Hell. Ellie groaned and slumped back onto her bed. She had no job, no means of avoiding Cadmus now, and no discipline when it came to her traitorous, unruly body.
The way things were shaping up, she’d be begging him to take her by the end of the day, and hating herself for it.
Cadmus stormed into the living room, seething with irritation and a foreign sense of hurt that made no sense. Way to go, jackass. Why not just wave a red flag and admit how much you want her? And while you’re at it, act so conceited that now she won’t touch you with a ten-foot pole out of sheer spite.
Groaning at what he’d done, he tumbled onto her short, uncomfortable couch and wondered how he’d gone from smooth-talker to lackwit in so little time. For some reason, Ellie affected him, badly. With other women, he could charm and flirt. Hell, he’d once done as much to Ellie, before he’d learned the truth. That he’d begun falling for a damn Djinn.
She’d been so damned sweet and so intoxicating he’d been helpless to resist her. He’d never before seen a woman with her beauty, one that radiated from deep within and was mirrored outwardly in a package irresistible to any man with a pulse. She’d made his nights at Outpour bearable, until he could think of little more than seeing her again. Touching her again. Tasting her again.
His cock throbbed at the memories, his frustration compounding as turbulent images pressed him. Their first kiss, the feel of her silken skin under his palms, skin that he’d so recently stroked…
He growled and stood, pacing the narrow confines of her eclectic apartment. He’d let the woman bewitch him until he didn’t know up from down. He frowned, not understanding why she acted like the aggrieved party when he’d been the one played for a fool. She’d tricked him into sharing vital knowledge about his family, possibly putting them in harm’s way. It was only sheer dumb luck she and her father were rebel Djinn, bent on helping the Storm Lords’ cause.
Throwing himself back onto the couch, he linked his hands behind his head and focused on cooling down his overheated body. Thoughts of Jonas and the mess Cadmus had left in Foreia put him in better spirits. He hadn’t exactly told Ellie the truth of why he’d left the Djinn homeworld. Yes, he’d riled Jonas’ friends, but he’d been attacking their Dark Mistress, Lexa Van Nostren, and all because of her hostile attitude towards Arim.
Hell, it wasn’t as if Cadmus had asked for Lexa’s help. Of course, the spells she’d taught him, as well as the knowledge she’d surprisingly imparted about her own kind, would more than aid him should he—when he—met ‘Sin Garu again. He shook his head, still puzzling over the Lexa’s convoluted relationship with her family.
Growing up with three irritating though loving brothers, as well as nurturing parents, had taught Cadmus to revere family. He couldn’t imagine being pleased with one of his brothers’ deaths, nor would he ever consciously betray them to an enemy, no matter what the cause.
Perhaps all the Dark Lords were evil, not merely Dark but full of death and corruption. From what he’d heard of B’alen, that description applied. And he’d seen enough of ‘Sin Garu to confirm that bastard’s perfidy. But Lexa didn’t seem anything like a Dark Lord, or Dark Mistress, as Jonas and his Djinn called her. In her presence, Cadmus had to remind himself not to like her.
Her dry sense of humour, breathtaking beauty and incredible knowledge of spells were enough to throw even an experienced Djinn like Jonas. Jonas actually bowed in her presence. Everything Cadmus had learned about the Djinn told him how little they thought of sovereignty. Yet Jonas spoke to her with reverence, nothing at all like the way he talked to Cadmus, a Storm Lord prince.
He shook his head. Lexa and Jonas deserved each other. Both had layers of Dark power surging through their blood—if Lexa even had any through all that ice—that made Cadmus uneasy. And trying to make sense of anything Jonas said half the time gave him a headache.
Admittedly, Jonas had a wicked sense of humour that more often than not made him want to laugh, despite his irritation at being denied his homeworld. In the weeks Cadmus had been forced to endure the Djinn’s company, he’d never seen the man so affected by anyone…with the exception of Lexa and Ellie, of course.
He scowled. Were Jonas and Ellie related? They called themselves cousins, but Jonas referred to his fellow warriors as brothers. So maybe cousin was a vague Djinn reference for friendship? Just the thought of Jonas and Ellie being intimate, of the dark Djinn touching her, kissing her, brought forth a strange anger that had Cadmus hungry for something beyond his comprehension.
“Cadmus?” Ellie asked tentatively from her doorway.
“Yes?” He kept his voice even, determined to keep his cool around her. He’d never get her to surrender if he taunted her at every turn.
She cautiously approached wearing jeans and a blouse. Casual, but on her they looked like designer wear. Her eyes widened. Reaching out a soft, long-fingered hand, she stroked his arm, making him groan at the tingly sensation. “You’re in truth, Cadmus. I’m not sure how or why, but you’re definitely not yourself.”
Cadmus glanced down at his arm and stared in shock. Where his arm should have been, a bright white band of energy glowed, surrounded by black flame.
“Relax and breathe deeply,” she ordered, calming him with her steady nerve. “I’ve seen my father control this. You just have to release whatever’s inside you holding onto that energy.”
“What energy? What the hell is this?”
“I’m not sure.” She turned his cheek to face her and looked deeply into his eyes. Her power was an almost tangible thing he could reach out and touch. “Trust me, Cadmus. Focus on the core inside you, that anger, rage, whatever passion that has fixed you in truth, and let it go. Deep, consistent breathing helps.”
“Sure.” Easier said than done. He evened out his breathing, trying to unglue his mind from the wall of panic threatening to overtake him. Since when did Storm Lords—Light Bringers—burn in truth?
Ellie’s touch grew soothing, and after several minutes passed, he gradually felt something inside of him ease. Blinking at Ellie, he felt his heart leap, and he struggled to grab hold of his senses. By the Light, her eyes were a startling, alluring shade of blue.
“Thanks,” he said gruffly. He rubbed his temples, a headache brewing. The last time he’d been thrust in truth, he’d afterward had head pain for hours.
“What were you thinking before you changed?”
“I don’t know. Let’s just forget this happened, okay? Now what’s on the agenda for today?” He didn’t want to talk about flashing like a Djinn until he had time to think about what it might mean. And he had no intention of revealing how much thoughts of Ellie with another man stung him. He glanced at her and saw her bite her lip as she looked at his chest and lower.
His cock hardened. More pain he didn’t need right now. But watching Ellie turn a pretty shade of pink and try to pretend she hadn’t been looking appeased his frustration. Somewhat.
Ellie coughed and looked anywhere but at Cadmus. “First, you’re going to get dressed.”
“I am dressed.”
“Put a shirt on. Then we’ll go down to the university, where I’ll register for the upcoming summer classes. With any luck, I’ll be able to finish at least four of my remaining six credits.”
Grabbing a shirt from his duffel bag, he threw it on, pleased his body made her so uncomfortable. He joined her in the kitchen and settled on a stool overlooking the kitchen island. She grabbed a pan and a carton of eggs and started working. Satisfied she didn’t intend to bolt, at least not anytime soon, he gave in to his rampant curiosity and asked the questions he’d wanted to ask for weeks.