Taking Flight (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Caged Series Book 3)

by Kellie McAllen

  “You got this, Lex. Griffin’s down there waiting, and I’ll be right behind you. You’re gonna love it.”

  Her body trembled under my fingers, but she carefully lowered herself into position at the top of the slide and took a deep breath before letting the rush of water pull her down. She landed with a graceful whoosh into the water, and Griffin was there to grab her before she even had a chance to sink. She clung to him, but the look of excitement on her face told me she enjoyed the ride.

  I threw myself down the slide right after her, and gave a holler as I executed a perfect, practiced landing.

  “That was the best thing ever!” Lexus squealed as soon as I climbed out of the splash pool and joined them. Streams of water trailed down her body, emphasizing her curves, and her wet swimsuit clung impossibly tighter. I forced my eyes back up to her face, which wasn’t too hard because her big, bright eyes sparkled with excitement.

  “Best thing ever, huh? Even better than riding Griffin?” I winked and wiggled my eyebrows. I just couldn’t resist. Lexus flamed red, and Griffin scowled at me.

  “Come on, let’s try the other slides.” I looped my fingers through Lexus’ and dragged her towards the next attraction.

  An hour later, we were all huffing and dragging our feet from all the climbing and sliding.

  “Can we rest for a little while? I’m exhausted,” Lexus said, bending over and putting her hands on her knees.

  “How about sitting in the hot tub for a while?” I suggested, spotting the steamy, bubbling pool hidden in a corner. Lattice walls around it gave some privacy. Nice.

  Lexus nodded eagerly, and we headed towards it. Now, if only I could get rid of my brother for a few minutes so I could have some time alone with Lexus.

  We slid down into the hot, swirling water, and my body instantly relaxed. Whoa, that felt good. I groaned and stretched my muscles.

  “This is really fun. It’s Becca’s birthday, but it feels like mine; I’m having such a good time.” Lexus’ face was lit up with more happiness than I’d seen in a long time.

  Griffin and I shared a smile over her head. That was the one thing we had in common — we both wanted nothing more than to make her happy.

  We soaked in silence for a few minutes, just letting the jets massage our tight muscles. The water was loud, but it drowned out the ruckus of the kids playing.

  Eventually, I snaked an arm around Lexus, and she snuggled up next to me and laid her head on my chest, obviously enjoying the whole public boyfriend thing as much as I was.

  “Sorry it’s not the ocean,” I whispered. “But I promise I’ll take you there someday.”

  “This might be better,” she whispered back, and her husky voice went straight to my groin.

  Griffin gave me a knowing grin. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I need to use the bathroom.”

  As soon as he climbed out, my lips found Lexus’, and I pulled her onto my lap. The water bounced her up and down a little, teasing me, and I moaned into her mouth. I tore myself away at the sound of giggling.

  Becca and her friends were standing above us, gaping and snickering. “Phoenix and Lexus sitting in tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

  I splashed water up at them. “Get out of here, you little perverts! Can’t a guy get a moment alone with his girlfriend?”

  Becca stuck her tongue out at me. “Mommy says it’s time to go to the party room.”

  “Fine, we’ll be there in a minute, okay?”

  Becca nodded, and she and her troop scampered off.

  “Where were we?” I growled, nipping at Lexus’ bottom lip with my teeth.

  “Phoenix, Linda says it’s time for lunch.” Griffin interrupted us.

  I scowled. “Alright! We’ll be there in a second!” Was five minutes of privacy too much to ask? It was probably for the best, though. Any longer, and I would’ve had a hard time stopping. I climbed out of the water, hoping my shorts hid what was left of my reaction to kissing Lexus.

  What I really wanted to do was use that time-reversal trick and go back a few minutes. I knew better than to even mention it, though. I’d been pushing Lexus to try it again, but she freaked out every time I suggested it.

  Instead, we followed my brother to the party room. There were pink and purple party hats and noisemakers at each place on the table, and helium balloons shaped like hearts and tiaras bobbing at each end.

  “I love it!” Becca squealed and made us all put on the hats, even Stan, who took it like a man, shoving his knees under the short table and blowing on his noisemaker.

