Grounded (Grounded #1) (10 page)

“Just so we’re clear. If you want any of this, you have to buy me dinner first.”

I heard what must have been Jensen’s pillow hit Kale in the face hard enough to make Kale groan. Another round of muted thunder rolled through the room before we all nodded off to sleep.

Chapter Thirteen

“Alyssum’s home!”

I heard the voice in the distance, behind the fog, and couldn’t make out the words at first. I was still in deep conversation with my old friend, sleep, who didn’t visit that often.

“You’re back,” the voice said again.

Then something heavy fell on me and I couldn’t ignore her any longer. The fourteen-year-old chatterbox that just landed on my stomach effectively knocked the wind out of me. What a rude awakening. Blossom, my best friend’s cousin and the daughter of my mom’s friend, sometimes spent the night when her parents were out of town. She only weighed about eighty pounds, but the sharp bones she called elbows pretty much punctured my diaphragm.

“Get off me,” I pled. She hopped off and that’s when she saw them.

“You have boys in your room?”

She squealed, her expression so innocently bright that I could have smacked if off her. It was far too early for that kind of exuberance.

“Blossom, no.”

I threw my blankets off to chase her. It was too late. She was already talking at warp speed to anyone who would listen. Aric, Kale and Jensen jumped up when the door hit the wall as I ran out of the room.

Everything turned to chaos. I couldn’t get a word in even when my parents joined the party and six guys dragged Jensen, Kale and Aric from my room. Even though they’d be able to tell the brothers were Gobel and Jensen was one of us, they didn’t seem to care. Worse, they were being spurred on by Sage, who was calling out orders above all the other noise and was the absolute last person on Earth I wanted to see upon returning home or exist. He and I had history, one I wish I could forget. I had no idea he’d be on duty when I got back to Delaware.

“Hold on. Wait!” My pleas fell on deaf ears.

They tied Aric’s hands together tightly. He couldn’t use them even if he wanted to. It was an odd sight, seeing him cuffed with white zip ties while wearing nothing but pajama pants, his hair a mess. Kale tried to fight them off. Wrong move. He ended up face down on the ceramic tile with a foot on the back of his neck and each wrist. I could almost hear his bones creaking, ready to break.

They stood guard next to Jensen, but he didn’t get the same treatment. I wished I would have paid attention to the day. Otherwise, I would have remembered that, on Tuesday morning’s, my father had very early security meetings and the house would be full of people. With my habit of forgetting that piece of information, there had been more than one embarrassing trek to the kitchen for breakfast during my teenage years.

When no one would listen, I ran over and threw a low wattage energy ball at Sage. It hit his arm just hard enough to grab his attention and make him take a step back.

“What the hell, Alyssum?” He spat the words out. He looked like he was about to retaliate but thought better of it after glancing at Dad.

“Let them go,” I demanded, grabbing Aric’s arm to pull him behind me. Sage grabbed his other side, putting us in a tug of war. Sage wasn’t that big, especially when standing next to Aric, though that’s not to say he didn’t have some strength. I threw another energy ball. It hit his side. Then another at the gooney whose name I could never remember. I wasn’t trying to hurt them, just get them to release the guys so I could explain.

“Enough,” my father’s voice boomed. Everyone got very still. No one, except me, ever disobeyed my father. “My office, Alyssum.”

“Not without them.” I folded my arms under my breasts and put all my weight on one hip, the stance I took whenever I wasn’t going to budge. I would never admit it, but in that moment, I was thankful for my father. He was many things and methodical was one of them. He would put a stop to the mob mentality taking over the security team because of Aric and Kale being inside the house. Since I’m his daughter, he often shut me down without listening to my side of the story, but he wasn’t likely to do that when others were involved. Fortunately, there were many others involved this time around.

“Now,” he boomed again, his eyes on fire.

