LAILAH
TWO
"Trouble," Parker scolded when he entered the kitchen.
After Hudson and I finished our shower, he'd gone off to check on his lab before we left, and I retreated to the one place in this house that put me at peace—the kitchen.
My parents owned a diner back in Wisconsin and my mother taught me how to cook at a very early age.
I was a good cook, but my passion was baking, and being unable to sleep once I'd woken up from nightmares, I found myself down here baking myself a snack.
Sarah was the cook, along with her husband Garrett, but she never stood in the way of me baking for the boys so she didn't have to keep up with their bottomless pit of a stomach-- her words not mine.
I don't know what it was about the process, but it allowed me to be completely focused on the task at hand, forgetting all about what's happened.
I glanced up from the oven where I'd just pulled out a batch of cinnamon chip scones, to find Parker, arms crossed and scowling at me. "Good morning to you too."
Parker, the light hearted playful one out of the group, fit the jock profile to a T.
He was buff and well filled out, like a football player, with a shock of red hair styled in his signature faux-hawk.
His warm brown eyes shimmered with mischief, telling me that he wasn't really upset with me, but playing the part.
"It's six-thirty, which means if you are taking something out of the oven you've been awake for some time now," Parker reasoned.
"You should be cuddled up in bed even if you can't sleep, why not read one of your sexy harem books.
For research of course, didn't Cami help you find a bunch of them to put on the kindle we got you? "
I set aside the oven pads and walked over to him to snuggle in against his broad chest. For the man who was all heart, figuratively and literally, this had been the hardest on him, as much as it was on me.
Blessed with the element of spirit, or heart as he liked to call it, he could manipulate emotions but nothing he did could make my situation better.
He beat himself up over it and took it personally, as if he'd failed me somehow.
So, seeing me up and about early, knowing it was because of my nightmares, made him grumpy, which was far more Micah's thing.
"I thought it would be nice for us to have these on the flight," I muttered into his chest. "Besides, reading is great but baking helps to sooth me."
Pulling me away so he could see my face, he booped me on the nose. "You know I will never turn down anything you make, I already asked you to marry me because of your pie crusts. I just can't help but worry about you not getting enough sleep to deal with everything else going on."
"It's the summer, classes are done, and we get a break from training for me to go spend time with my family," I countered. "What if I promise that I will let you be in charge of making sure I have fun and relax while we are in the States?"
"You drive a hard bargain, Trouble, but I think I can work with those terms," Parker answered, flashing me a bright smile, before pulling me back into a tight hug. "By the way, the walls are not that sound proof."
Blushing, I shoved him away from me. "It was about damn time someone made me scream."
"I didn't realize that was on the table for me." Parker challenged.
Leaning against the island I crossed my arms, staring him down. "You never asked."
"Wait, am I late to the game here?" Parker asked, now looking concerned.
"No," I groaned. "That was the first bit of action I've seen in over a month and a half."
"Good thing we rented a house in town to stay at while we’re visiting, then we don't have to worry about keeping you quiet," Parker said with a smirk.
"What are we keeping her quiet for?" Cami chimed in as she entered the kitchen.
I gaped at her, making a dramatic show of looking at my wrist that had no watch, then back at her. "Is the world coming to an end? Do I see Cami Whittemore in all her neon pink haired glory awake, dressed, and dare I say, perky?"
"Ha, ha, very funny Lala," Cami answered dryly. "You know we have to leave for the airport in like thirty minutes, and a plane waits for no one, even if they are privately owned. Ooo, did you bake?"
Chuckling, I nodded and moved back to the oven to take them off the hot tray and put them on the cool granite counter. "You'll have to wait. They’re for breakfast on the plane."
Both Cami and Parker groaned at that, making me shake my head, grinning. Those two were so much alike it was crazy, it was one of the reasons they got along, but also seemed to get into large amounts of trouble.
"I'm going to check on Micah and make sure he's awake, I know how many are sitting there and when I come back there better be the same number," I glared at them both as I left the kitchen. "Sarah made muffins yesterday. They’re in the Tupperware on the counter."
"Fuck yeah," Parker yelled behind me. He was right, this house wasn't very soundproof and I hadn't been quiet…
Upstairs, I stopped at the first door on the right but didn't bother to knock as I entered, knowing the chances of Micah still being asleep were high—and I was right.
Curled up in his bed, with a pillow over his head, was the fire lord himself.
In an odd way, he reminded me of the Heatmiser from that old Christmas movie, full of hot air.
He had a temper and tended to act before he thought about things, but we were working on it, and he'd come a long way from the boy I sat on sleeping in the library.
I tugged the pillow off his head, revealing his long thick brown hair that I gently brushed out of his face.
"Time to wake up grumpy pants," I whispered.
"Fuck off," he grumbled and pulled the blankets over his head.
"Remember I tried to be nice," I warned, standing up and walking to the end of the bed. I gripped the sheets and yanked, letting them fall to the floor, leaving him exposed in only his boxers.
This had him shooting up in bed, his dual swords in hand, ready to fight off whatever evil might be upon him.
"Green Day boxers, those are new," I commented, cocking my head to the side taking in the full picture, grinning.
"What the actual fuck, Lailah?" he muttered, cobalt eyes flashing in anger. "I could have attacked you!"
I raised a brow at that, knowing how much he prided himself at being in control of his powers.
Being the bearer of the fire element came with its own set of problems, being one of the most volatile to control.
"Micah, I trust you with my life. Do you really think I’m worried about waking you up in the morning?
I tried to do it the easy way and you told me to f-off so this was the next option.
