Just Breathe Part 15

"I'd love to be your slave. For just one night." He blew her a kiss.

Amus.e.m.e.nt hid beneath Jack's hard expression. The left edge of his lips twitched as if he were trying to keep from bursting out laughing. "Knock it off."

Byrn's grin widened, and one of his brows hopped when Jet turned around. He made a show of following her a.s.s with his entire body. Jack slapped his shoulder and guided him to Zoe.

"Byrn, this is my daughter, Dr. Zoe Morgan." He stressed the 'Doctor' part.

Byrn straightened, smoothed his flyaway hair, and checked his breath in a curved palm. Then he snagged her fingers between his and brought them to his mouth for a kiss. At least, she expected a kiss. The heat of his exhalation lingered on the back of her hand, teasing her Fire to the surface, testing it.

She pulled back and turned to Jack. "I don't like him."

Now Jack laughed out loud. "n.o.body does."

Byrn shook out his arms like a boxer before a match, bounced on the b.a.l.l.s of his feet, then gathered the hair at the nape of his neck and tied it in a loose ponytail. "Got that right. n.o.body likes Byrn. Except the lay-days he gets down with every night. And sometimes the mens, too."

Vexx sighed loudly.

Byrn centered his gaze on Zoe, and her skin heated again. "You wanna get down with me, Dr. Morgan? I'll show you some s.h.i.t you ain't never seen." He licked his lips over pearly whites, then flickered his tongue like a pit viper testing the air for heat signatures.

Oh boy. Zoe had known plenty of guys like him in college. She couldn't imagine all that energy and self-adoration combined with the intensity of Fire. The poor lay-days probably slept with him just to shut him up. Though, if he'd had a personality to match that hot bod, she might have looked twice.

Byrn nodded. "I see you checkin' me out." He grabbed her by the elbow as if to lead her away.

Jack's hand stopped him. "She's taken."

Zoe whirled on Jack so fast, her hair fanned around her. "No, I'm not."

Byrn raised a brow. "Who got your number, you fine piece o' a.s.s? Maybe me and him need to have a discussion."

s.h.i.t, way to lure the maniac closer. "So not interested." She stepped over to the bed where Whetu lay and swept a hand across her cool brown cheek. The girl's locksathe color of dark wood underneath, but veined with gorgeous yellow highlights-glowed like a halo on the pillow. Reminded Zoe of sunlight. Brilliance.

"I'm terribly sorry about your father," she whispered. "I knew him. He loved you very much."

Whetu gave no indication she heard the words, but Zoe felt as if she had. If the girl was anything like Iri, she probably heard the loud thoughts in Zoe's head, too.

Zoe faced Jack. "So, what do you guys do? I heard something about the Librus Group"-from Gavin, but no need to mention his name now-"but I never got a straight answer about your mission."

"Pretty much the same as the Sentinels: to maintain Elemental Balance."

"How does that make you different from them? Are you more specialized?" The fact that Jack worked with Elementals freaked her out a little. He seemed so casual about it, like it was no big deal to be hanging around with a Fyre. Zoe didn't know how he could stand it.

"We're not exactly sanctioned by the Sentinels. They subscribe to the same sort of dogma that most Elementals do. We prefer a more direct approach. We keep Balance. Whatever it takes." He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "That's why we have teams of five. One of each Elemental type and a Sentinel to keep them straight."

Byrn leaned toward Zoe and stage-whispered, "By that, he means 'to lord over like a cruel master.' Did you know your daddy-o is a Dom? He loves to crack his whip on my hot a.s.s. Makes him feel like a man." He pressed a glowing red finger to his b.u.t.t and burned a hole through his jeans. "Sizzlin'."

"No, what Jack really means is the Sentinel keeps the Aer, Waeter, and Erthe from ganging up on the Fyre and killing him." Jet rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck with a quick jerk left, then right. Her pretty brown hair cascaded down the tight muscles under her tee shirt.

Zoe glanced around. "Where's your Waeter Elemental?"

"Xanthos is entertaining some visitors from out of town. He'll be at the meeting tomorrow night," Jack said. "Though, you probably won't see him. He's a bit...shy. Rarely shows his face."

Visitors. Zoe raised a brow. The Tongans, perhaps? "So, you're defectors, working a secret operation against your respective G.o.ds?"

"We're not necessarily against the G.o.ds. We're against Imbalance. If our mission puts us at odds with the Elemental deities, we do what we have to in order to set things right." Jet's nose twitched. She gave Zoe a curious look. "Have you been around another Fyre Elemental today?"