  We gobbled down a couple slices of bad pizza, then sang “Happy Birthday” to Becca and passed out the cupcakes. Griff and I managed to down half a dozen of those between us, and I was ready to go home and take a nap after that, but Becca wanted to swim some more.

  “You’ll get a tummy ache, Becca,” Linda warned.

  “No I won’t, Mommy. That’s an old wive’s tale.” She rolled her eyes as good as any teenager ever could. God help them. If she was like that at ten, what would she be like at fifteen?

  Linda huffed and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, okay, go swim, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

  Becca and her posse scampered off, and the rest of us started cleaning up the party room, throwing away plates full of leftover pizza crust and wiping sticky, pink frosting off the table.

  We had just untied the balloons to take home with us and handed them to Linda when Becca came running back into the party room, screaming.

  “Mommy! Mommy! Rory’s drowning!”

  Time stopped for a moment while we stared at Becca. The helium balloons floated to the ceiling in slow motion, then Linda burst into action, racing after Becca to see what was happening. Me, Lex, and Griff followed behind her.

  “We were diving off the pirate ship into the lagoon, and Rory didn’t come back up!” Becca cried.

  We got to the pool right as the lifeguard yanked Rory’s lifeless body out of the water. Her orange-red hair and blue lips stood out against her pale, lifeless flesh.

  Lex and I took one look at each other and knew what needed to happen.

  She grabbed ahold of me with both hands, strengthening the connection, and whispered in my ear, “Turn back time, Phoenix!”

  I’d never done it before and didn’t really know what I was doing, but I just imagined the last few minutes rolling backwards as I concentrated as hard as I could on channeling our powers.

  Time didn’t roll back, though, it just kept barreling forward as the lifeguard blew into Rory’s mouth and pushed on her chest.

  Lexus grabbed ahold of Griffin and whispered in his ear, hoping he was stronger, but still nothing happened.

  “Breathe, Rory!” Lexus shouted, squeezing Griffin’s hand, and suddenly the little girl’s chest rose as she gasped, and water came spurting out of her.

  Lexus collapsed backwards against Griffin’s chest, and he caught her, holding her up, then turned her to face him.

  “Shh, shh. It’s okay. She’s all right.” He stroked her hair as she sobbed.

  I hovered nearby, feeling useless, till Lexus lifted her head and held out her hand to me. I let out a breath and came to her, cradling her between me and my brother.

  16

  Guilt and relief washed over me in churning, swirling waves as I stared at Rory. She was fine now. She was alive and breathing, her cheeks rosy. But every time I looked at her all I saw was her lifeless body.

  We were lucky Rory survived. I still wasn’t sure if I had revived her or if the lifeguard’s CPR had just finally kicked in. I had no idea if I was capable of restarting dead organs, and I hoped I never got another chance to find out.

  Up until that moment, I’d thought of my powers as superfluous — a skill I had that was fun to experiment with and even came in handy sometimes but wasn’t central to who I was. Now I realized that they were gifts, bestowed on me for some higher purpose, and I was responsible for them. With great power comes great responsibility, so they say. I neede
d to be ready when my powers were needed.

  The boys would help me. Griffin would understand my new conviction, and Phoenix was just happy to do cool, new tricks with me. My mind flitted to thoughts of Jaxson. Should I try to work with him again? If I’d practiced time reversal more, I would’ve been prepared for this.

  Linda called Rory’s parents, and they came to the waterpark and took her to the hospital, just to make sure she was okay. The rest of us headed back to the Lewises’ house, solemn.

  Linda tried to brighten the mood by suggesting that Becca open her presents. The kids crowded around her in the living room, taking turns handing her shiny, pink and purple packages.

  We’d stopped at Target on our way home from the sporting goods store last night to pick out presents for her, and I was eager to give her mine. I’d found a heart-shaped pendant covered in pink crystals with the words “sisters forever” etched on the back. Becca jumped up and hugged me as soon as she opened it, begging me to clasp it around her neck.

