My body tried to merge with him as its other half. Being near him, next to him, touching him, sent me into an unexplainable euphoria. I’d felt it that night on the street, even having never seen his face before that moment. To now hear that that door was closed, that I couldn’t even have him as a strictly sexual situation—even though that would only satisfy part of the hunger—was like a punch to the gut. It ripped at me.

  “I realize that, in your situation, it seems impossible to ever make this your home.” His footsteps were light even though his body’s size was just shy of daunting. “But when you have more training under your belt, and can protect yourself reasonably, we can let you out of your cage.”

  A glance told me that he did, in fact, joke. I blinked at his smile, the effect pushing out an inner light within him that rendered me speechless.

  His gaze drifted to mine, his smile losing focus.

  I blurted, “I didn’t think you had a sense of humor.”

  His gaze got more acute. “Officially, I don’t.”

  “Do you ever get to let your hair down?”

  “Can’t. Too short.”

  “Ah. Now I see why you don’t joke. Lack of material.”

  His lips tugged upward a little more. Then drooped again. “I don’t have a lot of time that’s my own. My race is one of bred hunters. I maintain my position through calculating threat and violence. If I’m challenged, I must meet that challenge and disable my opponent.”

  “Like a lion in charge of a pride?”

  “Exactly. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for laughter.”

  “People think a laughing man is a weak man?”

  “Not weak, per se, but not alert. Not serious. They peg him as vulnerable.”

  “Then I better get good at what I do so I can tell some jokes. I’ll be ready with a wallop so you can laugh at my sparkling wit.”

  “You better get good at what you do, and find some sparkling wit. Uphill climb in your future.”

  “Go back to official. Your jokes are the pits.”

  He chuckled quietly.

  We crossed the threshold of my hidden domain and he halted and turned to me. His eyes were intense, but puffy, and it occurred to me he’d taken vigil, watching over me as I slept. He’d been up for about twenty-four hours, and if I knew him at all, he wouldn’t go to sleep now. Not with another night of duties to get through.

  His large, broad shoulders squared to my body. He leaned at the waist, his face coming within inches of mine. His hand came up, fingers lightly grazing my jaw. “Please open the link. It’s comforting knowing you’re okay.” The heat from his sweet breath ruffled my eyelashes. His smell and presence permeated my head, making me dizzy, setting my body on fire.

  I tugged away that big rubber stopper, opening up to him, feeling him. A moan got trapped in my throat as my hand found its way to his hard pec.

  He burned with arousal. That heat was tempered with regret, however. He didn’t want to turn me into the pet everyone thought I was. He didn’t want to use, and then discard me, knowing his choice had to lie elsewhere.

  What a cute sentiment. Best left for another time, though, I needed him with a passion that took my breath away.

  I reached up on tippy-toes, my lips aiming for his, my hand slipping down that mouth-watering body and cupping his huge, hard bulge. Applying pressure, I guided my other hand around him, drawing him near.

  I met resistance.

  “No.” He shook his head, his eyes closing, inhaling my scent of arousal. “I want you to rise on your own. I want you to excel without my influence. I want you to earn the respect you deserve.”

  “Good call. I’m in. First, can we just knock this out? I’ll be quick, I promise.”

  His lips quirked at the corners. “You sound like Charles.”

  “I might hurt you for that comment.”

  “Hmm.” His eyes closed again, his smile growing. “If only. This is the best smell to date. Gingerbread cookies in front of a wood burning fire on Christmas Eve.”

  “That’s a scene, not a smell.”

  “It’s my favorite scene, the one before I lost my parents. I remember the smells perfectly.” His eyes met mine, somber, but soft. “I must go. Duty.”

  Suddenly, I stood in the middle of a hallway, sconces throwing next to no light into my path, alone. He’d ripped his presence away so fast, I didn’t even see him go. My groin felt so tight, it hurt.

  “What a tease,” I muttered.

  “Not much of a man to leave a woman hang--”

  I jumped and flung my hand out, a red jet bursting forth, flaying the wall twenty feet away. Charles rolled into the middle of the floor, on his back, hands out in surrender. “I’m just saying! I totally would’ve hit that—ten minutes of bump and grind, and you both feel better. Why am I the bad guy right now?”

  “Were you eavesdropping the whole time?” I screeched. “That was a private moment!”

  “What did you want me to do, plug my ears?”

  “Ever thought of walking away?”

  “I thought I’d get to witness a sex scene! No way am I walking away from that.”

  I sighed, my hands dropping to my sides and my heart still trying to punch through my chest. “Why wouldn’t he go through with it?”

  “He said—duty. Boss is a man of his word. That cat sticks to his guns. He doesn’t want to make a mockery of you, and judging by the fact that you nearly killed somebody by blasting him through a wall, he knows to tread lightly. That means keeping his dick in his pants, apparently. I’m glad I don’t have his job.”

  “Like anyone would’ve known we bumped uglies. Except my peeping-tom protector.”

  “Our sense of smell is ten times better than humans, and the sex smell lingers. Hmm.” Charles closed his eyes and stroked himself through his jeans. “I am so damn turned on right now. Anyway, everyone knows he was with you all day. Who else would it be? Plus, you have a unique scent. It changes for each per
son, I think. I’ve been cataloguing. And females can’t seem to smell it.”

  “You are now babbling. Go have sex. I’ll stay in my room.”

  Charles’s face lit up. “Promise? Wait…sex with others, right? Or did you mean with you?” A hopeful twinkle sparked in his eyes.

  “Others, you nincompoop. Get out of here.”

  “Okay, thanks.” He stopped halfway through flight and stuck his finger out. “I can trust you, right?”

  I waved him away and headed for a couple hours sleep before I had to be in class. “Go! Just do a thorough job.” As I shut the door, my mind drifted back to what Stefan had said earlier, about losing his parents. I wanted to know more.

  “How’d it go?” I asked as I strapped on a boot and straightened up, watching with a grin as Charles leaned with his full body against the door. I was still tired, but those couple hours of sleep were greatly needed.

  “I’m exhausted. I found Bernise, a hot little number who can work wonders with her mouth. But then, as she got started, her friend Cheryl comes lumbering in. I’m not a huge fan of Cheryl—she’s okay, don’t get me wrong, but kind of a bitch. Anyway, Cheryl wants to join in. I’m hot, no two ways about it. So, now I gotta pleasure two girls. Being that I have a reputation to uphold, I have to work my ass off to get them to orgasm! Which meant I had to get hard multiple times in a short period of time. Eh!” He wiped his forehead of sweat.

  Only young men could be this ridiculous. I grabbed a long sleeve tee to throw over my tank top. “But it worked out, I take it.”

  “In the end, yeah. Multiple times. But there was a weird moment—“ Charles opened the door for me and waited until I walked through before continuing. “—when Jim sauntered on in. Seeing the action unfold, and the position we were in at the time, he thought he might just give me a little poke in the backside—kind of work me from both ends.”

  Charles stumbled, his eyes raking around. I immediately put both hands up in a double-stop gesture as I shook my head. “I have no idea why a strange orgy suddenly turned me on, okay? I’m sexually frustrated. Leave it be.”