Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
She huffs. “Not everyone is as unflinchingly confident as you.”
“You should be,” I say before I can stop myself.
She holds my gaze, her features shaped with disbelief.
“What?” I ask. “You should be. You’re…stunning. Brilliant. Full of fire. Nothing should be an embarrassment to you. Struggling with your power in the beginning is normal. It exploding at emotionally heightened times is normal. Saint told me it happens to Aurora during…” I stop myself, suddenly realizing I might be sharing secrets I shouldn’t.
“During panic attacks,” Annika finishes for me, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. “We’ve talked about it.” She grins softly. “She’s getting better. She doesn’t go into full detail about what her and Saint work on during their time together, but she’s getting…clearer, more grounded.”
“I’m glad,” I say. “This trip seems to be helping her.”
Annika nods.
“Do you have panic attacks?”
She shakes her head.
I press my lips together. “You don’t have to tell me,” I say. “But, I hope you will sometime. So I can understand you better. Help teach you better.”
A battle flickers over her face. “I was using the bath to relax,” she says, struggling to get every word out.
“Okay,” I say. “And that’s embarrassing because?”
She groans, rolling her eyes. “I needed a release.”
Everything in me goes statue-still at that small admission. That kernel of truth she’s trusted me with.
Desire. Passion. Release. That’s what had triggered her power.
I swallow hard, nodding. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“Sure thing.” She blows out a breath, and the tension between us mounts. “Not sure how that is going to help.”
“Has anything like that ever happened before?” I ask. “When you were with someone?” The question tastes sour on my tongue. For some reason, picturing another male’s hands on her makes me want to rip out hearts.
“No.” She sputters a laugh. “Though, I haven’t been with anyone like that in a while. The last time…I don’t think my power had manifested yet. It certainly wasn’t an explosive enough experience to merit anything happening either.”
“It wasn’t?” Anger and relief snap through me, the most conflicting sensation.
“Nope.” Her eyes drop to the water, more embarrassment coloring her face.
“That should be a crime,” I say, and she looks up at me again. “You deserve explosive.”
Her full lips part. “I do?”
I nod.
“I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “I can’t even connect with my power. And the longer I can’t, the more of a liability I am to the family.” She sighs. “I want to help. I want to be useful.”
“You are useful,” I argue.
“I’m okay in hand-to-hand, thanks to training with my aunt before she got pregnant, sure. But if I could wield my power? I’d be able to help us in the fight that’s coming.” There’s a pleading look in her eyes, a desperation that pricks my chest. “I know I can be a brat about these lessons,” she continues. “But I really want to master this. I know in order to do that, I need your help.”
I swallow hard. This would normally be the time I make a smart-ass remark. But…I can’t think straight. Not when she’s looking up at me like that. Like I’m the answer to every question she has.
“Ugh,” she groans. “Sorry about the pity party. I just really want this to work.”
“I know you do.” I clear my throat. “Have you tried recreating that night?”
Annika’s eyes flare wide. “The night I froze everything?”
“Yes.”
She presses her lips together. The flush along her cheeks is answer enough.
“And did anything happen?” I ask. “Clearly, you didn’t freeze yourself again or you would’ve called for help.”
She huffs a laugh. “No,” she says. “Nothing happened. Maybe that night was a fluke.”
Or maybe, she needs more.
It’s a torturous, terrible idea. One that sends lava shooting through my veins.
Fuck it. She said she trusted me. No harm in asking if she wants to do an experiment.
“Can I try something?” I ask, walking around her, stopping when I’m behind her.
“Try what?” She whispers the question.
“Try to trigger the power connection again,” I say, my heart pounding in my chest. “You might need a bigger push. And recognizing that connection is the key to finding it and the source of your power.”
Everything narrows to her. The way the curves of her body look in that swimsuit as I stand behind her in the water. The way her breath hitches. The way I can scent her—a combination of her signature smell and something headier.
Desire.
Fuck, it smells so sweet on her.
“No pressure,” I say, not wanting to push her. I want to help her.
I want to touch her too—I’m not a total saint—but I want her to feel empowered just as much.
“I’ve failed at everything else,” she finally says with a shrug. “Do your worst.”
I chuckle, trailing my fingertip over her bare shoulder. “This okay?”
“Yes,” she breathes.
I glide my hand gently up the curve of her neck. She tips her head back slightly, almost like she doesn’t even realize she’s leaning into me. She said she’d needed a release that night, who’s to say she doesn’t need another one now?