Envisioned (The Elemental Prophecy) (10 page)

“This is all hard to believe, and I need to experience it so that I don't feel like a lunatic for going along with everything so easily. Maybe since we will be asleep, it won't be that bad,” I told him.

“It would make me feel a whole lot better than just letting my daughter up and move in with someone she just met,” Dad added.

Jace looked conflicted, but he just mumbled, “Fine.”

“So, can Jace stay the night here? He can't move in until tomorrow, and he should be close by just in case.”

“Hmm, I don't know how I feel about that…” Dad said, furrowing his brow. “If I agreed, he would have to sleep on the couch,” he continued.

“I can live with that,” Jace stated, “But, if I feel any distress or pain from her, I will be going up to her room.”

“If that's the case then fine, but no foolin' around—got it?” Dad replied sternly.

“Daddy, we would never disrespect you like that! I can't believe you would think that!” I exclaimed, offended and hurt by his thoughts.

“I don't, but I was a teenager once, and I know what the bond does to your hormones,” he justified.

“TMI, Dad, T…M…I! I don't want to know about that!” I shrieked, grabbing Jace and pulling him into the foyer towards the living room. Dad yelled from the office, “Love you, sweetie!” I could tell he enjoyed teasing me and making me uncomfortable, especially in front of Jace.

“Once again, I am so sorry about my Dad,” I apologized to Jace.

He smirked, a dimple appearing above the right curve of his mouth, “I think it's funny—he's a cool dad. I'm not sure I would let my daughter's boyfriend spend the night when they just met.”

“Our situation is different. We can't really control the feelings of our bond obviously,” I pointed out.

“That's true, but I still wouldn't like it,” he replied. “Hey, I need to get some stuff from my place, but…” he trailed off, looking uneasy.

“I can't go with you because I'll be unprotected,” I pouted.

“I won't be gone long. I don't even know how long I can be away from you, but if I feel like you are in any pain, I'll come straight back, okay?”

“I guess we have no choice,” I responded. Just the thought of Jace leaving was tying my stomach in uncomfortable knots.

He leaned his forehead against mine, and sighed, “This is going to be the hardest thing I've had to do, and it's something so simple. I can't believe how strongly I feel about you, Brie.”

“I know. Just the thought of you leaving is tearing me up inside,” I agreed.

“When I get back, I'll take you to dinner, okay?” he asked.

“You've done enough already—let me take care of dinner,” I suggested.

“Nothing I do will be enough; I will always want to do more. Dinner is no big deal so don't worry about it,” he said.

“No, I want to make you and my dad dinner. It will be a nice opportunity for you to get to know each other a little better,” I replied.

“What did I tell you—beautiful and smart. That is a great idea,” he said affectionately.

“Is there anything you're allergic to or don't like to eat? I don't want to make anything you don't like,” I said, already nervous about impressing Jace with my cooking skills.

“No allergies, but I'm not a big fan of seafood,” he admitted.

“Really? You live on the coast,” I joked.

“I like shrimp, but that's about it,” he replied.

“To be honest, that's the only seafood I like, too,” I said.

“And you're giving me a hard time?” he teased.

“Yep. Hurry up and go so you can come back to me,” I ordered.

“Geez, so bossy,” he replied, pulling me in for a hug. “I'll be back as soon as possible, okay?”

I nodded, leaning up to kiss him. “Take my boat. It will be faster than the ferry.”

He took my keys, kissing me again, “I better get going before I change my mind.”

“Can't you just call a moving company?” I asked hopefully.

“Well, all I need is my clothes and personal items, not any furniture. Plus, nothing is boxed up for them to move,” he pointed out.

“Fine, just go,” I said dejectedly.

“I'll be right back, and then I'm never leaving you again,” he assured me.

“I'm going to hold you to that. Please be careful,” I pleaded.

“I will, mi amante. I'll see you soon,” he said, turning and walking away from me. It felt like a little piece of my heart was breaking with every step he took. He turned and looked at me as he opened the door, hesitating before he walked out. He suddenly let go of the door and turned around, quickly striding back and enveloping me in a steaming kiss. I urgently kissed him back, desperate for him to stay, but knowing he needed to leave. He tangled his hands in my hair, and I clutched the back of his shirt as he wrapped his tongue with mine. I pulled him closer to me, and I could feel his firmness pressing into my lower abdomen, causing me to shudder; I wanted him so badly, more than I had ever wanted anyone else. Remembering where we were, I broke the kiss, gasping for air. “What did we talk about earlier? Neither one of us has much control left, and my dad is right in the other room,” I reminded him.

He kissed my forehead and replied, “I know, I know, but you don't make it easy on me—you are irresistible to me. Let's try this again—I'll be back soon.” He kissed me gently one last time before turning to walk out the door, achieving his goal this time around. Sadness consumed me, and I couldn't believe how attached I was to him. My brain and heart were still warring over my easy acceptance of everything, of how I could feel so deeply for a man I just met, but I always followed my heart. I sighed before I went to find Dad, gloom clouding my mood. He was still in his office, surfing the internet. “Daddy?”

He turned, concern covering his face once he saw my demeanor, “What's wrong, sweetheart?”

“Jace had to go to his house on the mainland to get his stuff. I feel like my heart is breaking,” I told him.

“It's just the bond, sweetie. Just keep reminding yourself he will be back soon. You know he didn't want to leave you, but you have to stay safe,” he said, attempting to comfort me.

