Forgotten Elements
Chapter 4

The next night, Ari and Jade convinced me to join them at the Winter Solstice festival. Alora wasn’t in the mood to be around such a large gathering of Mythics, not with alcohol involved and hatred toward necromancers still prevalent. Reed had also chosen not to go. But we all knew he’d only done that so Alora wouldn’t be alone. Both because he didn’t want her to be lonely, but also in case anyone got wasted tonight and felt bold enough to attack while the rest of us were busy.

At first, I hadn’t wanted to go, but then I realized this would be the last time we would get to hang out for two whole months. I also doubted I would have many chances to let loose while on my retreat. As Ari so eloquently phrased it, this was my last chance at getting laid.

As I stood in front of my closet, deciding on what to wear, my bedroom door opened, and the others came filing in for what Jade called a girl’s meeting. Starling held up her hands with a small laugh, saying she’d been dragged into this. Alora hopped on my bed, sitting cross-legged, wearing comfortable clothes and her hair in a messy ponytail.

Ari took one of my options from the bed and tossed it aside, saying it wasn’t sexy enough. When I complained, bringing up how I didn’t need to look sexy, Ari gave me a deadpan stare and told me I needed to get “absolutely railed” otherwise, I’d be miserable during my retreat. With all of them—not including Alora—agreeing with Ari and ganging up on me, I gave up arguing and went with the flow.

It was a relief to have Ari here with me as we entered the field near the center of the district. I’d rather not be a fifth wheel for the mated couples. Ari looped her arm through mine as she dragged me to the “dance floor” where several Mythics danced to the light and playful music.

The field was divided into sections for the different festival activities. One area held contests, but according to my friends, I was no longer allowed to compete. One little chair thrown at a man, and suddenly, I was “too competitive” to play in these games. Which was complete bullshit, in my opinion. He fucking deserved what he got. Not only did he cheat, but he was baiting me, saying I didn’t have the balls to throw the chair at him.

By the time I finally made it off the dance floor, my skin glistened with sweat. Jade must’ve seen me coming because she already had a drink ready for me. The sweet, citrusy flavor helped quench my thirst while also giving me a pleasant buzz.

“So, what are our prospects?” Jade asked, surveying the crowd and looking for a suitable man for me.

Koa didn’t like the way she phrased that and how she was scoping out other men, even if it was for me. He wrapped his arm around her midsection and pulled her against him. “You know I’m only helping Harmony, you possessive asshole,” Jade complained, but her voice had taken on a slightly breathless quality.

“I don’t think I’m in the mood tonight,” I said before Koa could respond. While my tightly wound body was calling me a liar, the idea of hooking up with a random stranger was unappealing. It seemed my body was only interested in one man fulfilling its needs.

Jade opened her mouth to protest but ended up squeaking when Koa poked her side. As she giggled and batted his hand away, he winked at me, which I returned with a grateful smile.

Ari joined us with Ander and Starling in tow, ignoring Ander’s protests that he wasn’t in the mood to participate. He’d never been one to join in on the festivities, preferring to stand off to the side, but this time, he couldn’t get away with it. Not when Starling joined in with the pleas for him to join.

I drank only enough to maintain a pleasant buzz but not enough to get drunk since I’d have to be up early the next morning. After promising multiple times I would keep my cool, my friends finally allowed me to play trivia with them. We did terribly since the topic was about Mythic royal families, and as we already established, we didn’t know shit about them.

When the sun had disappeared from the sky, a few sorcerers and sorceresses began a light show with their magic. Their glowing energy formed silhouettes that acted out the stories and myths being told. A sorcerer with a booming voice told the story about how the deities transformed the worthy humans into the first Mythics, thousands upon thousands of years ago. As he spoke about how Terra—an elemental deity—buried the humans in the earth, infusing its energy into them, my gaze was pulled away from the glowing magic depicting the scene and went to the crowd, where I immediately found Parker. It was almost like I found him on instinct.

He was standing near the back, away from the festivities as Ander had wanted to do. After that, my gaze never strayed too far away from him, almost like we were two magnets being pulled toward each other.

In the center of the field was a massive bonfire, the flames nearly thirty feet high. Several elementals from the fire court had started a fire show when I couldn’t handle the waves of heat coming from the bonfire and wandered away from everyone else. A breeze lifted my hair and helped cool my body which was damp with sweat as I approached a nearby building. The brick felt cool against my skin as I leaned back against it and watched the show from afar. I was far enough away from everyone that I no longer felt the heat from the fire, but close enough I was still able to hear the sounds from the festival.