“No way. The minute I leave, these jackasses are going to drag them out of here and do god knows what.” The vein in my father’s neck started to bulge. I dropped the stubborn act and tried reason. “I can explain. I just don’t want anything to happen while I do.”

He gave in, instructing everyone to back off. They cut Aric and Kale free, albeit not happily. I grabbed Aric’s hand to pull him away, then followed my father and mother down the hall toward his office, waving for Jensen and Kale to come too. I didn’t drop Aric’s hand until we were safely ensconced inside.

Our bare feet slapped against the marble floor of his very dark room. It occurred to me that my plight may have been better received if any of the guys wore a shirt to bed. Finding your daughter with three half-naked guys in her bedroom was less than ideal whether two were Gobel or not. Maybe I could have gotten away with it with the golden boy, Sage, but not with anyone else.

Cherry wood covered everything that leather didn’t and his imposing desk stood in the middle of the room. It’s what anyone would call a man cave, but with better lighting, you hardly noticed.

My dad sighed heavily. Before he could say anything, my mom wrapped her arms around me tightly. “It’s nice to have you home. Even if you brought…guests.”

“Thanks, Mom, it’s good to be back.” Then I glanced back at my dad. “I think.”

She let go, eying Jensen and Aric as she walked back near my dad. She barely gave Kale a glance.

“What kind of homecoming did you expect?” he railed. I sighed. “You leave in the middle of the night. No one knew where you’d gone, only that you were okay.” I glanced at my mother, who kept her eyes on him. “You come back with three men, two of whom are Gobel. Do you care to explain any of this?”

“I left to find the Sorrels’ son, Dad. You knew that. This,” I pointed to Jensen, “is him.”

“You can’t be sure of that.” He eyed Jensen suspiciously. “Heath Sorrel died with his parents.”

“Where was his body then? Dad, I’m sure.”

He looked Jensen up and down, jaw clenched, like he was trying to see something familiar. Maybe he was afraid he would.

“And the Gobels?” He pointed to the brothers standing side by side.

“Well, that’s a funny story.”

I went on to tell them almost everything that had happened since leaving home just over a month ago, about how I found Aric already with Jensen and everything that came after that. For the first time in my life, my father was speechless. I could only stare and hope he’d think about this situation logically, if not now, then later.

“Aric and Kale will help us. I trust them and so should you. There are others who don’t want war, on both sides.”

“You know war is the last thing I want to happen. But—”

“Then let us help you.”

He thought about it for an eternity, then answered with only a small nod and swept past us out the door. He’d made his decision and this time he was going to trust me.

Back in the entryway, an even bigger crowd had gathered. It never took long for word to spread throughout a small town. The guys leaned against a wall that put them away from the angry Gremalians that had gathered. I stood between the guys and the crowd, watching my dad control the situation the way only he could to get them moving on their way. He always said Glen was the born leader, but watching him work made me doubt that anyone would be better at it than my father.

A shriek just loud enough for me and the guys to hear took my attention from the gathering. A body slammed into me, squeezing tightly. I couldn’t breathe.

“The wayward daughter returns,” Dahlia, my best friend, said. She crushed me in her arms. When I pulled back, I wasn’t surprised to find her perfectly put together. She was the exact opposite of me. I’m short, she’s tall. I have blonde hair, she brown. My eyes are blue, while hers are so dark they look black. She could do magic with a make-up brush.

“Couldn’t stay away forever.” I caught Aric and Jensen eying our little interaction, or checking her out, just out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t be sure which. I threw Jensen a suspicious eyebrow. He quickly looked away, making me smile and shake my head.

“No? I mean, you left without a word to anyone. People worry, Alyssum. Not me, but people. It’s not like I’m your best friend or anything.” Dahlia glanced over to the guys again, then looked back to the security team who was still clearing out the area. “I suppose, though, since you came back with guys who look like them,” she indicated Aric, Kale, and Jensen with a wave of her hand, “I guess you can be forgiven. Introductions will be necessary.”

