Genesis (30 page)

“
That’s not what I meant and
you know it.”

And there it was: his full smile. I
totally wanted to lick that luscious dimple.

“
Nice visual,” he said,
giving me a throaty laugh. I shut my eyes tight and moved to step
away, but he snared my waist. “Mind moving aside,
Nicco?”

Heat sped up my neck and into my face.
My heart pounded in my ears, and I could barely think.

Squashed bug guts on the window. The
smell of fresh cow manure.

Heath’s blazing eyes.

No.

Road kill. Maggot infested
trash.

Heath’s lips.

No.

Skunk stink clinging to the
air.

He pulled me through the door and
pressed my back against it once it closed. “Now what kind of
message is that supposed to be?”

“
I’m trying not to think
about you.”

He laughed. “How’s that working for
you?”

I cringed. “To be honest, it’s making
my stomach sick.”

He ran his fingers over my hair before
they meandered to my bruise. Somehow his touch soothed the pain.
“This doesn’t have to be as complicated as you’re making
it.”

I closed my eyes and breathed him in.
He was so close, deliciously close. If I leaned forward at all, his
body would brush mine. I snapped myself out of it. “I’m not the one
making this complicated.”

“
Rayla…”

“
Mmm?”

“
What do I need to do to get
you to commit?”

I still couldn’t bring myself to look
at him. “Oh right, like you have.”

“
Open your eyes,” he
demanded.

I shook my head.

His fingers brushed my
parted lips then traveled down my neck, lingering at my collar
bone. His voice came out feather light, but it sunk into every part
of me. As if echoing me, he said. “You
own
every part of me.”

If only that were true. I opened my
eyes to find him watching me.

A gasp escaped me before I could stop
it. His eyes blazed with the same odd intensity as last night.
Never in my life had a man looked at me with such raw need, like I
was his beating heart.

I swallowed and my fingers found his
face. Gingerly, I contoured my hand to his cheek. His stubble
bristled against my skin, awakening my senses further. He closed
his eyes, taking in a deep breath. I slid my arms around his neck
and pulled his lips to mine.

When our lips touched, fire lit my
veins, searing my body with his heat. I let him mold me to him. I
let him lead me over to the bed. I let him guide us down to the
soft surface. I wanted him to do so many things.

I had to stop this.

“
Why?” came his
thought.

“
It’s not right.”

His laugh rang inside my head as his
lips danced with mine. “Still lying to yourself? Nothing has ever
been this right. You feel it. I know you do.” His hand moved slowly
over my thigh and up my back, pressing me closer.

“
I…” I moaned.

Heavens this was right.

He was right.

No. I had to stop. Too much was at
stake for me to give into my desire to make out with
him.

He grumbled something, pulled away then
stood up. He might as well have ripped my heart out of my chest and
tugged it along behind him. His absence was everywhere, in every
part of me.

“
Heath,” I breathed, his
name echoing in my mind like a lament.

He shook his head. “You still aren’t
ready.”

I pounded my fist against the mattress,
hating the weakness he caused in me. “Would you please just
leave?”

“
Of course,” he said, his
voice filled with sadness.

“
Thank you,” I whispered,
all the while wishing he would come back to me, yet knowing he
never would now. Not after I’d scorned him like this.

He was almost to the door when he
turned back with a slight smile playing on his lips. “Do you still
want to know why I changed my mind?”

I rolled onto my side and cupped my
head in my hand. My scoff sounded warbled. “You’re finally going to
tell me?”

He nodded ever so slightly. “You were
right. There was something I couldn’t stand to lose.” He looked at
the ground and a serious shield fell over his face before his eyes
found mine again. “It was you, Rayla. I couldn’t stand the thought
of losing you.”

My mouth hung open as Heath let himself
out.

I laid there in awe for who knows how
long. Had Heath just told me he loved me?

I’d come up with so many explanations
why he had withdrawn from me, but not once had I let myself admit I
might be the cause. I mean, I’d thought it; I wanted to be the
reason because that would mean he had real feelings for
me.

I flipped onto my back and stared at
the ceiling. If only I could be sure. If only I could know his
heart. If Jessica was any indication, I would lose everything I was
if I gave myself to him, and yet, if I didn’t, I just might lose my
reason for living.

What a stupid thing to think, but it
was true. Heath had become a part of me whether I wanted to think
about it or not. Thoughts of Lily and Taylor bombarded me. I didn’t
want their fate. I didn’t want to be devastated when this life was
over. Going back to the human realm suddenly seemed like a
curse.

The image of Faine lingered in my mind,
with her innocent wide green eyes. Once again I found myself hating
a girl I had never known. If only that dream had been real. If I
could get a message to Faine, I would ask her why she did this to
me. Why she did this to the world.

I didn’t have much time to think about
it because Luke found me a few minutes after Heath left. I gave him
several excuses to get out of training today, but he wouldn’t have
it.

He tucked my hand securely into the
crook of his elbow before guiding me down several flights of stairs
and a rather long hallway.

I wasn’t ready for this; I wasn’t ready
to be alone with him after what happened between us yesterday, but
he had insisted we spend time together, alone.

I’d promised him as much, but all I
could think about was Heath and how much I wanted him. Maybe I
should just give in…end this like he said. If I did, I would be
tying myself to a man I didn’t really know. When it came to
secrets, he was worse than Zach.