It wasn’t a surprise when Parker turned away from the fire show and headed my way.

He was the other reason why I’d needed to get away. The pulsing need filling my body had somewhat faded into the background earlier until I spotted him at the edge of the crowd, and the desire reawakened with a vengeance. Arousal pooled between my thighs, and my core clenched with need.

As he approached, I tried acting casual, like I wasn’t nearly squirming to ease the throbbing ache.

Parker dipped his head close to mine, his lips tantalizingly close to mine as my entire focus zeroed in on the curve of his lips. “You look tense, Firecracker; need some help? All you need to do is ask?”

It was amazing how his words brought out dual sensations: irritation at his cocky attitude and a wildfire of desire that if not dealt with, would possibly burn me alive.

“Why would I ask for help from someone who doesn’t know how to finish the job?” My voice was only slightly breathless.

Rather than be offended by my dig at his skills, the corner of his mouth hitched up and had fire racing through my veins. He grabbed my hip, pulling me away from the building and spinning me around so that I was facing the wall with my back pinned against his chest. His hardness pressed into my lower back and had me squeezing my legs together to ease the ache.

“I can have you coming with just my fingers alone in under a minute,” he whispered in my ear, inciting shivers.

“Prove it.” Was I playing with fire? Yes, but at this point, I no longer cared.

Parker pressed a kiss to the base of my throat as one hand continued holding my hip, while the other trailed down my leg and began pulling up the fabric of my dress. I probably should’ve worn a shorter dress but in my defense, I hadn’t known this would happen. Eventually, his hand met the bare skin of my thigh, and even with such a chaste touch, tingles raced through my body and settled in my core. His hand drifted up my leg in a featherlight, teasing touch. It was like he wanted to make me suffer and squirm for questioning his skills.

My entire body tensed when he finally brushed a finger over my damp panties, waiting to see what he’d do next. “More rain?” His tone was light and teasing, which usually pissed me off, but I was too focused on how he trailed his fingers over my panties and pressed down on my clit.

“When’s this minute supposed to start?” My question was breathy and barely above a whisper.

“Ah, so eager to have me inside that pussy I see.” As he spoke, he shoved my panties to the side and plunged two fingers inside my pussy. A gasp slipped free as he began pumping his fingers in and out, the sounds of my heavy breaths and his fingers moving inside me drowning out the sounds from the festival.

As he curled his fingers, I gasped again and reached out to steady myself on the wall. With how tightly coiled my body was and how relentless he was with his fingers, my upcoming release was quickly approaching.

He had just curled his fingers for a second time when his thumb brushed over my clit, pressing down and rubbing in a circle. As he did so, my entire body tightened as the raging inferno building inside my body finally released, and I spiraled into an orgasm so intense, my head spun as I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming.

“In case you weren’t counting, that was only thirty seconds,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble as he slid his fingers free, and I whimpered in protest. “I would give you the fucking you so clearly need, but—”

“You want me to beg, yes, I know.” My voice was sharp with my growing frustration. Why did he have to be such an asshole? I shifted my stance, and his hardness pressed against me once more, reigniting the pounding pulse between my thighs, even though I’d just come. Was I really about to let my pride make me miss out on the feeling of him inside me?

With the alcohol still buzzing through my body, I was feeling bolder than usual, and I reached back to rub my hand along his erection straining against his pants. A grin pulled at my lips as he groaned in my ear, his hold tightening on my hips. “I like this bold side of you. You should show it more often. Too bad I won’t get to explore this side of you tonight.”

“And if I decide to beg?”

He pressed a long and lingering kiss at the base of my throat. “I would have to say no, unfortunately. When I fuck you, I want you completely sober. I want you to remember everything I will do to you and have no doubt in your mind why you begged me to do so.” To punctuate those disappointing and infuriating words, he released his hold on me and stepped back.

This fucking asshole.

“Fucking tease,” I called out after him once I got past the shock that he was once again walking away from me. I didn’t turn to look at him as I held onto the wall, stabilizing myself as I sucked in deep breaths.

“Now you know how I’ve felt all these months,” he said with a chuckle as he moved further and further away from me. With each interaction we had lately, he kept building me up, only to leave me wanting more. It was a good thing I was about to be away from him for the next two months.