Elemental Reality (8 page)

“Tell me what happened, Kitten,” he said, tone soothing.

I told him everything that happened with Cayden. He rubbed my arm as I spoke and tensed when I told him Cayden had kissed me. It was quickly followed by a nervous chuckle when I told him I had slapped Cayden hard enough to leave a handprint.

“Feel free to hurt him any time you want,” he said.

“I thought the knee to the groin would get the point across,” I said. “Apparently not.”

“You obviously don’t need me after all.” He sounded proud and slightly miffed.

“That’s not true,” I disagreed. “Look at me; I’m a mess.” I paused. “On second thought, don’t. It’s best if we don’t turn on the light.” My makeup was long gone at this point. Even worse, I probably had trails of mascara down my face. Not exactly something you want someone to see this early in a relationship. The word “relationship” made butterflies go wild in my stomach.

“So you didn’t feel the darkness this time?” he asked, pulling me from my irreverent thoughts.

“No.” I sat up and shook my head, surprised by the question. I hadn’t even thought about why he didn’t go all Dark Lord on me. “I had complete control.”

“What was different this time?” Oli sounded taken aback but pleased.

“I don’t know.” I thought for a moment, replaying the scene. “I thought about how you said to stay away from him, but he was there on my porch.” I snuck a peek at him, his face full of concern and curiosity. “And something my dad said.” I mumbled the last, and my cheeks heated with embarrassment.

“And what did your dad tell you?” he asked with interest.

“He, uh, said—” I hoped Oli couldn’t see my blush in the dark. “We talked about my mom and what it was like when they first met. Can I, um, can I tell you something else?”

He nodded, and I laid my head on his chest.

“I can smell nature,” I admitted guardedly. He stiffened, so I rushed on before he could stop me. “It’s more than that, really. I know when it’s going to rain before it shows up—without the weather channel. I can sense the wind before it arrives. Fire feels like it’s burning me from yards away. And whenever I plug something in I get zapped non-stop. Am I crazy?”

Pause. It was too long. He thought I was crazy. As each second ticked by, I feared what his response would be.

He sucked in a heavy breath. “You’re not crazy, Kitten. You’re special. Your senses are trying to tell you that, but you just don’t see it yet. And before you ask, I don’t have the answers. You should talk to your dad.”

I nodded my head against his chest. It troubled me that Dad had been keeping something important from me. I didn’t have the energy to press the subject. The events from the evening weighed down on me, and I was mentally and physically exhausted.

Oli pulled me closer to him and whispered words into my ear. “Kitten, there are definitely . . . things you need to know. But I think it would be best if you heard it from your father and not some stranger.”

He didn’t feel like a stranger. Not anymore. He felt like home, like comfort. “You aren’t a stranger,” I said quietly.

There was a long pause before he spoke. “You don’t feel like a stranger to me either.” His lips brushed my forehead, and my heart skipped a beat. “There is one thing I think you deserve to hear from me,” he said, voice careful. “There’s a real connection between us, Kitten, and it’s strong. I know you feel it too. I can tell when I look into your eyes. It’s more than some simple human emotion.”

What did he mean by “human” emotion? It was like my heart had lodged in my throat. I wanted to pull away, but I was too scared he would stop talking if I did.

“We’re meant to be together,” he whispered into my hair, warming my scalp. He brushed his fingers over my cheek and gently lifted my chin so I had to meet his intense gaze. “You’re my soul mate, Kitten.”

There was something so precious about those words, and I knew he spoke the truth. Deep in my soul I knew it. My eyes fluttered, growing heavy with sleep, but I had to tell him. “I know,” I mumbled.

I laid my head back on his shoulder and cuddled into him. He tightened his grip around me. My eyes closed, finally letting me sleep off the events from earlier. I just hoped tomorrow would be a brighter day.

11

Sick Little Games

My alarm clock buzzed in my ear. My hand slammed down repeatedly until it hit the off button. I sprang up as last night’s occurrence dawned on me. Why was I in my bed and not on the couch with Oli? Was it all a dream? I threw my covers off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. My feet landed on something that wasn’t the floor. It shifted under my feet, and I jumped back on the bed as I let out a little squeak. I peeked over the edge as a child does to make sure monsters weren’t hiding. Oli was sound asleep on the floor.

“It wasn’t a dream,” I whispered. I did an internal happy dance at the thought of him sleeping in my room.

I poked his shoulder softly, but he didn’t budge. I gave him two more soft pokes. He stirred but didn’t wake up. I gave him a little shove, and he bolted up with a start.

“Huh? What?” he said in confusion as his sleepy gaze peered at me. “Oh. Good morning, Kitten.” He smiled groggily.

“Good morning.” I smiled back.

“Sleep well?” he asked while stretching.

“I did. Glad to know last night wasn’t a dream. Well . . . I wish Cayden was a dream, but I’m glad you coming over wasn’t.” My face flushed at my admittance. Our faces were so close all I had to do was lean in and kiss him. I wanted to, oh so badly, but toothpaste was needed. Our first kiss needed to be special. Plus, I wanted him to be the one to initiate it; I was a sucker for a guy who made the first move. My arms encircled his neck and pulled him in for an awkward hug because of my positioning on the bed. He held me with his strong arms, and I rested my chin on his shoulder, breathing him in. The scent of firewood drifted off of him, and it made me relax.

