Rapture (Elfin Series) (9 page)

“What do you mean?” s
he asked cautiously.

He took a step inside and let his eyes wander over the room. She knew that her room
didn’t exactly resemble that of a typical teenage girl. It was dark and edgy, just like her. Where some girls might have One Direction,
gag me,
she thought, hanging on their walls, she had Bram Stoker’s Dracula. And where some girls might have cozy flannel sheets, she had black satin.

His eyes finally made their way back to her and she was still drinking
in the tall glass of elf chardonnay.

“Show me what the humans see,” she said suddenly very curious as to what his human guise was. He tilted his head to the side, obviously surprised by her request, but then suddenly standing before her was a guy who appeared to be aroun
d twenty with short blond hair and light blue eyes, which weren’t glowing as they had previously been. His clothes altered just a tad, the vest becoming a shirt and the boots no longer laced over the outside of the pants. Then the image was gone.

Her first thought was she liked the short hair but then another thought occurred to her as his elfin form reemerged. “Why was Syndra able to keep her form hidden from me if I’m half elf?”

“Syndra is royalty,” he told her simply as if that answered all her questions.

“Must be nice,” Elora mumbled as she continued to stare at the masculine perfection that was so out of place in her room.

“You never answered me,” she told him. “What did you mean ‘what’s my price?’”

Cush stared at her
and she began to wonder if he was going to answer. When he finally did, it was not what she expected.

“I never thought I’d find you,” he said through gritted teeth and she could tell he was holding back emotion that threatened to boil over. “I thought I could be happy without you, that my life had plenty of me
aning and purpose without you. But now I….” He shook his head in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Elora crossed her arms in front of her and looked at him with a single brow raised. “But now you see how freaking amazing I am and you just c
an’t see yourself without me?” she asked sarcastically, wishing that she didn’t really want him to feel that exact way.

“You’re my Chosen
, Elora.” Cush’s voice was so low that she had to strain just to hear him. His body was rigid with control as he stood proud before her in her bedroom. “Of all the places you could be, you’re here—best friend to the Chosen of the king.” He let out a huff of laughter that sounded anything but humored. “A Chosen.” He took two quick steps and was suddenly standing right in front of her. His eyes glowed as they bore into hers and her breath caught at the unbridled passion she saw there and she wondered how they didn’t both go up in flames. “My Chosen, right here in front of me. A Chosen I can’t have,” he murmured as he reached out and caressed her cheek. Elora tried not to press into his hand but the temptation was too great, like a moth seeking out the warmth of the flame she gave in and leaned into him. For a moment, she felt his heat, felt the comfort that would come from him, felt his soul reaching for hers and then it was gone. He backed away, moving so fast she nearly fell forward where his hand had been only seconds ago. 

She closed her eyes and attempted to shake off the haze of desire. “So what are you telling me? First
, you ask me what my price is and now you’re saying you can’t have
me?
” Elora asked as she opened her eyes and narrowed them dangerously at the light elf. She was trying to reconcile the seemingly angry elf with the flirty one who had walked into her bedroom moments ago. It was like he couldn’t decide from one second to the next what he wanted.

Cush pulled his shoulders back and rose to his full six foot four inches as he stared down at her. “I’m telling you that it doesn’t matter. Life goes on. I’m a warrior, my job is to protect the king, protect my people. You’re a human girl, your job is to do
…,” he looked her up and down as he searched for the words, “whatever it is human girls do,” he finished.

“Lame,” Elora called out dryly as she leaned back against her wall. She felt vulnerable under his intense, angry stare but she tried to seem unaffected.

Cush growled at her.

“Did you just growl at me?” Elora laughed. “Man
, I don’t know if that makes you sexy or just psychotic.”

“You don’t understand,” he snapped
, ignoring her question. “I’ve never wanted this.” He motioned between them almost violently.

“Damn man, tell me how you really feel,” Elora snarled back as the hurt from his words pierced her heart. That very hurt just pricked her temper and she felt the rage rising as she looked at the
too handsome for his own good
light elf.  “Who the hell do you think you are?” Cush’s head snapped up at the sharp tone in her voice. “I didn’t ask to be your Chosen either! I didn’t ask to feel this way about you. I didn’t ask to feel empty when you leave the room. I didn’t ask to feel the breath be ripped from my chest when you look at me. I didn’t invite the freaking fluttering butterflies with their flapping and swooning into my stomach, and I didn’t ask to want you with an intensity that—frankly—can’t be healthy. So you can take your little temper tantrum and shove it up your ass, Cush. BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT THIS EITHER!” She took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. “You come waltzing up in my room with your sexy smirk and your deep, delicious voice asking your intriguing questions, and then you go and throw a hissy fit because you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want me to sympathize with you, then you have come crying to the wrong chick because I don’t sympathize with lazy, or selfish, or
I’m too important for everyone else
type peeps. Geeze, Cush, you’re like, what, a few centuries old, and suddenly life throws you a curve ball and socks you in the nuts and you are rolling around like a freaking girl because it’s interrupted your game? Get over yourself already! If you don’t want this,” she motioned between them, “then make like a rubber ball and bounce your elfin butt out of my house. But don’t come in here and chew me out because things haven’t turned out for you the way you want them to.”
So much for calming down,
she thought to herself as her shoulders heaved with each breath as she glared at the object of her wrath.

Cush watched as his Chosen paced the room like a caged tiger. Her long black ponytail lashed around her like an angry whip and her breathing was shallow and fast. She was beautiful and he wanted her. A lot of what she said was true but not all of it. He wasn’t upset that he’d found her, taken off guard, definitely, but he wasn’t disappointed. And as he stared at the passionate, selfless woman before him, he realized that he was a fool. The Forest Lords had created Chosens for the elves for a reason and it was becoming obvious that one of the reasons was to show them their own weaknesses and then to give them the strength to move past those weaknesses. Yes, he wanted her and he was done fighting it.

