Restless (Element Preservers, #4) (3 page)

I shot Paula a quick glare. What was she doing? I wasn't about to go on a date with a guy who might be waiting to get me alone so he can kill me or try to persuade me to spill my secrets to him. Ethan looked at me expectantly.

"Ok, fine." I relented, wondering how pissed off Adrian would be about this. "Just a coffee. Tomorrow after class." At least I could play it safe and stay at the university.

"It's a deal." Ethan's lips spread into a smile. "See you tomorrow then." He strolled off, followed by whispers from nearby tables. Would I become some sort of a trophy date? A girl who guys had to take out because she was famous? I'd always assumed Adrian had enjoyed the attention he got at the University of Magic, but now I had my doubts. If I was truly looking for a boyfriend, I'd never be able to tell whose intentions were honest and whose not.

"I hate you," I said to Paula, but the corners of my lips quirked up. "Why did you do that? I could have told him I was busy."

"You need to have a little fun. Maybe you find your true love." She winked at me. "He's hot."

"Yeah, because his..." I clamped my mouth shut. Normal people couldn't tell what element others had. "...his hair is a hot mess," I finished lamely, not wanting any listeners to get ideas. Who would have said I'd be going on a date? Ok, drinking coffee after class in the university's cafeteria wasn't exactly a date, but it was something. Of course, there was always a chance Adrian would freeze the guy to death so I couldn't go out with him. Maybe I didn't have anything to worry about, except I didn't know how good Ethan was at controlling his element. It would be interesting to see Ethan and Adrian fight it out.

"Hey." Paula snapped her fingers in front of my nose. "I said we should go."

"Right." I got up, pushing away the thoughts that invaded my sick mind. I'd have to find out what Ethan wanted from me and get rid of him.

I entered Alan's office without knocking because I was sure he was alone. Even though he had a bigger office here, I still felt trapped when I closed the door behind me. Maybe that had something to do with Alan's unnerving presence. His dark brown eyes met mine with annoyance and he ran a hand through his graying brown hair.

"Surprise, surprise," he said. "I would have mistaken you for Adrian. You certainly acquired his style of entering."

"I wouldn't even be here if I didn't suspect you're the one who sent a boy to ask me out." My brother would have a different approach, so that left Alan as another option. Alan had a history of trying to play the perfect matchmaker to see what would happen.

A smile hovered on his lips. "Is it so hard to believe that a boy would like you, especially now that everyone believes you're single?"

"No, it's not." I settled myself in one of the chairs opposite from Alan, crossing my arms. "But Adrian told me the guy's element is fire. Since you don't think finding Adrian a girlfriend would help, you decided to find me a boyfriend, didn't you?"

"You may be right." He clasped his hands, his face expressionless. "But you do need to start looking for an acceptable boyfriend. You're the president of the EP. You need to set an example for the others. I don't know what you see in Adrian except forbidden fruit, but if you're hoping your friends will find a cure for the disease... You're living in a dream."

"My relationship with Adrian is none of your business." Alan was a constant threat to us since he could always tattle on us, but he couldn't do it without proof and he certainly wouldn't get anything out of it. No one was inclined to give him any important position in the government.

"Perhaps not, but you're ruining his life. The poor boy cares so much about you that he was willing to risk his life to help your friend. How is Paula doing, anyway? Must be hard to be a new carrier and pretend everything is normal." Curiosity filled Alan's eyes. Right. I'd almost forgotten Adrian had lied to Alan about Paula being a new carrier so Alan wouldn't discover I was the one with the disease.

"She's fine," I said coldly. "She now knows better than to come talk to you."

"That's a shame. I'd love to chat with her." Alan chuckled. "Why don't you let Adrian go? If you're counting on him to die, then you shouldn't hold your breath because he's more resistant than anyone could imagine. The end of your temporary fling with him might be what sends him off the edge. You'll have to put him down like a rabid dog before he kills you and everyone you love."

"Oh, I'll put you down," I said through my teeth. "Did you or did you not send a guy called Ethan to take me out?"

"You'll have to figure that out by yourself." His wide grin was infuriating. I slammed my fist on the desk, but he didn't even flinch. Fucking shit. I got up and stormed out of the office, not willing to let Alan provoke me. Elements were buzzing like crazy in my head and I stumbled down the hall, fighting to stay in control. I shouldn't have allowed Alan's words to get to me, especially after a whole night and morning at the university.

Lily's "fake" students were by my side in a second, and Sinclair placed his hand on my back while we all pretended to chat about something random.

"Thanks." I breathed out a sigh of relief when we were out of the university. "I'm fine. You can go back inside." They nodded and left me in front of my car. I had to get to the office and isolate myself from all the elements for a couple of hours. It was going to be a long day.

Chapter 04

I was sitting in my office and typing the last of the reports when my phone vibrated and nearly fell off the desk. Cradling it in my lap, I realized I had a message from Adrian. "Meet me at these coordinates. We need to talk." I read the message out loud, a frown line appearing on my forehead.

Adrian was probably mad at me for accepting Ethan's invitation and he wanted to talk in private. He wanted to tell me something he couldn't tell me in my room, which meant whatever he had to say probably included yelling and other things that mustn't be overheard. I had to come up with a good way to calm him down because I didn't want to fight with him over idiocies. Yeah, going on a date with another guy when you were in a relationship was a serious no-no, but it wasn't like I wanted to do it or didn't intend to tell Adrian about it.

I searched for the coordinates Adrian had given me and realized they were for an abandoned building site in the middle of nowhere. What if someone had hacked my phone and was trying to lure me into a trap? But not even Oliver knew Adrian's new number, so a fake message would have come from Adrian's old number. It made sense that Adrian would want to talk to me in private without any elements around, so I saved my work and shut down my computer.

