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“Thanks, Lyd. Show our guy here how to have a good time. He desperately needs it,” Kai says, his cheery voice breaking on the last word as his emotions get the best of him.
I tug Callum toward the door, pulling it closed on my way out to give Kai the privacy he needs right now. Callum and I make our way back to his car, and I glance around again to look for Raithe.
“Wow, he couldn’t even be bothered to tell Kai goodbye or wish him well?” I ask, staring at the bird bath.
“That’s Raithe these days. I think he might be using or something. He’s been acting extra shitty lately. I’ll check in with Riven, but for now, Raithe is going to have to take care of himself,” Callum says, opening the passenger door for me. “Get in. I want to take you somewhere.” He nods toward the empty seat, leaning over me. I abandon all thoughts of Raithe and turn my attention to the man caging me in against the side of his car.
“Yes, sunshine. Whatever you say, sunshine,” I say, smiling up at him.
“Watch that pretty mouth, love,” he says, his gaze dropping, “or I’ll find a better use for it.” I dart out my tongue and run it over my lower lip, pushing my hips forward until I can feel him against me.
“Mmm,” I murmur. “Is that a threat, big guy?”
“Test me and find out, little siren,” he says, grabbing my hips and pushing me down until I’m seated in the passenger seat.
He grabs my legs and places them in the car as if I don’t possess the motor skills to do it myself. I want to get back out of the car, get down on my knees, and show him exactly what else this pretty mouth can do. But this is so not the place.
“Are we playing games again, sunshine? You know that I always win,” I say, grabbing my seat belt and pulling it across my chest. He grips the door frame overhead, and I watch as the veins in his forearm bulge with tension.
“Love.” He chuckles darkly. “The only battle I crave losing is the one beneath you.”
33
The Watcher
I watched as the band of brothers sent one of their own off to a healing retreat.
Malakai Vale is not only an addict but an idiot if he thinks this place will fix him. Malakai is beyond repair. And when he’s ready to face his darkness, I’ll be right here waiting in the shadows. For now, I must deal with Callum Thorne and Lydia Aston.
I watched the two of them together. Lydia has managed to trap Callum in her little web of seduction. Except that it’s more than that, isn’t it? He’s in love with her. It’s such an obvious observation that you’d have to be literally blind to miss it.
I can’t help the maniacal laugh that escapes me as I envision how much more fun this is going to be now that love has been added to the equation.
This is what I wanted, after all. This is what the voices demand—what the sound demands. Maybe not quite in the way that was originally planned, but it will prove fruitful nonetheless.
I must be quick, though. The sense of inevitability lingers near the edges of my mind, pressing me toward some unknown truth. I often find myself reaching for it, as if I could force it into clarity. Each time, it slips from my grasp, leaving only the fractured darkness in its place. Even time feels unreliable now, stretching and blurring until I can no longer tell where one moment ends and the next begins. Most of the time, I’m left grasping for anything solid enough to hold onto.
Even now, I found myself standing here with no recollection of the moments that led me to this place. It’s an odd feeling to wander through time the way that I have been these last several days. So many lost moments, so many dark spots. Perhaps I should check into Arcadia Grove.
The wayward thoughts abandon me once I spot Callum’s car passing me on the highway from my place parked on a side road out of view. I have no idea where they are headed, but I do intend to find out.
I must act now.
34
Callum
Lydia Aston is the sun, and I’ve been cold for so long.
I glance over at Lydia in my passenger seat. She’s relaxed, staring out the window at the expansive forest. She’s humming a pleasant tune to something I don’t recognize, swaying back and forth to the music only inside her head.
I smile when she looks my way and winks, reaching over to place her hand on my thigh closest to her. Her blue eyes are alight with that curious wonder I’ve managed to memorize since the moment I saw it. She squeezes my thigh lightly, giggling before resuming her humming and tree gazing.
“Has anyone ever told you how fucking breathtaking you are, love?” I ask, earning a wide-eyed expression when her head snaps in my direction.
I smirk, loving the way my words seem to catch her off guard often. Shit, I’m even amazed at how easily the words tumble from my mouth when it comes to her. I’m not one to usually share my feelings so freely, but Lydia makes me want to give them all to her.
“No, actually. Well, not in so many words,” she says, her voice dipping to a whisper. I gasp, pretending to be horrified by this news. Something about the woman in my passenger seat has me suddenly cracking jokes.
