The Awakening (Entangled Series Book 1) (11 page)

Her head was spinning, and she decided not to turn her head to see who was talking just yet.

“Why can’t this end?” she groaned.

“She’s fine now, you can go,” Jessie said in a strict voice. She listened to her front door open and close, then she looked into Jessie’s eyes.

“I’m sorry to bring him here,” her friend murmured. “But I didn’t know where Michael had gone to and he wasn’t answering his phone.”

“He’s mad at me.” She moved slightly, causing the entire room to spin once more. “I feel like I was hit by a truck.” She gripped her head.

“No, just the edge of the salad bar at Kelly’s.”

“Who was that?” With her eyes closed, she nodded slightly towards the front door.

She looked up at Jess, who was looking nervously at her and biting her bottom lip.

“Like I said, I’m sorry to bring him here, but he is the one who brought you to me. And he was being so nice about it too. He didn’t even call an ambulance or anything.”

“Jessica.” She used her friend’s full name, one that she knew she hated.

“Fine, it was Joe.” This time it was Xtina who groaned.

“Great.” She felt a shiver race through her body. “At least tell me he didn’t carry…” She didn’t get any further when she heard Jessie sniffle.

“Sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. They were going to call the ambulance. Do you remember the last time you woke up in a hospital after—”?

“Yes, thank you.” She reached over and took her friend’s hand. She was too tired to brace for the images, and instead, allowed them to lull her back to sleep.

When she woke again, it was to pans being dropped in the kitchen.

“Sorry!” Jessie called out.

Xtina sat up slowly. Her entire body was stiff and she took a moment to roll her shoulders before standing up.

Glancing at the clock, she gauged she’d had about six hours of sleep. Which meant Jessie was probably trying to heat up dinner. She felt grimy and gross and decided a quick shower was in order. Climbing the stairs slowly, she took her time under the hot spray, letting the heat relax every muscle that was screaming at her for sleeping on the uncomfortable sofa. When she was done, she pulled on a pair of black yoga pants and a large Colorado Avalanche sweatshirt and made her way down to help Jess out with dinner.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get salad—” she started to say as she walked into the kitchen and saw a full salad laid out on the table. “Never mind.” She sat down at the countertop, then smiled when Jessie pushed a large margarita towards her.

“Did you get enough sleep?” Jessie asked, turning back towards the stove.

“Enough for now. Have you been here all day?”

“Yes and no. I did make a quick run to the store to get the salad and these.” She held up her glass so Xtina could clink them together. “To catching killers and passing out in the fresh food section.” Jessie’s smile grew.

“Bite me.” She chuckled, then took a long drink of the cool liquid. “Mmm. Perfect.” She turned to her friend. “You know, after everything that’s happened in the last few days, I’m beginning to think that your talent is seeing what people want. Not only that, but delivering it, too.”

Jessie smiled. “You’re on to me.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “But I promise to only use my super powers for good and not evil.” She raised her arm above her head and then spun around towards the stove. “My empath senses are tingling, telling me you want… chicken enchiladas.”

Xtina laughed. “And they would be spot on.”

They hung out in the kitchen eating chicken enchiladas and drinking a whole pitcher of margaritas. Then they took a fresh pitcher of drinks onto the front porch and sat out on the swing as Xtina filled Jessie in on Michael and Jacob.

“You did the right thing,” Jess said after she’d filled her in all the way.

“No, he’s right. I should have told him first.” She closed her eyes and felt the guilt settle in. Her eyes had darted towards his place more than a dozen times since they’d gone out onto the porch.

“You can’t second-guess your decisions. If you feel strongly about it, go… talk to him. But you did what you felt you had to do.”

She glanced once more towards his place. The lights were off, but she could see the faint glow of a computer screen in the area he had set up as an office.

“Will you be okay here?” She nodded towards the house.

“Sure, I’ll crash on your sofa for a while, maybe watch a movie on your new TV. Which is awesome, by the way.” She winked. “Now I want to save up my money and buy a new one.”

“Okay, but I’m taking this.” She snagged the pitcher and carried it with her across the yard.

“Make sure to use protection,” Jess called after her.

“Shut up!” she called back, hearing Jessie giggle in her wake.

S
ince Mike had walked back into his house, he’d been punching away on his computer keyboard learning everything he could about Jacob St. Clair. The man was pretty much an open book.

He seemed to have nothing to hide. It probably shouldn’t be a surprise—he’d been raised in Hidden Creek, one of the smallest, friendliest, easygoing towns in the south.

Who living here would have anything major to hide? It wasn’t as if murders like the one that had happened last night were the norm around here. If it really was murder, it would be their first homicide in almost twenty years.

There were plenty of missing persons, accidents, and other incidental arrests, but nothing as big as murdering a husband so someone could have an affair.

The last time that had happened—he felt his body shiver with the memory—a schoolteacher had been sent over the edge and a housewife to the end of a lake.

From what he could tell, Jacob had been adopted in Atlanta and brought to Hidden Creek less than a week after his birth. Since his birth records were closed, he couldn’t officially confirm that they had the same parents. Nor did he feel like picking up his phone and confronting them. At least not until he’d gotten some sleep.

