Inferno Anthology (93 page)
Authors: Kailin Gow,Vi Keeland,Kimberly Knight,Cassia Leo,Addison Moore,Liv Morris,Laurelin Paige,Aleatha Romig,Jessica Sorensen,Lacey Weatherford
A Novel
Addison Moore
Copyright © 2013 by Addison Moore
http://addisonmoorewrites.blogspot.com/
Edited by: Sarah Freese
Cover Design and Photograph by Regina Wamba of
www.maeidesign.com
Models: Dylan Prichard and Julia Plan
Interior design and formatting by Amy Eye of
www.theeyesforediting.com
This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to peoples either living or deceased is purely coincidental. Names, places, and characters are figments of the author’s imagination. The author holds all rights to this work. It is illegal to reproduce this novel without written expressed consent from the author herself.
All Rights Reserved.
Table of Contents
Books by Addison Moore
New Adult Romance
Burning Through Gravity (Burning Through Gravity 1)
A Thousand Starry Nights (Burning Through Gravity 2) 2014
Fire in an Amber Sky (Burning Through Gravity 3) 2015
Beautiful Oblivion (Beautiful Oblivion 1)
Beautiful Illusions (Beautiful Oblivion 2)
Beautiful Elixir (Beautiful Oblivion 3) 2015
The Solitude of Passion
Someone to Love (Someone to Love 1)
Someone Like You (Someone to Love 2)
Someone For Me (Someone to Love 3)
Whiskey Kisses (3:AM Kisses 4)
Rock Candy Kisses (3:AM Kisses 5) 2015
The Dragon and the Rose (Celestra Forever After 2) 2014
Perfect Love (A Celestra Novella)
Young Adult Romance
Ethereal (Celestra Series Book 1)
Tremble (Celestra Series Book 2)
Wicked (Celestra Series Book 4)
Expel (Celestra Series Book 6)
Toxic Part One (Celestra Series Book 7)
Toxic Part Two (Celestra Series Book 7.5)
Elysian (Celestra Series Book 8)
Ephemeral (The Countenance Trilogy 1)
Evanescent (The Countenance Trilogy 2)
Entropy (The Countenance Trilogy 3)
Ethereal Knights (Celestra Knights)
Baya
Sometimes life has its way with you. It peels back the layers of your existence like the skin of an onion until the real you glows underneath, raw and painful to the touch. It’s in those moments, in that hour, you look to those that give you strength—for me, that person was my brother. He was the one that put me on a pedestal after tragedy struck in our young lives. He promised to always look after me. To make sure that I wouldn’t stumble in life and that the right people would land beside me along the way. It’s no coincidence most of those people were of the estrogen card-carrying variety. My brother loves me so much he pinned me high on the good girl board long before I could have contested the effort, and, now that I’m admiring the view below, I’m not so sure I want to be the poster child for innocence anymore.
It’s funny how something like death, which isn’t funny at all, can shape your destiny. When my father was alive, all he talked about was his heyday at Whitney Briggs, and, of course, being little I imagined him stuck on a farm, pitching straw over his shoulder—but Whitney Briggs is a far cry from any countryside barn. Whitney Briggs University is billed as a cosmopolitan educational institution tucked in the blue mountains of North Carolina, and, so, after he died, both my brother and I set our scholastic compass in that direction. That’s where destiny kicks in, and I meet
him
.
Bryson Edwards. Even his name makes me sigh.
He’s right here, and I want nothing more than to close the gap between us until he falls into me. I’m boiling over, ready to have him, ready for him to have me any way he wishes.
I stretch my arms up over my head and wriggle my body into his mattress.
His chest ticks with a silent laugh. “Whatever it is you’re doing, keep doing it.” A seam of moonlight catches his features, exposing the fact he clearly approves.
“I’m settling in.” I twist my hips into the bed. “I think I could get a good night’s sleep here.”
“Oh, sweetie”—he growls it out as the smile slides off his face —“if you spent the night in my room, there wouldn’t be a whole hell of a lot of sleeping going on.” His fiery breath sears over my mouth like a promise. “And, if you did happen to fall asleep, I’d be guilty of doing something very, very wrong.”
My fingers run down his granite-like abs and unbutton his jeans. I glide down the bed and plant a kiss just above his boxers.
“I don’t plan on sleeping,” I say it low like a threat. “And neither should you.”
Baya
I’m pretty sure flashing your boobs at the hottest guy in a ten-mile radius isn’t the best way to meet new friends on move-in day.
“Shit!” I pull my tube top up, quick as a flicker, but it doesn’t matter, “the girls” have already made their startling debut right here in Founder’s Square in front of a demigod who’s witnessed the first of many embarrassing episodes I’m sure to have at Whitney Briggs. “I swear I don’t know how that happened.” I pluck and adjust, while struggling to hold onto the oversized duffle bag I’ve filled with all of my dad’s favorite books. When he died I sort of adopted them, and, now, I’m dragging them around like a body. It was the one bag I didn’t check and thankfully so since the airline sent the rest of my things to Kansas. “It’s like a ghost just pulled it down. Stupid top.”
“I don’t think it’s stupid.” He gives a lopsided grin, and my insides squeeze tight. He’s gorgeous, and built, and way the hell out of my league. “I think it’s friendly.” He dips his gaze to my cleavage again as if waiting for a reprisal.
“It’s not friendly, and neither am I.” I take a step to the left, and he’s quick to block my path. “Look, sorry about the peep show. My clothes usually don’t make a habit of falling off in front of people.” His caramel hair glows in the dappled sunlight. It looks glossy and slick, and it’s all I can do to keep my fingers from running through it.
“Don’t feel too bad—clothes everywhere have a habit of falling off in my presence. Especially the undergarment variety.” He gives a cocky grin. “In fact, I double dog dare you to do it again.”
Perfect. He’s tanned, ripped, and evidently ready to dip his wick.
“I’m leaving now.” I ditch around him and step into the swell of humanity. Girls in every level of undress scream and hug as if summer had somehow lasted a thousand years. Dozens of skateboards jet by, quick and lethal as bullets, as I struggle my way through the main thoroughfare. If I wasn’t lugging around all my father’s books, which have decidedly morphed into bricks, I might have actually enjoyed my first stroll through campus. I had seen snippets of it in the glossy brochures, but I’ve basically shown up at Whitney Briggs sight unseen. The first thing I noticed when the airport shuttle dropped me off is the fact the air is thinner in the mountains of North Carolina, much more than it ever was in Texas. Back home you could take a bite out of the heat, and here it feels like I’m filling my lungs with something just this side of helium.
