Laughing, she turned around and spied a thin, brown line heading for his nipple. It"d be a shame to waste perfectly good chocolate. She licked it.
He twisted his hips to the right, and the erection bounced out of range. d.a.m.n it. "We have some things to discuss before we get distracted again."
So, maybe bed was still on the agenda. "Okay."
She"d never liked bad weather days until she met Gavin. Now she half-wished for a week of them. His wet, black hair...the smell of his cedar shampoo on both of them... She glanced down at the thick lines of muscle in front of her. The body that wouldn"t stop.
So freaking whipped.
She tipped her head to rinse her hair and to give him a look at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, should he be inclined to notice. The faint red outline of Gavin"s handprint there reminded her of the sudden, exciting turn s.e.x had taken. She had no idea what all the roughness was about, but she liked it.
He stepped closer, cupped her lower back and set his teeth gently upon a nipple. His tongue looped around it in slow circles. Shivers lit up her skin.
She raked his hair, clutched him to her chest, and moaned. "You do the most amazing things with your tongue."
"You make it hard for me to keep it in my mouth," he mumbled against her breast, then returned to sucking. A flick of metal from his bottom lip on the sensitive peak shot another surge of desire through her gut. He straightened and aligned his gaze with hers. His soft breath teased a kiss out of her.
Water joined them-not the stuff coming out of the showerhead-but the Element itself. She actually felt the blue between them. It was stronger than superglue.
When the kiss ended, she opened her eyes and stared into his. The magic words ping-ponged around in her mouth again like superheated electrons dying to go radioactive.
Instead of speaking, she thought at him really, really hard.
I love you.
He smiled.
s.h.i.t. Her aura, or whatever, must have betrayed her. Her cheeks heated. He leaned forward, inches away from her face but not touching anywhere, and turned off the faucet behind her. "I"m sorry, were you going to say something?"
A droplet coursed down his cheek, over his lips, and fell on hers. She pa.s.sed her tongue over the spot. "Me? No. Just enjoying the view."
He pushed the shower curtain aside and offered her a hand out of the tub. "Ditto."
Zoe dried off quickly, then tossed the towel around his shoulders and wiped him down. Grinning, he stood before the steamy mirror looking like one of those Greek G.o.d statues, hot and naked, hair and body glistening. He shoved a toothbrush in his mouth, bit down on it, then opened a drawer and rummaged around. He held up a packaged toothbrush for her.
She smiled and accepted it. "You have overnight guests often?"
"Nope. I bought this one with you in mind."
Gush.
She opened the plastic wrapping. He gave her a squirt of his toothpaste. Brushing commenced side by side, each of them sneaking glimpses at the other"s reflection in the foggy mirror.
This was what couples did. They brushed their teeth and had conversations before they went to work. They shared breakfast and kissed each other goodbye.
She"d never been part of a couple. Yes, she and Randy had a thing for a while, but they never did...this. He was usually gone before she woke up.
She caught Gavin"s eye in the gla.s.s. He didn"t seem the "couple" type either, but standing beside him now with toothbrushes scrubbing and white foam gathering at the corners of their mouths, she wanted nothing more.
Don"t be stupid. You can"t keep him. It would never work out.
True. For more reasons than she could count.
She spit out a mouthful of minty bubbles and splashed her face. He glanced at her and did the same.
She"d only be in Australia through the end of October, and then it was back to the States until next August. The whales dictated where she lived at any given time. Randy had pretty much told her she"d wrapped up the Vice President job, and after this wildly productive season of tagging, the Board would have no choice but to endorse her promotion.
Though she"d love to stay in Australia with Gavin, the lure of the whales was too strong, and his jobs-in Realis and the Dreaming-wouldn"t make it any easier for them to be together outside of Hervey Bay"s whale season.
Overriding it all was the whole no-sleeping-together thing. An occasional night of not dreaming might be okay, but more than a couple at a time would impact her health.
It was best to take what she could get and make the most of what they had for now. She wanted to create memories with him, not bring home guilt souvenirs.
"What are you worried about?" He stepped behind her, covering her naked body with his vividly colored arms.
