EXCERPT

The Elementals: Goddess of Water
by Marteeka Karland
cover art by Bryan Keller
ISBN: 978-1-59596-273-7
Genre(s): Paranormal
Length: Novella

"We need to talk, Jada."

"I know." She was weary beyond imagination. All she really wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a week. "I don't suppose there is any way I could take a nap first?"

Cronos blinked. "I'm sorry." Swearing under his breath, he stood and paced the length of the room. "I'm no better than those vultures surrounding you." He turned and walked to her, laying a hand on her shoulder and squeezing gently. "I'll leave you to rest. If you need me --"

"Would you mind staying with me?" Why was she doing this to herself? Jada had asked the chief priest the same question more times than she cared to count over the years, and the answer had always been a gentle "no."

He took a breath, seeming to hesitate, as if unsure what he should do. "Do you really want me to?" The question caught her off guard, and triggered the emotional release she'd been holding back for years.

It started with a sniffle. One tear escaped her eye then she started to sob uncontrollably. Once the flood started, there was no stopping it. She reached for him blindly, her tears obscuring her vision. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she clung to him as if he were her only lifeline on an endless ocean.

"Please, Cronos," she cried into his neck, "I can't bear to be alone." Her sobs bordered on hysterical, she knew, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. "I know you don't want me sexually, and with everything that's happened I can't blame you, but would it be such a hardship for you to hold me and keep the bad dreams away, just this once?"

His arms tightened around her almost painfully for a moment before he pushed her to arm's length away from him. "Listen to me, Jada." His face was fierce. Whatever point he needed to make, he was very serious about it. "You are the most incredibly beautiful and sexy woman I've ever met. If I gave you the impression I wasn't interested, it was only because I was trying to straighten up the mess your predecessor left for you." When he closed his eyes and took a breath, Jada used that opportunity to pull herself together and really listen to what he had to say.

When he spoke again, it was obvious he chose his words with care. "There are things about being Goddess of Water of which you have no comprehension. I know you have the instincts, but you've been told so much what you have to do, that you haven't done what you were meant to do." Cupping her face in his hands with all the tenderness she had come to expect from him, he stared into her eyes with an intensity she had never before seen in him. "And make no mistake, Jada, I will claim you as my own, but not before you are ready, and only -- only -- if you still want me."

She blinked several times, tears falling once again. "I don't understand. I've wanted you since I first came to Atlantis, but you've rejected me so many times…"

His fingers bit into her arms, "Because I do not want you to associate my need of your body with what those bloody priests have done to you."

Jada wasn't sure exactly what got into her -- maybe her daydream, maybe the lingering after effects of her orgasm -- but she grabbed his silky blond hair and pulled him to her roughly. She needed him to cleanse her, needed him to heal her. Kissing him was an obsession. She was so, so hungry for the taste of him. The desire she'd had for him all these years finally broke through the surface and she wasn't about to take "no" for an answer.

She nipped his lips with her teeth, licked his teeth with her tongue. All the while, he let her do as she would. He was never the aggressor, and he never pulled back.

When he scooped her up and laid her on the bed with infinite care, she expected he would follow and, finally, finally, take her, just as he had so many times in her dreams. Instead, he pulled her to him, pillowing her head on his chest, and whispered to her. "Not now. Not yet."

"Cronos, I need --"

"I know you do. I do, too. I can feel your emotions when they are high through our connection to the water. I can hear your thoughts when you want me to, again, because we both have a connection to water. Do you honestly think I'm unaffected by your love for me, Jada? There is so much we need to talk about. So much you don't -- can't -- understand right now. Just know that I will do everything I can to make you mine. And from this moment on, absolutely no one touches you unless you say. Not even me. Do you understand?"

"No." It was the only honest answer she could give. "But I know you'll explain it soon." She sighed. "You could have told me you wouldn't make love to me before I started kissing you."

Cronos chuckled. "Well, it was a rather sudden move on your part." He kissed the top of her head. "Tomorrow, Raphael will bring Pyros and Allison here. The three of us have to talk before this goes any farther."

She pulled back to look at him. "Raphael?"

His eyes darkened, and Jada swore he might just change his mind about making love to her. "Did you like kissing him, sweetheart?"

Jada felt a flush creep up her face. What could she say? She couldn't lie, not to Cronos. "Yes." Her whispered confession didn't have the effect on Cronos she thought it might.

"Good."