  Afterwards, Becca and her friends put on a kids’ movie, and the boys and I headed upstairs to my room. I stretched out on the bed, exhausted from a full day of physical activity and emotional stress. Phoenix flopped down next to me and curled up to my side, running a hand down my stomach and swirling his fingers around my belly button. His touch sent frissons of electricity radiating through my center.

  I turned my head and smiled at him, and he grinned back, propping his head up on his hands so he could look at me. I reached out and traced the muscles under his tee shirt, remembering how they looked dripping with water. My insides tightened in response, and I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth. Phoenix’s eyes heated under my gaze.

  “I want to practice time reversal,” Griffin announced, interrupting the moment. He sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. “I think we could do it with a little practice.”

  This surprised me, and I sat up to look at him. Griffin had always been more hesitant about exploring our powers. But maybe he felt the same way I did now — that it was our duty to use them to help others. Or was there some other reason?

  “I think so, too. Do you want to try again now?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “Hold on, I’ve got an idea!” Phoenix jumped up and raced out the door, his boots thumping down the stairs. A few seconds later they pounded back up again, and he appeared in the doorway with a plateful of cupcakes. I quirked an eyebrow at him.

  “Tangible evidence.” He shrugged and shoved a cupcake in his mouth, biting off half of it and smearing his lips with pink frosting. “See if you can go back ten seconds to before I ate the cupcake.”

  Griffin gave a wry smile and shook his head. “Only you would use an incredible, supernatural talent like time reversal to overindulge in cupcakes.”

  “Damn straight. Gotta watch my girlish figure.” Phoenix ran his hands up and down his body seductively, and I sputtered out a laugh.

  Griffin climbed up off the floor and sat next to me on the bed, taking my hands in his. Electricity hummed between our fingers, and we both concentrated on it, letting it build till our flesh sizzled with energy. When I felt strong enough, I commanded Griffin to turn back time and waited for something to happen.

  After three useless tries, Phoenix shoved Griffin off the bed and took his place beside me. “Your turn. I can’t eat anymore cupcakes.” He rubbed his swollen stomach and grimaced.

  Griffin picked up the cupcake plate and moved it to the nightstand, rolling his eyes. “There are other ways to verify time reversal, you know.”

  Phoenix shrugged. “Yeah, but that sounded like the most fun.”

  We tried several more times, but nothing we did seemed to work. I didn’t understand what the problem was. How had Jaxson and I managed to do it so easily? I knew Jaxson was a lot stronger than either of the Easton twins, but since I had done the trick before, I figured they’d be able to learn it from me. But I just couldn’t seem to duplicate it. If I was a level four, or possibly even a level five, shouldn’t I have complete control of my powers?

  Eventually, the effort of trying got to me, and I flopped back on the bed and sighed. I wanted to talk to someone more knowledgeable about all this than me, but there was no one like that I trusted. That reminded me of our plans for tomorrow, and my body tightened with anxiety.

  How much did my father know about our world? And how would he react when he saw me?

  “Come on, Phoenix. Lex is tired. Let’s let her get some rest. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.” Griffin yanked on his brother’s arm, pulling him off the bed.

  Phoenix leaned over and planted a kiss on my lips, reigniting my insides. “Night, Lexus,” he growled. “See you in my dreams.”

  “Goodnight,” I whispered back huskily.

  When they were gone, I got up and slipped into my pajamas, a silky, lavender shorts and camisole set that Phoenix had bought for me that made me feel girly and pretty. I padded to the bathroom to brush my teeth, not bothering to close the door.

  I hadn’t showered after swimming, and my hair had dried in long, twisted ropes. I teased a brush through them, smoothing out the knots. I thought I saw a glint of light reflecting off Phoenix’s eyes as I glanced towards his darkened room, but he didn’t say anything. Was he watching me? I knew he wanted more than just the gentle kisses and caresses we’d shared, but he hadn’t once pressured me. He was more of a gentleman than he wanted others to believe.

