Tainted Energy (The Energy Series Book 1) (21 page)

"You
realize how dangerous that can be? Digging through a past life might confuse
her reality."

Defeated,
his shoulders slumped and his leg began to bounce. "Didn't think it'd be
that easy." He raked fingers through his hair. "How the hell are we
going to find out what the letters mean? The C's probably for Casimir, but–"

"Hey,
wait a minute. Do I get a say or what?" Lena shoved out of her seat and
went to stand by the balcony. As the breeze moved the short strands of her hair
and fluttered through her skirt, she continued, "We don't have much to go
on now, right?" Her face paled when she shot him a glance. "You said
something about Zander. Is that a clear lead?"

"Well…no,
but we can always–"

"Yeah,
we can always sit on our asses and hope the answer comes to us. In the meantime,
why don't we throw out the red carpet when giant squid come to climb the trees
in my backyard?" Her shoulders straightened, and she stuck out her chin. "We're
doing it. I trust you, Teenesee, just don't make me a vegetable."

Teenesee
smiled, showing the same pride he no doubt had plastered on his face, and went
to her. Clasping Lena's hands, she said, "Come over here, Protector. I
need you to keep her still."

When he
stood behind Lena, she leaned into his chest–and succeeded in taking his breath
away. He wrapped his arms around her waist and planted his face in her neck for
one selfish second before finding the Warden's gaze. "What do you want me
to do?"

If he
didn't know any better, the smile shining on the woman's face might be mistaken
for actually liking him. Wow, what seventeen years could do. "Just hold
your woman, Protector."

No
problem there. He pulled Lena closer, kneading the tight flesh on her stomach.

A green
aura lighted around the Warden, and her eyes shined red. "I need you to
picture the symbol, Lena. Make sure it is the foremost thought in your mind.
And please, hold still."

Lena began
to shake, and so he bent to touch his lips to her ear. "Keep calm, love. I'm
here."

Her thin
body trembled like a leaf in autumn, but she held still–like a warrior.

When
Teenesee's shining hand touched Lena's heart, Tarek had to grab her hands,
holding them at her sides as they twitched. The Warden's face was impassable,
her lips moving and her eyes wide, glowing. When she pulled her hand away, a
spot of orange light stained her palm.

As Lena
sagged against him, he asked, "What did you see?"

Teenesee
gestured toward the seat on the balcony. "Let her sit, Protector."

"Oh,
damn. Right, of course." He scooped Lena up and gently set her in the
cushioned chair, searching her face. They swayed, the floating manse rocking
with the wind. "Are you still there?"

She
looked tired but smiled as she traced his cheek with a shaky fingertip. "As
much as I ever was, I guess." Her attention aimed at Teenesee. "Tell
me you found something."

That
orange light was the only glow left as Teenesee's beauty reached normal levels
to where it was just mildly paralyzing. "I found something, but cannot
decipher it." Her eyes shined. "Prepare yourself, Protector."

She didn't
give him much time to get ready before she touched the orange glow to his head.
Waves of heat slammed through his skull and created the mother of headaches
before a picture cleared some of the pain away. "Oh, no."

"What?
What is it?" Lena cradled his head in her lap. With a groan, he looked up
to realize he lay flat on his back. Fighting through the pain thumping at his
temples, he sat up and swore.

Lena
scrambled to his side and tugged on his arm. "
What
, Tarek?"

The
image scorched him, twisting his stomach. "I know what the K means."

Lena

W
e came home as soon as Tarek could
stand for longer than five minutes without squeezing his temples. Teenesee
wanted us to stay, but my giant had other plans. Needed to end it, he said, so
I could get on with my life. Don't know if he included himself in that life,
but I did. When he was a dream, I hated to wake up. Now that he was a reality–and
oh, so much better than the dream–he wasn't gonna leave without a fight. Especially
after the way he kissed me. There was no doubt in my mind who he kissed this
time.

Old
self, you lose.

Tarek
opened the portal in my apartment so Mom and Jake didn't have to witness us
coming from...well...out of nowhere. All the lights were off, but the moon cast
a bright enough light so we didn't run into any furniture. When the tear
closed, Tarek kept his arms around my waist in the silent living room. The
thought of living here without him, when I'd just spent time in heaven, had
tears threatening.

I couldn't
believe this apartment–
the
apartment–was my first priority a week or so
ago. Such a cute place and much better than anywhere Mom and I had ever lived.
Jake even let me pick out the flowery furniture from secondhand stores. Clean
and pretty, it was a huge step up from the two wicker chairs I was used to. He
didn't stop at the furniture. The updated kitchen and bathroom resembled a
cheaper version of those setups at Home Depot. But without Tarek, it would be
just a place.