He glanced over at the sofa and decided a quick nap would do him some good. Then he could tackle this fresh and see if there was anything he’d missed.

He flung himself onto the sofa and was out the second his head hit the cushions.

His mind wandered in sleep. Images came and went, but the only steady thought was of Xtina. Her green eyes pulled him into a realm where magic was the norm.

People floated above the ground, fairies buzzed around the grassy forest, bright green leaves softly floated in the breeze, and the trees swayed gently in the wind.

He was walking with her, hand in hand, up a hill covered with small yellow and pink flowers.

One minute they were smiling and gazing into one another’s eyes, and then the next, a large cloud floated over their heads. The entire atmosphere changed and suddenly Xtina dropped his hand and started running away from him. He took off after her, but his feet felt like they were stuck in mud. Each step took so much energy he was quickly losing ground.

He called out for her, but his voice didn’t seem to work. When she made it to the top of a small hill, she stopped. A bright light was pulsing from beyond the trees, almost blinding him.

Then a bright blue flash caused Xtina to disappear completely and he woke with a start, his scream still deep in his lungs.

He’d jerked himself into a sitting position. Running his hands over his face, he reached down for his iPad when there was a knock at his door.

Setting his iPad on the kitchen table, he walked to the door while thinking about starting a fire in the fireplace, since the new flooring he’d put down was cold on his bare feet.

When he opened his door, he forgot about his cold feet. Xtina stood leaning against his doorframe, a margarita in one hand and what he could only presume was a full pitcher of the stuff in the other hand.

He hadn’t been too upset with her about her keeping the information to herself about Jacob. Still, he’d needed some space after she’d dropped the news on them in the coffee shop. The walk had cleared away all the hurt and anger, enough that once he’d gotten home, he’d had enough clarity to start doing research.

“Hey.” She smiled up at him and he could tell that she was a little intoxicated.

“Hey.” He leaned against the doorjamb much like her. “Looks like your dinner with Jessie turned out good.”

She giggled. “I passed out.”

He reached for her hand. “When?” He took her shoulders and led her to the sofa, making sure to take the drinks from her and set them on the coffee table that had just been delivered yesterday.

Looking down at her, he noticed that she now had a frown on her face. “When you left me.”

“At the coffee shop?” She shook her head. “Then when?”

“Smelly Kelly’s. The grocery store. I went to get salad.” She hiccupped, then reached for her drink. “Then I…” She frowned again. “I passed out.”

He took her drink from her hand again and set it down. “Maybe you’d better start from the beginning.” He sat next to her and took her hands in his.

“You were mad, and…”

“I wasn’t mad,” he interrupted.

She glared at him. “Yes you were. You walked away.”

“Doesn’t mean I was mad.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and enjoyed the shiver he felt from her because of it.

“You walked away,” she said again, her eyes coming back to his. “So, I decided to go to the store for salad for tonight. I was just picking out the tomatoes or maybe it was cucumbers.” She tilted her head slightly. “When I think I bumped into someone. I guess the images were too much for me to handle on so little sleep.” She shrugged. “I woke up on my sofa.”

“How did you get home?”

“Jess.” Her eyes moved back to her drink. “Do you want any of this?” She took another sip.

“Later.” He waited until she turned back to him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left.”

He watched her shoulders rise and fall. “It’s okay. I should have told you about Jacob… before, when I found out.”

“No, you did what you felt was right. I shouldn’t have left you alone especially after everything you went through last night.”

He once again set her drink down, chuckling this time when she made a face at him. He tugged on her shoulders until she fell against his chest. Then his fingers dug into her hair as he gently forced her to look up at him.

“I wasn’t mad, I’m not mad at you. I just needed some time. I shouldn’t have left you alone.” He leaned his forehead against hers. She wrapped her arms around his body and all the desires from the past weeks surfaced.

He’d tried to hold back all his feelings, everything he’d been wanting to do to her, with her. But when her fingers reached up under his shirt and touched his bare skin, he knew there was no holding back the flood any longer. His fingers tightened in her hair, and he tilted her head back.

“Look at me.” It came out almost as a growl. When her green eyes met his, he could tell that she wasn’t too drunk to know what she was doing. “Tell me to stop. Tell me to go to hell, tell me anything.”

“No.” She shook her head slightly and he relaxed his fingers enough that he didn’t accidently yank her hair. “I can’t. I’ve wanted this too much.” Her eyes stayed locked with his as she leaned over and brushed her lips against his, softly.

It was the softness that made his entire body relax. He’d been wound up tight, ready to spring, but now, he all he wanted to give her was softness.

In one quick swoop, he laid her down on the sofa and had her tucked underneath his body, their lips never leaving one another’s. His fingers left her soft hair, traveling slowly down the column of her neck, feeling each of her heartbeats with his fingertips. He raced over the thickness of her sweatshirt until he reached the hem of the oversized material, then pushed it gently up and over her shoulders in one quick motion.

When he leaned back to enjoy the view, he realized she was completely bare underneath the sweatshirt. His eyes slowly traveled over her exposed skin as a slow smile crept onto his lips.

