Frozen Desires (Asylums for Magical Threats) (17 page)

entered her mind. But then the enormity of what she’d just done—and of how it might change their

working relationship—sank in, and she closed her eyes to think of how she could get out of this and still

help Marco with his mission.

Marco laid his cheek on top of Cam’s head as he stroked her back. His cock was still hard and pulsing

between their bodies, but with the warmth and weight of Cam against him, he found he could tolerate the

pain of his unfulfilled desire. Especially since he didn’t know how long this would last. No doubt, any

minute Cam would jump up, adjust her skirts, and pretend nothing had happened, much like how she’d

acted after their kiss in the club.

He wasn’t going to let that happen. If he could just get her to trust him enough to have her naked

beneath him, he could convince her that their fierce personalities would clash wonderfully in bed. He still remembered the feel of her claws in his back, and he wondered what it would feel like to have one of her

claws delicately trace the underside of his cock.

With Cam, he wouldn’t have to hold back either his strength or his powers. That was a first for him,

and he realized how desperately he wanted it.

Cam stirred and tried to sit up. He let her lean up, but kept a hold of her hips to keep her from bolting.

He tried to catch her eye, but she stubbornly looked off to the side. He squeezed her hips and said, “Why

won’t you look at me, Camilla? Are you embarrassed? Because I assure you, there is nothing to be

embarrassed about—watching your eyes as you came is something I’m going to remember for a long time.”

Her cheeks flamed. “This was a mistake, Marco. It can’t happen again.”

He raised one hand to cup her cheek, and forced her head to face him. She finally met his gaze and he

saw uncertainty. “Care to tell me why, beauty?”

Her eyes turned fierce. “That right there—calling me beauty—is why. How do I know this isn’t just part

of your sweet-talking charm act?” She tried to slide off his lap, but he kept a strong grip on her hips to keep her in place. She poked a claw into his chest. “I accept that your reputation is overinflated, but I won’t believe I’m the only woman you’ve charmed with your elemental powers and rough sex play.”

His powers had impressed her? “Camilla, what just happened wasn’t an act or some kind of master plan to conquer you. It was passion.” He moved his hips so she could feel him. “I’m still rock hard for you. Ever since that first tumble in the jungle, you make me hard whenever you’re near. I know I affect you too, so

why do you continue to fight it?”

Cam shook her head. “Trust me, it would never work. I’m not going to give up everything I’ve worked

for just so you can feel like a man.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I’m not one of those bastards who is going to try to change you just because

I’ve seen you naked. Being a DEFEND soldier is who you are, and I wouldn’t take that away from you.”

She shook her head. “You say that now, but when the time came for me to give orders, you’d sing a

different tune.”

He put a finger under her chin. “You’ve been dealing with the wrong type of men if they couldn’t accept

an intelligent woman trying to save their asses.”

Cam hesitated a second, but then said, “And why should I trust you? You won’t even tell me about your

powers. I know you’re too strong to be a regular first-born, yet you claim you’re not a Talent. So what are you, Marco?”

“If I tell you the truth, would you let me kiss you again?”

She searched his eyes. “Maybe.”

Her answer caused a flicker of hope in his stomach
.
For so long, Marco had wanted to be honest with someone, to let someone see the true version of himself. Cam had already seen more of him than he’d

allowed anyone else, at least since he’d finished his training. What he said next would either bring them

closer, or end up costing him his life.

He only hoped he was right about Camilla Melini’s ability to keep a secret.

Marco took a deep breath and said, “Have you ever heard the stories about the Elemental Master training

academies?”

Cam stilled, but then smiled and said, “It was far-fetched, but that was one of my theories.”

He blinked. “What theory?”

“I’ve been wondering about it ever since I couldn’t break out of your ice bonds. The fog trick and ice

dome only convinced me more, and I started to believe you were an Elemental Master.” He kept his face

blank and her brows came together. “That’s what you were going to tell me, right? That somehow, despite

the law and forced disbanding of the academies, you went through the training.”