Zoe glanced at herself, half expecting to find a big red bulls-eye in the middle of her shirt. "Yesterday. Why?"

Jet leaned forward intently. Sniffed. "Who was it?"

Zoe took a whiff of her arm, but didn't notice anything weird. "His name is Sinnder. How did you know?"

"I scented his dingo on you."

"Uh, he didn't have a dingo when I saw him, and I took a shower since then." Then Jet's words sunk in. "Wait, he has a dingo?"

Jack straightened. "What were you doing with a Fyre Elemental, Zoe?"

"He came to my house last night. Said the Fyres are planning another attack on the Wyldlings at the equinox. There are a lot more of them than we expected-like a hundred or so. That's why I'm here. I thought I'd better tell...you."

"s.h.i.t." Jack's forehead creased. "It's not a surprise, but I'd hoped the Fyres would be less organized." He stuffed a hand in the pocket of his colorful board shorts and removed a ring of keys. "I'd better go and have a word with Gavin. You wanna come with?"

Zoe's heart skipped a beat. h.e.l.l, yes. She swallowed. "I can't. I need to get home. Tell him-"

Tell him what? That you miss him so bad it hurts? You love him? What would that change?

Nothing.

She shook her head. "Never mind. I'll check in with you tomorrow."

Whetu lay on the soft, squishy bed, listening to the grown-ups talk about her as if she weren't there. She preferred it when they chattered about the weather or what to eat for dinner. When they discussed strategy, she wanted to pay attention, but the maze wouldn't let her.

She was obsessed with it. Papa must have known she would be, which was why he trusted her with its secrets.

Vexx tried to dip into her mind again. Whetu went through her protocols. First she put up a wall. Then she redirected Vexx to what Whetu called her 'removable hard drive mind' where random autonomic brain functions ruled, without much else. Once Vexx was busy sifting through weak brain signals, Whetu settled into processing information from the maze, and half-listened to the conversation in the background.

When she caught something about the Fyres planning an attack, her thought flow hiccupped, breaking her concentration.

Fyres had killed Papa.

A second later, she felt Vexx's stare on her face. You don't want to come out and play yet? That's fine. Hide for now, but the longer you wait, the more people will get hurt. If you're not ready when we are, I'll find you.

Chapter Nineteen.

September 16 The ocean tide rolled beneath the black sky draped over Hervey Bay. The new moon brought no illumination to the beach, only a plethora of unanswered questions, mystery, and worry. Alone, Zoe drew out her flashlight and shined it on the GPS she'd borrowed from the CRN equipment stash. She shivered as a strong breeze blew her hoodie back.

She'd refueled the Zodiac after work today and paid for it with her own money. Still hadn't worked out how she'd explain the need for more gas tomorrow morning, but she couldn't worry about that now. Using CRN's property without permission was a huge no-no, but she didn't have any other choice. Lily and Lana-and a host of Waeter Elementals, including the notorious Tongans-were waiting.

Zoe stepped off the dock onto the Zodiac. The boat bobbed beneath her, and she plopped into the driver's seat with a sigh. It was dangerous to go into open water alone in the middle of the night. Not to mention a little scary. With no light to see by, she'd have to depend solely on the GPS and her trusty flashlight.

Movement from the dock startled her. She ducked under the console as best she could. She'd worn black clothes over her wet suit, hoping to blend into the night. Holding her breath, she waited.

Quiet steps headed her way. A long stride by the sound of it.

s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t.

The steps halted a few feet away. Please, don't be the police or a serial killer or a Fyre or- "You going it alone tonight or do you want some company?"

-Gavin.

Breath fled her lungs in a great rush. Squashing the instinct to jump out of the boat and squeeze him to death, she popped up her head. Shadows hid his expression, but the irresistible pull between them yanked at her reluctant heart.

She squinted at him. "I was planning to go by myself."

Even folded in darkness, he was beautiful. The dull ache in her chest flared.

He removed something small and shiny from his pocket and held it out to her. "Then at least take Mike's boat. It's bigger than yours. You'll be safer in it."

She stared at the keys and stood. He started to help her onto the wooden planks, but then scratched the side of his head and stepped out of her way.

"I can't take your friend's boat. Thanks anyway." Close to him for the first time since they had goodbye s.e.x in his car, she yearned to touch him again. His cedar scent wafted over her skin. "Why are you here, Gavin?"

