Chapter 24
I awoke to knocking at my door. I found myself snuggled up to Chase with Harrison spooning me from behind. A girl could get used to this. A second after the blissfulness of waking up to two of my guys, panic set in. What were the other guys going to think? Whoever was at the door was going to know what we did. My confidence from last night was waning.
“Come in,” Chase called out without opening his eyes or moving. My heart was racing and I was afraid I would have a panic attack.
Bryce walked in, observed the three of us in the bed, and smiled. It was a true smile, because I could see his dimples showing. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge beside a naked, but covered up, Chase. He handed me a mug of my favorite hot tea and said, “You guys look like you had fun last night. Sorry I missed out.”
Harrison abruptly sat up and said, “Holy shit, dude. It was fucking hot as hell. Never thought I would be into sharing sharing my bonded, but you have no idea how much of a turn on it was to see Chase get her aroused. It’s like you get to watch and experience it at the same time.”
“Well, I will have to experience it for myself one day,” Bryce said while winking at me.
I blushed at his statement, but got excited that it might happen. I breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t upset. They kept telling me that this is what they were used to, but it was going to take me a little while to truly understand.
“Since you are both here, I can tell you at the same time. There is a mission that I need both of you with me on. Carter and Mason are staying here with Bre and the three of us need to leave by noon today,” Bryce explained.
My heart dropped every time one of my guys left for a mission. I was terrified that they wouldn’t come back. I knew this was what they did, but I hated the thought of any of them getting hurt.
“Got it. We’ll be ready,” Chase answered. Bryce smiled at me again and got up and left the room.
Harrison and Chase laid back down and snuggled with me for a few more minutes before getting up. They each left to shower and pack. I laid there feeling a little sad and alone. I really hated when they had to leave. Resigned to the fact that there was nothing I could do about it, I started to get up to take a shower when I heard another knock at my door. I quickly covered up and said, “Come in.”
Carter walked in and saw me in the bed, holding the sheet around my neck, clearly covering my naked chest. I blushed a little while he stood there staring. He finally realized that he was just standing there staring and looked down. “Sorry, I just wanted to see if you wanted to train with your panther gift today. We haven’t really worked on it much.”
“Carter,” I called his name so he would look at me. He looked up at me expectantly. “Come sit with me for a second.” I patted the bed next to me. He walked over and sat down. He seemed hesitant with me and I didn’t like it. I’d had very intimate times with Bryce, Harrison, and Chase, but not Carter or Mason. I wanted to make sure I spent time with them as equally as possible; no one should feel left out. I loved them all and wanted to make sure they knew it. So in true, not-so-Bre fashion, I dropped the sheet and answered his question. “I think that is a great idea. Want to start after breakfast?”
He stared at me for a few moments, looking stunned, but that quickly changed into a hungry look. He lifted his eyes to meet mine and I could tell he was turned on. I took his hand and placed it on my breast. I had never been so bold before, but I wanted him to know how much I cared about him and wanted to share intimate moments with him, too. I looked up into his eyes and saw his shock at my audaciousness. I smiled at him and laid back on the bed, hoping he would follow. He leaned over me with his hand still on my chest, squeezing and playing with my breasts, and kissed me. I kissed him back, pouring all my love into the kiss. I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged a little. This caused him to kiss me harder. We continued to kiss and touch until we heard Bryce in the hall saying breakfast was ready. Carter pulled back from the kiss and looked at me with admiration and love. I looked directly into his eyes and said, “I love you, Carter. I wish I could keep kissing you forever.”
He leaned back down and kissed me one more time, “Bre, I love you, too. I can’t wait to spend alone time with you again. I want to show you how much I love you.”
I smiled up at him and said, “Okay!” His smile lit up his beautiful face. I knew he’d had it rough being an Animal Elemental and dealing with the loss of his girlfriend to her bonded, but I hoped one day he would trust in our bond and know how much I cared about him. I looked at him and saw a beautiful man. He was stunning with his soft brown hair and golden eyes. His chiseled jaw had a little scruff and I couldn’t wait to see what was under those clothes. All of my men were in shape because of their job, and I couldn’t wait to explore his beautiful body.
He got up and said, “I’ll see you downstairs.” There was a lightness to his demeanor that hadn’t been there before. I hoped I could continue doing that for him.
After he left, I quickly jumped in the shower and dressed. I put on a black tank with grey yoga pants and my hair in a ponytail. Once we finished with breakfast, we could get straight to training on my panther gift.
After breakfast, Carter and I trained for several hours and I felt like I was getting better. He was able to help me to channel my panther gifts and test my limits. I could run faster than he could and I was more agile, but he beat me in hearing and sight. We were physically superior to the others in these areas, because of our animal gifts.
Exhausted, we went back inside for lunch. Bryce, Chase, and Harrison were about to leave and I was glad I got to see them off. They each gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek before leaving. I tried to be tough for them, but as soon as they left, I shed a few tears. I worried about them so much when they left for missions. Carter and Mason tried to cheer me up by asking if I wanted to go for a hike. That was just what I needed to get my mind off of the other three leaving.
After lunch, the three of us drove up to the Blue Ridge Mountains. I was glad Callie and I chose North Carolina; it is the most beautiful state I had ever seen. We took the trail to Linville Falls to see the waterfall. It was a pretty easy hike and I would have loved to talk to the animals on the way, but there were quite a few people around. It was a beautiful day; a little chilly, but with perfectly blue skies and a few puffy, white clouds floating past. It felt so good to get out and breathe in the crisp mountain air. Carter and Mason walked on either side of me, talking the entire time. I zoned out a bit and just enjoyed being there with them. After making it to the lookout for the falls, we made our way back to the car. I was glad to get away for a few hours and clear my head. I knew my boys were okay, but I couldn’t stop myself from worrying about them.
