The Locket (30 page)

“Come on, give it up, Blake.” He smiled that smile that made me want to melt like an ice cream cone on a summer day. I shook my head. No way was I going to ask if he already had sex with someone. It hurt too much to think about and I was pretty sure actual confirmation was more than I was capable of handling.

“You can tell me anything, Claire,” he urged, his expression now serious as he registered how upset I was.

“Look, it’s nothing, seriously. So drop it,” I said, reciting a random tune in my head, hoping to keep him from reading my thoughts.

“You’re a really bad liar, Claire. Tell me what it is before I assume it’s something really serious.” His voice was so persuasive and so hard to resists. “Trust, right?”

I groaned. He was playing that card. He yammered back at me in frustration and begged me with his eyes to talk to him, which made me more upset. His changing expression alerted me that the tune in my head did nothing to hide my thoughts from him, and I was suddenly so uncomfortable. Damn him. I was going to have to do a better job of controlling my thoughts around him. He laughed and threw his arms around me, pulling me close.

“Oh my God, Claire, it’s so not what you’re thinking, just a bad choice of words on my part. I have not shared anything even close to sex with anyone else.”

I instantly felt relief and I grinned sheepishly. Not that it would have changed anything if he had, but it thrilled me knowing that he was mine in every way.

Running my fingers through his soft brown hair, I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him to me, throwing every ounce of need into kissing him. I rolled over on top of him and started to remove his shirt. He lifted a little and helped me, reaching behind his head and removing it in that way guys do so easily. He laid back. The fact he wasn’t going to stop me was clearly visible on his face, no longer able to fight off the desire he felt for me, and he knew I was aware of it.

I used my palm to stroke his perfectly defined body, and kissed every inch of exposed flesh. His breathing grew ragged, and occasionally he would hold his breath, releasing it loudly, trying to restrain himself. I removed my top, wanting to feel the warmth of our skin together, flesh on flesh. He swiftly shifted me beneath him and held me close, burying his head in my neck, trailing kisses along my collar bone. I was lost in the feeling of his skin on mine. The warmth coursing through my body felt like being in a sauna; too warm to handle, yet feeling too good to leave.

“Brent, I need you. I need you like I need the very heart that beats inside me. I want this. No more stopping, please.” I gazed into his soft blue eyes.

He tenderly held the side of my face in his palm and I leaned into it, reveling in the reassuring warmth.

“I know, Claire, I don’t think I could stop myself again, even if I wanted to,” he whispered in agreement, moving down my body trailing kisses from my neck to my belly. His warm breath gave me goose bumps as he made his way down my body. My insides were burning and the feeling was unbelievable. He tugged at the shorts I was wearing, and I lifted slightly, allowing him to slide them off, leaving me in nothing but my panties. I looked up breathless with anticipation to find his gaze burning right through me.

“You are so beautiful, Claire. I can’t believe you’re mine. I will love you forever,” he said before kissing all the way back up my body slower this time, meeting my mouth with a long deep kiss. A kiss that showed me he would, in fact, love me forever.

Our bodies moved together rhythmically. Brent cupped one of my breasts causing me to moan. The feeling of his hand on my bare flesh was unbearable and my body wanted more of him. I pushed my hips into him and he groaned. He licked at the tender skin behind my ear and then began softly nibbling at my neck. I slid both my hands to the back of his neck, pulling him close, kissing his along his jaw, enjoying the taste of him. Uttering a growl of contentment, he slid his hand down to my thigh and wrapped one of my legs around him. I felt his desire pressed against me. Pressure was building inside of me. My legs started to tremble. He caught my bottom lip with his teeth and tugged on it gently, humming appreciatively.

“Oh, God, Claire,” Brent whispered in my neck as he slid a hand between my legs. His fingers softly grazed my inner thigh, and then he ran his fingers over my satin panties. I was pretty sure I stopped breathing.

Then it hit me. Panic set in and suddenly I was stiff as a board, no longer sure I could go through with it. I started to think maybe he was right. Was I was making a rash decision during an emotional time? I knew I wanted him but wasn’t positive I was ready. My mind was in turmoil but I was going to ignore my thoughts because I loved him and I wanted so badly to show him.

I may have been able to ignore my thoughts but Brent could not. I heard his low intake of breath and his body went limp. He rolled off of me. Gripping the sheet, he pulled it up, and covered me.