"What's
wrong?" Tarek brushed a finger across my chin, tilting my face to meet
his.

"I
guess it's...can we stay here tonight? Forget about everything for one night?"

He
cocked his head to the side. "We're so close."

"I'm
asking for one night, without the world butting in."

"You
said you wanted your life back." He shoved a hand through his hair, his
lips pursing. "We can end this.
Tonight
."

"And
what about you? Where do you fit in when this is all over?"

"I…I
go back to Exemplar." He bowed his head. "And wait until your cycle
here is over."

"Wait,
no." The panic forming in my gut caused my voice to squeak.

"They'd
never let–"

"I
have to tell you something. Something I probably should've told you a while
ago."

"Nothing
you say will change anything. I can't stay here. You'll never be allowed to
come back if I do." He laced his fingers with mine as if that would make
the revelation sting less.

You
know what? I call bullshit.

I let go
of his hand to tug on the delicate fabric barely covering my boobs and gave a
half-hearted attempt to shield some of my exposed stomach. "That's where
you're wrong. What I have to say will change everything." With one more
tug, I went to stand by the window.

He
followed, his hands finding my shoulders. "It won't. Sorry."

I kept
my eyes on the window. "Tonight, when you kissed me…you meant it this
time. I know it. I
felt
it." I held my breath, afraid of his reply.

He
massaged my shoulders and bent to whisper in my ear, his lips just touching my
lobe. "I meant it."

His
voice, so rich, made me warm and shy at the same time. That was exactly the
answer I needed. "I dreamed about you. From the time I was little, I
thought you were my hero. And when you jumped in my window that night? I knew
it. I've known you my entire life because you've been a part of me." I
tapped my heart. "Right here."

His fingers stopped kneading the
spot between my shoulder blades. "Impossible. Teenesee said your past
lives might–"

Shaking my head, I turned around,
his face a sheet of white. "No, Tarek. My mind…it's fine."

He opened his mouth, but my palm
covered his lips. "I don't wanna hear there's no such thing as fate or a
higher power or any other scientific bullshit logic. I knew your eyes would be
gray when I saw you in the woods. I knew your dimples would show when you
smiled."

He moved to uncover his mouth,
keeping my hand in his. "Do you realize what you're saying? No one has…you
shouldn't have remembered anything."

The excitement from being in
Empyrean mixed with all the tingling his touch caused had my doubts shutting
down. At that moment, when he looked at me…he saw me. "Yeah, well I did.
And you'll tell me what you saw, and explain what Zander has to do with all
this, but not tonight. Tonight, just be with me.
Me
."

The gray in his eyes shined like
silver as he traced a line down my cheek. "Lena…"

Standing on my toes, I touched my
lips to his.

That was all the permission he
needed. His arms wrapped around my waist the same time his lips pressed harder,
making it difficult to stand. I didn't have to worry for long because he
scooped me up and carried me to the flowered couch, never taking his mouth from
mine.

His weight felt amazing, but I
needed more. With fingers that only shook with anticipation, I found the bottom
edge of his shirt and gave it a yank. He took care of the rest, pulling it over
his head. Heat from his bare chest touching my skin caused my body to push up
on its own. He groaned, and his lips found my neck as his hands moved up and
under the flimsy top.

My hands were just as greedy,
tracing the muscles on his back, sliding under the lip of his pants.

The sweet ache in my pounding heart
had me gasping for air. His lips moved to mine, back to my neck…lower. All I
could do was lace my fingers through his silky hair and hold on. Empyrean wasn't
heaven. This was, right here, on this couch.

"We have to stop." His
voice was a shaky whisper as his tongue licked a trail from my neck to my
collarbone.

Ignoring his words, I soaked in his
touch.

"Lena…"

I brought his mouth up to mine and
devoured him, tasting him, pushing my chest against his, loving the groans he
let escape.

After a growl, he pulled back,
leaving barely any space between our lips. "We have to stop now, or I won't
be able to."

My fingertips slid across his
shoulders, feeling all that energy ready to snap. "I don't want you to
stop." I lifted my head, kissing him again, moving my hands down until I
found the string holding up his pants. "Please."

His eyes squeezed shut and his jaw
clenched as he stopped my hand, pulling us up to a sitting position. "Believe
me, this is all I want to do, but..."

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I
straddled him, not letting him put on his shirt. I kissed him again, moving my
lips down to his jaw, his neck, enjoying how his body vibrated off mine. His
hands kneaded my thighs, moving toward my butt as he brought me closer to him.

