Fated in Stone, page 21
The scent spiked when she looked at him, too, and that didn’t help matters.
Even the cold breeze blowing through the parking lot, the lights on the motel breezeway behind him, the knowledge that she was about to try lifting a car and the shadows concealing them weren’t deep enough to hide her success if this worked…none of that cooled his need.
He fisted his hands, digging his fingers into his palms, and tried to think about something that wasn’t the feel of Elle’s breasts rubbing against his chest. A near impossible task.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Try from the front bumper. You’ll have a better purchase and the lift will be less obvious from the motel if anyone is watching. They might even think you have a jack under the car.” He cleared his throat again. Damn his voice sounded funny. Too deep and almost rusty.
Elle shivered when he spoke, and he might have worried about her if that spike of smokey spice didn’t jump into her scent again. He took a step toward her before he could stop himself. Her pulse was pounding in her throat, drawing his attention. He wanted to kiss that delicate sign of her desire so much it hurt. Her skin was so soft and warm. And she was so lush. And he was going to go out of his mind if he didn’t get to touch her again soon.
Elle sucked in a sudden breath and scurried around to the front of the car. Smart woman. Smarter than him.
With most of car between them, she finally met his gaze fully. “What happens if this works and I accidentally toss the car?”
“I’ll right it, and we’ll pretend it was the wind and adrenaline if anyone notices. But maybe don’t toss the car.” He had to force himself to say that without smiling. “Just lift gently. Pretend you’re super strong and can flip the car. That’ll help.”
“Pretend? I won’t be able to, even if things…worked? You said I could.”
“You’ll lift more gently if you assume you can throw the car rather than assuming you won’t be able to.”
“Makes sense.” She wet her lips as she stared down at the hood.
Ben carefully didn’t react to that quick flick of her tongue over her lips. Or at least, he kept his reaction carefully to himself. “It’ll be okay, Elle,” he murmured. “Either way.”
At least he hoped it would. His nerves weren’t exactly settled. If this hadn’t worked, they had a problem they were going to have to deal with. A problem that might even require going to Vienna to talk to his mother in person. But with his and Elle’s kiss still sending his nerve centers into overdrive, his worry kept getting pushed to the back of his mind. He only had so much mental space and most of it was occupied by imagining Elle naked.
Elle rubbed her palms together, then squatted low and hooked her hands under the front bumper.
“Remember,” he said. “Gentle. Just lift gently.”
“And if I can’t lift a car?”
“We’ll deal with that if it happens.” Although he wasn’t entirely sure how they’d do that yet.
She huffed out a loud breath, closed her eyes, and lifted.
The front of the car rose off the ground as she stood to her full height. She held the car up, blinking hard at him, her mouth hanging slightly open. “I’m lifting a car. I’m lifting a car!” The last word came out a squeak.
He let out a breath of his own. “Well. Looks like at least that part of the ritual worked.”
Relief was almost enough to overwhelm his still simmering lust. The ritual had worked. At least to give her added strength and probably an increased ability to heal. Which meant she’d be safer when they went in to extract the professor. And that was a bonus he hadn’t counted on.
Whether or not she could still choose to leave, whether they could break his curse or not, all that was still up in the air. But at least, one way or the other, she’d be safer now. That was worth everything to him. He realized he’d happily remain cursed if it meant Elle was safe. Not something he would have considered before meeting her.
Some of the things Eric had done with his Nam-tar Katie last year, that Ben and his other siblings had thought illogical, were starting to make more sense.
“Better set it down now,” he said when Elle continued to stand there staring at the car she held up. “But gently. Remember your strength.” He rolled his lips into his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh at the glare she sent him.
“This is really freaky,” she said. “A car feels as light as a blanket. Or maybe more like a bag of groceries. But not a bag full of cans. A few cans and some bread on top maybe.”
“That’s the most specific description I’ve ever heard. Are you hungry that you’re thinking about groceries?” They’d eaten before reaching the motel, but she’d also had a pretty busy day. He should go hunt her up some food.
“Actually, I am hungry,” she said. Then squatted and set the car back down, so gently it barely bounced when the rubber tires hit tarmac. She straightened away from the bumper, blinking hard. “I can’t believe I just did that.”
“Very impressive,” he said and had to contain another grin when she glared at him again. “If you’re hungry, we can test the reason we did this. I’ll go get some food. You stay here. If we can be apart for the amount of time it takes me to find an open restaurant and get food back here, we should be okay.”
Actually, the idea of being away from her still made him feel itchy and restless. He didn’t want to be away from her. He wanted to ensure she was safe by bringing her with him. But was that just his protective instincts, or was that the physical sign they were still stuck needing to be in each other’s presence?
He wasn’t sure he’d ever really want to be away from her. But they needed to be able to be apart. For so many reasons. Even if she chose to stay and accepted him as her mate, he’d have to go out hunting on his own. She wouldn’t always be beside him as he went after monsters. In fact, he’d preferred to keep her as far from the monsters as possible.
