Elemental Awakened by Helen Scott
20
Tessa
When I woke up, the sun was blazing in through the window. The flimsy cream blinds barely kept any of it out, and it warmed me while I lay in bed. I didn’t want to get up, to face Kai after what had happened, but I didn’t really have much choice. There was something about the events of the previous night that made me more determined than ever to spend time with Finn, Dres, and Griff.
As I slipped out from under the blankets, a cool breeze wafted over my legs. Autumn was well and truly here. I got dressed by pulling random pieces of clothing on that I dug out from my bag. The stress I’d been feeling when I packed was evident from the mishmash of pieces, none of which I’d worn in a while. The faux leather leggings were good for the cool day, especially when I added an oversized sweater to the mix. I glanced at myself in the mirror and decided that I was presentable enough, before scurrying to the bathroom and taking care of my other morning needs.
By the time I came back out, the smell of coffee, bacon, and chocolate was wafting toward me from the kitchen. My stomach twisted, and I prayed Kai wasn’t in there. I allowed myself a few seconds to take some deep, steadying breaths, but then I pushed on. In the kitchen I found Dres and Griff.
“Morning, dove,” Griff said as he stood from the table and came over to drop a kiss on my temple. The gesture was oddly intimate and had my toes squirming in my socks as Dres looked on.
“Morning, Griff, Dres,” I said quietly.
“Technically, it’s not morning, it’s afternoon. Hell, it’s almost evening,” Dres said as he flipped some bacon in a frying pan.
“It is?” I asked and realized that for the first time in a few days, I hadn’t checked my phone for anything other than the time as soon as I’d woken up. Somehow, it just hadn’t seemed necessary. I moved away from the blond giant that was still hovering around me like he was trying to shield me from everything and went to the sink to get some water. As soon as I filled up the glass and turned around, I thought of Kai bursting in last night, but then I remembered what I’d seen before that.
“I think someone was watching the house this morning,” I said quietly, looking between the two men.
“What?” Griff asked, his face turning to stone and all emotion leaving his voice.
“I came out to get some water.” I wiggled the glass I was holding as though he needed to see evidence. “When I looked out the window, there was the weird iridescence I’ve noticed the demons have in their eyes across the street. It would have been about the right height for someone’s head.”
Griff stormed out of the kitchen through the backdoor and across the street.
Dres said, “Can you think about what you saw for me? Picture it in your mind?”
“Sure, but why?” I asked before closing my eyes and filling in all the details from my memory, so it was like a snapshot on a camera.
“I’ll explain in a moment,” Dres said but his voice sounded distant, as though he was paying attention to something else. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He was staring out the window at Griff, but didn’t really seem to be seeing him either.
As I leaned against the counter and sipped my water, my mind began replaying the other events of the night before. Kai’s kiss, his hands on my body, the scorching fire in his eyes, and the scathing comments that killed it.
Dres cleared his throat next to me, and I saw him turn back to the bacon quickly. I thought he was worried it was burning or something, but he was just absentmindedly stirring it like it was scrambled eggs instead of bacon. Griff came prowling back inside like a big cat, all sleek and powerful. There wasn’t an ounce of wasted movement or energy. It was like his whole body had suddenly come alive.
They were both quiet, but their eyebrows tilted this way and that as though there was some kind of silent conversation going on. “Uh, guys? What’s going on?” I asked.
“Dres and I were just discussing what we think was outside, sorry,” Griff said.
“What do you mean? You were both silent,” I said, not enjoying the feeling of being treated like a child.
“I have a mild psychic ability and can read and project thoughts into people’s heads if they allow it,” Dres said, refusing to look at me, even though I tried to catch his eye.
“Say what now?” I whispered as I looked to Griff for confirmation.
“It’s true,” was all Griff said.
“So, when you asked me to think about what I saw, it was because you were reading my mind?” I asked.
Dres nodded as he unnecessarily flipped a couple slices of bacon.
“Did you pick up on what I was thinking after that?” My voice barely a whisper as dread pooled in my stomach.
“Yes, I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention,” Dres said, equally quietly.
“I’m the one that should be sorry. You asked me out on a date, cooked me dinner, and I ended up making out with the asshole who ruined our date.” I sighed, and tears unexpectedly pricked the back of my eyes. “I’m not usually like this. Everything just seems to be happening at light speed, and I can’t even catch my breath.”
Warm hands gripped my own as Dres led me over to the kitchen table and sat me down. He squatted down in front of me so I had no choice but to look at him.