"Nothing." She stretched her neck, kissed him, and wiggled out of his embrace.
Zoe headed to his bedroom. Gavin followed.
He slipped on a pair of faded jeans. Her clothes from yesterday now dry, she dressed, too, and grabbed a corner of the chocolate-smeared linens.
He arched a brow. "Tell me." Shirtless, he helped her dismantle the bed.
"I"m worried about the Wyldlings and the Waeters." It wasn"t a lie. Her dreams last night had been the most disturbing ones yet. The Fyres had resorted to downright vicious tactics. Bullying had transformed into pack-mentality hunting. The brutality bordered on pure evil. "The Dreaming is getting hotter by the night. I haven"t seen any Sentinels around in weeks. What"s going on with Whetu?"
He let go of the sheet hem. "I don"t know."
"There must be another way into the Dreaming."
Gavin"s gaze lost focus. He worried his bottom lip between a thumb and forefinger, then paced.
"You found something?" Zoe"s heart tripped.
He paused. "I-" He shook his head. Dropped hands to his hips. He stared past her, his expression bouncing between hopeful and discouraged. Almost as if he were arguing with himself. Or grappling with some truth he wasn"t sure he should disclose.
His entire demeanor shifted from that of the sweet, loving guy she"d just showered with to a closed off, cold man she"d never met.
An invisible door slammed between them. Even his voice cooled. "I"m searching for...another option."
"What kind of option? Maybe I can help."
For a moment, she thought he wasn"t going to answer. But he finally did. "There"s a legend about a Dreamweaver-a dream G.o.ddess, if you will. I have no idea whether she"s real or not, but if she is, she controls all the doors into the Dreaming." Gavin kept his gaze on the carpet as he rushed to and fro.
Zoe tossed the ball of linens to the floor and stood in front of him, blocking his fevered path. "Okay. That sounds like a great lead. She must know how the Fyres are getting in. Where do we look for her? It feels like we"re spinning our wheels here, waiting for something to happen. We"ve got to be proactive."
He nodded, sucked in a hard breath, and sat on the edge of the bed. She settled beside him.
"About-" Brows furrowed, he opened his mouth to say something else, then shut it.
"About what?" What the h.e.l.l was going on with him? "You"re not still upset about last night, are you?"
A hint of pink flared in his cheeks.
Embarra.s.sment? Zoe wove her fingers between his and drew the knot of their hands to her chest. "Gavin, we"re starting fresh. The past is behind us. We need to focus on the future for the Wyldlings and Waeters. We can"t change what Scarlet did, so there"s no use dwelling on it. I told you I forgive you, and I mean it."
Heartbreak cracked the veneer of his worried expression for a split second, then cold, hard cement filled it in. "You"re right. The past is the past." He didn"t look at her.
She didn"t like the thickening distance creeping in between them again. "We"re in this together. As a team."
He sucked on his bottom lip.
"Let"s head over to Jack"s house and see how things are going with Whetu. After we check in, you can hit the Dreaming in search of this Dreamweaver person. Screw Scarlet and the Fyres. We"ll find a way around them."
With a wince, he nodded.
A desperate flash of panic lit his eyes as his gaze fell to the floor. He ironed the wrinkles from his expression a millisecond too late.
Chapter Twenty-four.
The moment Gavin parked in Jack"s driveway, his Dreamsense freaked the f.u.c.k out. His tattoos lit up like neon signs-all four Elements-red, blue, green, and yellow. Dinging clappers beat loudly against the inside of his head.
Jaw set on a hard edge since they left his place, he pointed at the house through the heavy rain streaks smearing the car windows. "Elementals in there."
Zoe nodded. "Yeah, Jack keeps some strange company."
Indeed. Gavin had no idea who the Fyre and Waeter might be, but he"d met Vexx, and of course Jet Hawthorne, the Erthe who"d saved Zoe"s life after Gavin ended it. The two mystery Elementals must have been the other members of the Librus team Jack brought to Australia.
