by Weil, J. L.
Everything inside me sparked to life.
It wasn’t a sweet kiss. It wasn’t a gentle exploration. Oh God no. That’s not what I’d wanted, not what I needed. It was raw, deliciously possessive like he was branding me with his essence, staking his claim. The energy I’d been lacking all day jumped to life, I was bursting in it.
With an unearthly precision, he backed us into his room, keeping my mouth extremely busy with the feel of his lips pressing down on mine. When we reached the edge of the bed, I found myself vertical on his sheets and his hard body covering mine. I melted under his touch. He burned away the ugly memories and replaced my head with nothing but thoughts of him. There was no one, nothing, but him. My world became Chase.
In a single fluid motion my shirt went over my head and flew across the room. His was quick to join. I stared, drooling at his perfect abs and the cut form of his hips. Tiny dark hairs dusted his lower belly and then vanished into his black cotton boxers that were playing peek-a-boo with his jeans. His kisses zapped my brain cells, but his body rocked my socks.
At this rate, my socks were going to be the only thing left on me. And you can bet his fine ass I was going to love every second of it. His hands and mouth were enchanting. And right now that enchanting mouth was smirking smugly. I dug my fingers into his hair, sealing that smug mouth to mine.
“Angel,” he murmured my name. He said something more, but it was lost to me. When he was touching me, kissing me, I couldn’t think, let alone hold a conversation. That was just asking too much.
“Hmm.” That was the only articulate word I could form.
His breath whispered at the nape of my neck. “Are you sure you want this? Do you want me to stop?”
Stop touching me – no. Stop holding me – no. Stop kissing me – hell no.
I shook my head, my chest rising and falling raggedly.
He paused and stared down into my face. “Angel, are you even listening to me?”
“What?” I asked the haze was just beginning to lift. Why wasn’t he kissing me? I ran my wandering hands up his chest impatiently.
Hovering above me, I watched his eyes, luminously topaz in the dark, shimmering. “I’m a selfish asshole. I won’t let you go. Ever. You’re mine,” he vowed, going all caveman.
Holy hot demon babies.
Pleasure speared through me. I love it when he went all Neanderthal. “That’s a two-way street baby.”
He arched a brow, raising that silver hoop. “But we aren’t doing this right now, no matter how much I desperately, desperately want too.”
“What!” There seemed to be an echo in the room. Me.
“I’ve had all binding to you I can handle today. If we do this,” his palm cupped my cheek. “There will be no going back. We’d complete the third. I know it. You know it. Right now I just want to relish in having you here. Home.”
Okay. If he put it like that…
I sighed heavily, and rested my head on his shoulder.
So instead, we fell asleep entangled in each other, afraid to let go. Life was precious and I think we both realized we didn’t want to waste another moment without the other. Each time I awoke in the middle of the night terrified, Chase’s arm would tighten around me and he would whisper in my ear, “You’re safe. You’re home with me.”
And that was all I needed to hear to fall back asleep. It wasn’t really the words that gave me comfort, just his voice. In the end, my first night home was perfect except for not yet seeing my mom, but it gave me something to look forward to in the morning.
~*~*~*~
A sleepy smile pulled from my lips as I opened my eyes. Rolling on my side, I looked at that impossibly glorious guy next to me. Dark strands of hair fell haphazardly over his sharp features. Unfeasible long lashes fanned his closed eyes. Sleeping, he lost some of his hardness. His face was softer, relaxed. I could feel his peace, his happiness exuded inside me, like a piece of him was planted in my heart.
Soul. Heart…Body.
Well we’ve knocked two of the three out of the park. Both of us knew it was only a matter of time before we were bound wholly, the complete triforce. And after last night, I don’t think either of us were going to last very long. I wanted him – there was no doubt about that. But Chase and his sudden sense of morals was standing in the way. Since when had he grown an honorable conscious?
Since when I had I become such a hoochie?
