Read Online Genesis by Christie Rich - Free Book Online

bond with?”
    “ Yes and no. Once a
connection is established, we don’t have to work all that hard to
keep our bondmate happy. She is pleased to merely be with
us…usually.”
    “ How very convenient for
you.” Stupid Faine. Why did she do this? I was back to wanting to
punch her.
    “ It is interesting you bring
that up,” Taylor said, interrupting my thoughts. “Most of the ways
we are able to control an Elemental originated from her desire to
protect her children.”
    Well that just sucked. Anger crept
through my body. Here I had everything most women could ever ask
for. Although, if they knew what they would be getting, I no longer
thought they would wish such a thing on themselves. I had five men
devoted to me. Five extraordinary men who all wanted me. The
question still remained. Why?
    Power wasn’t a good enough motivation
for me. None of them knew me. It wasn’t as if we had been lifelong
friends. What could I hope to gain from having a relationship with
any of them if I would always question why they really wanted me?
It was like marrying for money or position. Civilized people just
don’t do that sort of thing. Okay, maybe they did, but they
shouldn’t.
    I felt Taylor’s fingers on my arm.
“Things have gotten out of hand where Elementals are concerned. You
are right to be angry, but you could change it all. Remember
that.”
    The burden of his words hit my
shoulders. I was already weighed down enough.
    He frowned. “I am sorry to bring you
more to worry about. I merely seek to help you see what your
options are, my lady.”
    I raised a brow. “So now we’re back to
my lady?” I captured his gaze. “What happened to you using my
name?”
    He took an awkward step back. “I have
not been myself the last few days.”
    “ Safe distance,
right?”
    He nodded.
    How could I blame him? It wasn’t as if
he was a frontrunner for becoming my bondmate.
    He cringed.
    “ Stay out of my head if you
don’t really want to know how I feel.”
    “ You don’t even know how you
feel, Rayla.”
    Without even realizing what
I was doing, I slammed my fist against the wall. “I know, and I
hate it! I can’t tell what’s real anymore. I can’t tell if someone
is manipulating me or if I have a true connection to anyone. My heart
tells me I love three men right now, Taylor. How. Is. That.
Possible?”
    He attempted to touch my shoulder, but
I backed away from him. Compassion settled in his eyes. “The human
heart is capable of feeling for more than one person at
once.”
    “ That’s
comforting.”
    He laughed, giving me almost a shy
look. I would have bought it more if his smirk hadn’t been there.
“If you bonded with me, you wouldn’t have to worry about
it.”
    Great. We were back to that
again.
    “ You are not even willing to
try. I might surprise you.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Go ahead then,
surprise me.”
    I was up against the wall
instantly.
    “ Taylor, what are you
do—”
    His lips covered mine. At first, I
struggled to pull away, but then I just wanted to be sure. I
waited, letting his lips claim mine completely.
    Nothing. Not even a twitch of
emotion.
    He staggered backward, looking at me
like he had just seen me for the first time and wasn’t sure what to
think. “That was…unexpected.”
    I pushed past him. “Not to me. Why did
you have to do that, anyway? Now I feel all icky, like I just
kissed my cousin.” Insanely attractive cousin, but
still.
    He laughed. “Well, damn. This has never
happened to me before.”
    “ You know what they say
about first times.”
    His brows went up.
    I cuffed his shoulder. “I
didn’t mean that !”
Men. It’s always about sex.
    He began laughing. It was such a rich
sound, so vibrant. I wished I could bottle it. He slid down the
wall, stretching his long legs out in front of him.
    I followed him down the opposite wall.
“So what now?”
    “ Friendship?” The word
sounded foreign on his tongue.
    I smiled. Maybe we were really getting
somewhere.