"Yes. We can." I thought
I'd be afraid, at least nervous. I just wanted his skin touching mine.

He kissed the tip of my nose, his
hands still roaming. "Your energy...I'm too involved…again."

"Didn't you hear me? I dreamed
about you. I felt the connection as soon as I saw you. We belong together. In
this life or the next, it doesn't matter." My lips touched his. "We
were made for each other, right? I believe it." I kissed him again, hard,
and said, "You need to believe it, too."

He smiled, his dimples flaring. "Wilma's
going to kill me."

"I'll protect you." I
kissed each indent on his cheeks before finding his mouth again.

Another growl—my new favorite
sound—traveled from his mouth to mine. "We…can't…ah…"

Oh, I knew what he was saying, and
I didn't like it. At all. "Why not?"

"Because I love you."

My
insides turned to liquid.
He loved me.
"Then I don't see the
problem."

"I've
known you for centuries…you've known me for less than two weeks." He
leaned in until our lips almost touched. "You wanted me to see
you
.
But, you need to see me, too."

"Oh."
God, why did he have to be frustratingly perfect?

"I
never said there wouldn't be kissing." His finger followed the line of my
jaw. "Maybe touching."

"You
know, we cou—"

His
kiss shut me up.

Tarek
grabbed his shirt and stood, taking me with him. Wrapping my legs around his
waist, he stalked down the short hallway.

I
wanted to argue, but his lips would've had to leave mine, and I wanted that
more.

We
stopped at a bedroom, the only furniture a bare mattress. Before entering, his
lips broke away. "Okay?"

I
loved how his body trembled as much as mine…how his hands felt…his lips. “Is
that my only option?”

He
smiled, swelling my heart to bursting. "It is."

When
his soft mouth made a path down my throat, I melted.

Yeah,
I could live with kissing.

∞ ∞ ∞

We
didn't spend the night bringing up anything serious
. Nope, we laughed the whole
time—when his lips weren't exploring mine. Each moment was a new memory I’d
lock away and treasure.

When the sun reached the window, we
lay tangled in a heap of legs and arms, the lack of blankets not a problem.
With my back to him, Tarek bent to kiss a trail from my neck to my shoulder.

Definitely heaven.

"We need to get up." My
skin muffled his voice as he kissed my shoulder.

"Ugh. No. Let's stay here
forever. We can have pizza delivered every day, only get up to shower." I
snuggle closer. "I kinda like this spot."

My back absorbed his chuckle as he
continued to drive me crazy with those lips. "Well, I love this spot. You
fit."

I smiled. "Then shut up and
keep doing what you're doing."

"Once we finish this, we'll
have all the time in the world…well, in this world. Maybe even have a few
blankets next time." My back suddenly grew cold when he jumped out of bed.

But my heart leapt as I watched him
pull on his shirt, every muscle in his back rippling. "Does that mean you'll
stay with me? Here?"

The corner of his mouth rose as he
bent to give me another kiss. "I dare you to try to make me leave."

I wrapped my arms around his neck,
pulling him back on the bed. So this was bliss, pure happiness? Hmm, I think I
could get used to it. "You're not worried about our next cycle?"

He brushed the bangs out of my
eyes, smiling. "I have a plan if you're willing to go with it."

My fingers traced his dimples. "I'll
do anything."

He kissed my nose. "What I'm
thinking is, you're right, we were meant to be together. I know it's crazy…you
shouldn't have remembered me…"

Running my fingers through his
silky hair, I said, "But I did."

One more smile and a kiss later, he
answered. "But you did. We're going to Empyrean."

A moment of panic invaded our
bubble. "But my mom and Jake, I can't—"

"Not now, not even in the next
decade. When it's time. When our bodies begin to wear out. Of course, we'd have
to talk to Teenesee, but I think she'll be up for it. She can make sure our
energies meet during our next cycle. And…Wilma will help me make sure Exemplar
stays away from us now."

"Oh, okay, yeah, but…won't you
live like a hundred years longer than me or something?"

He cupped my cheek as his smile
softened. "If I stay here, my body will age like yours. Won't have
Exemplar medicine and how did you phrase it, science bullshit, keeping me spry."

I sat up, pulling him with me. Don't
think I'd ever get tired of touching him. "Spry, huh? Well, good. I won't
look like a cougar when I hit seventy and you still look twenty."

He laughed untwining my arms from
around his neck. "I'm not even going to ask."

"Hey, where're you going?"
I stretched my tired body. His sharp intake of breath convinced me to take my
time.