Finding the Magic (Tom Kelly's Boys Book 1)

by McMillin, Casey

  "Did those girls get here yet?" I asked. I grabbed the back of my neck as if to rub away some pain. "I could use a little work right here." I smiled after I said it to let them know I was joking and they all three laughed.

  "I for one would love to see Nina give ye a massage," Rory said. Drake slapped at his brother with the back of his hand, and Rory made a face like, what was that for. "What? Don't act like ye don't want to see it too."

  "Quit playin'. She was just messin' around," Drake said. He looked at me with a teasing half-smile. "I'd like to see her play the piano."

  "Do you play the piano?" Tom said.

  The blood left my face. Sometimes I blush and sometimes I go pale, and this was one of those times when I went pale. I could feel the blood draining from my head. I felt like I needed to sit down, but resisted the urge.

  Drake and I met eyes, and he must have sensed my panic, because he instantly put a hand in the air to snap his fingers.

  "I forgot you left your drink outside," Drake said. I hadn't even been outside, but was thankful for the excuse to leave the room. Playing for Alan Ritchie while he reads the newspaper at Sunday brunch was way different than playing for three strapping men who you just met and who already made me really nervous. I gave him a thankful smile for rescuing my nonexistent drink and crossed to the kitchen to follow him outside.

  As I made my way through the kitchen, I noticed a small leather briefcase sitting on the beautiful marble countertop in plain sight of me, and God, and everybody. It wasn't the briefcase that shocked me. It was the item that was resting on top of it.

  A skull.

  A human skull. I cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, that there was a human skull sitting on the counter. Right there.

  I could not stop myself from catching glimpses of it as I passed. They must have seen me doing it, but no one seemed to care or tried to hide it. I followed Drake onto the patio and he closed the sliding glass door behind us.

  "I thought I saw a skeleton, a bone, a head bone—you know, a skull. I thought I saw a skull in there just now. Did you see that?" I asked as we walked out. I was just freaked out about the piano thing enough to start rambling.

  He pulled me over into a little nook several feet from the front door and turned to face me with a sweet smile. "Were you okay in there?" he asked. "You scared me. I'm so sorry I mentioned playing in front of them. I was just trying to get Rory to shut up about you and Nina."

  I shrugged. "It's no big deal," I said. I really didn't even care about the piano thing anymore. The breaking news in my brain was skull, skull, and more skull, and I wanted desperately to know more about it. "I might sit at the piano a little later when no one's expecting it. It helps if it's my idea and I don't feel the pressure of an audience. But, what I was wondering about was if you saw that skull thing in there. That's cool." I added the that's cool part to make it seem like I was interested in it in a science-y way.

  "That's what happens when you mess with my dad," he said. The hint of a smile crossed his lips, but he certainly didn't seem like he was joking.

  "So your dad killed that guy?" I asked. I tried to say it lightly to give him the opportunity to laugh it off if he wanted to, but he remained fairly expressionless as he paced around absentmindedly on the stained concrete of the patio.

  He looked at me and smiled. "Yeah, he killed him," he said. "It's only the beginning of what you'll get exposed to here, so I figured I might as well tell you the truth on that one."

  I thought for a second before I responded. I couldn't say it didn't surprise me, so I just said, "I'm good as long as mine stays on my shoulders." I realized after I said it that it was a stupid, probably suspicious thing for me to say, but he just smiled and reached out to grab me. He started to pull me in, but just then, some commotion in the house caught both of our attention.

  It was Nina and the emmer effing girls. Counting Nina, there were three of them, and they were already making themselves at home in the kitchen. They all three had on cute, trendy clothes and were dolled up to the max. My stomach sank at the sight of them, and I had to remind myself that the only thing I could control was that very moment, and there was no reason I shouldn't just decide to make the most of my one night.

  I fell into sync with Drake and sort of just tagged along with him for the next few hours even though there were fifteen or so other people in the house. We stayed by the pool for quite a while, and I tried to get a look at the crack in the wall. I knew approximately where it would be, but there wasn't any light coming through, and I couldn't see an opening.

  Standing out there, looking for the crack made it hit me that looking through the wall from Megan's backyard was infringement of privacy. For some reason, it didn't hit me like that when I was the one looking into this backyard, but now that I was on the other side of this wall, I hated feeling like I might be being watched. I knew Megan wouldn't do it, but what if Steven happened to be looking back here and could see me?

  Drake had been extremely attentive to me all night. He was a true gentleman who made me feel comfortable and wanted, and he gave me just enough PDA so that everybody knew I was there with him, but not so much that we were trying to go at it right there like several other people were doing. He seemed to want to keep me at arm's reach all night, and I was fine with that. I had no problem whatsoever focusing my attention on him. He was more beautiful and interesting to me than anyone else at the party, and the fact that he wanted to keep me close had me smiling all night.

  I had a good time with them all. They asked me about myself, and I told them most of the truth, leaving out the part where I was traumatized about performing. Interacting with his family and friends was so much fun regardless of whether or not they were dreaded pirates.