I'd spent enough time in the office, so the elements in the building didn't really bother me. My bodyguards were by my side immediately as I walked out, and I was glad the sun hadn't set down yet. I still had enough time to go shopping before I met with Adrian.

"I'm going shopping. Stay close, but not too close," I said to the guards and they nodded. Poor guys. They had no clue what I was planning to do. I couldn't exactly let them listen in on my conversation with Adrian, so I had to find a way to lose them in the shopping center. Thank God I had my own car and they had theirs. It would be tricky if they insisted on driving me everywhere.

As I parked my car behind one of the stone blocks on the construction site, I wasn't sure whether to be glad that I could slip away from my bodyguards without breaking a sweat or see it as a security problem. Someone could have kidnapped me and they'd have no clue. Granted, I'd gone into the changing room and emerged looking like another person, so I slipped past them unnoticed. The huge black hat I'd bought helped immensely.

I couldn't feel any elements around, so I hopped over a couple of discarded planks and found myself in an unfinished room with a brick wall. Judging by the amount of dust and debris, no one had been here for a while. I wondered how Adrian had found this place. My black and silver high heels resonated in the open space, and I was worried my new outfit would get dirty before I found my boyfriend.

I emerged on the other side of the building and saw Adrian leaning on one of the unfinished columns. The sun was already disappearing behind the trees, painting half of Adrian's handsome face with reddish light. A strange kind of thrill went through me when his piercing gray-blue eyes met mine, and I bit my lip, fighting the urge to smile at him. He lifted his head up, trying to get a few unruly strands of his black hair out of his face.

"I love that jacket," I said, nodding at his black leather jacket, which tightly fitted to his strong shoulders. To anyone who didn't know him, he looked like a wild animal ready to spring at you. But no matter how angry he was, I wasn't afraid of him.

"Doesn't that jackass have a jacket too?" he said, unmoving, but I could see his eyes checking me out up and down. I stopped a couple of steps away from him, tossing my hair over my shoulder. Adrian's look lingered on my tight black top which revealed more than it hid.

"What do I care if he has one?" I shrugged. "I only need to find out what he wants from me."

"You know what he wants!" Adrian sneered. "He wants what any man wants..."

"And he's not going to get it." I placed my hand on my hip, letting annoyance show in my voice. "If he tries something, I'll burn his dick to a crisp."

A smile hovered on Adrian's lips, but then his eyes darkened. "Did you buy this outfit for me or for him?"

"Actually, I bought it for myself, but if you like it so much, I can lend it to you." I grinned. "Although I'm not sure this miniskirt would look good on you. It would be a little tight in the front."

He pushed himself off the stone column and came to stand only inches away from me. I leaned forward, expecting him to kiss me, but he stood his ground. Why did he have to torture me like this? It wasn't like I’d agreed to make out or sleep with Ethan. I sighed, frustrated. "What do you want me to do?"

"Don't go anywhere with Ethan. Actually, don't go anywhere with any guy. Who cares if everyone thinks you're single? A busy girl like you doesn't need a man in her life, especially when you have a man in your life already: me." His eyes were warm again, almost pleading.

"Adrian... " I rolled my eyes. "The media will like it more if I date someone. Then they won't get suspicious about you. Besides, if I pretend to date guys with pure elements, it could help us to promote genetic manipulation and preservation of the purity of elements."

Adrian pressed his lips together into an angry line and started to turn away from me, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward me. "You're really hot when you're jealous, but please stop talking and just kiss me."

"Don't think you can manipulate me with sex." He brushed his finger across my lips, a smile breaking out on his face. "I won't drop this matter because you batted your eyelashes at me."

I pouted, then innocently batted my eyelashes. "I'm not wearing any underwear."

Adrian's eyes widened, his lips slightly parted. "God, Ria," he breathed. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Kiss me," I whispered. I wasn't sure when I'd be able to touch Adrian again, so I wanted to use any opportunity we got. He looked at me, probably assessing how in control I was, but the only lack of control he could find didn't have anything to do with elements. I licked my lips, slowly and deliberately. A second later, he closed the space between us, his soft lips crushing against mine, and pushed me back until I hit the stone column behind me.

He trailed hot kisses down my neck as I tugged on his jacket, pulling it off his shoulders. I went on to unbutton his shirt as he nipped on my earlobe. His hand slipped under my top, caressing my breast. I threw my head back, a moan slipping out of my lips.

"What if someone sees us?" I said as Adrian pressed himself against me, cupping my bottom. I let my hands roam down his back and heard him mumble something unintelligible. My fingers brushed against the tin foil in the pocket of his jeans and a wicked smile appeared on my lips. It seemed we'd had the same plan from the beginning. I closed my eyes, and nothing existed except Adrian and me.

Chapter 05

"I was afraid you wouldn't show up," Ethan said after I arrived to our meeting place half an hour late. I'd been secretly hoping he'd give up and leave.

"Sorry, I had things to do." I took a seat opposite from him, trying to look uninterested and cold. If Alan sent him here to charm me, I wasn't about to fall for that.

"It must be hard to be the president of such an important organization." Ethan waved over the waiter and smiled at me.

"Cut the crap. What do you want from me?" I leaned forward, my eyes boring into his. The feel of Ethan's element became stronger and he licked his lips, but didn't seem too unnerved.

"Wow, you're... umm, very straightforward." He looked relieved when the waiter came and placed two coffees and sodas on the table. "I only want to get to know you. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes, it is. So? Who sent you?" I raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Oh, and don't try to lie to me because I won't buy it." Hell, with this approach, he'd tell me the truth or think I was nuts. I'd get rid of him either way. The government could find another poster child for proper relationships.

"What makes you think someone sent me? Can't a guy be interested in a pretty girl?" He took a sip of his coffee, but his element spiked even further.