Focus (The Crescent Chronicles, #2) (32 page)

Finally, Hailey came into the room.
“Hey, how’s the ankle?”

“
The ankle’s fine, but we
have to go home.”

“
Home? As in to New
Orleans?” I saw the excitement in her eyes. I knew she was having
fun on our trip, but she missed New Orleans. The cold was never
quite her thing.

“
I need to see
Levi.”

“
Are you okay?”

“
Yes, I just need to see
him.” I paced the room, wanting to leave immediately.

“
Should we look for
flights?”

“
Can’t you fly
us?”

Hailey laughed. “You must really want
to see him, but I think we can take a commercial
airline.”

“
Fine. I hope my mom gets
back soon.”

I waited until I saw my Mom alone that
evening to break the news. “Mom, can we talk?”

“
Sure.” She picked up a
blanket and walked out onto the back porch. I tried not to look at
the hot tub. “Is something wrong?”

“
I need to go back to New
Orleans.”

“
You miss him, don’t you?”
She smiled.

“
Yes. And I need him to
know how I feel.”

“
I don’t want you to leave,
but I know love when I see it.”

“
You’ll forgive me?” I felt
terrible that I was leaving right after I got there, but somehow I
knew she’d understand.

“
Of course, but maybe you
can make a trip home after the New Year?”

“
Yes. I’ll bring
Levi.”

“
Good. I need to get to
know him better.”

I leaned over and hugged her. “I love
you, Mom.”

“
I love you
too.”

Chapter
Twenty-Five

“
Al?” Levi answered the
door, evidently surprised to see me on the other side.

I took advantage of his surprise,
launching myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and
leaned my head on his chest.

“
Is everyone okay? What’s
going on?”

I looked up into the blue-gray eyes
that had me at first glance. “I love you, Levi.”

He grinned. “I love you too,
Al.”

I leaned up to kiss him, loving how
quickly he responded and how incredible it felt. I was right—what I
had with Levi went beyond simple attraction. I’d never find
anything even remotely close to it. He lifted me up, carrying me to
his bedroom. He kicked his door closed before laying me down on his
bed.

“
We’re leaving,” Jared
yelled, and I heard the front door slam. I was glad. I knew Pterons
had good hearing, and I didn’t want to have to worry about being
quiet. I didn’t want to worry about anything but being with
Levi.

I pulled Levi’s head down, wanting his
lips on mine again. He moved back after a minute, pulling off my
sweater and his shirt. “I’ve been waiting to get you naked in my
bed for a long time, and I’m not wasting a second.”

“
I don’t want to waste any
time either.”

“
Good.” He unbuttoned my
jeans and slid them off. “Red panties? Were these
intentional?”

I shrugged. “Maybe
subconsciously.”

He took off his pants, and returned to
unclasp my bra. His mouth moved to claim my breast.

“
I like the red, but I like
you naked better.” He took off my panties, and I reached out to
grab him as he leaned over me again.

I was barely aware of him lifting me
enough to pull down his covers. His hands and lips touched me
everywhere before he positioned himself over me. “I love you. Every
single part of you.”

I smiled. “Then show me.”

***

“
I don’t know what caused
it, but if this is what’s going to happen when you go on vacation,
you should go more often.”

“
Next time, you should come
with me.” I meant it.

He smiled, running a hand down my
stomach underneath the covers. “I like that idea.”

I curled up against him, our bodies
tangled together in the sheet. “Your bed is pretty
comfortable.”

“
Comfortable enough you’re
going to spend all of your nights here?”

“
Not all, but a
lot.”

“
That’s a good start.” His
lips brushed against my neck.

My phone rang, ruining the moment. I
tried to push Levi off so I could see who was calling.

“
Ignore it.”

I started to sit up. “Let me see who it
is.”

“
No.” He pushed me back
down.

I was all about going along with it
until my phone rang again. “Give me my purse.”

“
Fine.”

He handed it to me, but not fast enough
to avoid the call going to voice mail. I looked at my phone. I had
two missed calls from Jess. It was weird that she’d called twice
without leaving a message.

“
I have to call her back.”
I pulled the sheet tightly around me, feeling strange calling her
while naked in bed with Levi.

He made it a little less awkward.
“Fine, I’m going to make us something to eat. Don’t go anywhere.
I’ll bring it back here.”

“
Okay,” I said absently as
he left the room.

“
Hello, Allie,” a male
voice answered.

I froze. I recognized that voice, and
it wasn’t Emmett.

“
Allie, help please!” I
heard Jess scream in the background.

“
What the hell is going
on?”

“
I told you to come back to
me, but you wouldn’t listen.”

My stomach dropped. “Toby, please,
what’s going on? Why do you have Jess?”

“
You want Jess? Agree to
come back to me. That’s all it will take.”

“
Answer me. Why do you have
her?”

“
You really don’t get it,
do you? We are meant to be together, but you are too blinded to
realize it.”

“
Have you lost your
mind?”

“
No, but you have. All it
takes is a pair of wings to get you in bed, huh?”

“
What?” Had he just said
what I thought he did?

He laughed. “I’m surprised you haven’t
figured it out yet. I thought you were smarter than
that.”

“
Figured what out? How did
you know about his wings?”

“
I guess I never mentioned
my mother’s maiden name, did I?”

Toby’s mother had been dead since he
was a kid. I had no reason to know it. “No, why?”

“
Does Blackwell ring a
bell?” My chest clenched. “Are the pieces falling into place,
babe?”