It took two large strides and he had his
arm wrapped around her waist. He wrapped his other hand around the back of her neck, holding her still as his lips took hers. Everything wrong suddenly disappeared and all Cush could see was her, his Little Raven. For one heartbeat she pushed against him, but when she gasped at the contact of his lips, he took advantage of her open mouth and invaded. Her taste flooded his senses and suddenly his whole world was Elora. She tasted of the sweetest honey. Her tongue danced with his, boldly pushing back. Her lips were soft and firm at the same time and he swore they were branding him as hers. He pushed her back until she was pressed against the wall. Her body pressed closed to his and the warmth of her filled every empty place in him. He released her waist and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her tighter against him. She moaned and Cush pressed impossibly closer. He wanted to give her all of him, wanted to feel her soul, but he held himself back. He didn’t let their souls meet, not yet, not until she understood. He felt her small hands on his face and he pulled back to look down at her. Her lips were swollen and glistened with the moisture from their kiss, her eyes were heavy with unreserved passion, and her breathing was just as heavy as his own.

“You look well-loved
, Little Raven,” he whispered.

She ran a finger across his lips and he nipped it with his teeth causing a giggle to erupt from her.

“You just giggled.”

“I don’t giggle,” Elora told him sternly
, though a smile danced on her beautiful lips.

“I think I could find ways to make you giggle,” he teased her as his hands ran down her back.

Elora’s eyes narrowed. “Are you bipolar? Because a second ago you were lining up reasons as to why we couldn’t do this.”

Cush leaned his forehead against hers. “You gave a compelling argument and I’m a fast learner.”

Elora closed her eyes and took a deep breath. His scent enveloped her and she knew that if she told him she didn’t want this, didn’t want him, she would be lying through her ever loving teeth. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was gorgeous, rugged, breathtakingly handsome and she wanted him, she did.

“I want this,” she said boldly.
“I want you.”

Cush stared into the eyes of his Chosen and saw her resolve. 

“I want you,” he told her. “I want you with a fierceness that I don’t know if you can begin to understand. You’re mine, Elora, my Chosen, made for me and I know that if I give into it, if I accept this, I won’t let you go, ever. That’s the price.” He took her face in his hands and tilted her head so that she was looking directly into his eyes. “Do you hear me, Little Raven? If you let me have you, if I make you mine, I will never let you go. I will want to possess you in every way possible. I will want to be the air you breathe; I will want to be as close to you as your own skin. I will need you and you will need me to the extent that separation will be painful. Are you willing to pay that price?”

Elora shuddered at the possessiveness she saw in his eyes and the desire she felt in his hands. She felt his soul then, for the first time
, he was letting her in.

“Show me,” she whispered and closed her eyes, waiting.

Cush leaned down and pressed his lips to hers again, but this time he didn’t hold back. This time he let his soul free and it lunged for her. Elora’s soul rose up to meet his and he growled low as he felt her cling to him. Her arms came up around his neck and she pulled him down tight against her as if she couldn’t get close enough and he understood the feeling. He let his hands roam freely as his mouth explored hers and their souls danced for the first time. He didn’t know how long he stood their ravishing his Chosen, but he knew if they didn’t stop, he might just make her his right there on the floor.

“I’m not complaining.”
He heard her thoughts in his mind and grinned.

“Little R
aven,” he nipped her bottom lip and pulled back from their kiss.

“Are you done running?” s
he asked him as he smoothed her hair back from her face and let his hands slide down to rest on her hips.

“I won’t let you go
, Elora. There is no breaking up, or divorces, or whatever other silly things you humans do when you tire of your mate.”

“No worries, love.
I kill my men when I’m done with them,” she told him with a wicked smile and a wink. This brought out a bark of laughter from him.

“Okay, okay,” he chuckled, “t
hen I’m done running and you are mine.” His eyes darkened and his voice lowered, “For eternity, Elora, you are mine.”

She pressed a tender kiss to his lips and then pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. “So no more wishy-washy stuff? No more of this
,
I don’t know what I want, I’m a warrior, I kill things and don’t have room for you
, blah-blah-blah?”

Cush chuckled as he shook his head and took a step back. “No more wishy-washy stuff,” he agreed. “I am yours and you are mine.”

“Good to know,” she told him as she looked back at her closet and tried very hard not to do some ludicrous girly dance or some other embarrassing stunt that would earn her a place in the dork hall of fame.

He glanced at her bed and noticed the full suitcase. “
I would feel more comfortable if you didn’t do this. You know Rin and I could handle this on our own and then come back for you.”

Elora nearly laughed out loud but somehow mustered the small smidgen of maturity she had decided to foster. “Do you really believe I would just leave all the fun to you two Navy Seal wannabes?”

Cush rolled his eyes and seeing the tall, masculine tough guy do such a teenage motion only made her smile wider.

“Have you ever met a Navy
Seal?” he asked dryly.

“Not the point.”

“Kind of is,” he disagreed.

“I’m going. Just because we have decided to jump on this whole Chosen bandwagon does not mean you are going to tuck me away in a bubble to try and keep me safe. Danger is my middle name.”

“I never took you for the dramatic type.”

Elora snorted as she began grabbing dresses from her closet and tossing them
on her bed. “I wasn’t this way until I met you, so I’m totally laying the blame at your feet. Feel free to pick it up and strut that stuff like you’re proud of it, Babe.”