Exhale (15 page)

Scarlet’s self-satisfied grin raked Sinnder’s nerves like nails down a chalkboard.

He unsheathed a wide, fake smile and swallowed the cold lump surfacing in his throat. “It will be my pleasure, Archelemental Eidan.”

Chapter Thirteen

“You look tired.” Gavin rubbed his arm. The low light caught the spikes of his black hair and reflected the blue of the room’s cool colors. His tattoos came to life in the shadows.

Through the champagne buzz, Zoe imagined her hands stroking them. Envisioned her naked body nestled within those strong, painted arms. Just like in her dreams. She smiled.

Suddenly registering what he’d said, she scolded herself and peeked at her watch. One a.m. “I’m not used to staying up so late. I usually wake up around five.”

“Come on. I’ll tuck you in.” He glanced at the door on his way to the bed. He tossed the chocolates onto the bedside table and peeled the comforter and sheets back. The matching robes tumbled to the floor. He scratched the side of his head, then scrubbed his arm again.

Gavin had been full of small talk and nervous glances ever since the room service incident. He kept checking the locks and staring at the door.

What a weirdo.

But she was half in the bag, he was gorgeous, and at this late hour, it was hard to care about much else.

She stood up, stretched, and stifled a yawn. Then she padded over to the bed. “Where are you sleeping?”

The worried expression on his face faded into a boyish grin. “Wherever you tell me to.”

She climbed into the cold sheets. The mattress dipped as he sat beside her. Still wearing that sexy smile, he tugged the covers up to her chin, and leaned over her. Swept the hair out of her face.

Heat rushed into her cheeks.

If he gave any indication he wanted to sleep with her, she was certain she could wriggle out of her pajamas in two point three seconds. Or less.

She waited for a sign.

He only stared.

“You can sleep here. With me.” Was she really this desperate? Alcohol. Right.

Tilting his head to the side, he blinked slowly. God, his black eyelashes were so long. She wanted to feel them against her cheek.

“That’s okay. I’ll take the lounge.”

Like hell he would.

She fisted a handful of covers from the middle of the bed and yanked them up, her arm arcing higher than she meant to. Loss of coordination. Slurred speech. Evocative behavior. She could blame it on the champagne tomorrow.

“Come on. This might be your only chance.” Feigning confidence, she nodded him over.

He shook his head, then crawled in beside her. He rolled away, switched off the lamp on his side of the bed, and settled on his back without touching her. She inched closer until she found an arm and pulled it out straight. She rested her head on it.

What the hell was she doing?

At least he didn’t pull away. The delicious smell of him made her drunker. Inhaling more of his cedar scent, she tunneled her hand through the sheets to his shoulder and curled her fingers around that hard knot of deltoid muscle. So strong.

Warm arms enfolded her. The one under her neck reached around her shoulder; the other slipped across her waist. He dragged her in tight until his breath caressed the top of her head. He kissed her hair.

Dear God.

As awkward as this date had been, this was where she was meant to be. At least for tonight.

With a stifled yawn, she abandoned thoughts of sex and accepted the warmth he offered instead. Letting go like she had earlier on the motorcycle, Zoe embraced
him
.

Whatever ‘he’ was.

Her eyes closed, heartbeat slowed, and her mind disengaged itself from the day’s events. Darkness descended quickly. Zoe drifted on the wings of alcohol-induced exhaustion until she landed just outside of REM Land, facing a huge white door, three times her height. Centered between two massive, ancient columns, it was covered with strange glyphs.

She’d seen this portal before in a dream. Gavin had once tried to send her back to reality through it.

Huh.

She ran a hand up and down the marble surface. She walked around the freestanding structure, looking for a way to open it, but there were no knobs, handles, or push bars. Just a big door in the middle of a dusty gray wasteland.

Last time, the thing had been fully integrated into her dream, but she wasn’t dreaming right now.

Zoe pushed on the portal. Nothing happened. She tried the other side. Still nothing. Stepping back, she scanned her surroundings for a clue that might help unlock it. Dull mist for as far as she could see.