“I need to confess something, and I hope you’ll forgive me…” He paused as though waiting for me to promise forgiveness. That wasn’t something I could do. I’d learned long ago that forgiveness only healed so many wounds before it hurt just as much as the initial injury. When I didn’t respond and just waited silently, he continued, “Finn had a theory that you were what we’d been looking for this whole time. I didn’t believe him, so I invited you to dinner to prove to myself and have evidence for Finn that you weren’t the key. I’m sorry.”
The key? What was he talking about? I took a breath to respond, but he barreled onward. “It’s not that I’m not attracted to you. I mean, you’re gorgeous, I just haven’t dated since we came here.”
“Are you all from Atlantis?” I asked, completely ignoring the point of his confession in favor of the curiosity that it stirred.
“No, we each come from a different realm,” Dres said before standing and moving back to the stove.
“I’m confused. I thought Atlantis was in the Atlantic Ocean?”
“Not so much,” Griff said as he sat down at the table with me.
Suddenly Dres was serving the bacon, which was a little burnt around the edges, and pouring coffee and getting waffles out from the oven.
“Wow,” I murmured when he set it all in front of us. “Do you guys always eat breakfast like this, or is there a special occasion I’m not aware of?”
“You’re the special occasion,” Griff said with a wink.
“Finn’s home,” Dres mumbled before stuffing his face with waffle.
A moment later, the front door swung open and Finn strode in, wearing a black henley shirt and dark jeans with black boots. A motorcycle helmet hung from his hand.
“Evening, sleepyhead,” he said as he came over and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “Glad to see you’re up and around.”
“You ride a motorcycle?” I immediately wanted to kick myself for asking the dumb question.
“Yeah, why? You like that?” he asked, the grin spreading over his face telling me he knew exactly what I thought about it.
“I’ve never been on one before.” My voice took on that annoying breathy quality it had sometimes, mainly when I was around these guys.
“I’ll take you for a ride sometime,” he said with a wink and flash of a smile.
“Hate to interrupt, but we need to fill Tessa in on everything.” Dres addressed us with a completely blank face as he chewed another mouthful of waffle, or maybe it was bacon this time.
Finn’s mood soured and took a serious turn. “True. Let me just go change and I’ll be right back.” For the first time, I noticed his jeans and the front of his shirt were covered in mud, like he’d been down by the lake that was a few blocks away. The place was known for being a mud trap around the edge, and from the look of his jeans, he’d been wading in it.
When he disappeared around the corner, I turned around to find an amused Griff watching me.
“What?” I asked indignantly.
“I can’t wait till you guys bone and get it over with.” He chuckled. “Besides, once you’ve got him out of your system, then maybe you’ll throw some of those looks my way, hm, dove?”
The comment hit too close to home. I did want them all, but after what Kai had said last night? I felt like my hands were tied behind my back. If I touched any of them again, I was worried that his words would be echoing in my mind the whole time.
It wasn’t like I’d been in a ton of relationships before. Most people didn’t make it past the weird scars or the compulsion I had to draw the dragons I saw. It was two strikes, and I was out. I had wondered for a long time if I’d ever find anyone, or if I was bad in bed and the men I’d slept with just didn’t want to say anything, or even if I was meant to be alone and let the solitude fuel my art.
Now being presented with four equally scrumptious options, I felt paralyzed, unable to choose or to act on my feelings without fear of the repercussions. There was one thing I knew for sure, and that was that whatever I felt for them went beyond just sexual attraction. I’d always been able to compartmentalize superficial feelings of lust or envy so they didn’t get in the way, but with these four, it was the urge to connect, to bond with them that drove me. They needed to be on the same page though. I couldn’t just go having one-night stands with them, as that would ruin everything. Except that had been what I was on my way to doing with Kai last night, hadn’t it?
I sighed and rubbed my forehead, wanting to just disappear for a while and hope that everything was sorted by the time I came back. Nothing would get sorted by avoiding it though, so I had no choice but to face it head-on. I needed to find out more about Atlantis and this key business. Everything else could wait. Right?
My vagina had other ideas, but I mentally told her to shut it so I could focus on the main stuff. Like why I was what they were looking for, which was still really cryptic, or why demons were trying to kill me. You know, the important shit. I wasn’t leaving this house until they told me everything. I’d tie myself to a chair if I had to. Though that might give them other ideas. I shook my head and took another bite of bacon. No sexy stuff until I knew more. I could do that, right?