Ives had been right about us. Now that I had given Chase my soul and heart, it made me stupidly happy. A testament that I had truly lost all common sense.
And I desperately needed a hot shower. I smelled homeless.
Sneakily as possible, I tried to wiggle out of his arms.
“Where are you going?” he mumbled in a deeply sexy voice still half asleep. He burrowed his head against the back of my neck, clenching his hold on me. His lips grazed a sensitive spot and I shivered.
Where had I been going? With his lips on my exposed skin I lost brain power. Thinking wasn’t possible. Oh right. “Shower,” I uttered.
“Do you need my help?”
I elbowed him in the gut and he released me. “I think I got this one covered Casanova.” He was being so damn contradictory.
Edging out of bed, I headed for the bathroom. I could feel his eyes watching my every movement. Closing the door behind me, I was engulfed with the essence of Chase. His bathroom oozed him. Bottles of every shape and color lined the counter. Lord, he was worse than a girl. Curiously, I picked up one of the green bottles, popping the top and sniffed.
I screwed up my nose and put it back with the others. What could he possible do with all this crap? On second thought, I didn’t want to know. Then I got a glance of myself in the mirror. I was rockin’ the messiest ponytail known to man. “Oh dear God.” I ran my hand down my neck expecting to see a nasty cut, forgetting that I had this inhuman ability to heal. My neck was smooth and ivory. A good thing, I was thinking. If Chase had seen it…
I shuddered. Let’s just say, I thought his anger would have rivaled Satan himself.
Immediately I started the shower.
Resurfacing from my long overdue cleansing of pure bliss, I found Chase exactly where I’d left. Sprawled on his bed with the corners of his lips tipped up and there was a distinct gleam of amusement in his eyes. “Do you know that you snore like a banshee in your sleep?”
“I do not,” I denied. Jesus, I hoped I didn’t.
He beamed at me, patting the empty sheets next to him. “Come back to bed. I missed you.”
My heart tripped, and I gladly got back under the covers.
Pulling me into his warm embrace, he whispered my new favorite words. “I love you.”
I clamped my eyes shut, savoring the moment. Never would I get tired of hearing him say those words in his dark, magnetic voice. It enthralled me. His arms tightened around me. “I love you too,” I said, snuggling deeper against him.
“You better,” he half growled, half moaned.
A smile tugged at my lips. “Oh yeah, just remember who said it first.”
But as usual the joke was on me.
I felt his hand skim down my tummy and wasted no time making its way up my tank top. No longer was I smiling. My heart stopped at the first touch of his hand against my flushed skin. It was breathtaking. I gasped as he skirted the top of my shorts. Deviating just a little, his fingers began to trace the still slightly tender mark at my hip. It tingled wildly under the feel of his light touch.
“I’ll never forget,” he promised, kissing my neck.
Damn he was good.
Chapter 25
“I need to see my mom,” I declared.
Chase’s eyes softened with understanding. “I’ll go with you,” he volunteered but left no room for argument. I could feel his reluctance to let me go. And I had a feeling it was going to be a very long time before Chase would leave my side.
“She doesn’t know what happened, right?” I asked again just to clarify. When he told me that
he had compelled her, my feelings had been conflicted. On one hand, I was so freaking relieved that she hadn’t spent the last five days worried sick about me. On the other hand, I hated that he had played around in her head. And from what I gathered, Devin wasn’t thrilled either. At least we agreed on something, my mom’s wellbeing.
His damn cocky grin spread. “Not even a hint of what happened.” A fragment of ruthlessness popped into his eyes. “Which reminds me Angel, we still need to talk about what did happen.”
I didn’t like the darkness that was hidden behind his calm exterior. He was playing it cool for me, but it was senseless. Now more than ever his feelings and emotions were powerful inside me. I found it hard to distinguish between his emotions and mine. I was going to have to work on that. “Not yet,” I answered softly, knowing the moment I told him, he was going to totally do something rash and idiotic. It was just Chase’s way.
