MADE

Forbidden

Alaric's hand came down on my shoulder as he raced past me and into the house. "Gonna go make a phone call," he cheered as he slipped behind the patio doors.

Elijah let out an exasperated sigh. "It's safe to say you take after your mother," he explained as he walked together away from the dock. There was a small quirk in his lips as he watched me.

I kept my gaze on my hands as I twirled my fingers together. Elijah stepped through the patio doors before me as Alaric clicked off the cellphone pressed to his ear. "Do you suppose-" Elijah started, but Alaric cut him off with a hand in the air.

"No," he said simply, "you know Rose has to be the answer."

Elijah sat down at the table. "But that was uncharacteristically decent."

"So?" Alaric asked grabbing a glass of water. "It has been almost eighteen years with a seal, and it just got peeled back all at once."

"True but-"

"Would somebody please tell me what happened out there?" I snapped.

They shared a quick glance before turning there gazes back to me.

"You just kicked your mother's ass," Alaric said with a grin plastered on his face.

I blinked at him.

Elijah scowled at him. "Many people have trouble learning to move the water. Some take years to raise a single wave. Amara was successful her first try, but not that successful."

"Amara is the most gifted out of the whole sector," Alaric began leaning his elbows on the counter. "And you just blew by her first years of training with one attempt."

"So that's a good thing?" I said taking a seat on the other side of the counter.

"Very," Alaric smirked, downing his water glass. I leaned my elbows on the counter, staring him in the eyes. I was so close I could smell the summer air on his skin. He watched me back, staring at the freckles beginning to appear on my nose, and then his eyes went down.

I swatted at his face as he quickly pulled his eyes away from my breasts. He grinned, a laugh coating the air as I glared. He slipped out of the room, still laughing.

Elijah peered between us, face blank.

Something stirred in my gut, something that made me uncomfortable.

Elijah's gaze dropped to the floor as he shook his head as if trying to rid his brain of something. My head tilted to the side, watching as he clenched his fists at his sides.

He stalked out of the kitchen a moment later, leaving me alone.

I didn't see Elijah for the rest of the night, and I only saw Alaric once when he put a bowl of nastiness in front of me. He finished mine for me since I couldn't even seem to get a bit down.

I went up to my room and showered. I was sitting cross-legged on my bed when a knock came at my door. I pulled the sheets over my legs to hide the fact that I was only wearing underwear.

"Yeah?" I asked.

The door cracked open, and Elijah's face appeared on the other side. "Can I bother you for a moment?" he asked stepping inside the door.

He was still in his jeans, but the t-shirt he wore was different. It hugged his torso as if it was wet.

I nodded, and he came to sit in front of me, back to the door. He tried to smile, but it looked forced. "Mari," he began as he struggled to find the right words. "Is there something going on between you and Alaric?"

I blinked at him, something between Alaric and me? If there was, I had missed it.

"No," I started narrowing my eyes. "Why?"

"Just curious," he said beginning to stand, "that's all."

"Elijah wait," I said reaching to grab his hand to pull him back down. As my fingers closed around his wrist, he froze. He hesitantly sat back down.

"Why would you think I had a thing for Alaric? Is it because of what happened in the kitchen?"

He let out a sigh, before turning his gaze away from mine. "Yes," he said quietly. His face turned back to mine, eyes looking like green flames. Shame washed over his face, causing his skin to heat.

"There is nothing wrong with that," I replied.

"There is plenty wrong with this," he said gazing at me.

I dropped my hand. "Why is that?" I asked leaning ahead without knowing it.

"It's forbidden," he mumbled, eyes watching my mouth.

I almost didn't hear him; I couldn't concentrate on anything except his eyes as he moved closer to me. "What is?" I whispered.

"This," he said quietly as his mouth came down on the corner of my mouth.

For a moment, everything went quiet.

There was no pounding of my heart, no breath drawn in or out. We were both frozen, feeling electricity running through us both like a circuit board.

I wanted nothing more than for him to cover my mouth with his. To pull me against him, to put my fingers in his copper hair and kiss him back.

But he pulled away and slipped out the door without another word.