Toxic Part One (Celestra Series Book 7) (21 page)

“Oh, he’s…” Mom looks to the ceiling in her allusive search for adjectives. “He’s better than an angel.”

I pin my mother with a look.

Demetri Edinger is no better than an angel—in fact, it’s about time she understands what a demon he really is.

***

Just before I leave for work, I hear Mom coming down the hall, humming a happy tune, because
hello?
She’ll be rid of Tad for a few short hours. But it just so happens I can’t stand the way she’s decided to fill her time.

“Can we talk for a minute?” I widen the door to my room extending the invitation.

“Of course.” She strides in and takes a seat next to me on the bed. “What’s going on, sweetie?” She brushes my hair behind my shoulders.

“That’s what I’d like to know.” I was going to ask what was going on between her and Demetri, but my vocal cords shut down on me. I just know she’s going to get all defensive when I peg him for killing my father—when I tell her how he’s in the process of killing me. “You know, about Gage and me.” Shit. So not where I wanted to go with this.

“Oh, hon, it’s going to be OK.” She pulls me into a tight embrace. “I just know you and he will work things out. That other boy is just a filler.”

“Logan is not a filler.” I have proof positive I’ll be marrying him one day—Logan, Gage, and I can all attest to the fact since we shared the vision en masse. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about me. What’s going on with
you
?” Do I really expect her to burst like a dam and fill me in on all the juicy details of her affair?

“Well, I’m sort of torn right now.” She sighs, looking down at the comforter.

“What?” I honestly didn’t think we’d go there.

“Therapy isn’t what I thought it would be. It just seems to be getting worse and worse. I think I might have to shore up the reserves and force the entire family to get on board. I could really use some support right now.”

“Support you? With Demetri?” I want to gasp or scream or throw things, but it’s all getting a little too real.

“Demetri?” She looks genuinely confused. “No, I was thinking more along the lines of a colon cleanse.”

I give several hard blinks. I do see the connection although vague and disturbing in nature.

“Oh right.” I get it. “To help with the baby. So, you’re still wanting to go ahead with that whole infertility treatment thing? I mean you’re a grandmother now.” I shrug like it’s no big deal, but secretly I’m hoping she’ll change her mind about trying to add another Landon to the mix.

“I might be a grandmother but I wouldn’t know it, and I certainly wouldn’t know my grandchild lived right next door. Every time I go over there, they act like they’re not home, even when their cars are sitting right there in the driveway. I’m not holding my breath for Brielle to bring over the baby.”

“Sorry about that.” I sit up, fresh with an idea. “Hey, maybe Darla is ticked off at you.”

“Whatever for?” Mom says it real pissy like maybe there
is
a rift between her and Darla.

“You know,” I start, “you’ve been spending an awful lot of time with her boyfriend.” Referencing Demetri as anybody’s boyfriend makes me want to gag.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Her hand flies to her mouth. “Of course—she’s the jealous type.” She smacks herself on the forehead. “I’ll have to think of something and make it up to them. A romantic getaway, just the four of us.”

I blink into her, stymied by her problematic mathematics. It’s becoming clear she won’t be removing herself from Demetri’s equation anytime soon.

“Maybe start by inviting them to dinner,” I suggest. “You can really lay it on thick with Tad—then Darla will totally get the message.” So will Demetri.

“You know, Skyla, sometimes you’re a real genius.” She winks.

Not sure a wink is what you want after hearing those words.

“In fact,” she says, clapping her hands into her epiphany, “I’ll have the Oliver’s over and their boys. I’ll see if I can’t make more than one love connection that evening. I just know Gage is the right one for you.”

“No, please, don’t do that.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

She leans in and hugs me a very long time. I guess I blew my chance at ratting out Demetri.

“Hey, Mom?” I pull away and look right into her bold, emerald eyes. “What would you say if I told you I thought Demetri was a really bad guy?” Like responsible-for-the-death-of-your-husband bad.

Her lips tighten in a ball, her gaze narrows into a spear. “I would never believe you.”

Exactly what I thought.

