elemental 02 - blaze (6 page)

After four changes of clothes, she finally felt like she had struck the proper balance: a skirt that fell to mid-thigh in softly pleated black cotton, paired with a tee shirt from a band she loved, a light jacket, and a pair of ankle boots. It wasn’t too fancy, she thought looking at herself in the mirror, but it showed off her best assets without overemphasizing them. She slipped on a bracelet and necklace, and heard a knock at her bedroom door.

“Aren’t you ready yet?” Aiden called through.

Aira grabbed the earrings that went with her necklace and rushed to the door, opening it to admit Aiden while she brought the first of the pair of earrings up to her ear to fasten it.

Aiden let out a low, appreciative whistle at her ensemble. “Why didn’t you dress up like this to meet me?” He asked with a wolfish grin.

Aira rolled her eyes. “In case you don’t recall, I didn’t meet you willingly.” She fastened the other earring and looked at Aiden; he had taken the same approach that she had—fitted jeans, a pair of comfortable but well-maintained shoes, and a button-down shirt in a deep red that contrasted his bright eyes. “That’s a subtle piece of psychology,” she said, pointing to his shirt, “matching your clothes to Dolores’ hair.” She gave him a smirk, throwing a lip color into her purse along with her powder compact. She hadn’t gone overboard with the makeup; just enough to enhance her bone structure and give her eyes depth—certainly not what she would wear the next night to go out.

Aiden rolled his eyes at her. “Let’s hit the road. You don’t want to be late to meet your mate, do you?”

Aira scowled at the sarcasm in Aiden’s voice. “I am NOT meeting my mate. I’m meeting…a very interesting and charming elemental who I might want to have sex with sometime.”

Aiden snorted at her characterization, gesturing for Aira to precede him down the stairs. She had chosen a soft, slightly floral perfume; an old fashioned scent she had long ago decided was perfect for such occasions.

Dylan was waiting downstairs, dressed casually in jeans and a tee shirt, and he echoed his brother’s commendation. “Just so you know,” he told her with a grin, “If Alex is too much of an idiot to sweep you off your feet, it won’t take much to convince me.”

Aira blushed slightly, biting her bottom lip. “I will keep that in mind,” she said, giving him a flirty smile.

Aiden brushed past her, making every inch of her skin feel electrified, heading for the door.

“Come on, guys. We’re going to be late.”

Aira’s anxiety mounted as they arrived at the café where she and Aiden planned to meet Dolores and Alex. She felt her hands shaking, echoing the vibration she felt moving through her bones – an intensely electric feeling she knew was the power working its way through her, changing her. She fidgeted in the passenger seat, wondering how she had somehow been convinced to let Aiden drive. As she shifted around, feeling almost an almost itching sensation, she thought it was for the best. Dylan followed behind in the car he and Aiden had bought for the duration of the time they were staying with her. Dylan intended to hang out and wait for the meeting to be over, to make sure they were safe. He and Aiden had also equipped Aira with one of the contact buttons they each had. Failing that, Dylan’s water-aligned intuition would enable him to track them.

Aira couldn’t imagine Alex and Dolores would go to such an extreme as kidnapping or attacking them in public. It would be bad for elementals as a whole, and they’d face a dire punishment—potentially even death—if they attempted such. She considered that she hadn’t thought she would be abducted, or that one of her clients would have allowed her abductors near her. She understood the need to be cautious, but as power buzzed through her veins and along her nerves, she couldn’t help feeling as though she could handle anything Alex or Dolores could throw at her and Aiden. She also couldn’t help entertaining lust-filled thoughts about the man she had been talking to, her mind rejecting the possibility that he might attack her. At least, she thought, if he was unsafe—if he had ulterior motives—his air alignment would ensure that he wouldn’t move directly. It would be something sneakier. She reminded herself, charmed as she was by him, she had to keep in mind he very well could be her enemy.

In spite of Aiden’s moans about the possibility of being late, they were the first to arrive. They took a table. Aira rolled her eyes at Aiden’s scoff when the waiter suggested they were there together on a date.

