Just Breathe (15 page)

“I can’t give you many details, but…” Shit. She should just say it. Out of all the people in the world who might believe her, Adriene was at the top of the list. “You know how I can sort of…speak to the whales?”

Adriene stared at her and let go of a nod.

“Remember when I told you I saw Gavin in my dreams before I ever met him?”

Another nod.

“There’s something going on there. In the dream world. Something big.”

Adriene raised a cynical brow.

“I know you think I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have. But the weird weather we’ve been having, the upswing in violence, the wild fires—everything is connected to what happens…over there. I don’t want to get into the details because I’ve already told you too much. Suffice it to say, the solution to a huge chunk of the problem lies with the whales. I need to recruit as many of them as possible. To do that, I gotta get close so I can talk to them. This is really important. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t.”

She sounded like a lunatic. Hell, she
was
a lunatic. But with her and Gavin’s relationship over, Zoe was working solo. She had to take matters into her own hands.

If she built a big enough army, when the Fyres came back to the Dreaming, the Wæters would be armed and ready. This time, Zoe would see the Wæters and the Wyldlings through to their respective happy endings.

Adriene sent her gaze skipping like a rock across the water in front of the boat. “What do you want me to do?”

“Cover for me. Let me do my thing while we’re out here. Keep an eye out for the Coast Guard. Tell me if you see or hear anything out of the ordinary.”

Adriene gasped, straightened her back, and pointed off the starboard side. “You mean like that?”

Zoe followed her line of sight to three hulking black-haired men keeping pace with them under the surface about twenty meters away. Same direction as the Zodiac was heading. Toward Lily. “Shit. Yes.” She stood up. “Exactly like that.”

The Tongans. They had to be. But one glimpse was all she got before they disappeared into the depths. Must’ve sensed Adriene watching them.

Their attendance at the Wæters’ meeting would be huge. But were they here for Lily or Lana?

Zoe reached into her dry bag and produced the notebook she’d been logging data in for the last two weeks. “Keep this on the dash and jot down notes for me. I may need to jump in the water without notice. If I do, be ready to write when I get back. I need a personal secretary, and you’re the only one who understands.”

Adriene smacked her hanging jaw shut and shifted focus from the dead end of the Tongans’ trail to Zoe. “I don’t understand, but I believe in you. Damn skippy, I’ll keep notes. Whatever you need. I don’t know what the hell this is about, but I’ve never been one to turn down a challenge.”

Zoe smiled and draped an arm around Adriene’s waist. “It’s about saving the world. You up for something like that?”

Adriene raised a brow and laughed. “Hell. Yes.”

Chapter Sixteen

Almost time.

Fire flared in Scarlet’s chest. She smoothed the blood-red gown she’d bought for her special day. Matching elbow-length gloved fingers traced the tiny buttons she hoped Gavin would be popping off with his teeth shortly after the ceremony.

The throbbing between her legs intensified. She licked her lips, twisted her neck in a circle, and rolled her shoulders. The smooth satin of her dress caressed her hot skin.

She was ready. Hungry.

A pair of headlights outside brightened the dim lounge room of the house she’d rented for their wedding night. Soft light from fifty or so red candles danced to the beat of her racing pulse.

Heart palpitations? Really? Well, she’d waited for this moment for two years. Why not?

The car door shut.

The burn of anticipation opened her lungs wide, spun her desire out of control. A lifetime of pure, perfect Fire at her beck and call. She’d never have to feed off anyone else as long as Gavin lived. They were meant for each other. Her lips trembled as Fire tickled her most private places from the inside, coaxing her toward another climax.

The ringing bell tore the impending orgasm from her grip. Cheeks hot, she opened the door.

Hands in the pockets of his hoodie, Gavin didn’t acknowledge her. He hadn’t shaved in a couple days, which normally would have turned her on, but the sunken cheeks and pale coloring did him no favors. His blue eyes had lost their light, downgraded to dull gray. The bastard hadn’t even dressed up for her.

“You look like shit.” She leaned against the jamb and followed his scent as he shuffled past.

“So do you.”

The nerve! The door shut, and she spun to face him, her floor-length hem bowing out like an open umbrella. “Now, now. This is our special night. You’re not seriously still pining for your dead girlfriend, are you? I thought you’d be over her by now. She was just a stupid Wyldling, anyway.”