  Okay, so I was pretty sure they were involved in less than honest business dealings based on some of the conversations I heard, but who was I to judge, right? They were really nice people—to each other and me at least, and it was the most normal I'd felt since December. I wanted to enjoy it.

  It was Sunday and most of the party went home by ten that evening. There were still a few of us hanging out in the living room when Rory and a girl named Gina left so she could give him his long-awaited massage. Tom sat at the head of the gorgeous table Drake made playing dominoes with a few other guys. He had the skull sitting right there on the table next to him and a massage girl was perched on his knee.

  I took a mental snapshot, thinking about how excited Steven would be to hear about my experience there that evening. I could just imagine him cussing up a storm at me and asking me to hear the story again.

  "What are you smiling at?" Drake asked. I was sitting next to him on the couch, but we weren't touching.

  "I was just thinking I had fun tonight," I said. "Thanks for having me over."

  "You say that like you're leaving."

  "No, I mean not yet at least… unless you need me to." He stared at me—his stormy blue eyes searching mine.

  "Would you please quit trying to leave? Because I'm not letting you." He pulled my leg so that it pressed up against his.

  I cocked my head at him. "Are you saying I couldn't leave, even if I wanted to?"

  "Do you want to?"

  "No."

  "Then it doesn't matter."

  "Yes it does," I insisted. "It totally matters."

  "Why?"

  "Because I need to know I could just leave whenever I wanted."

  "Yeah, that's not true," he said. He seemed totally serious and I stared at him curiously.

  "What do you mean by that?" I asked.

  "I mean I've already got my heart set on you staying the night with me, and it's just not good with me if you go."

  "But I could, right? I mean, you wouldn't stop me if I wanted to leave, right?"

  He shot me that beautiful, easy smile. "Do you want to go, Addie?"

  I was silent for a second. "No."

  "Then, it's not an issue, is it?"

  I sh
rugged. "I don't guess it is, no. But for the record, I could just stand up and walk out the door if I wanted to."

  "Please don't want to."

  Everything he did and said made me want him more. I wanted to do anything I could to make some sort of impression. I'd been waiting for the opportunity to play the piano for him on my terms, and now was the moment. I knew exactly what piece I would play, and felt confident that I had just the right mix of alcohol, excitement, and confidence to pull off a few minutes. I chose a piece that was flashy enough to impress him, but not enough to make me seem like a total show off. I was feeling it, and knew before I even started that I would be fine.

  I bent over the piano in the same hunched-over manner I always did, and preceded to play the shit out of that piece. I played quietly so I wouldn’t disturb Tom and his friends who were across the room. It took me about four minutes to play the section of music I chose. I could see Drake's outline from the corner of my eye, but I paid no attention to him.

  For four minutes, it was just the piano and me, and I was glad it worked out that way because it felt really good to totally freaking nail it in front of him. I looked up, adjusting my posture as I made eye contact with Drake. He just stood there and stared at me with an unreadable expression that slowly shifted into a smile.

  "Holy fuckin' shit," I heard someone yell from across the room. "What's up Drake, you bringing Mozart in here or what?"

  It was one of the other guys at the table who said it, but Tom Kelly stood up and walked toward us. "Did you know she could do that?" he asked Drake as he approached.

  "No."

  "Are you some kind of prodigy or something," he asked, looking at me.

  "I used to be," I said simply. I stood and crossed to stand near Drake. His dad had already made his way over to where Drake was standing, and they both stood there watching me walk toward them.

  Drake reached out and grabbed me, pulling me into his arms. "I can't believe that just happened," he said. "What the hell just came out of your arms?" He put his hands on my shoulders and ran them down my arms.

  Tom Kelly pointed right at me as he turned to go back to the table. "That was beautiful," he said.

  I smiled at the compliment and turned to look up at Drake. He took advantage of the situation and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on the sensitive skin at the top of my cheek near my eye.

  "You're officially trapped," he said, putting his arms around me and giving me a little squeeze.

  "I'm not scared," I whispered.

  "That's your first mistake."

  "Why? Are you dangerous?"

  "Very."

  It was obvious by the way we were speaking to each other that neither of us wanted me to leave. Our expressions conveyed our mutual desire. "I'm gonna love you right tonight, Addie. And I can tell you need that." I drew a breath at the thought of him loving me right, whatever that meant.

  He took my hand and put it under his shirt, resting it on his ribs. I felt the firm muscles in his side, and glanced up at him wondering why he randomly placed my hand under his shirt.

  His eyes were closed as if he was concentrating on the sensation as he held my hand in place with his. "Yeah, I need more of that. I don't think I can make it much longer without you getting your hands on me," he said.

  I drew in another shaky breath. I was weak with desire. He was so scorching hot that it was all I could do to keep my hand from starting to roam right there in the living room. He tugged me out of the room. I saw him turn to give his dad a wave, but I didn't look back. It was obvious where we were going, which I found slightly embarrassing, so I just kept my head down and followed Drake.

  Chapter 12

  We walked into the foyer, and he turned to face me before we ascended the stairs. "I seriously can't believe what you just did out there," he said.