“Just friends, waiting for our dates, actually,” she said, giving the man a bright, charming smile. The lust, coiled tightly inside of her, hadn’t failed to notice the waiter was attractive; tall and lean, with dark eyes and collar-length black hair, he visibly warmed to her attention. He took their drink orders and lingered, exchanging pleasantries with Aira until Aiden brusquely reminded him there were other tables that needed his attention. Aira shifted and squirmed in her seat, feeling the heat in her body banking and rising, her eyes scanning the crowd of pedestrians beyond the outside terrace for any indication of Alex or Dolores. What if they stand us up? She bit her lip and then checked to make sure she hadn’t marred her makeup. She told herself firmly the two cousins wouldn’t; they were just as interested in meeting as she and Aiden were.

Just when Aira’s anxiety was reaching fever pitch, she spotted Dolores’ brilliant red hair and shifted her gaze to find Alex standing next to her, speaking with the hostess. The woman at the desk smiled at the two charming elementals and gestured for them to follow her.

“They’re here,” Aira told Aiden, whose back was to the hostess. She fought the urge to stand, sitting on her hands as she impatiently waited for them to make their way to the table. Words were pressing at the front of her mind, crowding her lips, and she took a deep breath to push down the excitement she felt. As they approached the table, Aira noticed Alex was even more attractive than his pictures; his dark hair was mussed, his bright eyes a deeper, almost blueberry shade, and a ready smile curving his lips. He wore a pair of jeans that looked as though they had seen better days and barely clung to his lean hips, giving Aira the impression she could easily pull them off of him. With the jeans he wore a black tee shirt with text she couldn’t quite read, too distracted in her gaze to focus. Over the tee, he wore a red jacket with a gray scarf topping it off. A deep tingle swept through her at the sight of him, and blood rushed to her face when his gaze fell on her, his smile deepening.

She stood, more to give herself something to do, an outlet for the excess energy she felt, than a conscious gesture of manners. Alex approached her quickly, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek and give her a friendly hug. He smelled of cloves and something pleasingly woody and green, mingled with a faint cigarette smoke smell that Aira had to admit was alluring. Dolores had been claimed by Aiden, who was hugging her tightly, but Aira barely noticed as she and Aiden switched; her mind was still full of Alex as she embraced Dolores, pressing her cheek against the other woman’s.

“It’s so good to finally meet you,” Dolores said, her low, sultry voice softened further by her accent. She and Alex took their seats next to their respective dates, and Aira felt her heart fluttering, her throat going dry. Her head was spinning, completely unable to process what was happening.

“My god, Aira, you should have warned me,” Alex commented lowly, giving Aira a not-quite-lewd look from head to toe. “You must be used to her,” he said to Aiden, “after knowing her so long. But I can’t seem to take my eyes off of her.”

Aiden nodded absently, looking at Dolores with definite attraction in his eyes, smiling a faintly drunken grin. Aira felt a moment of jealousy at the other woman’s obvious beauty and the way Aiden was responding to it—it helped her to get over her momentary shock of absolute attraction to Alex.

“Sure you can take your eyes off me,” she said with a slight drawl, “I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself.”

Alex laughed, and Aira felt the warm glow of his charm once more. The waiter approached and was immediately bowled over by the charged atmosphere; Aira could feel the power inside of her swelling, and the wind around them began to pick up. She suppressed it, carefully focusing her intentions. She had never been around two powerful air elementals at the same time—it was like light shining on a deprived plant, the first warm rays of sunlight through snow. She felt the cousins’ energy pushing through the deep block Dylan had put on her to help her get through the power surge. The spell was fading away, eroded by the high energy the two cousins brought with them.

“I’ve been told I should avoid southern girls, you know,” Alex commented after the waiter left, taking their drink orders in a daze. “Dolores’ brother kindly informed me you’re all wild heathens who rip good English boys to shreds.”

Aira laughed, almost gasping as Alex’s hand came to rest on her knee. He didn’t move it upward, which would have immediately alerted Aira, but casually left it where it was, the warmth of his skin sinking into hers.

“We get such a bad reputation. I happen to think it’s good for English boys to court southern girls. You guys need some loosening up.” Dolores was asking Aiden about his life, about how he had come to be friends with Aira’s family. Aiden, almost visibly responding to the energy around him, his blue eyes flickering with a light Aira both admired and resented, explained their grandmothers knew each other. He was close to admitting he was protection—a bodyguard—when Aira kicked him underneath the table, using the leg that Alex’s hand hadn’t claimed. He came out of his reverie, coughing and saying he had met Aira as children, and they were roommates out of convenience.

