Never, ever did I ever think touching someone could make me feel this … alive.
“You okay?” Foster whispers, his breath dusting across my cheeks.
I give an uneven nod. “Are you?”
“Yeah …” He sucks in a breath, skimming his thumb along my side. “Your skin’s so soft.”
I shudder. A shudder that confuses me, and the ground quivers beneath me—
“What in the hell!” someone shouts. “Which one of you is doing that?”
Foster slants back, a crease between his brows.
I blink, the daze slowly evaporating from my mind, and shift my attention away from Foster to our surroundings …
“Holy mother of … What the hell is happening?” I breathe out as my gaze skims along the frost webbing across the mirrors, the flames flickering in place of where light bulbs used to be, the lightning and clouds covering the ceiling, the rain sprinkling down from those clouds to the icy floor, and the tree—yes, an actual tree—sprouting from the shower, the branches swaying in a light wind.
Foster glances over his shoulder, and then his jaw nearly smacks the floor. “Gods, this is crazy. I mean, my powers have done some strange stuff before, but this is just …”
“Chaos?” I offer, still shocked.
Our powers did this.
We did this.
Simply because we are touching.
Jesus, what the heck would happen if we …?
If you what, Sky? Just what do you expect to happen between the two of you?
I roll my eyes at myself.
“No, it’s not chaos.” He returns his gaze to mine, a smile touching his lips. “This is the most peaceful thing I’ve ever seen my powers create.”
I cock a brow. “Peaceful? There’s a tree where the shower used to be, and the ceiling is raining, and there’re flames instead of light bulbs.”
“I know that.” He withdraws his hand from my side, causing a chill to glaze over my body. But then the heat immediately returns when he places his hands on my shoulders, moves me away from the door, and then positions himself behind me, pressing his chest against my back and molding his hands around my waist.
“That’s not chaos. The rain, the frost, the fire, the tree … Everything’s in harmony with each other.” His lips brush against my ear as he whispers. “It’s like we created our own little elemental world, and it’s beautiful.”
My shoulder shudders upward as his breath caresses the sensitive spot behind my ear, and then the scene in front of me bursts with light, snowflakes blooming from the swirling clouds, the tree branches stretching, the flames dancing higher and reflecting against the ice.
“You’re right. It is kind of beautiful,” I admit. “It’s weird, though … seeing something so … serene come from my powers. I’ve only ever created destruction before.”
He grows quiet for a moment before finally saying with heavy caution, “I want to try something, okay? I don’t want you to panic … I just want to see what will happen.”
I don’t have a clue what he’s about to do. I could—and maybe should—ask, but again, I find curiosity triumphing over my worry.
His chest crashes against my back as his breathing quickens. The snowfall thickens, veiling the room around us. Then the wind begins to whisper, breathing in rhythm with his breaths. But that’s mild in comparison to when he grazes his lips along the side of my neck, a soft kiss that causes warmth to erupt in my veins.
As a gasp fumbles from my lips and my head tips back, the ice glazing the floor springs to life, crackling upward and kissing the ceiling, forming icy beams all over the bathroom.
“Gods, I think”—he struggles to breathe evenly—“with this sort of power, we could probably build a whole damn kingdom.”
The fact that he may very well be right sends my pulse spiking, and the ice, wind, and the storm more than notice. They react wildly, cracking, howling, and funneling clouds of ice through the air.
“Calm down.” He gently massages my hips with his fingertips. “It’s okay.”