“I’m a lucid dreamer,” she said. “I control my dreams and everything in them.” She closed her eyes and called to mind a key. When she looked at her palm, it remained empty. Hands on hips, she twisted around for another look.

There was nowhere to go but through the door.

And no way to open it.

She needed to get through. A dream lay on the other side. She was sure of it.

Push
, she thought.

When the structure remained unmoved, she squeezed her eyebrows tight and concentrated hard on blasting the stupid thing to bits with Water, Fire—all the Elements.

The result was a mild headache.

Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, Zoe kicked the portal, pounded it, shouted at it. “Let me in, damn it!”

Cheeks hot, she pressed her back against the cold marble and slid her butt down to the ashy ground. Hunched over bent knees, she shoved a hand through her tangled hair and pressed the backs of her fingers against trembling lips.

“Gavin?” she called.

He didn’t answer.

She was alone. With a door that wouldn’t open.

* * * *

Gavin woke to the smell of lavender and the whisper of soft breathing. Something hit him, missing his balls by a centimeter or two. He flinched, careful not to knee Zoe, and stifled a “Fuck.”

Her fist. Again.

Eyes closed, Zoe flopped around on the bed, grunting in her sleep, sparring with the sheets. Thankfully, she removed her hand from the vicinity of his family jewels and rolled to her side, facing away from him. He rested a wrist on her hip, pressed his nose to the back of her head, and inhaled her flowery scent. Long, yellow strands of hair caught in the stubble on his chin. He left it there.

She stretched. Her back pressed warm against his chest. She rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Early.” The sun had just begun to blare its loud rays through the cracks between the curtains. He squinted at the light.

A sudden recollection of the night’s events—or lack thereof—triggered alarms in his head. He frowned, now fully awake.

Since he’d rescued her from drowning in their first dream together, he’d
always
been able to find her in the Dreaming, usually by listening for her song. But last night, not a peep. For Chrissakes, she’d slept right next to him.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked.

She sighed. “Not really.”

“Join the club. After the pounding you gave me, I’m not sure my balls would survive another date with you.”

The bed shook with her gentle laughter. “I’m sure you deserved it. Guess I’m a pretty heavy sleeper. Sorry about that.”

Zoe shifted around to face him and smiled. Dark circles underscored her faded blue eyes. She looked older.

Concerned, he touched her cheek. “Are you feeling crook this morning? Too much champagne?”

“Just tired.”

“What did you dream about?”

She looked away. “Nothing.”

Taking her by the chin, he drew her gaze to his. Something wasn’t right with her. Aura was washed out and pale. Eyes were unfocused. “Nothing you can remember? Or just plain nothing?”

Had Scarlet done something to her?

“I didn’t dream about anything. What does it matter?” Zoe sat up and threw the covers off her legs. She stood and fished a small case out of her bag.

Gavin got up too and stepped around the bed toward her. A bad feeling simmered like chunky stew in his gut. No more fucking around with her.

“Okay, Zoe. You know what I am. You were right there in the dreams with me. I’m supposed to protect you from the Fyre Elementals who’d like to put you out of commission. I can’t do that if you won’t level with me.”

Her eyes rounded. Dark blue worry lined the edges of her aura. She started for the door.

He followed and grabbed her wrist. “Where are you going?”

“To brush my teeth.” Biting her lip, she wriggled out of his grip and continued with him on her heels.

She spun in the bathroom doorway, her hair fanning around her like an umbrella. “And I have to pee. Do you mind?” Her jaw trembled. She pushed against his chest and closed the door in his face.

Fucking hell.

“The Wæter Elementals still need you,” he called over the running faucet. He laid an arm against the door and rested his forehead there. “And
I
need you, Muse.”

The water shut off. The door opened, and he stumbled forward, barely catching himself from barreling into her.

She wielded a dripping toothbrush and heaved a great sigh. “You’re going to force me to talk about this Elemental thing, aren’t you?” Her voice cracked.

“I—” Shit. “Yes.”

He ran a tentative hand down her arm. When she didn’t resist, he tugged her to his chest. She brushed a hand weakly over his shoulder and turned her face into his shirt. Heat rose from her neck, ears, and hair, staining her fractured aura with currents of reddish brown fear.