Conversation ebbed and flowed. Aira had to keep a tight grip on her abilities as the lunch progressed; she considered that she should have consulted her grandmother before agreeing to the date. It was clear to her Alex and Dolores were both potent elementals in their own right, radiating charm and playful intelligence, inciting a lively debate about authors and music. Aira felt her power growing in the presence of the two elementals, and it became increasingly difficult to keep her power under control. It bubbled, flowed, and surged through her. In spite of her intense attraction to Alex, she could see the two cousins were probing for information. She maintained the conversation but wondered whether they were gathering intelligence for someone who might have less than friendly intentions towards her. She felt her mind picking up pace, her thoughts gaining speed to a point she almost felt as though she were on a potent stimulant. She asked for another drink to suppress it, almost trembling with the excess of energy she was experiencing.

Dolores was clearly feeding into Aiden’s fiery energy, using all of the powers at her disposal to charm and pique. Aira found herself momentarily distracted time and again, almost resenting Aiden’s ready response to the woman. She was torn away from her disgust each time by Alex, without any trace of confusion or irritation.

“You mentioned traveling,” he said, calling her attention back to him. Aira noticed absently that his hand had shifted on her knee and he was kneading and caressing it slightly—though he kept his touch respectful, not trying to work his way up her thigh. “Where all have you been?”

Aira plunged into a discussion of different parts of the world and found that, while Alex picked up languages quickly, he was not the linguistic savant she was. He praised her ready translations of random praises into a variety of languages, countering with the handful he knew, and before long they were exchanging flirtatious pleasantries in esoteric languages, Alex’s comments becoming more and more suggestive at each turn.

Aira lost track of time completely. They were enjoying coffee and dessert, Dolores prodding and cajoling Aiden into sampling her fruit and zabaglione, when Aira finally had enough presence of mind to realize they had been enjoying each other’s company for more than an hour. “Shit! Aiden, we have that appointment we have to get to.”

Aiden gave her a confused look, clearly reluctant to end his conversation with Dolores.

“Remember? Dylan was going to meet us at the office?”

The mention of his brother’s name sobered Aiden, and he nodded quickly, his eyes losing some of the fire Dolores’ stoking had inspired.

“That is such a shame!” Alex said, his hand tightening playfully on her knee. Aira looked at him, blushing slightly at the intent gaze he turned on her. “It must be an important meeting for you to disrupt such a good time,” his voice softened. “If it’s not important, you could reschedule.” There was something in Alex’s manner, the compelling look in his eyes that made Aira briefly dizzy. She was on the point of agreeing with him—after all, Dylan could wait a little longer—when some native instinct stopped her short. She felt a slight shudder work through her body, and she gave him a regret-filled smile.

“I’m afraid it’s very important,” she replied, letting her voice take on a rueful tone. “Legal things, you understand. I’m on the lawyer’s time—he won’t reschedule.” She gave Aiden another undetectable kick to the shins beneath the table to prevent his protest. “As it is, I suspect we’ve kept him waiting already.” She gave Alex a charming smile. She felt something stirring inside of her—not lust, but a cunning, a kind of inarticulate knowledge of her own power. “I’m sure you can understand.” The words left her lips without conscious thought, and she felt something inside of her pushing outward, a kind of persuasiveness she had never known she possessed. Alex looked briefly confused, but then nodded slowly.

“I understand. It’s a shame, but I’ll have to hope we can see both of you again soon.”

Aira felt odd and gave herself a little shake. The waiter brought the bill, and Alex would hear nothing of either her or Aiden contributing to the total. He insisted on paying for the entire bill and tip. Aira gave in, smiling to herself in spite of the strange feelings. She felt herself smiling as Alex handed her a scrap of receipt with his phone number on the back. She allowed him to walk her to the car, feeling a little outside of herself. Something was different in that moment she had persuaded Alex, some ability she had never used before. She saw Dolores chatting with Aiden as she accompanied him to the car, and Aira stopped at the passenger side, at a loss for what to do.