Marco had to be an Elemental Master; there was no other explanation for the control he had over his

abilities.

Cam knew the stories. But she had never imagined that the Elemental Masters, or their training

academies, were still around. In the past, EMs had been heroes, defending their home territories, or helping to end conflicts. If the academies were still recruiting and training potential EMs, she wondered what they did once their training was complete. Cam had access to a lot of privileged information via DEFEND’s

resources, so if she’d never heard about their actions, it was a well-kept secret.

Marco tightened his grip on her hips, leaned forward, and said, “How do you know about the Elemental

Masters? Even mentioning the term was outlawed nearly a century ago.”

Okay. That wasn’t the answer she’d been hoping for. “I’m not saying anything until you confirm or

deny that you are one.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Yes, fine, I’m an Elemental Water Master.” He squeezed her hips. “Now, tell me

how much you know and where you heard it.”

She didn’t trust Marco enough to simply take him at his word, especially with something as far-fetched

as being an EM. She wanted to see it with her own eyes. “Prove that you’re an EM first.”

He created a carnation flower out of ice and handed it to her. “Have you ever seen a regular first-born create something like that with barely a thought?”

Cam stared at the ice flower glistening in the faint light from the street lamps. “No.”

“Or how about this?”

A second later, snow started to fall, but when she looked up, all she saw was the ice dome—there

weren’t any clouds.

Marco could control the weather, just like in the stories.

She looked back at him, and he raised his eyebrow. “Good enough for you? I could do this all night.”

The ice bonds, the dome, the flower, the snow—all of it pointed to one conclusion. Marco had to be an

Elemental Master.

But he’d said Masters with an “s”—as in plural—so there had to be more of them somewhere. The

question was how they’d managed to keep their existence secret from the AMT Oversight Committee. “But

how is this possible? No one knows about the existence of EMs, not even DEFEND.”

Marco tapped her chin. “That’s what you think.”

“What the hell? Stop with the ambiguity and just spit it out already, Marco.”

“First, answer my question about how you know about the EMs. That’s only fair.”

Cam resisted a growl, but knew he was right. “Fine. My mother told my siblings and me the stories

growing up. But apart from my family, I have no idea who else knows.”

His grip on her hips loosened and he said, “Which stories did your mother tell you?”

She pushed past the sadness that squeezed her heart at the memories. “She knew hundreds of
Feiru

legends. I think she told them to us to try to make Kiarra feel more accepted, and less like a burden. But whatever the reason, the one that reminded me of you was the story of Konrad Wolf.”

Konrad Wolf had been a strong—yet humble—Elemental Water Master from the 16th century. The story

that had made him a legend was about how he’d foiled the plans of an army trying to invade his hometown

of Vienna, by manipulating the weather.

Marco winked. “Glad to know you see me as a hero.” She glared and he laughed. “All right, I’ll drop

the bullshit. But before I can tell you anything else, I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about this—not your team or even your sister. I’m not really supposed to tell anyone, so the fewer who

know the better.”

The enormity of his confidence hit her. First, he’d listened to her past with the Fed League without

judgment, and now he was telling her something that could easily make him a target.

A feeling Cam couldn’t described filled her chest. Maybe Marco was interested in her beyond a quick

lay.

But then she’d believed the same thing with Richard, and that had ended with her cousin Adella almost

dying.

Marco traced a finger down her cheek and she shivered. “Camilla, tell me I didn’t just fuck up by telling

you this. Tell me you can keep my secret.”

The look in his eyes was vulnerable, making him appear younger than usual—and it made her

uncomfortable. She knew how to deal with his charm or his temper, but not this. She wanted to make the

look go away, but she wasn’t about to lie to him. “You didn’t fuck up. But if Zalika or Jacek ever ask me

about it, I won’t lie to them, Marco. They’re like family to me.”

