Page 29 of Torn Between Two Worlds

“Bet you'd never guess they have birds here, lorikeets. Bright, colorful, friendly birds.”

He wasn'tsure which was more entertaining to watch, the way Ciara happily floated from area to area, explaining things to him or the creatures themselves. He would have to properly thank her for the trip. He was a swimmer sure, but he definitely hadn't seen many of the creatures and was impressed at just how many man could capture.

The trip to the birdhouse hadn't been his favorite. The incessant chirping made him want to flick the birds from their perches. But again, she looked so happy, and the smile on her face made him smile.

“Well,” she said as she raised her arm for the bird eating out of a cup of food could get off, “that's it. Time to head home.”

He raised a brow at her and grabbed for her out of instinct. She masterfully sidestepped him, and he began to regret the date being public for the second or third time. “Sweetheart, I may not be experienced, but I sure as hell know every aquarium has something in the way of sharks. So no, not time to go just yet, I want you to show me it all if it's your favorite place.”

Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she rolled her foot nervously against the ground. “I don't like sharks. And before you give me the same lecture I've heard a million times, it’s called respect. When something is easily four feet and two hundred pounds bigger than me, with three rows of teeth, I don't really enjoy being in their way.”

Her discomfort made him smile. It suddenly made sense. “Good to know you're afraid of something. Come on, though, they're behind glass, and I'll protect you.”

She made a face at him that said she'd heard that a handful of other times, but sighed and lead the way to the tank. He could see inside the glass tunnel as they approached, and he grinned at the entrance. Such magnificent beasts, sharks were. He'd always wondered who would win, a Great White or War, but he'd never tried. He didn't feel like explaining to his brothers his wounds, or worse, missing body parts if the damn shark did win.

When he walked forward, and she didn't, he frowned. She was shaking just a little, and he realized she hadn't been kidding. He'd watched her stare down and fire at men trying to kill her easier than she was contemplating stepping inside the tunnel.

Horror contorted her face, and she screamed. Stryder turned quickly to see what was bothering her and saw the six men step out of the blurred doorway. She must have been so focused on her fear that it opened.

“Fuck.”

Grabbing his knives from his boots, he threw one at the neck of the closest man, dropping him immediately. He couldn't pay attention to Ciara and the five men, so he decided to hope she could get her ass out of the way. “I can't play babysitter right now. Get out of here. Don't run. Your scream already drew attention.”

It had. Heads had turned but had written her off as someone just hysterically afraid of sharks. A slash to his back had a growl rippling through him. Turning, he punched the female in the stomach before kicking her legs out from under her, grabbing her by the head and twisting.

The gasp near him told him Ciara hadn't moved. In fact, she was staring at her hands, and he swore she was playing with fire. “Get out of here, Ciara. Now!”

She jerked her head side to side and lifted her hand. A streak of fire licked down the tunnel, skimming over the glass and slamming into both men across from her. Three down, three to go. He didn't need War, so he didn't bother accessing the link in their DNA.

“I really, really fucking hope this shit can't be seen or melt that glass.”

She was pale, and he didn't blame her. However, based on the reactions, people had only seen her raise her hand. Her sentence drew a startled look from the man next to her, and he shoved her out of the way.

“Damn it, Ciara!” He grabbed the female coming to him by the collar and slammed her head into the tank. Red spilled down her face, and she dropped to the floor, alive but not an issue.

It wasn't until he was rounding on the final two that he felt the ground shake. He turned to Ciara and saw her just staring at the ground. The people around them were completely unshaken. Whatever was going on was only happening for them, and he was a little tired of not knowing all the rules.

A second later, he felt the heat behind him as he turned and saw Ciara, tears sliding down her face and a ball of fire the size of his head resting on her hand before she flicked her wrist and it flew at the last of their enemies. Sizzling and screams echoed because of the glass tunnel they were in.

Her arms wrapped around her, and she didn't bother to wipe at her face. “Stryder. As I mentioned, I really don't like sharks, and I'm going home now.”

He practically had to chase her out of the aquarium to catch up in time to get in the car with her. Her sobs were audible, and he had a pretty damn good feeling it was because of what she had been able to do that had terrified her, not the attack itself.

Reaching out, he stroked a hand through her hair and grasped her right hand in his, which she quickly pulled out. “I don't want to talk, Stryder. I just want to drive.”

15

The ride back took forever. They'd hit traffic, and he was ready to jump out of his skin if it got Ciara to stop ignoring him. The tears had stopped, and she was stoic. When they'd finally parked, she seemed devoid of emotion.

When he closed her apartment door, he wrapped his arms around her, tugging her backward into him. Turning her around, he kissed her. No rush, just a gentle kiss, meant to calm her and bring some sort of awareness back to her since she seemed lost in herself. It hadn't been his intent to let her take over, but she did.

Her mouth opened against his, and he was powerless to stop her tongue from controlling their kiss, their pace. Her hands ran down his body, and he felt them tug at the hem of his shirt. Gods did he want her, but it was more important to figure out what she could and couldn't do. One weird seeming power at a time. Who knew, maybe she could control all the elements, her last Guardian was a Wiccan, and that was what they did after all.

She'd been kissing him. Trying to distract him, and damn her, it almost worked. He pulled back and didn't bother to hide it as he adjusted his cock in his pants. Her eyes followed his hand, and he winked at her.

“No fair, you're a tease, mister,” her voice was playful.

He couldn't resist placing a kiss on her nose. He wasn't sure how she turned off being afraid, but he liked that side of her better and knew how to deal with it.

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