Oh, why did Zach have to leave me in
the first place? Even though I had been angry with him, I had
always thought he would be the one I picked in the end. Now, I
wasn’t so sure.

Luke cleared his throat and tipped my
chin higher. “This is only going to work if you focus.”

I nodded, hoping my conviction had been
strong enough to keep him out of my mind, and followed him into a
bright, circular room. Glass walls gave a clear three hundred and
sixty degree view of the blinding sunrise. I squinted, trying to
take it all in.

A small pool rested in the center of
the space, maybe eight by eight. Other than that, the room was
empty.

He led me to the edge of the pool and
peered down at me. “I’m sure by now you have a basic grasp of how
to manipulate the elements, so what I want to focus on today is
using the full potential of your power.”

I tried not to narrow my eyes at him,
but they didn’t obey me.

He laughed. “Still looking for
underhanded motives?”

“
Luke,” I said, scrambling
for the right way to say this. “Given the circumstances, I think
I’d rather just start out slow.”

“
I’ve brought you here for a
few reasons,” he said, giving me his sun god grin.

I waited for him to explain, but found
myself clothed in a bright turquoise bikini. I picked at one of the
rhinestones on the bodice. It could have been the same suit Zach
wanted me to wear at Roger Wayne’s estate on our first
date.

How odd? How would Luke know about
that?

I fought to calm my rising pulse.
Something questionable slithered in his eyes, yet he held a casual
stance. What was his game?

He edged closer to me, swallowing me up
with his presence. He had on all his charm and then some. “I know
you were overwhelmed yesterday, and I want you to be comfortable
around me.”

I slunk toward the door, not really
sure what I was going to do at this point. What happened to
training me in the water element? Somehow I didn’t think I would
get very far by bringing that up. I glanced at my hand. My ring was
gone. What the heck? It had been there earlier. I’d made sure. I
looked behind me at the door that was still too far away. “I…um…I
forgot something in my room. I’ll just be a minute.”

When I whirled around to leave, the
door slammed in my face. My skin flushed with heat and my body
ached in a way I didn’t know was possible.

He was being so not fair.

I wheeled around and glowered. “This is
hardly my idea of comfortable!”

He laughed. “You will soon see what
that word means. I have a present for you.”

Uh-oh. Zach’s warning about accepting
fae gifts resurfaced. Did that apply in the realms, too?

An obscure thought hit me. I’d taken
that dress from Heath without even thinking about it. Damn. Did
that count? Whatever Luke had planned lit up my bad radar. I sensed
it in the air, like he was throwing off the signal.

He smiled at me and my heart melted.
Oh, man, I needed to ditch this place like yesterday. I braced
myself for insta-travel and concentrated on Heath’s room. I had to
talk to him…or Zach, maybe he was a better option because he knew
what was going on.

It didn’t matter because I couldn’t go
anywhere. I fisted my hand in front of me and opened my palm.
“Stop,” I said. My voice sounded weak. I tried again. “I said
STOP!”

He kept coming.

“
Luke, I’m warning
you.”

He locked eyes with me. “You’ve given
me no other choice.”

“
What are you talking
about?” I screamed in my head for the other lords to come get me,
but my cries bounced off a solid barrier as if this room was
shielded. That’s when I yelled for real. Maybe someone would hear
me?

Luke’s eyes glistened with near
triumph. “Do you know how many times I’ve lost, Rayla? Can you even
begin to imagine the things I have given up because of you? For
you?”

My mouth opened in disbelief. “I never
asked you to give up anything; in fact, if I recall right, I
haven’t asked a dang thing from you. You chose to go to that
island. You were the one that came after me in the first place. I
never wanted this life!”

His face contorted into a mask I had
never seen on him. Absolute furor. “Everything I have done thus far
has been for you. To make you see how much you mean to
me.”

He was two feet away from me. I had to
protect myself. I couldn’t let him come any closer. He wasn’t
himself.

“
She’s controlling you,
Luke! Why can’t you see it?”

He shook his head. “That is where you
are wrong. I am fully aware of what I’m doing.”

“
That makes one of us.” I
slid sideways and backed away from him.

He gave me a predatory grin. “I’ve
tried to be nice. I’ve tried to woo you with my softer side, but
that isn’t what you want, is it? You’re one of those girls that
likes to be chased.”

Where in heaven’s name was he going
with this? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He shrugged. “Even if Ainessa was
controlling me right now, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
Her plan is not as horrible as you think. She merely desires to
unite humans and fae—something I have tried to accomplish since the
moment I set foot on this planet.”

Oh, she had her talons firmly planted
in him, and he didn’t even know it. “There has to be a better way
than this.”

We’d already made it halfway across the
room, and I was getting dizzy from going backwards. I had waited
long enough. The lords weren’t coming. It was just Luke and me and
Ainessa, wherever she was.

I called the elements, but the only one
I had access to was water. I’d have to make due. I barricaded
myself behind a shield of solid ice.

Seconds before Luke made it to my
barrier, the ice melted into a frigid puddle that frosted over my
feet. Why couldn’t I use any other element? I was breathing so
there had to be air.

“
Rayla…stop this nonsense. I
will not harm you.”

“
No? What exactly do you
have planned then?”

“
I need to make you
see.”

“
There’s that word again,
Luke.” I purposely used his name, hoping it would wake him up. “Why
would you want to force me into a relationship with you? I would
hate you.”