“Thank you,” I whispered into his ear.

“For what?”

I moved away and stared into his emerald green eyes. “For being honest with me.”

“You’re welcome, Kitten. Believe me, the pleasure was all mine,” he said with a grin. “I wanted to tell you the first time I saw you. Hell, I was ready to at 1982, but that plan spectacularly flopped. I’m glad you know now.”

“You probably would have freaked me out if you said it any other time,” I admitted. “I would’ve thought you were some tool trying to get into my pants with a cheesy pickup line,” I teased.

“Well now that you mention it . . .”

I scoffed, grinning like an idiot.

“I’m joking, Kitten. I’m not one of those blokes, and you’re more special than that.” My face heated, which made him smile. “So, how about some brekkie before work?” he asked, standing up and stretching.

Oh. My. God. He was so sexy, all shirtless and sleep-ruffled. “Brekkie?” My voice was higher than normal. “Does that mean breakfast?”

He nodded.

“Sounds good, but how did you know I had work?”

“Your dad opened the door to remind you, and you sleepily agreed.” It was a good thing he’d slept on the far side of my bed or Dad would have gone all shotgun happy when he saw him.

“Oh.” I laughed nervously. “You have no mortal wounds, so I can safely assume my dad didn’t catch you in here?”

“Definitely not,” he said, laughing. “He just opened the door enough to poke his head in.”

“That’s good. I didn’t want to clean blood out of my carpet.” I playfully mock-punched him. “So what’s for breakfast?”

“It’s your house, I’m just crashing in it.” He pulled on his hoodie, which was too bad.

We headed downstairs. In the kitchen, I rooted through the pantry while Oli rummaged through the fridge. It was slim pickings in the pantry. It was rare for us to eat breakfast at home, so breakfast foods were rarely on our grocery list. However, I did find a box of blueberry muffin mix. Oli was ahead of me. On the counter was bread, eggs, and milk.

“French toast?” he asked, bowl in hand.

“Is Cayden a creep? French toast sounds fantastic.”

I put the muffin mix back on the shelf and grabbed the bottle of vanilla instead. We did a little dance around the kitchen as we whipped up a delicious breakfast. Table set, juice poured, we sat at the table.

“Syrup?” he asked.

“Knew I forgot something. I’ll get it,” I said. He stopped me before I could stand.

“Sit. I’ll get it.” He gave me a crooked smile and strolled over to the pantry when I pointed that direction.

We ate in silence as we stuffed our faces. I savored every bite. There was just enough vanilla to give our breakfast some extra flavor. I finished in no time, not realizing how hungry I actually was. I put my fork on my plate with a
clink
and took a drink of my juice. I wiped my mouth with a napkin and turned toward Oli who chewed his last bite.

“I’m not complaining or anything, but why did you stay last night?” I asked.

“Just in case Cayden came back; I wanted to protect you if he did,” he admitted shyly.

My cheeks heated, and I turned away, bashful all of a sudden. He gently touched my arm, and I turned into his gaze.

“I also wanted to be closer to you,” he said seriously. “It’s hard staying away now that I’ve found you.”

My breath hitched in my throat. “Oli,” I breathed.

He leaned in, inching closer to my lips. My heart pounded in my chest. I wanted him to kiss me, but it couldn’t happen yet. His mouth closed in on mine, but my resolve won out. I stopped him by placing my hands on his chest.

“Wait,” I said, voice rough with desire. He leaned back, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and expression hurt. “Not yet, Oli. I’m dying to kiss you, but I want to make our first kiss official, like a first date first kiss kind of thing.”

“We already had our first date.” He sounded offended, but then he pouted playfully. How on earth was I supposed to resist that?

“Hey, that’s not fair. You aren’t supposed to use your puppy dog eyes on me like that.” He opened his mouth to say something, but I held my hand up to stop him. “Last night didn’t count because we never officially finished our date. I want an uninterrupted one. You and me. No one else.” I looked at him pointedly.

He perked up, ready to take the challenge. “Tonight then. We’ll have our first official uninterrupted date.”

I feigned dejection. “Tonight might—”

He cut me off, frowning. “You already have plans?”

I grinned suddenly. “Nope. Tonight is perfect.”

He teasingly glared at me. “Ace. I promise it’ll be much better than the last.” Confidence revolved around him. It made me wonder what plan was formulating in his head.

After a bubble fight while cleaning the kitchen, I realized I was late. I had to go to work, so I walked Oli to the front door. We stood there for a moment just looking at each other before he pulled me into a strong embrace. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly. Being in his arms was so warm and right that I never wanted to let go.

“Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

He flushed. “I could get used to having brekkie with you. Talk to you later, Kitten. And have a good day at work.”