She’d want to do things away from him, too. She had work. Work that was as important as his own. Tracking lost people, with an actual psychic skill, bringing them back to their loved ones was vital. But he wouldn’t always be able to go with her when she did her work. If nothing else, he could rely on the monsters to have the absolute worst timing. He’d have to go one way while she went another. They had to be able to do that. Yet he was reluctant to try the experiment. As reluctant as she’d been to try lifting the car.
Because what if it didn’t work?
She rounded the car to join him, a crease between her brows, her luscious mouth turned down in a frown that distracted him because he couldn’t stop looking at her lips.
“Since we did all this to try and fix that problem,” she said, “I suppose we should test it. Before we face any more monsters.”
“We should.” She was so close he forgot what they’d been talking about. His arms actually ached to pull her in tight, and all his thoughts turned to exploring her beautiful mouth some more.
Her visible swallow proved she wasn’t entirely focused on the conversation either. Her gaze kept dropping to his mouth before jumping back up. And that rapid little bump of her pulse in her throat matched the smokey spice of her lust.
She gave herself a little shake and abruptly handed him the car keys. “Let’s test this. You get food. I’ll stay here. If we don’t lose our minds, we know it worked. Good plan. Good plan. And if it doesn’t work…” She shrugged. “We’ll figure something out. But we have to know.”
At least one of them was still thinking, even if she was as distracted by the attraction between them as he was. “What do you want?”
“Anything. I’m easy.” Her eyes widened. “That wasn’t innuendo.”
His fight to contain a grin evaporated. Gods she was adorable. His fight to resist pulling her in for another kiss evaporated, too.
She melted against him, easy, without even a moment of hesitation, and met him halfway, the kiss an explosive burst of mutual passion. He sank into her, loving her soft moan and the way she rubbed up against him. Her taste, the scent of her, the softness of her curves against him. All of her imprinted on him. Until he couldn’t remember what his life had been without her in it. He was pretty sure there’d been a lot of years there without Elle. Just…he couldn’t remember what they’d felt like.
Two fucking days and she’d become his world. How very very strange.
He lifted his head reluctantly, though he did savor her quiet whimper. Knowing she was as happy to stand in a parking lot kissing as he was gave him an unholy amount of satisfaction. He brushed a finger over her cheek, then took a deliberate step away so they weren’t touching. She swayed toward him before catching herself and straightening. The telling move made him want to growl in triumph.
“I’ll wait till you’re back in the room before I leave,” he said, then had to clear his throat. “Text me when you have the door locked.”
Her soft smile made his heart bound harder. His turn to take an involuntary step toward her.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then shook her head, and turned abruptly back toward the motel.
He watched until she’d walked up the stairs and disappeared behind the building. Then he watched his cellphone screen until he got her text. When he was sure she was safe, he drove to the first fast food drive thru he could find. His need to feed her surprised him as much as any other part of this experience. The need to ensure she ate, was safe and comfortable, as instinctive as knowing she was his Nam-tar.
After ordering enough food to feed his youngest sister—which was to say more than four humans could eat in one sitting—just so he had enough to ensure Elle was content, he started to rush back to the motel. But the reason they were doing this, aside from food, had him parking the car so he could take a few minutes to assess how he was feeling.
Eager to get back? Definitely. Heart-pounding panic that she wasn’t right here next to him? Less than earlier that day. Worried monsters might be going after her while he was away? A little. Although, that was probably more a side effect of his job than their bond. The grinluk had seen a wolf jump through her and had assumed she was a Seven Families hunter. That put Elle on the monsters’ radar, putting her in danger even if she hadn’t been his Nam-tar. So worrying about the monsters going after her was reasonable.
He sat staring at the dashboard for a long few moments, trying to work out how he felt, if he wanted so desperately to get back to her because he just liked being with her or because he had to or he’d lose his mind.
In the end, he decided he just wanted to. There wasn’t that panicked compulsion driving him. That overwhelming sense that if he didn’t reach her soon, he’d go stark raving mad. His wolf wasn’t clawing at his mind, driving him to hurry. They were both restless and wanting to get back to her. But it wasn’t anything like the earlier sensation.
Ben let out a long breath. So. That seemed to have worked. At least from his end.
He pulled out his phone and texted her to check if she was doing okay. He might not have the physical imperative to get back to her before he lost his mind, but he was still desperate to hear from her.
That, he suspected, would never change.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Elle stared at the flatscreen TV on the wall across from her bed, watching a “feel good” news story about a charity event hosted by the billionaire Logan family. She thought they might be opening a new art museum somewhere, but she was only half listening to the broadcast. The rest of her attention was on tracking her feelings, checking for those telltale adrenaline-fueled bolts of panic from earlier.
And remembering the kiss.
What a kiss it had been. Several kisses actually. Her head had spun during, and she was restless and needy after, and none of that was going to help their current situation. Not that her body cared. Her body wanted Ben there so she could strip him naked and fuck him until morning. Her body wanted to see if he kissed her pussy as thoroughly as he kissed her mouth. Her body had all kinds of ideas about how they should spend this night in a motel room and how it didn’t matter even a little bit that they’d only met yesterday.
