Evan Elemental (The Evan Elemental Series) (15 page)

"Freaked
out yet?"

Lex
smiles. "Never. Come back
to bed." I like the sound of that but maybe we should talk about this.

"Don't
you want to...?"

"Not
tonight, remember?"

I shrug
and unzip my dress, letting it fall to the floor. Lex's eyes fill once again
with desire and that unmistakable hunger. The dying blue light flares.

"As
you wish," I say smiling.

The
smell of coffee stirs me from sleep. Through my bleary eyes, I see sunlight
filtering in through the sheer curtains on Lex's windows. I push back the
covers and slide out of bed. My dress is hanging on his closet door and my
shoes have been set neatly on the floor beneath it. I pluck at the collar on
Lex's t-shirt that I'm wearing and a contented shiver runs through me.

I start
to head downstairs but I pause in the doorway of his room. Once I leave it I'll
have to enter real life and all the problems that come with it.
Lex
said he had answers, answers that I need. I'm not sure
if I'm ready to find out, but I have no choice. I have to know what I am and
why Magda sent
Lex
to Russia and what Mattie and Ezra
have to do with it, if anything.

I pad
downstairs toward the kitchen. As I approach, I hear voices. The first voice is
Lex
. The second isn't as familiar but I recognize it.
Mattie.

"So
you haven't told her?" I hear her ask.

"No.
Not yet,"
Lex
answers.

"It
needs to stay that way. She's not ready."

"You
have no idea what she's ready for," he protests. He's barely speaking
above a whisper but his tone is fierce.

"
Lex
, listen to me. If Evan
..
."

"Morning,"
I say brightly as I saunter into the kitchen and head for the coffee pot. When
I look over my shoulder I find
Lex
watching me with a
hint of his secret smile on his lips. I flush. Taking my time, I add milk and
sugar to my coffee.
Lex
comes up beside me and sweeps
my messy hair aside.

"Morning,"
he says kissing the side of my neck. "You know, I think I like this on you
better than that amazing dress."

"Nice,"
Mattie says interrupting, "messing with the help?"

"Excuse
me?" I spit turning around only to find a mischievous grin playing across
her face. She looks different than she did last night: her hair is loose and
her posture is relaxed. The demure eyes-in-her-lap attitude has vanished.

"You
look just like her," she says taking me in from head to toe. "Except
for the hair. And maybe the eyes."

"Mattie,"
Lex
says, his voice hard. Mattie's grin folds into a
frown.

"What?
You're all game for telling her everything. Why not start with that?" she
asks casting him a questioning look.

Lex
sighs and absently toys with a
lock of my hair. "Mattie, we'll talk later. Ezra is probably wondering
where you are."

Mattie
looks away, her jaw set in a hard line.

"Probably.
Well," she says giving us a half smile before plucking an apple out of the
bowl on the island, "best be off. Have fun, love birds." She turns
and leaves out the side door that leads into the garden.

"What
was that about?" I ask turning to
Lex
.

He
leans in and kisses my jaw. "For another time." I open my mouth to
protest but he stops me. "Another time. We have other things to discuss
this morning. First, you need to get dressed." He gestures toward the
small pile of clothes folded neatly on the counter. There's a pair of my faded
jeans, my black eyelet halter-top, and my strappy gold gladiator sandals. He
must have gone up to the house while I was asleep.

"Okay.
But," I say running my fingers through his bed rumpled hair, "I need
a shower first."
Lex
grins and takes my hand.

"Lead
the way," he says playfully.

We head toward the bathroom in silence. Unfortunately, he
doesn’t join me in the shower. Instead, he leaves me to go take a call.
An hour later we're both
showered and dressed and standing in the garden. Warm, early morning sunlight
shines down on us.

"What
are we doing out here?" I ask glancing around.

Lex
gives me an
uncharacteristically shy smile. "I want to show you something."

I watch
as he sits down on a small patch of grass that isn't adorned with a flower bush
or a wrought iron bench. He motions for me to sit across from him.

"Okay,
now what?" I asked folding my legs beneath me.

Instead
of answering he holds out his hands, palms facing forward. I give him a
questioning smile, but his face remains serious. I press my lips together and
try not to laugh as I place my palms against his.

"Close
your eyes," he orders gently.

I nod and
shut my eyes. A few minutes go by with nothing happening. I'm beginning to
think that the whole exercise is pointless when I feel something. A light
breeze drifts across my face. It could easily be mistaken for a coincidence,
but the wind begins to pick up at an unnatural pace. I can feel it on my skin
and I can feel it inside of me.

"This
is kind of my specialty."

I open
my eyes and find
Lex
studying my face. "Your
specialty?"

He
nods. "Yes, my element."

A chill
runs through me. A million questions come to mind but I keep silent and wait
for him to continue.

"Air,"
he explains with a pleased smile. "You may have noticed, but I have the
ability to move..."

"Like
the wind," I say finishing his sentence.

"I
get power from all of the elements but I have the strongest bond with
air." His eyebrows pinch together and he gives me a tentative smile.

"This
is probably a rude question, but what are you?"

Lex
laughs. "The same thing
you are, mostly."

"And,
what's that?" I lean forward excited to finally have a label.

A slow
smile spreads across his face. "Evan, we're elementals."

I give
him a blank look. I have no freaking idea what he's talking about.

"If
you go online, you'll find dozens of definitions for that word, but none of
them really come close. Even the word itself is a very loose interpretation of
what we are. What it comes down to, though, is that we draw strength and power
from the elements."

"What,
like a witch?"