Waking side-by-side down the stairs an unusual sound floated from the family room. Youthful giggles. It wasn’t so much the giggle that sounded out of place, but the voice that belonged to the girlish laugh. Emma? I didn’t think the merciless hunter had a gigglish bone in her body. Something was definitely amidst.
Sneaking a glance at Chase, it was clear he thought the same. His dark brows were buried together, and I felt his body stiffen. Alarm speared through me. He was in the ask questions later kind of mood. An instant before he descended the rest of the stairs in warped speed, I placed a hand on his arm and shook my head. Knowing him, he would strike at Emma just because.
Together we entered the family room flooded with a vibrant cheer and were more than a little surprised at the scene that unfolded in front of us. When had things changed? How had I not seen it?
Emma was curled up beside Travis on the couch looking like a cat caught licking the milk bowl. Never had I seen her so delighted, so happy. Even her silly grin was catching. I found my lips twitching and thinking that when Emma truly smiled, it transformed her hard exterior into something beautiful.
I was finally able to see the girl he’d fallen in love with.
Travis was grinning like a total shithead. “Bow-chicka-bow-wow,” he said in what I guessed was his sexy voice.
I rolled my eyes. “You did not just really say that. It was worse than a catcall from a construction zone.”
Chase bit back a laugh.
Travis’s blonde hair was in disarray like he spent the night on the sofa with someone in particular and very pleased with himself. “So was it magical?” Travis asked.
“Was what?” I played dumb.
“Knocking boots with–” he replied only to be cut off by Emma socking him in the gut.
A laugh bubbled up in my throat. “You are a total biscuit.”
Travis’s dimples winked deeply on both sides of his cheek. “I’ve been called worse.”
“Go fly a kite. Better yet, wait until its storming,” Chase added edgily.
I pulled Chase through the front door, leaving the two lovebirds before Chase and Travis started going for each others throats. It was only a matter of time before things escalated for those two.
Weaving his fingers with mine, we crossed the yard. The autumn sun was beaming down on us, but it wouldn’t have mattered if it had been pouring cats and dogs. Nothing could contain my happiness.
Walking into the kitchen, my mom was hacking away at the cutting board. For a moment all I could do was stare, latching onto the sight of her. She had one of those dumb aprons wrapped around her waist. Her honey colored hair was pulled away from her face and thrown into a sloppy bun. It wouldn’t have mattered how she looked or what she wore, to me, she was just my mom. And I had missed her dreadfully.
“Mom!” I yelled excitedly, letting go of Chase’s hand and ran into her arms.
She was taken aback in surprise, and then her arms wrapped around me. “Angel, what’s gotten into you?”
My eyes washed with tears. “Nothing. I just missed you.”
Her hands combed down my long dark hair. “I missed you too baby. You’re just in time for breakfast.” Keeping her arm around my waist, she looked at Chase standing in the kitchen arch. “Chase, won’t you stay and join us? That is if Angel is okay with it…”
Like he was going to turn down a free meal.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve, letting a short laugh. “I’d like that.”
Spending the day with my two favorite peeps in the entire world was the best medicine any doctor could prescribe. The three of us hung out, watched old movies, laughed, and ate my mom’s cooking all day.
It was divine.
Some internal mom instinct knew that when I’d walked through the door, I needed my mommy. Yet I was far from ready to let go of my boyfriend.
I think it was safe to call him that after everything.
Again that night I spent another mind-blowing evening sleeping in his arms. My mom none the wiser. The same couldn’t necessarily be said about Devin, but I wasn’t asking and Chase wasn’t saying.
All the same to me as long as he didn’t budge from my bed.
~*~*~*~
“Angel, we have to do this,” Chase stated.
The clan had congregated at the Winters’ house. Packed into their living room was the whole gang: Lexi, Travis, Emma, Hayden, Craig, Sierra, Chase, and I. Everyone wanted in on the action.