She waited for him to pull a stunt with his water tricks, to force a promise to keep his secret, but all he did was smile and say, “Well, then, I’ll just have to make sure they never see any of my tricks, and they’ll never be the wiser.”

Chapter Twenty

Marco felt lighter. He’d always known that bearing the secret of being an Elemental Master had weighed

him down, but he’d never realized how much. True, he had yet to tell Cam what his fellow EMs did secretly

to help the world, but he was starting to believe he would in time. He just had to be careful, and not spook her away.

Cam gave him a puzzled look. “Just like that, you’re not going to try to make me promise to keep your

secret?”

Marco resisted the urge to brush her cheek again. He’d be doing more than that soon enough. “I’m

putting my trust in you, so don’t fuck me over, okay? I’ve seen what goes on inside the AMT compounds,

and I have no wish to live there permanently.”

She straightened her shoulders. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted by that remark or not, considering

the hell my sister went through. You’d really have to piss me off for me to want to send you there.”

He smiled. “So I shouldn’t get on your bad side?”

Cam extended one of her claws. “Definitely not.”

Marco laughed and decided he’d tell her more later. Right now, he wanted to play.

He ran his hands up the sides of her ribcage and Cam’s eyes widened. When he rested his hands on the

side of her neck and caressed the sides of her jaw, her breathing was fast. “I seem to remember you saying you might let me kiss you if I told you about my powers.” He moved one of his thumbs to caress the skin

just under her lower lip. “Well, what’s the verdict? Has your maybe turned into a yes?”

He could see Cam battling with herself, so he leaned over and kissed where her jaw met her neck. She

sighed and he nipped her skin. “I’m not Richard or whoever else fucked you over in the past. I’ve trusted

you, Camilla; won’t you at least trust me in this?”

He felt the instant she let go of her tension. When she moved her hands up his chest, he moved to face

her again, and saw her vulnerable expression.

He loved that she was revealing a little more of herself to him.

She met his gaze and said, “Don’t hurt me, Marco.”

His heart tightened. He kissed the scar on her chin and said, “Not if I can help it, Camilla.” Then he

kissed the one on her forehead. “There’s so much more I want to tell you.”

He pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, but then Cam leaned forward and delved her tongue into his

mouth. His cock grew hard again at her taste, but more than anything, he wanted to feel her skin against his.

He’d just worked his hand up under her built-in bra when something in Cam’s skirt started to vibrate.

She broke the kiss. Her expression was apologetic as she said, “I’m sorry, but I need to take this.” She

pulled out a cell phone from her skirt pocket, pressed the screen, and answered. “Zalika? Is that you?”

The moment Cam had felt her phone start to vibrate in her pocket, she’d wanted to ignore her duties for

once even if it were only for a few hours. After distancing herself from most everyone for years, she

wanted to enjoy what little time she had with Marco. She knew he’d get fed up with her eventually—most

men had trouble with taking orders from her—but even if it lasted for just one night, she wanted to feel

normal.

For once, she wanted to feel desired and not have to live as her reputation required.

But her team’s safety was one of the few things that took precedence over her yearnings for a normal

life, so Cam took out her phone and answered it. “Zalika? Is that you?”

“She’s a bit tied up at the moment,” said a somewhat familiar male voice she couldn’t place.

Cam frowned and said, “Who is this?”

“I think you know, Mel.”

Only a handful of people knew she’d ever gone by Mel—the cover name from her years in the Fed

League—and Richard Ekstrom had been one of them.

Cam stayed calm. Anger or an outburst would only make the situation worse. She kept her tone steely

and said, “Richard, if you harm my team, you know I have the skills to hunt you down.”

Marco raised his eyebrows in question, so she leaned over and let him listen in to her conversation.

Richard said, “I have ways around that. You’re not as invincible as you think you are, Mel.”

“Get to the point, Richard.”

“No bullshit—one of the things I loved about you. I have a job for you, and if you do what I ask, then