Although, I could have asked Parker to help… "
Micah all but growled as he got out of bed and charged over to me, boxing me in against the wall. "That would not be a very wise move there, Cookie."
"No? I thought you and Parker were trying to work on mending bridges?" I questioned, knowing I was tiptoeing the line of stirring the pot.
Something about Micah brought out the combative side of my nature, the one that I kept strictly limited to my inner monologue or t-shirts. My collection of sassy shirts was only growing, now that my boys wanted in on the game that my brothers started.
"We are—like you asked us to, but having him in my room is not a bridge I want to fix. A man needs space where he knows that he can be himself, without someone judging him," Micah retorted.
I let out a heavy sigh. Things between them had gotten marginally better since they all worked hard to take care of me, but it didn't stop the snarky comments and cheap shots at each other.
They had a long history, with many potholes, but the fact that they were both Elemental Warriors meant they would always be in each other's lives, no matter what.
Add on the fact that they would be Bonded to me, and it was just something they were going to have to figure out.
"You packed? We're leaving in a half hour or so, Cami's already here," I asked, reaching up to wrap my hands around his arms still keeping me captive.
Micah grunted his answer as he took another step forward, melding out bodies together.
Dipping his head, he captured my lips with his, making me moan as the connection, that was begging us to Bond, hummed between us.
Back closer to Christmas, I'd asked for his Oath and he turned me down, saying he wasn't ready, then I wasn't the one who was ready when he brought it up.
Now, I couldn't think of the reason why on Earth I didn't want this man to be declared mine for the rest of our lives together.
"Rumor through the walls is someone finally got lucky this morning," Micah whispered, lips brushing along mine. "Does this mean we can talk about making this official?"
"We can talk about it, but I'll tell you right now it's not gonna happen in the next thirty minutes," I chuckled, pressing a kiss to his lips and ducking under his arm. "Don't worry about breakfast, I made scones."
"That is not fucking breakfast, that's what you have for dessert after the real food," Micah yelled when I shut the door behind me as I left.
Smirking to myself, I ran right into a muscular chest covered in a tight black t-shirt that fit snuggly enough for anyone to know he had a six pack.
I let out a surprised squeak as arms wrapped around me to keep me from falling back.
Jay's handsome face greeted me with a smile tugging at his lips, showing just how much he enjoyed being able to surprise me.
It had become a game to him, once he discovered how easily he could do it when we first met.
His almond shaped, slate colored eyes gave me a critical look, always searching to make sure that I was safe from harm.
Jay was showered, dressed, and alert, probably already having gone on a five mile run.
Having grown up in a very strict militant family he couldn't help but act like the soldier he was raised to be, from the buzzed hair to the fatigues he always wore.
His father owned the largest private military group in all of the eastern hemisphere based in Dubai.
This left his family back in Japan, until he brought Jay to live with him and raised him on base for his teenage years.
"Beautiful, did you eat?" Jay asked.
Even before any of this happened to me, Jay was the overprotective one, always making sure I was looked after.
He was always taking me on runs to keep me fit and stable when I came into my power, always having food on hand now that I burned more calories, and making sure I didn't get lost by driving me to and from school, no matter what time it was.
"No," I raised as he scowled at me. "I made a smoothie. It's in the fridge. I just wanted to wait until I had everything packed."
"I'll go get it," Jay announced and headed down the stairs.
Rolling my eyes, I headed into my bedroom where my suitcase was on the bed, open and waiting for any last minute things I needed to pack.
Since I was coming back here, and I had plenty of summer clothes back home, I didn't need to bring a whole lot.
I had Christmas presents for everyone ,along with other things I picked up along the way.
My family was small town living to the max, and I didn't really see them doing much international travel, but if I ended up living out here permanently that might change.
Telling my parents that I was going to have five husbands seemed even more daunting than explaining about the Elementi and demons.
Like Brayden loved to tell me, I currently had two husbands, was engaged to two, and dating another but hoped to be engaged or married soon to all of them.
"Need any help?" Cami asked as she flopped onto my bed, stuffing the last bite of a muffin into her mouth.
"I'm good, just the last few things from the bathroom and I'm good to go," I said over my shoulder as I grabbed them.
"You know I've been all over the place, but I've never spent much time in America besides the DC office. I'm so excited to see what your life was like before you found out about the Elementi and became Synergy," Cami shared, bouncing on the bed hardly containing her joy.
Cami, my pixie of a best friend, was the definition of small but mighty.
She was an Elementi soldier who was assigned to be my bodyguard when I hadn't come into my powers yet.
She was my first friend and with her personality, need for adrenalin, and always pushing me out of my comfort zone, the only friend I needed.
Between her, the boys, and of course Maggs, I was kept plenty busy.
I didn't think I'd have time for anything else.
"Oh, do they have clubs? We have to go dancing, it's not summer break without dancing! What about a beach? Someone said we'd be close to water, is that true?" Cami asked, barraging me with questions.
Zipping up my suitcase, I hopped on the bed next to her. "My hometown is really small but it's not too far for us to go to one of the bigger cities where we can find a club. Yes, there is a beach we can hit up a few hours away, it could be a fun day trip or even a camp out!"
"Fuck yes, we are going to have so much fun!" Cami exclaimed, clapping her hands.
A knock sounded on my door, drawing our attention to Jay and Brayden standing there. "Time to go ladies," Brayden called.
Grabbing my suitcase, I headed for the door, but Jay appeared, thrust the smoothie into my hand and took my bag from me.
Kissing the top of my head, he marched out and down the stairs without a word.
Cami caught my eye and smiled. We had come a long way, these boys and I, but this was just the start of it.