We were divided in our usual groups. Chase had me pulled in his lap, arms wrapped around me and had his chin rested on my shoulder. I think it was more of a technical move than him trying some funny business. He was probably afraid I would attempt to body-slam someone.
Emma and Travis were on the couch looking like the wanted to be anywhere but in a room full of people. They were so cute together. It was gagging.
Lexi was stretched on the lounge admiring her painted pink toenails with Hayden perched on the arm. I wasn’t really sure what was going on between them. She hardly ever talked about him as more than just a friend, yet they went out to dinner, movies and other things that would constitute as dating. I should probably get the lo-down on what my best friend was doing with Hayden.
Craig and Sierra sat across from Chase and I. Sierra glared at me with hateful, piercing daggers. She looked ready to tear me to teeny tiny pieces. Thank God there was a coffee table between us.
A week had come and gone since I’d returned from my abduction. Things slowly returned to normal, a feeling of security just started to make itself a home in my heart again. Emma had yet to face her father’s wrath. She had been camping out at Travis’s. Wink. Wink. Everyday he drove her to and from school. If Travis had it his way, she wouldn’t have gone at all.
Emma was entirely different person. One I actually liked. One I could actually call a friend. Since we both had overbearing, overprotective badass half-demons as boyfriends, it brought us closer.
I was blown away by her transformation though. It was hard for me to imagine what she went through at the hands of her dad. There was softness to her round face. Her body was still disciplined and totally banging (that I was completely jealous of), not from dancing but a brutal workout regimen. That was one thing that had stuck. She had offered to train me, and I had regretfully declined. Then Chase had piped in and how he thought that it was a bad idea, which in turn so made me want to say yes.
Some habits die hard, even for me and I hadn’t been brainwashed for a year.
During this meeting, everyone talked at once; they talked over each other until Chase took charge. Through some unknown method to me, they had gotten wind that the hunters were going to be storming the Winters’ house. Soon. And by hunters, that included Emma’s dad as the leader. I doubted my escape sat well with totally-lost-my-marbles Mr. Deen. That and his daughter was missing.
“Angel, we have to do this,” his words came back to me.
I understood that he had to do something – some form of retaliation or it would just be the same shit different day. Or different hostage. “I know. I just wish it could be
different.”
“Look princess,” Sierra sneered. She was back to being my #1 hater. “Why don’t you stop wishing and let us handle the dirty work. Actually, why are you here?” She leaned back and propped her spiked heels on the coffee table straight at me.
I totally took that as a threat. She was ready to stake me with her Louie Vuittons. What I would give to be able to ripe the redheaded locks from her head.
“She is coming with us,” Chase stated before I could slash her with a witty rebuttal. His hand feathered out on my stomach, causing my muscles to jump under his touch.
“You’re joking. Please tell me you are joking. She will just get in the way. I am not getting shot with arrows because of her,” Sierra went again, flapping her yap.
I had the overwhelming urge to sew her black cherry mouth shut. The idea made the corner of my lift.
Chase’s fingers flexed on my belly. “She goes. Or you go without me. I am not leaving her behind, and I am sure as heck not going to let her out of my sight. Not for one second. End. Of. Story.” There was absolutely no room for argument in his statement.
“You’re pathetic,” Sierra hissed outraged. Her eyes deepened, beginning to loose their hazel color.
“But at least he’s consistent,” Craig added, opening his big trap beside Sierra.
That last thing we needed was division. It was no secret how the rest of the group felt about me, but it didn’t sting any less. Their refusal to let me be a part of this was putting a major dent into my becoming a badass…uhh something. Hey, a girl could dream.
“Before her, you actually had balls,” Sierra taunted.
Chase stiffened behind to me. I could feel the muscles in his legs tighten. “Save it for the field big guy,” I whispered for his ears only.
Lexi, always the voice of reason in an otherwise heated group. “You guy knock it off. It makes no sense to argue amongst ourselves. We need a plan to stop them now, before it’s too late.”
Finally. Someone who got the seriousness of our current predicament.