“I loved her.”

Scarlet waved a hand, dissipating the sudden scent of ocean. “You’ll come to love me in time.”

He snorted and looked away.

He was angry. She’d use it to her advantage.

“Let’s go ’round back to conduct our…business.” Scarlet walked to the patio door. “If you’d like to consummate our union out there, we can do that, too. You inside me again, under the moon, fucking in tune to the howls of the wild beasts roaming the night. Your seed spilling into me…” Heat rippled around her, curling the air, melting the carpet under her feet and the crinoline under her dress. The liquid remains of her gloves
slooped
down her arms. She shook the mess to the floor.

God, here came that orgasm again. She pushed the heat toward him, perfectly willing to share.

His expression remained neutral. His Fire didn’t answer hers.

He would
not
ruin her wedding. She felt her irises heating. Teeth clenched, she pointed to the door. “Outside. Now.”

He walked out. No trace of Fire in his wake.

What the bloody hell?

She followed him to the fire pit she’d lighted earlier. Out here in the middle of nowhere, the privacy fence surrounding the property was overkill, but one couldn’t be too paranoid. Never knew who might be watching. She stepped within inches of him and gazed into his blank face.

“Are you ready to take the oath?” Saliva filled her mouth with metallic need. She laid her hands on her hips.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Fine.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the blaze. Cold Water rushed to meet her Fire. She tore her freezing fingers away.

He popped a smile. “I’m sorry. Does that hurt? Sometimes my emotions just run wild.”

The bastard.

With one hand submerged in the blazing coals, she pointed a red-hot finger in his face. “Lose the Water, or the deal is off and Wyldlings continue to die. I’ll Firewalk to Eidan and tell him to cut the Fyres loose in the Dreaming now. I’m not fucking around, Gavin.” The finger flared, reddening his cheeks.

He didn’t flinch, but the Water ebbed away, retreated up his arm, and returned to his chest. She clasped his cool palm, this time without any pain, and immersed their entwined fists in the flames.

His head jerked and jaw clamped. Agony spread across his face. Good. He could use a little discipline.

“We call upon Incendius to witness our sacred oath and to ensure the vows made in this binding ceremony are carried forth as stated.”

The flames transformed from dancing yellow and orange wisps to pure red lava erupting in thick, seductive waves. The mini-explosion fed itself, bubbling on a continuous loop of peaks and troughs, and fading back into its base in the brazier.

Sweat dotted Gavin’s face, and his eyes widened as Incendius provided a small sample of his power by discharging a flash of scalding heat into their folded fingers. The burning pleasure was so intense, Scarlet could barely keep her Fire together. She had no idea how Gavin still stood.

She paused a moment to collect herself. “I, Scarlet, pledge my Fire to Gavin Cassidy. Immediately following the
proper
consummation of our union, I will disclose the location of the door into the Dreaming and assist Gavin in removing the Fyres within. Should I neglect to complete these tasks in a reasonable amount of time, I forfeit my Fire to Incendius and accept whatever punishment he wishes to bestow.” She gazed into Gavin’s eyes. “I swear this oath on my life. Until death do us part.”

Incendius’s raw, raging power sizzled through her and shook her grip on Gavin’s hand. The god may have been irritated by her mention of removing the Fyres from the Dreaming, but he knew Scarlet was loyal to him. She’d find a way to pay him back.

“Your turn,” she whispered, stroking Gavin’s sweaty red cheek.

“Not yet. I have one more stipulation.” His deep, strained voice injected a double shot of hunger into her core.

“A stipulation?” She raised a brow. “You know, the deal will be much more pleasurable for both of us if you’ll stop resisting me.”

“I plan to resist you every step of the way. Feel free to back out now.” His Fire sputtered toward her, a terrible taunt, and his expression turned stark. “I want you to swear you won’t harm Zoe Morgan. If you hurt her, the same punishment applies.”

Her Fire shrieked. She shoved him away and stepped back. “What?”

“You heard me.” A grin swallowed half of his face. He rubbed his raw, pink palm. “If you want me that bad, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

So Zoe, the little bitch, had somehow survived. Scarlet’s lip curled. She’d shred Morgan to pieces. No way she’d agree to Gavin’s terms. Scarlet would murder the whore herself, and this time, she’d stay dead.