The storm spat rain in uneven, fast bursts. Aqua showing her displeasure about something? Maybe. His Fire tattoos had been itchy all morning. Not to mention his conscience.
"You coming?" Zoe asked.
"I"ll say h.e.l.lo to Jack and then shove off to look for the Dreamweaver. You can ring me when you"re done, and I"ll pick you up." He was supposed to go to a Sentinel Council meeting, but f.u.c.k that. They"d know in an instant something was up with his Fire.
And he definitely couldn"t stay here. He"d put everyone at risk if Scarlet overheard something she shouldn"t.
"It"s a date." Zoe smacked his cheek with a kiss, popped open her door, and ran through the rain to the house.
Gavin got out of the car and followed. The combination of the Fire and lies detonated another round of explosions in his gut. He rubbed his stomach. This s.h.i.t was eating him alive.
Calm down, or Jack will sense something"s wrong.
Scarlet"s laughter stung his ears as a wave of cinnamon from his skin choked him.
Water. He paused for a moment, closed his eyes. The rain and the Water Zoe had shared flowed over him. Absorbing the Element and channeling it to the burning hole in his chest, he sighed. Scarlet sunk deeper in her cage and quieted. A temporary fix, but he was safe for now.
Zoe waved him to her side. He slipped his hand in hers. More blue streamed into him. Even better.
Jack answered the door, beer in hand. With brows raised, he seesawed his gaze back and forth between Gavin and Zoe. "Am I seeing this right? I thought you two weren"t speaking."
Gavin exchanged glances with Zoe. She blushed and lowered her head. "We"re working things out," she said.
Jack laughed and stepped out of the way to let them in. "Glad to hear it."
Zoe half-hugged Jack as she went into the house. Both of their auras cooled to blue. Father and daughter were still a bit awkward around each other, but Gavin was glad they"d been spending time together. No one would protect Zoe better than Jack.
Voices rose from a back room. A crash followed, then a string of curses uttered by a bloke with an American accent. Jack turned in that direction and shouted, "Byrn, I swear to f.u.c.k, if you mess with Vexx again, you"re in time-out."
"I got him." That voice was familiar. Jet.
Clunking and b.u.mping thundered from the room. Fast moving shadows danced into the hallway. Then a man with a bright red aura flew out and slammed against the wall.
What the f.u.c.k was going on in there? Gavin glanced at Zoe. She smiled. "I"m sure he deserved it."
The Fyre got up, rolled his shoulders, and swaggered back in the room. "I love the way you sweet-talk me, Jet."
Jack shook his head. "They"re like children, I swear. Worse, actually." He whacked Gavin"s arm with the back of his hand. "You want a beer?"
"No, I"m only here for a minute. You mind if I give my regards to Jet?"
"Be my guest."
Tightening the Watery enclosure around Scarlet"s Fire, Gavin headed down the hall. His Dreamsense buzzed with a low whine. He pa.s.sed a closed door, and his blue tattoos crawled. Jack"s Waeter friend must"ve been in there. He continued onward.
Three Elementals stood around Whetu"s bed. The girl looked the same as when Gavin had last seen her-asleep with burn scars down her neck. Jet hovered like a mother hen. Behind her, the big Fyre peered over her shoulder at Whetu. Pink-haired, bubblegum-popping Vexx looked on from a chair beside the bed, her brows knitted tightly together.
"Sorry to interrupt." Gavin stepped into the room, careful to keep the Fire to a low simmer.
All three faced him. The bloke-Byrn, he a.s.sumed-puffed out his chest and narrowed his eyes.
Scarlet"s Fire answered with a flare. f.u.c.king h.e.l.l.
He pushed it down with a quick swallow of Water.
Jet reached around Byrn to shake Gavin"s hand with a vise-like grip. "You look much better than the last time I saw you." Her green eyes sparkled behind the gla.s.ses when she smiled.
Pay your respects, and get out before the Fyre gets suspicious.
Gavin nodded. "I wanted to say thanks for what you did for Zoe and me. I owe you...a lot. I won"t forget it."
Jet sat on the bed near Whetu"s feet. "It wasn"t a problem."