  It was exactly what I wanted him to say, but that didn't change the fact that I was no good at taking compliments. I smiled shyly and shrugged, not knowing what to say. "I used to travel the world to play." I wasn't usually one to brag, but I needed all my assets with this guy. I already felt so mismatched, unworthy, whatever you want to call it, compared to him, that I was going to use any advantage I could.

  He used a finger to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear, and I stared into his eyes. I pointed at the staircase behind him. "Were we supposed to go up there, or are you showing me the door?"

  "You know the answer to that already."

  "So why are we stuck down here?"

  "We're not stuck. I just stopped for a second so I could kiss you."

  I smirked and shrugged at him. "Oh, well in that case…" I was being a little silly, but Drake was done playing. He used a finger to lift my chin, forcing me to look up at him, and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine again. This time he held me securely in place with his hands on the sides of my head. I gave in to the kiss, opening to him, and he responded by dipping his tongue into my mouth. I let out a little moan and my head fell back even further, encouraging him.

  "Shit, Addison," he said, breaking the kiss. "You can't do that."

  "What?"

  "Kiss me like that."

  "Like what?" I said innocently.

  "Like you want me to go ahead and take care of business." As he said the words, he reached out and grabbed my ass. I use the word ass because he grabbed it like it was an ass. He stared at me with an expression that made it clear he wanted to eat me alive, and he grabbed a handful of my ass like he was claiming it for his own. "I want to break off a piece of that."

  Kade would have never said that. Kade was inferior to this guy in every possible way, and I took pleasure in knowing that after he'd hurt me so bad. "What's wrong with breaking off a piece?" I said.

  He didn't answer. He just tugged me up the stairs. I giggled as I climbed, struggling to keep up with him. We turned right at the top of the stairs and I followed him down a hallway to what I assumed was his bedroom. He opened the door, and I was instantly amazed at how big it was. It wasn't just a bedroom; it was an apartment. There was a big open space with a sitting area, a bedroom area, and even a small, modern kitchen. I was slightly perplexed by how big the room was, so I turned to look back into the hallway.

  "It's okay," he said. "This is my room."

  "It's huge," I said walking in behind him and setting my bag on the floor by the door.

  "This house is way too big for us. My dad's like that. He just wants everyone to know how much money he has."

  "I heard him talking about his fishing business tonight," I said.

  "You heard him talking about a lot more than that, I'm sure."

  It was true. For whatever reason, they seemed comfortable around me, and I'd overheard a few candid conversations. I shrugged it off. "It's not really my business how your dad makes money or how much of it he has."

  He studied me for a few seconds. "Go get in the shower," he said. "I have a quick phone call to make, but I’m coming to meet you in there when I'm done."

  I shook my head and he had the nerve to act offended that I would deny him. "I'm a bath girl."

  "What's that?"

  "A bath girl. You know, I'd rather a bath than a shower."

  "Well, get in the bath then. I need three minutes to use the phone, and you better be wet one way or another when I get in there." He paused and then added," Do you need help figuring out the faucet?"

  I smiled at him. "I'm a professional bather."

  "It's pretty complicated."

  I crossed my arms. "My bath skills are unmatched. I told you, I'm a professional. Just go make your phone call."

  He smiled and turned to walk out of the sliding glass door on the other end of his living area. Apparently, he had a patio off of his bedroom, how nice. I watched him go out the door as I went to start the bath. It was a huge, beautifully furnished bathroom, and I thought about what he said about his dad. There was a whirlpool tub that took up the back corner, and next to it was a shower with showerheads on three walls. The
tile work was gorgeous. There were tiny, brown tiles that were faceted and sparkled in the lights. It was immaculately clean with masculine touches here and there like a vintage shaving kit with a brush and mug full of lathering soap. I stared at the beautiful bathroom for a minute before I remembered that I was on a time limit.

  I immediately crossed to the bathtub and reached inside to put down the stopper before lifting the faucet to turn on the water. Water came out of the wall through long slots that made it look like three waterfalls were pouring into the tub. I had no idea that those strips on the wall were the place the water was going to come out, and the surprise of it made me smile. I ran my hand under the water to check the temperature, and adjusted the faucet accordingly. I went over to the counter and grabbed a bottle of shower gel to give us a few bubbles. I held some under the running water and watched for a second as not much happened. It was a sad excuse for a bubble bath, but the tub was extremely inviting regardless.

  I took the next minute or so to slip out of my clothes and adjust myself in the mirror. I put my hair in a messy bun on the top of my head and then pulled a few tendrils out here and there, trying to make it look good in the short amount of time I had. Nerves and excitement coursed through my body. I heard something that sounded like music and wondered where it came from, but went back to the job of undressing.

  I couldn't decide if I wanted to be totally naked and in the bath when he came in, or leave on my bra and panties. I know he specifically asked me to be wet, but I was slightly apprehensive about stripping down. Part of me wanted to move quickly, but I was a diehard good girl, and it was still slightly unnatural for me.

  Just then, the door open, and the music I heard a few seconds earlier spilled into the bathroom. It was a rap song that I didn't recognize. I looked toward the door and couldn't stop a smile from crossing my face at the sight of him. He was too gorgeous for words, and I stood there, unable to do anything but smile.