“Christ, Claire, I only have so much self-control. I am a guy.” He sat up breathless and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling really awful for leading him on.

He stood and turned to look at me. “Don’t be sorry. It’s okay. I told you I don’t want you to do anything you’re not ready for or that you’ll regret.”

“Where are you going?” I asked, noticing he was moving away from the bed.

He smiled and brushed his face with his hands. “I’m not going anywhere. I just need a little distance in case self-control isn’t enough.”

His phone started vibrating on the nightstand. It was a little after five in the morning. Who would be calling?

“Hey, Layken,” I heard Brent say. “Yes, she’s here with me. How did you know?…Oh shit…okay…sure, one sec.”

He handed me the phone and scowled.

Why on earth would Layken be looking for me?

“Hey, Layken.”

“Oh, Claire, thank God. Listen, Logan is here and he’s really drunk. He said something about being in love with you and needing to find you because you were in a lot of danger and some guy named Kace was coming for you.”

“Oh, Layken, I’m so sorry. Did he hurt you?” I asked.

“What, no,” she answered confused. “He didn’t hurt me. He scared me a little because he was talking about you so crazy, but he’s perfectly harmless.”

Thank you, Lord.

If Layken only knew that Logan could be so much more than perfectly harmless.

“Can I talk to him?” I asked, as I watched Brent closely. His jaw was tight and his arms were folded across his chest.

“He’s passed out right now. Thankfully my parents are away. I have a few friends sleeping over, but they haven’t woken up yet. Can you come here? He’s kinda freakin’ me out?”

Brent was close enough that he could hear her request through the phone. He shook his head vehemently and watched me questionably. I turned away from him before answering Layken.

“Of course. We’re about an hour away, but I’ll be there for him. Okay?” I told her.

I saw Brent out of the corner of my eye. He slammed his palm into the wall behind him, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“Great, thanks so much Claire,” she said.

“Sure, and Layken, if he wakes up, tell him I’m on my way and I’ll be there soon.”

“Yeah, I will. See you soon,” Layken said with relief in her voice.

“You’re kidding, right? We are not going back to Northfield,” Brent sighed, with his back to me. His palm was still on the wall and his head rested on his arm.

After sliding my shirt back on, I got up from the bed and went to him. I put my hand on his arm and urged him to look at me. “Please Brent. I have to make sure he is okay”

Brent spun around, his expression unreadable. “Claire, he’s fine. Let him sleep it off and then you can call him. Going back there is dangerous. We can’t keep tempting fate.”

I folded my arms across my chest and sucked in a courageous breath.

“I’m going and I would really like it if you went with me. You can choose not to come if you want,” I sassed, stopping just short of stomping my feet.

“Jesus, you’re exhausting woman, you fuc…you promised that you wouldn’t leave again,” Brent reminded me of our earlier conversation.

I grinned proudly when he caught himself before using the f-word.

“No, I promised that I wouldn’t leave without telling you. That’s exactly what I’m doing. The rest is up to you,” I clarified, throwing the ball in his court.

“I believe you also said you would listen to me when I said something was dangerous, which this is, and it’s careless,” Brent countered.

Dammit!

“Layken has friends over. What if something happens to them and I wasn’t there to stop it? I would feel responsible for the rest of my life. I have to go, so please, come with me.” I shamelessly batted my lashes, beseeching him to agree with me.

Brent sighed as he caved, his dark blue eyes burning. “You make me crazy. Do you know that?”

I shrugged and smiled.

“But…, I understand,” he said, his eyes softening, returning to their aqua blue color that I loved so much.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“I still think it’s dangerous.” I started to interrupt, but Brent put his finger on my lips silencing me. The feel of his fingers on my lips caused my cheeks to warm as well as other parts of me. “I get it, though. You’re a good friend, Claire. Logan needs you and you need to be there for him. As much as I don’t like it, it’s also the reason I fell in love with you in the first place.”

“You’re amazing,” I smirked.

“I know,” Brent laughed. “I need a cold shower and you should wake Reese if we’re going to do this. He’s your Aegis now, Claire. He may not be as easy to convince,” Brent suggested, grinning devilishly and closing the bathroom door.