“I know, I just hope the pain doesn't get too much worse—it's bad enough as it is,” I replied. We were never going to make it through the night if I was already feeling like this. “I'm going to go to the store to get some things to make the three of us dinner. Is there anything in particular that you feel like eating, Daddy?”

“Hmmm…I do love your stuffed chicken and risotto,” he answered.

“That sounds yummy. I hope Jace will like it,” I said.

“He will, honey. Here's some money for the groceries. Be careful,” he said.

“I will, Dad. I'll be back soon,” I promised.

“You know what? I think I'll go with you, just to be safe,” he said.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, “If I wasn't moving tomorrow, I would refuse to let you come with me, but I could use the company, I guess.”

He grabbed his keys, “Let's get going,” he said, walking towards the front door.

An uneasy feeling washed over me, causing me to stop. I clutched my stomach as tight knots jumbled around inside—it was that feeling you get when you feel like something is wrong, only it felt intensified. Dad noticed I wasn't following him and turned to see what was taking me so long, then immediately rushed to my side once seeing the position I was in. “What's wrong, Brie?” he asked urgently.

“I don't know—I just feel like something is wrong…like something bad is about to happen. Oh, Daddy, I hope it's not Jace,” I whimpered.

“It's probably just your souls missing each other. That's why Jace doesn't want to live away from you because of the pain you're starting to feel. It will only get worse as time passes,” he informed me.

“I hope that's all it is. I don't want anything to happen to him because of me,” I replied.

“He's a grown man, and a trained Elemental. He can take care of himself, Brielle,” he assured.

“You're right. Let's go,” I reluctantly replied, but the uneasiness remained. I still couldn't help the feeling that my gut told me that something bad was about to happen.

Leaving Brielle was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, especially when she looked so damn vulnerable. When she looked that way, I wanted to take her in my arms and shut out the world, protecting her from anything that meant her harm. Her vulnerability also stoked a fire inside me, making me want to devour every inch of her, not stopping until we both were completely satisfied. I needed to hurry and get back to her. I could already feel discomfort from being away from her, on top of the anxiety and sadness I felt coming from her emotions, which made it worse.

Thank God there was no speed limit on the ocean, otherwise I would have been given a speeding ticket based on the speed I was going, but I needed to get back to Brielle as soon as possible. I reached Long Beach in record time, and docked Brielle's boat close to the shoreline.

Once I got to my condo, I quickly packed my suitcases to the brim with all my clothes and personal items. Leaving Brielle was something I never wanted to do again, so I didn't plan on returning anytime soon. I heard my front door open, and I mentally reprimanded myself for not locking the door in my haste. I looked at the security camera feeds on the computer in my bedroom, and I saw the same three idiots from last night sneaking into my living room. I shook my head in disbelief because I thought my message was loud and clear last night, but I guess stupidity trumped logic in their case.

I didn't know if they had followed me, or if they were just snooping around, trying to get clues to Brielle's whereabouts. I was going to have fun reminding them of my threat from last night.

“Looking for something?” I asked as I revealed myself from the bedroom. From the look on their faces, I could tell that my second theory was the correct one; they had no clue that I was here.

The Elemental that took Brielle spoke first, “Actually, yeah, we're looking for your little girlfriend. Would you happen to know where she is?”

I chortled, “Are you mental? I would never tell you where she is.”

One of the other guys spoke next, “I was hoping you would say that. It would be much more entertaining to beat it out of you.”

“Yeah, you must be mental. Do you not know who I am?” I asked.

“I don't give a fuck who you are, but your undefeated record will be ended today, I promise you that,” the first guy spoke again.

I was done with talking. My hands lit up with flames, taking them by surprise. I guess they thought I would keep arguing back and forth until they were ready to fight. Wrong. I shot massive fireballs at each of them, striking two while the other dodged out of the way just in time. I felt a gush of air knock me into the wall, coming from the Air Elemental that took Brielle last night. I wondered what elements the other two controlled but they were too busy rolling on the floor, trying to quell the flames that were engulfing them. A good thing about Elemental's flames were that they were more difficult to extinguish, almost impossible unless you had Elemental abilities. I picked myself off the floor, torpedoing my flames at the last Elemental standing. He used his Air to divert my flames away from him, engulfing my couch. In the time he used to do so, I rapidly ran towards him, tackling him before he could redirect his attention back to me. I could feel the pressure of the air crushing me as he tried to get me to release him, but I fought through the pain and grabbed his face, searing his skin with the heat from my flames. The crushing force immediately lifted as he writhed in pain from the burns I was inflicting. Soon, the shock from the severity of the burns would render him unconscious, and then I could finish this confrontation. I could see his eyes rolling back as I felt another force throw me off into the breakfast bar of the kitchen. Great, another fucking Air Elemental. I looked up to see one of the two guys I hit earlier trying to help his friends up. His clothes were still smoking from my fireballs, and he was having trouble breathing. I felt another blast of wind pushing me back up against the bar, and I could see the unknown Elemental slowly rising, attempting to rejoin the fight. I felt the house start to shake, which indicated that the unknown Elemental was an Earth Elemental, making the ground underneath my house quake. His eyes weren't glowing, however so he wasn't the cause of the attack. I didn't have time to focus on who was, but suddenly, all attention shifted to the open front door as Zane walked in, eyes glowing like illuminated emeralds as he shook the earth. This surprised the two, conscious Elementals long enough for me to stride over to them and give one a right hook to the jaw, and kick the legs out from the other. I placed one hand on each of them, burning a hole through their shirts, causing burns to radiate outward over their chest. Zane walked over, levitating my marble table over the two Elementals and dropping it, incapacitating them.