Gavin’s smile widened. The irresistible smell of his black hatred hypnotized her.

How could he do this to her?

Finish it,
Incendius called from the brazier.
I tire of your petty head games.

“Take it or leave it. I don’t have all night to waste on you.” Gavin started to back up.

She snatched his hand, brought it to her lips, and licked his Fire off it. His biceps jerked, but he didn’t pull away.

Dear Incendius, he was delicious. Raging hunger pounded against her insides, filling her core with white-hot passion.

She was getting off on his fucking hand. Imagine his cock inside her again. Sliding in and out, filling her full of him…

“Fine,” she spat. She plunged their entwined fists into Incendius’s embrace in the fire pit. Gavin didn’t flinch. “I swear I won’t hurt Zoe Morgan.”

He tightened his grip. Vengeance lighted his eyes. “Good. Because if you do, you’ll have a lot more to worry about than Incendius’s wrath. I’ll make you shiver in cold hell for eternity, bitch.”

Hissing, she answered with a push of potent pheromones through her skin. Sex and cinnamon saturated the night air. “Make your pledge,” she said through clenched teeth.

He shifted weight between his feet but held her gaze. “I, Gavin Cassidy, bind my Fire to Scarlet’s. Once we consummate our union, she may take my Fire as she wishes. If I refuse her my Fire, it will be forfeited to Incendius, and I’ll accept whatever punishment he wishes to bestow. I swear this oath on my life.” A tic claimed his cheek as he paused. “Until death do us part.”

The flames burning their hands stretched higher, bloomed like a flower, and wove the ribbons of their individual Fire so tightly together, Scarlet couldn’t tell where hers ended and his began. A complete, perfect union for a Fyre Elemental and the object of her obsession.

She mentally tugged, and a piece of herself flinched on the other end of the tether. Tucked snugly within his soul, her Fire laughed, while his bowed against the inside of her chest. Trapped.

Ashes to ashes…

Gavin was hers. Finally.

Thank you, Incendius.
She bowed her head.
I shall treasure this gift forever.

The pulsing lava flared bright red, yellow, and orange.

With Gavin under her command, she’d take out Eidan in no time. And pay him back a thousand fold for Fire-raping her a few weeks ago.

She tested her grip on her Fire inside him. It fluttered, beating like butterfly wings against a glass jar. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on him, though he seemed about as interested in having a root now as she did in taking a swim.

She’d wear him down soon enough. He had no idea what he’d gotten himself into. A bond like theirs wouldn’t allow him to simply ignore her. She smiled to herself.

He broke free of her grasp and rubbed his blistered skin. The fire in the pit snuffed out.

“Time is running out. You’ll get the Dreaming back when you cooperate. Until then, I have no control over what the Fyres do to the Wyldlings. I’m just a bishop on the Council, after all. If I were Archelemental, things might be different.” She picked at her blood-red nails.

“You’ll need a lot more Fire than what I’ve got to overthrow Eidan. And if you somehow manage it, the Sentinels won’t allow you to take more than your due.”

“You seriously underestimate what your Fire does for me, my love.” She laughed and mussed his hair. Her little pet husband. “Just as you enjoy playing games, so do I. I vow to be of no use to you until I get what I want.”

More Fire seeped from her pores, warming the space between them. Gods, she boiled with desire for him, and her Fire frenzied for another taste.

She slid her gaze down his chest and palmed the delicious package waiting below the belt to be opened. It was curiously…deflated.

“Doesn’t pumping me full of pheromones take the fun out of it? Even if it did turn me on, a chemically induced hard-on is pure biology—cause and effect. I can assure you, there are no feelings other than disgust attached to the promise of mindless sex with you.” He tilted his head to the side. “Though I do get quite a bit of satisfaction from knowing something so base and meaningless can control you. You’re pathetic, Scarlet.” He spat on the ground near her feet.

Her Fire bashed the pen of her chest. She shot a hand shot to his neck and clamped down. She’d find a loophole and end Morgan permanently. “My patience with you wears thin, lover. Our first order of business will be you learning your place.”