Genesis (34 page)

She shook her head, a grave darkness
shadowing her eyes. “It was more than that. We really had no way of
knowing if you would be any different than other Elementals. I
honestly thought there was no point in coming for you with the
lords already after you. No one has ever been able to resist
compulsion like you have. We’d run blood tests in the beginning,
but we recently acquired sophisticated equipment that will allow us
to gather better information. We also needed to have a failsafe in
case something happens to you.”

“
That’s why you took my
eggs?”

She nodded. “Everything hinges on
you.”

“
What are you going to do
with them?”

“
Nothing…unless the worst
happens. It was Alex’s idea. He’d learned what the Order had been
working on and thought we should have a back-up plan as
well.”

Alex? There was always the possibility
that he was just trying to cover the rebellion bases, yet wasn’t
there another way?

I swallowed hard, trying to
absorb what she was telling me. If my hunch was correct, she had
probably pilfered her
sophisticated
equipment from the island the Order abandoned. It
was possible. A few buildings had been standing when the dust
settled. “Are you sure he’s not still part of the
Order?”

She laughed. “Alex Wayne hates Lambert
more than I do.”

“
I’ve been told Order
members hold key positions for you. He could be a double
agent.”

“
Nonsense. We are aware of
the rumors, Rayla, and we are dealing with them.” After a brief
pause, she stood up. “Come with me. I need to show you
something.”

I followed her down the dingy corridor.
We were underground again. I could feel the weight of the earth
around me, yet it no longer pushed in on me like a coffin. Jett
would be so happy about that.

We entered a dark room with a gurney
set in the far corner. Jessica lay there with tubes sticking out
all over her body. I raced over to her. Aunt Grace was right beside
me, pulling me back.

“
Do not wake her. She is
still having some…difficulties.”

I swayed on my feet and stepped back,
not taking my eyes off the fragile girl in front of me. “How did
you get her?”

“
We had a little help, but I
can’t tell you about that right now.”

My voice overflowed with my
frustration. “I thought you were going to tell me
everything
.”

She shushed me. “I made a promise, and
I won’t break it. You will find out when he is ready to tell
you.”

He? Oh my heavens. One face came into
my mind; the only face I couldn’t seem to keep out of my mind. He
was a rogue of the highest order, and it wouldn’t surprise me one
bit if he was helping the rebellion just to piss someone off. “Was
it Heath?” I waited for her to answer, but she just stared at me. I
didn’t know why I jumped immediately to him, but somewhere in the
recesses of my mind lay his thoughts. After all, I had nearly
bonded with the man. Maybe this was just me sorting through our
connection.

A deep voice came from behind me. My
heart exploded into a frantic beat from the familiar sound. “Why
would the lord of fire steal another man’s bondmate only to return
her to the mortal realm?”

I turned slowly and raised my eyes to
his. No mocking rested in his gaze; in fact, he looked away from
me.

“
Exactly,” I said. I shook
my head at him, taking in his leather gear and the small smirk on
his lips. “Why would you do such a thing?” My heartbeat pounded in
my ears. This was just too weird. I would have never thought a fae
lord would purposely help mortals fight his kind.

He whispered, “Can you think of no
reason?”

There was only one thing that really
made sense. But I’d been denying it for months now. He’d done it
for me, because he cared about me, because he knew how much I
wanted Jessica to have her life back. As the thoughts streamed from
my mind to his, something broke. A barrier I had erected, not to
keep him out of my mind, but to keep me out of his. I had been so
afraid of him. No that was wrong. I was so afraid of how I felt
about him that I didn’t want to complicate things by knowing his
mind. Once freed from the barrier our souls connected briefly
before he pulled away. In that insanely short time, I knew him. It
would take me an eternity to sort through all this information, but
I couldn’t wait that long.

I flung myself at him and peppered his
face with kisses. He laughed and pulled me tighter, pushing me up
against the closed door. He braced my back and lifted. I wrapped my
legs around his waist, preparing for the best kiss of my
life.

“
Ahem.”

I clamped my eyes shut and groaned. How
had I forgotten Grace was in the room? I lowered myself to the
floor and Heath gave me a look that told me we would finish this
later.

Oh yeah we would.

I stepped into the open and smiled at
my glowering aunt. “Sorry about that. I got carried
away.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes like a
new teenager. “I raised you better than that.”

I cocked my head. “I had it under
control.”

“
Sure you did.”

I let out a staggered breath that sent
my hair flying around my face before I changed the subject. “So,
what were you saying about Jessica?” I still couldn’t believe she
was here. She had a chance now, and it was all because of Heath. I
smiled at him again, getting lost in his smoky eyes.

Aunt Grace’s voice pulled me back from
La-la land long enough for me to realize I was beyond pathetic.
“We’re hoping your blood can break the connection between her and
her bondmate.”

My blood? Since when did the resistance
take to vampirism? “Why would it?”

“
You’ve been able to resist
compulsion. The bond creates a false sense of comfort for an
elemental. We have to get Jessica to be open to other feelings,
other thoughts. We are hoping a transfusion of your blood will give
us enough time to influence her.”

“
Wait a minute. Is Adam
here?”

“
I brought him a few days
ago,” said Heath.

I shook my head at him. That was where
he had been headed in his leather armor? “I don’t get
you.”

“
Not much to get.” His eyes
swept over my body in a way that made me melt faster than a
Popsicle in Death Valley. “I want you, and to really have you, I
need to resolve the conflicts that keep you from giving yourself to
me fully.”