Since none of us could cook, we grabbed Chinese takeout on the way home. Being that we were the only three at the house, we vegged out in front of the TV in the family room. Reruns of Buffy were on, so I pouted and begged just enough for them to give in and watch it with me.
After a while, I started to get tired and began cleaning up our dinner, so I could shower and go to sleep. Both of them helped and we knocked it out in no time. Carter, being the gentleman that he was, kissed me on the cheek and headed to his room. Mason was sleeping with me tonight and I was excited to spend some one-on-one time with him. Of all my guys, I still felt like I didn’t spend as much time with him as the others. He was pretty quiet and didn’t ask much of me.
I looked to Mason and said, “I’m going to take a quick shower. Meet me in my room in fifteen minutes?”
“Great. I’m going to do the same. See you in a few.”
I headed to my room and quickly showered, As I was drying off, I remembered I forgot to bring night clothes in the bathroom with me. As I moved back into my room in just a towel, I saw Mason walking in. He saw my state of undress and stopped. “Sorry, I guess I was a little quicker than fifteen minutes. I can come back after you get dressed.”
As he started to back out of the doorway, I said, “No, come on in. It won’t take me a second to put something on.”
Mason ventured fully into the room and closed the door. While he walked over to the bed, I pulled a tank, underwear, and sleep shorts, from the dresser. Apparently, I was still in “bold Bre” mode, so I dropped the towel and began to dress. I could feel Mason watching, so I took my time. After I finished dressing, I turned and walked over to the other side of the bed. I tried to act like I hadn’t just gotten completely naked in front of him for the first time and climbed into the bed. I looked up at him and he was staring at me with his mouth hanging open.
“You might want to close that or you will catch flies,” I said, giggling.
He closed his mouth and looked at me like he wanted to say something, but didn’t. “You okay?” I asked.
“Uh, ah, well, uh, yes, I am great,” he said, smiling.
I laughed at him and snuggled under the covers. He finally recovered and climbed in as well. He turned off the lamp and faced me. My eyes hadn’t fully adjusted yet, but I could feel him looking at me with those ice-blue eyes. I turned toward him, “I feel like I haven’t had much time alone with you. I am so glad you’re here with me tonight.”
“Me, too.” He traced my hairline with a light touch and softly ran his knuckles down my cheek. “You are so beautiful. I just can’t get over how lucky we are to have you.”
“Mason, I am the lucky one. Before I met you, I had no idea who or what I was. I was completely alone. You guys have given me my life back.”
“No, you gave me my life back. I wouldn’t be here without you. Not only is my girl beautiful, but she is a badass, too. The things you can do amaze me.”
“Well, get prepared, because you will be as powerful as me soon.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I know we haven’t completed the bond yet, but our gifts are nowhere near as powerful as yours. We can all use each of the elements to some degree, but even my born-with element is not as formidable as yours. Your gift of water was stronger than mine from the first time you used it. Now that you are bonding with us, it is becoming even more powerful. You are the most powerful Elemental ever born.”
His words weighed heavily on me. I quietly said, “I’m not sure I want to be the most powerful Elemental ever. I just want to live my life with my bonded in peace.”
“I know. Don’t worry, we will figure out what is going on and deal with it as a family. We are five of the most dominant males in our community. We will take care of you.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead. He made me feel safe.
I snuggled closer to him and said, “Mason, will you kiss me?”
He didn’t hesitate; he pulled me even closer to him, wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, and kissed me hard. We held and kissed each other for a long time, but it didn’t go any further. We ended up talking all night long and didn’t even realize it until we saw the sun come up the next morning. I was going to be exhausted in my classes today, but it was worth it. I learned so much about Mason during our talk. He was considered one of the best sharpshooters in the Elemental community, he had five older sisters, and was the baby of the family. He hated mayonnaise and ketchup, and preferred thousand-island dressing on his salads. He was funny and loved to play jokes on the guys.
Mason and I slept for a couple of hours before I had to get up for school. After he left to get dressed, I threw on some jeans and a sweater and headed to the kitchen for some caffeine. I was so excited that the others would be back tonight. I felt so much better when all of my guys were home and safe.
After brewing some tea, I decided to take a walk outside to help me wake up. It was a beautiful, but chilly morning as I made my way down to the boulder at the back of the property. I sat and thought about everything I needed to do today. I had classes, we needed to go to the grocery store for Harrison, laundry had been piling up since we’d been gone, and I needed to train on my sixth gift, the white light. I really needed to come up with a name for it. Bryce seemed to think it was a gift that only I would have and it was produced when I combined all five of my other gifts. All I knew was that it had saved me several times, and Mason, too.
I was so in my head that I didn’t notice when someone appeared behind me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see if it was Mason or Carter when everything went black.
I woke up some time later and looked around at the metal bars of a cell. It was damp and musty, like you would think the dungeon under a castle would be. When I looked up, I saw the eyes of pure evil. He didn’t feel the same as the demon I fought, but he was definitely evil. The man must have been six-and-a-half feet tall with dark skin and a bald head. He was wearing a deep crimson robe with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at me. I tried to pull forth my panther gift, but I couldn’t; I couldn’t feel any of my gifts. A knowing smirk appeared on the face of the man who took me.
With a heavy Indian accent, he said, “Bre, it is wonderful to finally meet you. My name is Dresden.”
TO BE CONTINUED…