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“I hope so,” I said.
Chapter20
Kaia
Ifollowed the path Elijah took with trepidation. I knew he would kill me for following him into the woods alone, but we needed to talk and come to an understanding. I would wait and give him more time to cool off, but I didn’t know if I’d get another opportunity to get him alone. Plus, there never was a good time to approach Elijah. All times were bad times.
On the other hand, unlike in the past, Elijah wasn’t pushing me away. He may have been acting like his Ash-hole self, picking fights and acting extra grumpy, but I saw it was coming from a good place. He was playing the overprotective older brother role I used to associate with him, but with more growling and curse words and fewer hugs. He wanted me safe. I understood that.
It pained me to admit it, but this ordeal gave me a reason to respect him again. He was handling this situation with grace and humility rather than lashing out like I had done. Elijah lost Liam, too, yet he led this team like his entire world hadn’t practically ended.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t let the guys do everything. I would pull my weight within reason. If Elijah didn’t like that, we would have problems.
I followed thethump, thump, thumpof an ax. The further I walked, the angrier I got, so I ultimately settled on the attack first, ask questions later method Elijah and I had both grown comfortable with. I would say everything I needed to say right away before Elijah could bulldoze me with his often not-so-faulty logic and inability to change his mind once it was set. If there was one person more stubborn than me, it was him.
Despite my fretting and posturing, I froze when I saw Elijah and didn’t say a thing. He was chopping a thick log into foot-long sections. One powerful arc of his ax broke them into several smaller pieces at his feet before he kicked them to the side and grabbed another. He made it look effortless, his rhythm and technique flawless.
I don’t know what I had expected to see when I found Elijah. I was following the sound of an ax. I should have been prepared for the sight of him using said ax. But I wasn’t. Elijah had removed his tunic and wore only thin linen pants that flowed along the curve of his backside. His ass and thigh muscles flexed with each swing while his bare back rippled and glistened with sweat. All thoughts left my head, and I couldn't help but stare, my mouth suddenly dry.
Dropping the ax at his feet, Elijah grabbed a canteen off the ground to his right and drank deeply. I watched his throat bob and had to swallow around my tight throat. His strong jaw— which had become more defined with time— was even more pronounced with his head tipped back. I swear my heart stopped as a line of sweat trailed down the column of his neck.
He was beautiful. So unbelievably beautiful.
I have found lots of men attractive over the years. None of them were Ash, though, and this level of attraction was the start of something I’d promised myself I would never feel for him again.
Elijah may have started out as an older brother of sorts, my mentor, but during my teenage years, things changed for me. Instead of watching him train to study his form, I became mesmerized by how his Fire Power reflected in his dark eyes, appearing to make them blaze. I had memorized the mouthwatering way his powerful frame moved against his black uniform. The intensity in his expression stopped being intimidating and made me long to have his eyes focused solely on me.
I hadn’t experienced attraction like that before and hadn’t noticed the signs. At this point, I knew better. I understood this heat in my stomach and knew why my heart was pounding.
I hurried forward, trying to appear like I’d just walked up and hadn’t been standing there for several minutes ogling him. In my haste, my foot caught on a thistle that wouldn’t give, and I fell hard, my knees and palms slamming into the ground.Great job, Kaia.
Elijah turned, stance threatening and alert. His tension didn’t ease as he approached where I was sprawled on the ground before him, completely mortified.
“Are you okay?” Elijah asked, his lip curled into a scowl.
Wincing, I sat up. I could see his outstretched hand in my peripheral, a clear offer to help me to my feet. I ignored it, ignored him, and tended to myself instead. My knees and palms were scraped raw, and I focused on dusting off dirt and rocks.
“Don’t worry, I’ve had worse,” I chortled with a forced, painful smile. I refused to look at Elijah.
Elijah's entire body went tight.
It was a terrible joke, one I never would have made under normal circumstances. Elijah had fried my brain, and I only scrambled it further by falling face-first into the dirt at his feet when I got caught.
Kill me now.
I abandoned my knees and gave all of my focus to digging small rocks out of my hands.
“Tell me,” Elijah demanded through a clenched jaw. He gently grabbed my wrists, conscious of my battered hands, and hauled me to my feet. He released me quickly but still stood too close, giving off too much heat.
“Why do you want to know?” I asked, absolutely refusing to look at him. I never knew how to act around Elijah. I was already disadvantaged after that entrance, but this version of Elijah was even more challenging to handle. I wasn’t used to a friendly Elijah. Or one that showed he cared.
“Not knowing is driving me crazy,” Elijah said, his jaw ticking near his ear. He reached for one of my hands, holding it and inspecting the damage. “I have imagined so many things.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to think about my time in captivity, let alone talk about it, especially with Elijah. But even if I felt comfortable, I couldn’t speak. The way his back muscles rippled and glistened was still fresh in my head, and there he was, touching me. It took all my effort to concentrate on slowly inhaling and exhaling so my breathing would level out.
“I’m sorry, Kaia. I should have come sooner.” Elijah only glanced up once he was finished removing particles from my right hand, looking into my eyes a moment before taking my left.
“It’s okay. I survived,” I managed.