She was uncertain and scared. He knew how she felt.

“Fyre Elementals are killing human Wyldlings. The Wæters chose you to find their candidate for the Archelemental position. I know you didn’t sign up for any of this, and you’re probably thinking I’m a lunatic for even talking to you about it, but I need your help.”

She lifted her face to his. Her pallid skin and the pale green wisps hanging on the fringes of her aura were signs of physical weakness that hadn’t been there yesterday. Zoe was exhausted.

“I’m just a whale biologist, okay? I don’t know anything about saving the world from Fyre Elementals or tracking down Wæter Archelementals. I know whales. That’s it. I’m here to manage a project, and if all goes well, I might get a promotion out of it. I’m sorry if I led you on. I shouldn’t have agreed to this date. It wasn’t fair of me to imply I had time to give. I wish I did…but I just…don’t.” She freed herself from his arms and returned to the bed.

His jaw clenched. Maybe it was best to leave her out of the Elemental strife. If he had to, he might be able to help the Wæters find their Archelemental without her. Maybe.

But he had to warn her—had to prepare her for how to defend herself against the Fyres in case they showed up. The gut stew churned again. Every instinct screamed not to leave her alone.

Shit. He sat next to her.

“The Dreaming paired us up so I could help you find something for the Wæters—the key,” he said. “We weren’t supposed to be anything more than partners, but I slipped up and got too close to you. It’s my fault the Fyres are after you here. If I could disappear from your life, I would do it—anything to keep you safe. But as it is, no one else can protect you like I can.” He scratched at a patch of uneven thread in the fabric of his pajama bottoms.

A wave of yellow breezed through her aura, knocking all traces of blue out of sight. “Thanks for your concern, but I can keep myself out of trouble. I’ll be super busy with work for the next few months. I think it would be best if I left the Elemental battles to the professionals. I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of handling this stuff on your own.”

The thin, hard line between her lips told him everything he needed to know.
Conversation over. Restart at your own risk.

Fine. He’d find a way to keep an eye on her if it killed him.

* * * *

After a silence-filled room service breakfast, Zoe took a cold shower to try to wake up. Lack of sleep and the unwelcome slap of sobriety put her in a bad mood, but the chilly combination also lent her 20/20 hindsight.

She’d been a
total
ass last night, getting drunk and pawing all over Gavin like a slutty teenager. God, what the hell had she been thinking? She’d come to Australia for the whales and to land a promotion. Not to get laid.

Certainly not to save the world from Fyre Elementals.

She was still trying to get comfortable with the idea that the characters in her dreams were real, that a deadly battle raged between forces of nature and human-protecting Sentinels. That Perfect was an actual person who had some inexplicable interest in her.

Since she met him, her mind waffled back and forth about the validity of his otherworldly claims. Much as she wanted to dismiss it all, she couldn’t ignore the evidence. Gavin was part of something much bigger than an awesome rock band. He was a dream hero.
Her
hero.

Still…she had a promotion to score.

Clean and dressed, she came out of the bathroom vowing that once she got back to Hervey Bay, she’d focus exclusively on work.

Gavin sat on the bed, his tattooed arms bulging hard and tight, taut ridges of back muscles flexing under the tee shirt he wore.

Good luck with that.

He was scowling at the television—some news story about a spate of violent killings in New South Wales. He rubbed his hair furiously, turned the TV off with a click of the remote, and gathered up the few items he’d left around the room.

Through a stifled yawn, she glanced at his troubled face as she packed her bag. He mumbled a few questions here and there, asked if she was ready to go, and waited at the door when she nodded.

So, he was pissed about her lack of interest in helping him with his supernatural duties. True, she’d ‘betrayed’ him for her job, and it twisted her stomach in knots. But what could she do? Give up the whales she’d loved all her life for a guy she’d just met? No, she’d be betraying
them
if she moved forward with Gavin.

You’ve got to be objective and practical about this,
her scientist-self warned.
Take your heart out of the equation and do what you must to get the promotion.