  I headed back to my room and climbed between the cool, stiff sheets, my skin dry and tight from the pool water. There was a bottle of raspberry-scented lotion on my nightstand, a gift from Linda, and I sat up and reached for it, slathering it up and down my limbs and massaging it into my rough feet. Feeling a little more relaxed, I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but thoughts of my father kept me on edge, and I tossed and turned, worrying about tomorrow.

  Agitated, I forced my mind back to memories of today, replaying the best moments. My mind lingered on thoughts of Phoenix — the sound of his carefree laugh, the hunger in his eyes every time he looked at me, the sizzle of his fingers against my bare skin, the feel of his firm muscles. His touch had tempted me all day, and I groaned and sat up, desperate for something to ease my tension.

  I tiptoed back down the hall towards the boys’ rooms, needing the comfort of their presence. Griffin was the one I usually went to for solace; his soft words and gentle embrace never failed to soothe me. But this time, it was Phoenix I wanted. I hesitated outside the door, rethinking my intentions, until I heard his voice whisper from the darkness.

  “Lexus? Are you okay?”

  I peeked my head in, and he sat up, his bare chest illuminated by the pale moonlight streaming in the window.

  “I can’t sleep.”

  He lifted the covers, and I climbed in beside him, wrapping my hands around his waist and pressing my cheek against his chest. “You smell like chlorine.” I breathed in the strong, heady, male scent of him mingling with the pungent chemicals.

  “You smell amazing.” He ran his rough fingers down my lotion-soft skin, and my body trembled under his touch.

  “Are you worried about tomorrow?” he whispered, laying his chin on my head and stroking my hair.

  “Yeah.”

  All my worries instantly flooded my head again. Why had my father abandoned me? What would he do when he saw me? Would he reject me? Hurt me? Try to take advantage of me? Tell me things I was better off not knowing?

  My body tensed, and Phoenix pulled me closer, rocking me gently.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No,” I said, and I lifted my head as my lips sought his. “I want to forget about it.”

  17

  Griffin’s eyes met mine as I stepped out of Phoenix’s room in the morning, and my heart caught in my throat. Guilt and shame immediately flooded me, but Griffin gave me a small smile.

  “I was just… I couldn’t… I needed…” I wrung my hands as I fumbled for an explanation.


  “It’s okay, Lexus. We agreed to share, remember? If you’re happy, I’m happy.” His tone of voice didn’t completely convince me, so I reached for his hand and pulled him closer, planting a kiss on his cheek to let him know how I still felt about him. His blush matched mine, and I hurried off to the bathroom to get ready.

  An hour later I emerged, feeling as confident as I could be, considering the situation. I’d showered, lathered my hair not once but twice, then let the conditioner soak in while I washed and shaved. Afterwards, I slathered my whole body with more of the sweet, raspberry-scented lotion, dried and styled my hair till it was smooth and shiny, and used every bit of the makeup I’d brought to enhance my features. I dressed in my favorite, ruffled, yellow blouse, dark jeans, and my suede ankle boots. Even still, my whole body quivered with nervousness as I descended the stairs in search of sustenance.

  “You look really pretty today, Lexus.” Becca grinned up at me over a bowl of Froot Loops. Her friends nodded and murmured in agreement.

  Phoenix lifted his head from the fridge at her words, and his eyes went dark with appreciation as he stared at me. His lips curved in a proud smile, and he gave me a knowing wink. “You must’ve had a good night. You look…,” he searched for a safe word, “refreshed.”

  A chuckle burst from my lips, and I couldn’t resist reaching for him. The Lewises thought he was my boyfriend, right? I could kiss him in front of them. I gave him an innocent peck, and he wrapped an arm around me appreciatively.

  “Are you done in the bathroom? Sharing with girls sucks. You take forever in there!”

  “Yeah, but isn’t it worth it?” I winked at him, feeling saucy.

  “What are you kids up to today?” Linda asked, padding into the kitchen.

  “Uh, we’re going to visit some… old friends… If that’s okay?” Phoenix answered.

  “Of course! I’m sure you’re eager to catch up.” She nodded agreeably and reached for the coffee pot.

  “Lexus, are you going to visit your mother?” she asked casually, her expression hidden behind the steam rising from her coffee cup.