I smiled, realizing Brent was softening his need to control everything to protect me. He still felt the urge, but loved me enough to quell the need in order to make me happy. I frowned knowing that Reese – as my Aegis – may not have the same restraint, and I had to go talk to him.

When I went to wake up Reese, he was sitting on the bed wide awake, jumping up quickly when he saw me.

“What is it, Claire? Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, but are you all right?” I asked, questioning why he was wide awake at this hour.

“I’m good, Claire. Can’t sleep. Must be part of my new abilities.” He was gaining the abilities needed as my Aegis, which meant, he was going to be none too thrilled with what I was about to say.

“Oh, we’re going to Northfield and need you to come with us,” I announced, leaving out the reason for our departure.

“What? No way. We’re not going there, Claire, It’s not safe.”

“Uh, okay Brent.” I shot back at him sarcastically – annoyed that he had in fact joined the ‘control Claire’ club.

His lips pursed, my quip response not sitting well with him. “Don’t behave like a child, Claire,” he added, making me laugh at the irony.

“Uh, really? That’s the pot calling the kettle black, Reese. Wouldn’t you agree?” I smirked, calling him out.

“You’re impossible,” Reese yelled. “Why do you need to go back?” he asked argumentatively.

I turned my head mumbling under my breath. “Logan.”

He crossed the room remarkably fast to confront me. “Excuse me, what was that? I could have sworn I heard you say, Logan.”

“I did say Logan. He’s in some sort of trouble and needs my help,” I said, taking a small step backwards.

“He doesn’t
need
anything from you Claire,” he spit out, stressing the word need.

“Reese, he’s at Layken’s. He’s been drinking and he scared her a little. Right now, he’s passed out but she has friends over and asked me to come, so I’m going.” I walked towards the door, prepared to leave without him.

Looking back at him, I saw his brow was creased with worry. “Brooke?”

“I’m not sure. Layken didn’t say,” I replied.

“Okay then, let’s go.” His quick reply made me smile as it appeared he might actually have a thing for Brooke. Well, that made things easier than I thought they would be.

Leaving Reese so he could collect his things, I wrote Maggie a note, slipping it under her door, letting her know what happened, and to call Brent if she needed anything.

The drive was quiet. I was anxious. I started to wonder if Logan was really at Layken’s or if we were headed into a trap set up by Kace. Maybe Layken had been adhered to. Given our friendship, that shouldn’t be possible. Although, Logan said the Adherent could manipulate a human rather easily. Layken had a huge crush on Brent so an Adherent could have used that against her. I guess it didn’t really matter. If an Adherent anchored to Layken, then I needed to be there for her, regardless.

We arrived at Layken’s just before 7:00am. She answered the door in her pajamas and motioned with one finger over her lips for us to be quiet.

“He’s still sleeping,” she whispered.

Her house was beautiful and modern. It didn’t fit the traditional country style New England décor but then again neither did Layken. There were large abstract paintings throughout the spacious entryway. I noticed Brent eyeing them with appreciation.

We went into the family room, far from Logan, so we could talk. The walls were painted neutral and the furniture was mostly polished metal and glass. The room was dimly lit by a single crystal lamp resting on an end table. The white sofas were streamlined, and I was pretty sure they weren’t supposed to be sat on.

Layken grabbed my arm. “Claire, what is going on?” she asked, pulling me to the sofa and sitting down. I continued to stand, worrying I would make a mess of the stark white fabric.

“Logan is having a tough time at home and I’ve been helping him through it,” I said hurriedly, hoping she wouldn’t press me for more.

Layken squinted when she looked up at me from the couch. She crossed the room and flipped on an overhead light, brightening the room.

“Oh my God, Claire, what happened to your face?”

I reached up to cover the bruises, thinking of a quick lie. “I fell. Really, it’s nothing.”

“That is not ‘nothing’, and neither is what’s going on with Logan,” she said, lowering her voice mid-sentence when she realized she was screaming. “He showed up here talking about how much he needed you – that he had to find you. I told him there was no way I was helping him. He fell to his knees and begged, Claire. He begged! He said he was in love with you and would never hurt you.” Layken paused, glancing at each of us before continuing. “One more time, Claire, What in the hell is going on?” Layken asked forcefully.

I sighed. “He’s not in love with me. He’s just attached because I’ve been helping him with some things. Like I said, he’s going through some stuff, that’s all.”