“So beautiful,” he said as her eyes met his. She was biting her bottom lip in worry.

Gently, he ran a fingertip up her body and watched her green eyes turn brighter with desire. When he leaned down to once more run his mouth over her skin, she moaned. Her entire body shivered as his fingers brushed gently up her exposed skin. Her back arched when he ran his mouth over the same trail.

When her fingers dug into his hair, he groaned against her skin and enjoyed the taste of her soft skin against his lips as his fingers trailed over the leggings she was wearing. The tight material hugged her curves, exposing every soft spot he wanted to explore.

He heard her begging him, moaning whenever his lips found a spot that she enjoyed. He took his time exploring every soft inch of her, until he cupped her gently with his hands and her shoulders once more jerked from the cushions.

“Michael.” She said his name over and over as she continued to writhe underneath him. When he tugged her leggings down those long legs of hers, he felt her tense momentarily. And upon seeing her completely exposed skin, he knew why she’d hesitated. As with above, she was completely bare underneath.

“Do you normally go without panties and a bra?” he asked, his eyes glued to her exposed skin.

“Only when I plan on seducing my neighbor,” she said in a breathless tone.

“It’s working.” He finished pulling the leggings down her long legs and then ran his hands smoothly up and down them.

Then in one quick motion, he lifted her from the sofa and carried her back into his bedroom. When he laid her down gently on the bed, he took another moment to just enjoy the view. He was thankful that he’d gotten a box of condoms at the store a few weeks back.

“Michael, don’t make me wait.” Xtina held up her hands towards him.

***

She’d never felt so right about something in her entire life. Her feelings for Michael had been growing since the first time she’d laid eyes on him.

Her desires had only grown when she’d discovered that she couldn’t read him. She’d always had to block or be careful when choosing to be close to someone. She forced her mind to not wander too far into her past. Instead, she focused on Michael’s touch. His fingers running up and down her sides, his lips on her neck, trailing heated kisses down her shoulders until his mouth covered first one breast, then another.

A gasp escaped her as her back arched up with excitement. She’d never experienced something so primitive as the feeling of his teeth nipping at her skin. His fingers traveled down her flat stomach until he once more cupped her. Only this time, he rubbed a finger across her, sending a million stars to explode behind her eyelids.

She couldn’t stop the half-scream that escaped her lips when his finger dipped slowly into her. She heard his own groan of desire as his mouth left her breast to travel down the plane of her stomach until it settled over the spot his fingers had just been.

“Michael,” she cried out when he started lapping at her skin, his fingers still moving around his mouth.

“You’re so sweet,” he said between heavy breaths. “So perfect.” He groaned as her nails dug into his shoulders, trying to hold him closer to her.

“I need…” She felt her chest tighten. “I…” She cried out when her entire body convulsed for him.

She’d never experienced anything like the power that emanated from him as he crawled up her body and settled over her. She felt him reach for something on his nightstand, but kept her eyes closed and just enjoyed the feeling of his skin against hers.

She didn’t remember him removing his shirt, but enjoyed the feeling of that sexy chest rubbing up against her own heated skin. Her fingers ran over his shoulders, enjoying the cord of muscles that played over his back.

He shifted again and she could tell he was removing his jeans.

“This I have to see.” She leaned her head up slightly and smiled when his eyes met hers. “What? You think you’re the only one who can enjoy tonight?” She chuckled when he frowned up at her.

“No, of course not.” He tossed his jeans across the room, then she watched him smoothly slide on a condom. “Well?” he said once the task was done. “How do I rate?” His smile was back when he moved closer to her.

“Easily a ten.” She reached for him, but he moved back and raised his eyebrows as he laughed.

“You’re only saying that because you want to sleep with me,” he joked.

“And wouldn’t you rate me a ten right now too?” She waited as his eyes ran slowly over her.

“Now, tomorrow, the next day.” His eyes met hers. “A year from now.” His smile slowly fell from his lips. “Actually, I can’t foresee any time in our future that I won’t think that.”

She felt her heart skip and her throat go completely dry. “Michael.”

He shook his head. “Later,” he said softly, then moved to cover her. “Now, let’s enjoy what we have.” He came back down and kissed her. She poured everything she was feeling into the kiss as her arms and legs wrapped around his body.

When he arched his back, she opened for him and felt the pure enjoyment of him sliding slowly into her. She couldn’t stop her legs from tightening further around his hips.

Their mouths met once more and she cried out with pure joy with every thrust. Her nails dug into his skin as she felt herself once more building and knew that she wanted to wait for him this time.

“Please,” she cried out as their speeds quickened. “Michael, I can’t…” She shook her head, her lips brushing the spot next to his ear. “I won’t go without you,” she said softly into his ear.

“You first,” he groaned. “I want to see your eyes turn.” His eyes jerked up as their eyes met. “Now.” He groaned as his hips moved over her. “It has to be…”

“Now!” she screamed. Their eyes locked as she felt her entire body spasm along with his.

***

She must have slept for a few minutes because when she woke, their skin had cooled down and she actually felt herself shiver in the cool night air.