She hit me with her hip as she walked away. I chuckled quietly. With the slightest movement, she hit my shoulder with a spark that made me take a step back, like someone bumped into me in a crowd. My eyes narrowed and I flicked my fingers at her, sending a small jolt at her butt. She yelped and jumped. All eyes in the room went to her. I put on my best innocent look and shrugged, making a mental note to have her talk to her cousin. Blossom can’t just barge into my room like that anymore.

My father cleared his throat, then went back to business. I turned to Aric and Jensen. They both had disapproval all over their faces and the slightest of smiles.

***

Once everything calmed down and the entryway had started to clear out, I knew, as we walked back to my room to get dressed, that Jensen and I wouldn’t be alone again for a while, what with my father planning to grill each of them like they’re felons. I know how he works.

We each took turns in the bathroom, although what I think we all could’ve really used was some more sleep. Our days of normalcy were over. The foreseeable future would be all about meeting with my father and then the rest of The Council. Decisions and training became the priority the minute we stepped on the property.

We started out in my dad’s office. When I was done with him, Dad was on my side. Kale wanted to go home, try to recruit the rest of his family to stand against their own council. Dad assured him that the Gremalians, since we were ever grateful for their actions, would extend any and all protection possible to those who help us. It always bugged me when Dad slipped into Official Ash Bracken mode. He became formal, like a different person. Either way, Kale was set to go to Phoenix to see his own family as soon as The Council meeting was over. The Gobels didn’t know that Kale had decided to work with us. Not yet, at least. His plan was to see his parents, which he hadn’t done in a couple of years, and try to get information on what the Gobel were planning. Then he’d come back.

Chapter Fourteen

We gathered in the meeting room to a round of yelling. Apparently, not everyone was as comfortable trusting a Gobel. Again, “Official” Ash put them all in their place. Whether they were comfortable or not, it was happening. Aric wanted to go with his brother, but Kale decided it was best one of them stay behind and, since Aric was our friend, he got that job. He and I were put in charge of seeing what Jensen could do and if he really was what they needed him to be as well as figuring out how much of his father and mother’s power he’d inherited.

It was a long day. I promised my dad that we’d start investigating Jensen’s abilities tomorrow.

The only upside to the day came when I got to show the guys which rooms they’d be staying in. If nothing else, our house was pretty impressive. Both rooms were down a different hallway than mine, by design, I’m sure. My mom made the arrangements and who knew what she could sense. I guess she wasn’t taking any chances, so their rooms were the only two down that way.

The large rooms were complete with anything a person could want, including a fully stocked mini-bar. I didn’t even have one of those. Really, it was just a small fridge with pop, water and a few snacks under the plasma TVs hanging from the wall. It looked as if she had the rooms made up especially for them because, at one point, the rooms had been much more feminine with deep purple duvets that were now a dark green.

After Aric was settled with everything we’d left in the car, I went in to help Jensen, which was code for spend time with him.

“This has been a crazy day,” he said, putting his clothes in the dresser.

“The craziest.” I flopped onto the bed and watched him work.

He shut the last drawer and laid beside me, our shoulders touching. “So, you
are
kind of badass.”

I smiled at him. “You haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait until tomorrow.”

He wanted to know about the energy balls I threw. I explained that I could pick up energy from the air, lightning was best, but either way, by controlling the voltage, I could use it as a weapon. He should be able to, too. I also told him how I zapped the car back to life for Aric at the garage. Not everyone could do that. Some of us had to have direct energy, like from a storm or man-made electricity. I didn’t always form them into balls; actually, that was rare. I preferred sparks and bolts. He listened to me with wide blue eyes, but he didn’t seem too freaked out.

“That guy you hit…”

“Sage,” I spat, knowing where that was going before he said anything.

“You seem to have a lot of hostility toward him.”

“He was holding Aric and his goons had Kale. Someone had to do something.” I shrugged him off, flipping over.