He lowered his chin. Jagged lines tightened his face on the way down. "Because I needed to see you. Because I had to know you're okay. And I-" He shook his head, then raised it. Calm control took over, and he went back to being the emotionless automaton she wanted to strangle. "I hope your meeting goes well."

She laid hands on her hips. "That's it?" No I want to get back together?

He matched her hard stare with one of his own and nodded.

Unbelievable. Unable to reel in her hurt, she thrust a pointed finger at him. "You broke up with me-had s.e.x with me in your car and never even said goodbye afterward-and now you show up, wondering if I'm okay. Are you trying to torture me?"

Dark eyes flashed, along with the metal loop through his bottom lip. His hands shot to her arms. He pushed her against the small wooden shed behind them and leaned in. Her pulse raced at his closeness, the illicit fear it induced, the rage mixed with desire in his twisted face.

"If anyone's being tortured, it's me." His low voice rasped through clenched teeth, stoking her desire. He pressed his erection into the cradle of her hips.

G.o.d, his breath, his eyes, his mouth... Strong hands clutched her sides, and her core experienced a total system failure. Meltdown in the reactor. She smacked the back of her head against the building, hoping the pain would help her refocus.

"You staked your claim on me the moment I rescued you in the Dreaming. My heart-my Water-belongs here with yours." He slid his palm to the center of her chest where the traitorous organ thudded loud enough to hear.

Emotions in a flurry, she closed her eyes and gave in to them. Just feel him. Just breathe him.

But her Air couldn't forget everything. He was here now, throwing around fancy words that set off G.o.d-d.a.m.n-it-I-love-you explosions deep in her gut, but she still had a lot of healing to do before she could let him back in. She opened her eyes.

"I feel the same way, but...when you ditched me after we..." She wriggled free of his grip, sidestepped him, and returned to the middle of the dock. Couldn't think straight with him so close.

He set his jaw.

"I know the thing with Scarlet was an accident, and I don't blame you. But it still hurts. Everything hurts." She shouldn't have said that, but the words poured out before she could plug a mental stopper into her mouth.

He dulled the spikes of his black hair with a few swipes of his palm and furiously paced the dock.

Zoe stared at him through the darkness for a long moment. Why wouldn't he say anything? She was spilling her guts here, and he had no reply?

Fine. She could keep the conversation on business. Whatever. "What are you going to do about the Wyldlings?"

"Hope Whetu wakes up before the equinox. Hope we can stop the Fyres." He roughed his hair again. "Hope when it's over, you'll forgive me one day."

He stopped his frantic paces in front of her and grabbed her upper arms. His urgent, genuine expression nearly drowned her. "I can't have you, yet I'm lost without you, Zed. Being apart is driving me f.u.c.king mad. I need you."

Oh G.o.d. Why'd he have to say that? Out of nowhere, a big fat tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away, but another followed. Then another. She flattened her lips together. d.a.m.n it.

She opened her arms to him.

Brow wrinkled, he hesitated, then shuffled forward. She hugged him with all her might as he dropped his cheek to her shoulder.

"You can mark number three off your 'hope' list. I do forgive you." She raked her fingers through his hair, traced the suddenly tense furrows of muscle in his back. Heat poured off him as his heavy arms squeezed her to the point of pain.

"It's okay," she whispered.

"It's not." His voice cracked. He shook his head against her neck.

"It will be."

They held each other as rain fell, rippling the liquid emotions flowing between them. A gift from the Waeters waiting out there in the ocean? She smiled. Maybe.

None of their problems were resolved. h.e.l.l, things might have become more complicated now that they'd talked. But, a spark of optimism danced inside Zoe for the first time in weeks. Gavin was still hers. He had never left her.

Now, if they could just find a way to strengthen their combined Water enough to put out Scarlet and the other Fyres for good.

Zoe didn't say much on the boat ride to the Waeters' meeting, but she held Gavin's hand the entire way. G.o.d, he'd forgotten how much he loved the feel of her skin, the smell of her lavender perfume, the way her smile lit up his insides like a supernova.

Scarlet's Fire awoke in his chest and wove its searing tendrils through his limbs. A quick snapshot of him banging her in his bed in Sydney warmed his blood. Her face, not Zoe's.

Cinnamon permeated the air.

He shifted in his swivel chair. f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, not again. He shook off Zoe's hand, afraid she might have seen or smelled Scarlet, too.

She glanced at him from the driver's seat and arched a brow. "Something wrong?"