Chapter 30

Mad Kisses

The island transforms itself into a tropical paradise. A dark canopy of clouds lay thick over Paragon, locking in the heat from an unnaturally warm day. The pines glow verdant and supple. Their dark, corrugated trunks lie camouflaged in tawny and ebony bark, interlocked like the pieces of a puzzle.

I pull into the bowling alley parking lot and step out of the Mustang, taking in the scented brine from the ocean. I can see the whitecaps crash over the shore from across the road and the angry blue steel of the water sweltering in the heat. The boy I once loved holds that color in his eyes. Gage holds the ocean, the universe, and my heart hostage in those cobalt spheres. He had so much power over me with just one look, but now he’s gone, and all that’s left is an imposter taking up space in his heavenly form.

Gage’s black truck is nestled next to the entrance. I knew I should have begged Brielle to cover my shift. I suppose I could hightail it over to Demetri’s to knock out some more of those community service hours and lock myself at the hip with Chloe of all people.

I make my way through the dimly lit arcade. It bustles to life with robotic clicks and whistles. The bowling alley opens up like an air-conditioned haven, bright and airy, the scent of fresh popcorn thick in the air.

A voice emerges from the kitchen.

It’s Gage—I know that husky laugh, that guttural moan as he shows his discontent. I miss the way his baritone would rumble through my body as he held me tight, the way it sounded in my hair.

“Skyla.” He comes upon me quick, making me wonder if he teleported to spare the seconds he would be without me, but I know that’s wishful thinking—the quicker to kill me, perhaps.

The sound of bowling pins being thrust off their base lights up the facility like a heartbeat. But the cacophony of sounds, the steady roll of the ball, the whir of the machines, and the techno music blaring from the arcade all seems to dissipate as Gage presses forward.

Gage bows into me and takes in the scent from my neck with a long draw. The look of ecstasy explodes over his face, as though he had just sampled the most exotic flower. Palpable angst corrupts the air as his breathing grows erratic, his hunger, his wanting skyrocket into the stratosphere.

“You look beautiful,” he pants the words out. He sweeps over me with a serious gaze. “You glow, you know that?”

“I do?” I hold his gaze without wavering. There’s something sobering about being this close to him—with his attention strictly focused on my person. “That’s because I went out on a date last night—had some
real
fun.” I shake out my hair like it was no big deal.

Gage twists his lips holding back a grin as if he knew better. “Where’d you go?” He tilts his head in anticipation of an answer that he already knows.

“None of your business where Logan and I go.”

“Have you talked to him this morning? He didn’t come home last night.”

Crap. “Is his truck there?” I know for a fact he was home and sleeping in his bed.

“Still there.” Gage takes me in almost disinterested in our chit-chat—his eyes, his soul, are having another conversation entirely.

“He spent the night at my house.” I shrug, trying to act like this is the new norm in my life. “He slept with me.” Technically it’s not a lie. “You know, as in
together
.” God, I sound like an idiot.

Gage lets a smile slip, then retracts as if he didn’t mean for it to show. He knows damn well I slept alone last night because he was probably popping in and out of my room at regular intervals.

“So,” he says, with a single soft whisper, that lustful gleam in his eye elongates, sharp as an arrow, “you don’t have any idea where he might be?”

“Nope.” Ezrina flashes through my mind. Shit!

Gage leans in, pulling me in close with his heavy magnetic stare. His breath falls over my face, soft as feathers. He tilts his head before coming in for the kill. I can feel the heat from his neck touching me before he does.

I don’t want to do it. I refuse to do it. I will hate myself if I do this.
Down
girl. But my lips draw up and ache for his with nothing but a breath between us.

“Ms. Messenger.” Marshall flashes a look of dismay from the black hole of the arcade.

“Marshall,” I gasp. I don’t put a lot of thought into what my body does next. I run at him a million miles an hour, jump up on his waist and ravage him with a kiss so wild he can hardly stand as I writhe over him. Marshall backs us into a wall and sits me down on an animatronic pony. I know just the one—it wears a colorful fiesta hat and a sarcastic toothy smile, and to my surprise, the machine comes to life beneath me. Before I know it, my hips are forcefully grinding into his, and it most likely looks as though I’m doing my math teacher right here in front of the entire junior population of Paragon.