If I hadn’t been sitting down, I would
have collapsed. “Wait are you… you can’t be.”

“
I can’t? Why
not?”

“
Because it’s impossible.
How could I have been with two… this makes no sense.”

“
Why not? Are Levi and I
really that different?”

“
But why? And if you wanted
me, why not just get me while I was there?”

“
They still haven’t told
you how much power you have, have they?” Toby laughed dryly. “If
you want Jess back, you’ll come to me willingly. I can almost
handle knowing he’s had his hands on you since it’s going to make
things even better for us. I promised I could take care of
everything, and I never break my promises. I know you think you
can’t leave him, but you can, and you will.”

“
Toby? Please.”

“
I’ll be in touch, and when
I am, you’re going to come to me.” The line went dead.

Levi walked in and found me holding the
phone in shock.

“
Al, what’s
wrong?”

“
They have
Jess.”

“
Who does?” He sat down on
the bed next to me.

“
The
Blackwells.”

“
The Blackwells? Who called
you?” He put a hand on my back.

“
Toby. He says he’s a
Pteron. A Blackwell.”

“
Your
ex-boyfriend?”

“
Levi, why did he say he
needs me to come willingly?”

Levi’s face paled. “It doesn’t matter.
You’re not going to him.”

I shook off my annoyance that he was
evading my question again. “We have to get Jess back. I’ll do
whatever I have to. I can’t let anyone else get hurt because of
me.”

“
We’ll get her back, but
you’re not going anywhere.”

Levi pulled me against him, and I knew
that I’d save Jess even if I had to do it alone.

Books by Alyssa Rose
Ivy

Flight (The Crescent Chronicles,
#1)

Focus (The Crescent Chronicles,
#2)

Derailed (Clayton Falls)

Veer (Clayton Falls)

Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy,
#1)

Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy,
#2)

Keep reading for a preview
of
Derailed (Clayton
Falls)
, a New Adult Contemporary Romance
by Alyssa Rose Ivy. For more information about the Crescent
Chronicles and other books by Alyssa Rose Ivy, please visit
AlyssaRoseIvy.com.

Derailed (Clayton
Falls)

Prologue

The message was only three words, but
his failure to respond had changed everything. I need you… Too
emotional to speak, I'd stopped at three words. The words were
true. I did need him. I needed his arms around me and his
reassurances that I’d be okay, that it wasn’t my fault. He hadn’t
heard his phone, or so he told me that August when he pleaded over
and over with me to forgive him. I couldn't forgive him. My anger
was the only thing keeping me from hating myself.

Chapter One

I used to love May: the heat and the
promise of a long and limitless summer. I’d count down the last
weeks of April with excitement, ready for my favorite time of year.
The May of my first, and only, year of law school was different. It
brought the craving for change—and the need to escape.

I remember the exact moment I decided
to quit law school. It was during contracts only a week before
spring exams. The end of my 1L year was in sight, and I should have
been excited. My first semester grades placed me firmly in the top
25% of the class, and finishing first year meant I was getting
ready to pass a milestone I’d thought about for years. Of course, I
should have also been getting ready for an even bigger milestone:
my wedding.

“
Ms. Sander, would you care
to enlighten us on why the court found the agreement
unenforceable?” Professor Willis’s booming bass voice reverberated
off the oak-paneled walls of the lecture hall.

My head snapped up when I heard my
name. I’d been reading a website on my laptop and could feel the
blood rushing to my face, aware that everyone in the room was
probably staring at me. I tried to pull up the case brief I’d cut
and pasted from Westlaw that morning. It had been months since I’d
bothered to brief a case myself. Instead, I’d been relying on the
generic commercial ones our professors had warned us to avoid. My
screen froze, and I was out of time. I struggled to remember what
unit we were even on. “Lack of consideration?” I half
asked.

“
If you didn’t bother to
read the case, why did you bother to come to class?” The professor
sneered, and I heard light laughter behind me. Traitors. Like I was
the only one who didn’t do the reading. I’d spent almost every day
of the past nine months with these people, yet they made a joke out
of me at the first chance.

“
That’s a good question and
one I don’t have the answer to.” I slammed my laptop shut and
stuffed it into my backpack, slinging one strap over my shoulder. I
picked up my case book and slipped past a roomful of stunned faces
as I headed to the door.

“
Where do you think you’re
going, Ms. Sander?”

I paused to think over the question. “I
don’t actually know.”

This time the laugher wasn’t light. It
was loud enough that I could still hear it after the door swung
closed behind me.

“
Molly! Wait up!” Becca’s
heels echoed off the tiled floor of the hallway. I stopped, but
didn’t turn around. She didn’t waste any time, placing a gentle
hand on my shoulder as soon as she reached me. “What was that all
about? Are you doing okay?”

The genuine concern on Becca’s face
mingled with exhaustion from trying to balance a full school
schedule with taking care of her ailing mother. I felt a surge of
guilt—the only thing I seemed to feel anymore. “You don’t need to
worry about me, but I’m done.”

“
Done? What do you mean?”
She pushed a stray piece of dark hair behind her ear.

“
I can’t do this anymore. I
can’t pretend to care about meaningless cases or that I have any
interest in being an attorney.” I sighed; it felt good to say it
out loud for once.

“
You don’t have to actually
practice law. There are so many other things you can do with a law
degree.” She sounded so hopeful and confident; I hated knowing I
was going to hurt her.