My brows furrowed. “So you’re willing
to break a bond to get me to bond with you?”

He threw his head back and groaned.
“You are the most exasperating woman I have ever known. I tell you
the lengths I have taken to win you, and the only thing you can
come up with is conspiracy?”

His frustration set my own on a
rampage. I didn’t know what a great guy he was until moments ago.
It wasn’t like he’d made his motives clear. I crossed my arms. “We
haven’t made any real commitments, Heath.”

His jaw clenched tight before he
answered me. “Not for lack of trying on my part.”

“
So you want me to believe
that you have no agenda related to your realm, or the council, or,
um, let me see.” I tapped my finger against my chin. “Ruling the
entire fae race?”

He looked like I just made him eat a
pile of garbage. “I don’t want that. I never have. It’s why I’ve
stayed in the lower ranks for so long. I never had anything worth
fighting for until I saw you. I don’t care about your power. I just
want you. I would prefer to be bonded with you, only because I
would have you longer.”

Aunt Grace butted in. “You’re not
telling her the truth, Heath.”

He whirled around. “Don’t.”

She gave him a stern once over. “She
needs to know.”

He blocked my view. Even though I
couldn’t see his face, the rigid set of his body told me he was
seething. “You promised me.”

She stepped around him. “Rayla, Heath
has been helping the rebellion far longer than he is admitting to
you. Without him we would be nothing more than a straggling band,
living like gypsies. He’s the one that made the sanctuary
possible.” Heath turned away from me, his fists clenched at his
sides. “And he found a new place for us when we thought all was
lost.”

I stood in front of this strange man.
“Why wouldn’t you want me to know that?” Without warning questions
barreled into my head about his motives.

“
That is why,” he said
softly.

I backed away from him, not sure what
to do at this point. “I don’t understand any of this.”

His warm fingers brushed mine before I
was out of reach. “I told you I had a life before you came
along.”

I smirked at him. “Yeah, but I never
imagined you would betray your own people just to help some
humans.”

His tight jaw clenched harder and he
closed his eyes. “I have good reason for doing what I have, traitor
or no.”

“
Hey.” I placed my hand on
his arm. “I was kidding. I love that you’re risking everything to
help us.”

He blinked then stared at me, his
smoldering eyes unreadable. Then he grinned. “What else do you love
about me?”

Using the L word didn’t seem like a
good idea right now. “Don’t press your luck.”

He smirked. “I knew this was going to
be fun.”

Grace opened the door and ushered us
out, saying it wasn’t good for Jessica to have to hear this. She
was unconscious for heaven’s sake, but I didn’t complain. I wanted
to find a quiet corner where Heath and I could spend some quality
time. My mouth dried up at the thought.

Amazingly enough Grace showed us to my
new room. Compared to the stately chambers I’d been staying in
lately this was a royal dump. I walked over and plopped on the
squeaky mattress then patted the space beside me.

Heath grinned.

I smiled up at him. “You are such a
scoundrel.”

He raised a dark brow, his tawny eyes
glistening. “I’m the one who should be scandalized.”

I cocked my head. “Is that
right?”

He meandered over to me until his legs
touched my knees. Even through the fabric of my pants, his skin
burned mine.

I stared at him and smirked. “Don’t
tell me all of the sudden you’re going to act shy.”

He pulled his hands to his heart as if
wounded. “What if I am shy?”

I laughed. “Just sit down already.
You’re hurting my neck.”

He edged in beside me. “Gives me an
excuse to do this.” His fingers slid along my shoulders and into my
hairline where he started massaging gently.

My muscles responded immediately,
turning to mush under his fingertips. If I didn’t speak up now, I
never would. Clearing my throat, I glanced at him. “So?”

“
What?”

“
Don’t play the fool with
me.”

He grinned again as if he couldn’t help
but smile. “Fine, but we have unfinished business to take care of
first.”

I hardly had time to gasp before he
lifted me onto his lap. His hands settled on my hips. “I’ve been
waiting ages for this, Rayla.”

He wasn’t going to wait a second
longer. I pulled his face toward mine. Our lips brushed together
tentatively. I felt his headshake. He shifted and pulled me back
with him as he settled against the wall.

I laughed. “Comfortable
now?”

He smiled. “Not quite.” With mock
seriousness, he yanked me closer. “That’s better.”

I let my hands travel the length of his
arms, treasuring the feel of his skin against mine. He was way more
complicated of a person than I ever imagined possible.

Warm fingers grasped my chin. “Don’t
overanalyze this.” He waited as if asking permission.

The moment I nodded, his lips found
mine again, sweeping me into a world of delirium. I couldn’t have
thought in that moment if I wanted to. We fused together, becoming
one person. I wanted him so much. I kept checking for compulsion,
but if he was using it, he was a master manipulator.

No. I didn’t want to think of him like
that ever again. Heath. The unlikely hero.

When he severed our kiss, he settled
his forehead against mine. Our ragged breaths mingled together. My
heart might never recover from this if he didn’t stop looking at me
that way. “You’ve brought life to me again, Rayla. I never want to
let you go.”

A tear ran down my face, and I
shivered. Why did this dark foreboding still lurk around us— as if
now that I had him I wouldn’t be able to keep him? “Me
too.”

He inched away from me, scanning every
inch of my face. His brows furrowed. “Are you saying what I think
you are?”

I moved off his lap and sat beside him
against the wall before I clasped his hand and held it to my heart.
“How much more needs to happen before we are fully
bonded?”