I needed this kiss. I was going to explode if I didn’t kiss Gage—splatter over all four corners of the island if I didn’t jam my tongue down his throat just to satisfy my parched affections for him.

It’s me, Skyla. Do try to focus on the suitor at hand,
Marshall suggests while pleasuring me with a kiss I won’t soon forget.

So this is what it would be like to love Marshall—his bold affection—the intense wave of pleasure emanating from his being. It’s heaven like this with him. I could more than forget my troubles if only for a little while. Maybe what I really need is to spend a few good hours under Marshall’s lustful supervision, maybe that’s how I’ll repair my shattered heart. Marshall would never refute my efforts and make me wait until the end of the faction war like Logan. Marshall would take me right now on this vibrating donkey, if I let him.

A vision appears, a blinding pain surges throughout my body, and I bear down hard.

“You can do this,” a voice calls from behind. “Push, Skyla—
push
.”

I turn ever so slightly and see the face of the man rooting me on—it’s Marshall panting out the beginnings of a smile as he looks down over me and the vision fades to black.

I jump off him as though he were on fire.

Dear God. I
am
going to get knocked up by my math teacher.

“Did you see that?” Marshall braces me by the shoulders. “We’re going to have a baby, Skyla.” His eyes dance around my person at a million miles per hour. “Not only will you be my wife, but you’ll bear me a child. This is beyond my expectations.”

I’d hate to be the bearer of bad vision interpretations, but I highly doubt things will pan out the way we see them. Now that I know things aren’t always what they seem, it’s very possible the child I’ll be bearing will be Logan’s. Marshall will probably just be in the vicinity. I’ll probably have my baby in the parking lot at prom just like Brielle.

A surge of heat spikes through me as I try to do the math to figure out when Logan and I will most likely do the deed.

“You are aware that I’m touching you.” He sneers down at my bare arm.

“Oh, right.” I give a dry smile and step away. “Thanks for listening. By the way—I’ve decided to call in sick. You think I can come over for a while? Maybe we can toss Nev into Demetri’s mirror of horror and find out where it leads?” I think Nev totally owes me after that stunt he pulled a few months back when he almost robbed me of my virginity.

“No can do. I have a pressing meeting in less than five minutes. I came to pick up the prints.”

“Oh, right. They’re in the Mustang on the passenger’s seat. It’s unlocked, and I think the window is rolled down. Just reach in and grab it.”

“My how safe and secure you must feel living on this floating rock.” His jaw clenches as he mocks me.

“I know, right? It’s so different than L.A. It’s almost paradise.” Gage catches my attention. He gives a disapproving look in our direction before pecking at the register. “Anyway, I guess this is more of a fool’s paradise.” And I’m the fool. “So where’s your meeting? Are you coming back with that reverse tan? Maybe I’ll come by later and check out your celestial glow.”

“Whether or not the Master shows is not up to me. Delphinius will be there. He’s going over the bullet points of what he’ll be discussing at the faction meeting. I presume you’ll be forced into attendance. Does all this special attention please you?”

Ellis’s words come back to me.

“Attention isn’t necessarily a good thing,” I say, knowing full well none of the attention I’ve received thus far has been good. “The Counts are up in arms over the fact I’ve got a treble. Why the hell would they care?”

“They have ethics, Skyla—although misguided, they do try to adhere to the rules of their nefarious game. In the event you’re not aware, you, my love, are breaking just about every canon they’ve ever bothered to instate.”

“Correction, Demetri is breaking them. You’re right, his lust for my mother is a powerhouse to contend with.” I stop shy of mentioning Demetri was kind enough to return the third disc to me after he so unkindly had pints of my blood removed from my body in his sadistic tower of terror—not that it matters now. I’m sure forfeiting another region, whether by accident or not was all a part of his plan.

“I must leave. Shall I grace you with my lips once again?” Marshall glides into an easy grin. “I believe Jock Strap is witnessing this encounter with great interest. Oddly, he’s replaying our resplendent exchange of passion, casting himself as the lead in a rather pornographic display of affection. I doubt we were so crude, and in this, a public establishment.”