“Don’t do that.” I instantly scrambled out of bed, tugging the sheet with me to keep myself covered, grabbed it out, then quickly hid it behind my back when he tried to grab it again. “Wait!” I heaved in a breath, showing him the bruise on my arm I had got from doing inventory at work, showing him clearly the bruise still livid on my wrist, the same one he had been eyeing covertly all the previous evening. “I will ask it again. Do you believe all Mysticals are created alike?”
He stopped from trying to grab the pills again, glaring at my arm. “How is that bruise still there? You shouldn’t be injured still.” His wolf growled quietly. “I’ve felt your power. You’re damn strong for your age. Even a weak Mystical heals more quickly than,” his eyes narrowed further on the purple mark, “that.”
“Cain,” my lips pinched, “think. Do you believe all Mysticals are created alike?”
Furious navy eyes flicked to mine, then back to my bruise. “No.”
I waved my hand at the bed. “Why don’t you take a seat?”
He moved, but he appeared antsy, if he actually could, sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands on his thighs, the towel stretching very nicely over them. I jerked my attention away from muscled legs, and stared him straight in the eyes, focusing on coherency instead of letting myself fall into them, and I stated point blank, “One of the reasons I prefer to keep what I am hidden here is because, when I don’t…people tend to…stare…or assume certain things, but as I stated to Elder Jacobs, I cannot speak on it, so I have to move around certain issues in code.” Inhaling heavily, I asked, “Will you not tell anyone what I’m going to try to show you? Ever? I’d prefer to keep this between us, and there are reasons why spirits are unable to speak on such things.”
He nodded instantly. “Mum’s the word.” He blinked, and then held up a finger. “Unless you’re in danger, or another spirit Elemental is, then I can’t promise that.”
Well…that was honest, at least, and I didn’t disagree, so I nodded. “Okay…first off, don’t laugh at my actions, and try to keep an open mind.” I licked my lips, tying the sheet around me tighter so I could use both hands. “First—” I smiled grandly and lifted the birth control, then picked up a row of condoms on the dresser, and made a disgusted face, tossing them in the trash. I crossed my arms, and stared at him pointedly.
Bone dry words with raised eyebrows. “I’m going to miss my meeting to play charades?”
I ground my teeth together, for the first time, anger and irritation flaring for this man. Elder Merrick. The one who could be a damn professional and insensitive prick at times. “Right,” I spoke through gritted teeth, “I understand.” I turned on my heel, grabbing the birth control, so he didn’t try to throw them out, and took a step to march away.
A quick hand grabbed my bicep. “Wait.” He took his hand away. “I’m sorry. That was rude. You can’t speak on it, and honestly, all I’ve ever heard about spirit Elementals is rumor. I never even met the spirit Elder Jacobs referenced.” I turned slowly to face him, my arms still crossed, and watched as his head cocked in thought. His eyes went to my bruise. To the birth control pills I still had in my other hand. Gaze professionally ran up and down my frame. Back to my bruise. He nodded once. “I believe you. Birth control works for a spirit Elemental.” And his voice held the conviction that he really did. Flicking his wet curls out of his face, he waved an arm at me. “You can obviously be injured easily, like a Com.” Abruptly, he chuckled quietly, his gaze heating a bit. “I’ve got to admit, though, the birth control is a plus.”
I ignored his gaze the best I could even as his nostrils flared, and he rested back on the bed, showing his body to best display, a small—dammit—smile playing on his lips. “Okay, let me try to explain a Com.” I was going for code, glancing over his shoulder, not at the fuck me body I wanted to jump. “What happens when a Com doesn’t…exercise…and eats too much junk food and sits around doing nothing?”
“They get weak and fat.”
“Forget the fat part, but you were on the right track with the other…” I murmured helpfully.
His forehead crinkled the barest bit, actually, damn adorably. “Okay, if they don’t exercise they get weak.” His brows rose after a silent moment of contemplation. “So, if a spirit doesn’t exercise their powers they become frail?”
I kept my mouth shut, unable to voice he was right, but smiled.
He glared, his gaze snapping. “Then why the hell aren’t you using your powers?” And, I saw it instantly flicker in his eyes. “Because you’re hiding it from everyone.” A quick nod with a roll of his hand. “Do something. You don’t have to hide it from me. I’ve already seen and felt it. It’s the stars, the galaxies, the universe.”
My jaw seesawed as I tried to decide what would be most beneficial without sending off too much power to trickle outside my room without his blocking it, and I shrugged, deciding on going for something minor, but doing it long enough would help as I did every once in a while, so I opened my Core, letting my eyes and body glow dimly, a nice ethereal glow.
“Huh.” Cain’s head cocked. “You’re not as bright as when you climax.”
I could say this one. “When we’re together, your power keeps mine contained because you’re so much more powerful than me, but I don’t want it leaking out so my neighbors feel it. Shifter power is normal, not mine.”
Cain’s feet tapped absently on my floor while he stared. “You’re very beautiful.”
Instantly, I couldn’t help the grin that spread, my glow shining brighter at the compliment. During sex, yes, there were compliments said about each other’s bodies, but he had never just paid me a compliment when we weren’t in the heat of the moment. This one was extra special. “Thank you.”
He blinked slowly, staring. “I should probably say that more often.”
“Only if you want to and you mean it,” I mumbled, brushing hair behind my ear, my glow dimming some as I felt anxious, the stupid glow so telling, making me want to shut it down.
“I will,” Cain stated clearly, his nostrils flaring, sitting very still on the bed. “Because you are. When you’re glowing and when you’re not.” His head cocked, and I know he didn’t miss the tiny flash in my glow as my heart swelled a bit at the simply stated compliment. “There’s got to be a way to find out more without going through the charades.”
I shrugged. “I can show you some things. It just can’t be spoken of.” My head teetered back and forth trying to explain the next in code. “And do you like what’s in libraries?”
“Libraries?” He blinked, and then his feet started pattering on the floor again. “You mean books. Are you saying there are books recording spirit’s history or saying there are books explaining what spirits can do?”
“I can honestly say I’ve never read…a book…because if I had,” I let the stars fire flame in the palm of my hand, his feet faltering as he stared, tossing the birth control on the bed so I’d have a free hand, “the book would be gone.” I lifted a pair of socks off the dresser and tossed it into the air, shooting a bit of the fire after it, the sock instantly becoming ash, his eyes widening a bit, an instant grin on his face. But, it wasn’t a nice one, instead, it was one of those deadly ones, more than likely, as he thought about the destruction I could do with my power…and he seemed to like it, just as evilly as I did. “So, if you read any…books…don’t leave them out for me to read.”
“Hide all material about spirits I want to keep.” He nodded once, his finger flicking to me. “Is that enough power usage to heal your bruise?”
I chuckled quietly, and then lifted my arm, clearly showing the bruise was only fading a bit, the area appearing like a black splotch against my otherworldly skin.