"No,"
he exhales grinning, "much more powerful. We have access to magic in its
purest form, directly from nature itself. Witches need spells and casts, and
sometimes offerings, in order to access that power. It doesn't come to them
quite so naturally."

I nod.
"I guess that makes sense. So, you can do what I do?"

"No,"
he answers smiling. He drops my hands and scoots forward so that I'm between
his knees. He slides his hands up bare arms and shoulders and rests them at the
base of my neck. "Nobody can do what you do. I've never met an elemental,
or any other entity for that matter, that can do what you do. You might have
noticed that it took me a while to put on that little show. It didn't happen
instantly, like it does with you. And most elementals only have control over
one element. The strongest ones, two at the most."

I shake
my head slowly unable to come to grips with what he's saying. "Why? Why am
I so different?"

"I
don't know,"
Lex
answers, his voice laced with
apology.

My body
slumps in defeat. I lean forward and rest my forehead against Lex's. Here I
thought I was coming close to the truth, but now I feel even farther away.

"Evan,"
Lex
says soothingly, "I'm being as honest with
you as I can. I'm trying to figure out what's going on, but I keep coming up
against walls."

"What
do you mean, 'what's going on'?" I ask pulling back so that I can see his
face.

Lex
grits his teeth as if it's
physically painful to talk about this. "Remember, before, when I told you
about Magda's interest in supposed magical objects?" he asks me.

"Of
course."

"Most
of her pursuits haven't been successful. She's managed to recover a talisman
here and there, but they've been mostly useless. Until recently, my job was
comprised mainly of trying to hunt down these objects. When she sent me to
Russia this spring, that's what I believed I would be doing."

"But
it wasn't?" I ask already knowing the answer.

Lex
shakes his head. "No.
I..." he trails off and glances up at the house. I follow his gaze to one
of the upstairs windows. As I look, the curtain falls back in place.

"Who..."

"You
know what,"
Lex
says interrupting me, "we should
get you inside. I believe your assistant will be here any minute."

I groan
but
Lex
just laughs. He stands with his usual grace
and offers me a hand. When he pulls me up a tiny thrill shoots through me. I'm
never going to get used to that feeling. I don't want to. I expect him to kiss
me but he doesn't. Instead, I get a warm smile and a gentle squeeze of my hand.
Whatever he saw in the window seems to have freaked him out.

"By
the way," I say as we walk toward the house, to my delight still holding
hands, "how did you manage to get clothes from my room without anyone
noticing?"

"Oh,"
is all he says in response. He rubs the back of his neck in that cute, nervous
way of his. "Actually, Mattie got them for me."

"Why?"
I ask stopping. I don't want to be the jealous type, but damn.

"I
asked her to. I figured it would be less odd for her to be in your room than
me. She could say you were letting her borrow something. That's why she was
here earlier."

"Okay,
but why did you ask her and not one of the maids?" I ask letting go of his
hand.

"I
didn't want to draw attention to the fact that you weren't home," he
pleads.

I fold
my arms across my chest. "Anders said everyone has to do what I say
now."

I can't
help but note the bratty tone in my voice.
Lex
raises
his eyebrows and gives me an incredulous look. "Well," I say slowly
when
Lex
doesn't respond, "I think what he meant
is that I'm supposed to be treated more like the "lady of the house"
than its prisoner."

Lex
bites his bottom lip, his eyes
shining with amusement. I suddenly feel completely foolish and I want to crawl
into bed for the next year. "Ah," he says nodding. "I did hear
that order go out. Not exactly how you remember it, but some version. I hate to
say this, but in my experience the staff likes to talk and I don't think your
newfound freedom extends to staying out all night with a member of said staff.
Or any guy for that matter."

Lex
gives me a sexy smirk and takes
my hand again. It's funny how a simple touch can set me completely at ease.
"Why, Mr. Monroe. The things you insinuate," I say in my best
imitation of a noble Englishwoman.

Lex
laughs softly. When we reach
the kitchen door he bows deeply and kisses the back of my hand. "
M'lady
."

I
curtsy and can't help but giggle.
Lex
pulls me close
to him.

"You
are so beautiful when you laugh," he whispers huskily into my ear.

My
breath goes shallow. "And when I'm not laughing?" I whisper.

Instead
of answering, he tilts his head presses his lips to mine. It's barely a kiss
but there is so much meaning and heat in it. I pull away before it can deepen.
I don't really want to, but we've run out of time.

"I
would say see
ya
later," I sigh, "but who
knows when I'll be free. Magda seemed pretty intent on filling up my schedule
for the rest of my natural life."

Lex
rubs the pad of his thumb
across my lips before giving me another gentle kiss.

"Don't
worry. I'll find you," he says with another sexy smirk.

I let
go of his hand and turn to reach for the doorknob. When I look back, he's gone.
A goofy smile spreads across my face.
Lex
has given
me a lot to think about, but all I can concentrate on is how good it felt to
fall asleep in Lex's arms and wake up in his bed.

It's
Sunday, Thelma's day off, so I expect to find the kitchen empty. I head
straight for the fridge intent on getting something in my stomach before I have
to deal with whatever having an assistant entails.

"Evan.
You look well."

I
freeze and turn around. Anders is sitting at the kitchen island. I must have
walked straight past him without noticing. His cold gaze sends a chill through
me as his eyes slide from my damp, freshly washed hair tied in a topknot, down
to my sandals.

"I'm
surprised you're up so early," he says smirking.

I shrug
and pretend to rifle through the fridge. I suddenly feel too guilty to eat but
I figure I should put up a front. Besides, I would probably regret not eating
later. I shut the refrigerator door and opt for one of the pastries laid out
under a glass cloche on the counter.