“Is that it?”

I felt his eyes on me. “He and I used to date. He’s an ass.” I hoped that would be enough.

“Did you and he…”

I closed my eyes, trying to hold back my disgust at the thought of Sage touching me in such intimate ways. Yuck.

“No. Never. The last time he kissed me, I bit his tongue hard enough to make him bleed.” Jensen laughed. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to picture that. “Yeah, that was fun, actually.”

“Now I kinda feel bad for the poor guy.”

“Trust me, you won’t after you’re here a while.” We fell quiet, his hand above my head, absently playing with my hair. “Make sure you call your parents every now and then just to keep grounded.”

“I will.” His eyes went from the ceiling, to my face. “Do we get to go out while we’re here?”

“Ha, better than that. Tomorrow we start training. After that, you won’t want to be around me as much.” I wanted to keep things playful, at least as much as I could. “I might just scare you off.”

“Unlikely.”

“I’ll make sure we get some time alone.” I flipped over to my side, propping up on my elbow.

“And what are we telling your parents?”

“Nothing.” I slipped my hand under his shirt and caressed the sculpted plane hiding beneath. He let out a ragged breath and closed his eyes. “My mom probably already knows about us.”

His eyes popped open. “How?”

“She can…sense things. Probably had a read on it before she even came in the room. It isn’t a magical Gremalian thing. It’s a normal psychic thing.”

My hand jiggled on his stomach as he laughed. “Did you really just say normal psychic thing?” I nodded with a grin. “I can’t believe that doesn’t weird me out.”

Overall, he’d taken everything pretty much in stride. I kinda assumed it was more because he wanted to be with me rather than believing it was all real. Now he couldn’t deny anything. Lightly trailing a path along his stomach, I leaned over and kissed him just because I wanted to. He moaned, but it came out like a growl.

I rested my hands on the side of his neck and climbed on top of him. I felt his surprise, but he didn’t miss a beat. I pulled him up, yanked his shirt above his head, and let him back down. His hands rested on my upper thighs and he kissed me like he really, really meant it, squeezing my legs softly. I’d never allowed things to go that far before because I was seeing Aric too. Even still, I had to admit it felt good to have him half naked and flawless underneath me.

Then he did the same, pulling my shirt off. Thankfully, I’m the type of girl who sometimes wears undergarments for their cuteness rather than solely for their function, so my bra had a wow factor. Pink and lacy, but not see-through. I watched his eyes take me in before he rolled me over suddenly, which made me squeal. My fingers were on the button of his pants and I had no idea what the hell I intended to do. His hands inched up my side and, just when he was about to cup my breasts, there was a loud knock on his door.

My heart dropped and I started searching for the shirt he’d thrown on the floor next to the bed. I fell off with a thud trying to reach it. We both giggled softly. Just as the door opened, Jensen got on all fours on his mattress and I rolled under the bed.

“Dude, I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to sleep in these big rooms. You?” I couldn’t see Aric but heard the change in his voice when he must have finally looked at Jensen and realized what he’d walked in on. “I, uh…sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay.” The springs squeaked just a bit in my face as Jensen presumably rolled back to sit up. “But you might want to wait to be invited in next time.”

I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. Apparently, I wasn’t as quiet as I’d intended.

“You can come out, Alyssum.” Aric’s tone remained light and full of humor, like he was trying to hold back laughter as well.

“Um…actually, I kinda can’t.”

How undressed I was must have clicked in Jensen’s head because he jumped up and ushered Aric from the room, shutting the door and clicking the lock. I slid out and put my shirt back on before I was on my feet.

“I guess I should’ve locked that.” He scraped his fingers on the back of his head. “I didn’t expect…”

“Yeah, me either.” We stood there awkwardly, staring at each other, and I felt heat rising in my face. “Okay, I’m gonna go, then.”

He smiled widely. A little cocky, actually, but I really liked it.