“I’ll see you tonight.” I gave a stupid little wave as he walked down the drive. I wanted to have breakfast with him every morning if I got to see him all bubble-soaked afterward. As he rounded the corner at the end of the driveway, I went inside and locked the door behind me. I was overjoyed with the relationship that was forming between us. Moreover, I was curious as to how he knew we were soul mates. Strangely enough, it felt right. Okay, and maybe a little cheesy too. And what exactly was Dad hiding from me?

I got dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of black skinnies, a T-shirt, and a blue pullover hoodie. I loved days when I didn’t meet with clients. I always felt so stuffy and confined by business attire.

At work our receptionist Tara sat at her desk on a call. She gave me a smile and a wave before she went back to talking and scribbling on a note pad. I headed toward my office. As I passed the conference room, I saw that Dad and some of his employees were sitting around the table, listening intently to the voice on speakerphone. I strolled into my office and dropped my bag on the floor next to my desk. A stack of papers lay on my desk. I groaned. Half needed to be filed while the rest I needed for the meeting I had to set up. In no time at all the papers were sorted and filed, and the information I needed to type up for the meeting was ready. I booted up my desktop and waited for it to load. My phone beeped, and I dug it out of my purse. I had one new text message from Oli.

Can’t wait to take you out later. Everything is planned and will be perfect.

I couldn’t help my smile as I typed back a reply.

It will be perfect because it’ll be with you :)

I turned the screen off and placed the phone back in my purse. The computer bleeped, signaling it was ready. After slaving away in Microsoft Office, I printed the agenda for the meeting. Once the papers were hot off the press, I waltzed around to each office and dropped a copy into the mailbox that was attached to the wall next to their door. My mood was whimsical, and I even caught myself humming. I ran into Dad in the conference room. He was alone and had been going over materials from the meeting he was just in.

“Hey, sweetie. I see you’ve been busy. Got it all covered?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Everything’s done.” This wasn’t the time or place to bring up the fact he was hiding something from me.

“That was quick.” He glanced at his watch. “Did you want to grab something from the coffee shop?”

“I’d love to, but I can’t today. Oli and I have a date,” I admitted.

“You two are getting pretty close, huh?” Here came Poppa Bear.

“We are,” I said with a smile I couldn’t suppress. “There’s something different about him. He ignites something inside me.” I threw that in there to see what kind of reaction I could get out of him, but the one I got was not what I expected. He looked nervous and ashamed.

“That’s, uh, great to hear, sweetie. Have fun. I need to get back to work.”

I was dismissed. I stared at him for bit and wondered why he reacted like that. I shrugged it off and headed back to my office. I saved my document and shut down the computer. Tara gave me a quick wave good-bye as I left.

My heart fluttered as I wondered what Oli had planned for us. The ride home took a little longer because of the afternoon traffic, but I arrived home just in time to change. My phone was already in my hand, ready to call Oli to tell him to come over in ten minutes, when someone knocked at the front door. I didn’t even think twice; I opened the door and a wave of darkness crashed into me. I had zero reaction time and felt as if I were being tossed around under their murky depths. The darkness wound around my thoughts, binding me to the deepest corner of my mind. It was Cayden, standing there with his evil smirk in place. My internal struggle with the darkness failed miserably. It was stronger this time—much stronger than before.

“There’s no point in fighting me,” he seethed.

I internally snorted. That’s what you think, I thought scathingly.

“No, Callie, it’s what I know.” Evil swam in his eyes.

Excellent. He could read my mind.
You son of a—
My thoughts were cut short as the darkness grew tighter.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Callie.” His tone implied otherwise. “If you would just cooperate I wouldn’t have to bind your thoughts. Shame that’ll never happen. Now put your phone back in your purse. We’re going to spend the day together.” He lowered his head a couple inches and narrowed his swirling aqua eyes. My hand moved against my own volition and dropped the phone in my purse. Cayden smiled and held out his arm, completely unrepentant. I looped my arm through his and closed the door behind us.

We drove to Center City and parked in a parking garage off 6th Street. Though the street wasn’t its normal bustling self, he still paraded me up and down like I was his shiny, new toy that he wanted to show off. We stopped to eat at a corner restaurant where my meal and drink were ordered for me. He made me into his damn show dog as I pranced up and down a runway of concrete to be judged.

Oli was constantly in my thoughts. Maybe he would figure out what happened and search for me.

We waltzed in and out of shops along the street, only staying long enough for the customers to get a good look at us before Cayden would pull me out the door. Look at them all staring at me. Couldn’t they tell something was wrong? Hello out there. Help me! Eventually Cayden got bored with the Callie Parade, and we headed back to his car.

“You don’t mind if we go back to my place, do you?” he asked. Silence. “Didn’t think you would.” His smile was sinister.

I recognized the small development we drove through. It was only about a mile and a half from my house. If I’d been able to gain control of myself I could have run home. He parked and led me inside his house. It was well furnished, though I doubted anyone actually lived there. The house was flawless and pristine yet smelled dingy and dusty. He led me up the stairs and into what I assumed was his bedroom. My heart pounded so loudly it rang in my ears. What was he going to do to me? We sat down on the bed. He placed his hand on my thigh and kneaded my muscles. The contents in my stomach soured at his touch.