Her body was a horny bitch who was not thinking clearly.
She threw herself backward on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, the background ramble of the newscaster a droning hum that barely penetrated her consciousness. How was she feeling besides horny? Well, she didn’t seem to have the same panic bubbling over. She’d done her usual job of locking the room door and even locked the connecting door between her room and Ben’s just in case. She’d hunted the room, bathroom, under the bed—which Ben had kindly reassembled before they’d gone down to the car—ensuring she was alone and no monsters were lurking nearby. Would Ben have thought her overcaution ridiculous or warranted?
Since his life’s work was hunting monsters, she thought he might be one of the very few people in the world who appreciated her excessively cautious streak. Why did that make her feel less lonely? Had she been lonely before? She didn’t think she had. Hadn’t recognized being lonely anyway. She’d been busy with her work and content with the life she’d built for herself. She hadn’t been on any dates in a few months, but she blamed work for that. And she hadn’t made a lot of effort to hang out with her friends for a while. Again, though, she blamed work. She spent a lot of time on the road when tracking a missing person. That made regular visits with people difficult.
That would make life with Ben more difficult.
Wait. What?
The thought startled her so much she sat up and blinked at the TV. What did she mean “life with Ben?” When had she started thinking about them spending their lives together? Wasn’t the point of finishing the ritual so she’d have the option, the choice, to stay or leave?
Had she already decided to stay?
Not consciously. She hadn’t stopped and said, You know what? I think I’ll just stay with this man for the rest of my life and break his curse. He’s nice. I like kissing him. He feeds me. Sure he hunts monsters on the side, but that’s fine. This could really work.
She hadn’t once had that thought. Having any of those thoughts felt wildly premature. Thinking about how their two jobs would affect their relationship was wildly premature. Hell, they still weren’t sure if the ritual had worked.
Except…
She wasn’t panicking and desperate for him to return. In fact, after her epiphany, she was glad he wasn’t in the room. She needed some space to consider her own thoughts, and Ben was a distraction to thinking. Also, he might be able to smell her surprise and that would lead to questions she wasn’t ready to answer yet—and the fact that he could scent her emotions was another thing she’d have to consider at some point in the future.
But she definitely wasn’t panicking about him being gone. She wasn’t so desperate to have him close again she wanted to scream. She didn’t feel like she was losing her mind because he wasn’t next to her, wasn’t being pulled apart by his absence.
That was…
Great! Her casually considering their life together was a little disturbing, but at least they could be apart without it driving her crazy. That was such a relief she collapsed back onto the bed again.
Only to pop right back up when her phone pinged with an incoming text message.
Another reason she was glad Ben wasn’t in the room with her. The way she scrambled for the phone to check the message was undignified and embarrassing. Although, if he’d been in the room with her, her reason for scrambling for her phone wouldn’t exist. She was only in such a hurry because she hoped the message was from him.
She smiled when his name popped up on her phone. (Sexy) Ben. She really should get his last name. Though she suspected he’d remain (Sexy) Ben even after she got it.
Ben: How are you doing?
Elle: Fine. Watching TV. Not crawling out of my skin in panic.
Ben: Me neither.
Elle: Great. Then it worked. Right?
Ben: I think so … I’m still in a hurry to get back to you.
Her smile deepened. Elle: Good. Then get back here.
Ben: On my way.
Elle: What food did you get me?
The pause had her frowning at the phone. Was he on the road already? She didn’t want him texting while he drove so she supposed she could wait for the answer. He’d be here soon.
Then her phone pinged again.
Ben: Chicken and sides. I had to check. I forgot what I ordered.
She chuckled.
Ben: I was thinking about you.
And that just made her melt.
Elle: Hurry back.
Ben: Be there soon.
She stared at his last message for a long moment before flicking off her phone and setting it gently on the bedside table. What a difference thirty hours could make in a person’s life. Just two days ago, she’d been happily single—or at least hadn’t really had romance on her mind because she’d been too focused on finding the professor. Now she was contemplating spending her life with a man she’d just met and getting all soft inside from a series of texts.
Realizing he’d be back soon, her heart started to thump hard with anticipation and that needy lust. She glanced down at her clothes, then jumped up to look at her hair in the mirror over the bathroom sink. She probably didn’t have time for a full shower, blow dry, and make up thing. And besides, wow, would that be obvious. But she could at least change into clean clothes and wash her face. They’d had a day with a lot of noxious smells. Getting into something that didn’t still carry that lingering smell under it felt rather important. And the fact that she hadn’t even thought about it yet only proved how distracted she was.
She changed, washed with a surprisingly soft hand towel and the nice smelling hand soap, finger combed her hair. And tried to force a casual appearance when he knocked on the door between their rooms. She was still smiling widely when she unlocked the door.
