To Fall (The To Fall Trilogy Book 1) (44 page)

64

Abby

A foot inside the Wrights’ and I was enveloped in an angel sandwich. Within the cloud, I said, “I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t do it unless you thought it was for my own good.”

“No, we’re sorry, Abby,” Hannah muttered and someone cinched tighter.

“Guys!” I choked out and they released me.

Calista blushed. “Sorry, I forget.”

Xander guided me to the couch and his siblings sat across from us. He said, “Last night you were supposed to spend the night at Mel’s. She and Beth took you to a party, there was a demon there, and he attacked you. He possessed your friend and did awful things. We thought it best to wipe yours and your friends’ memories. I didn’t want you to look at anyone thinking they were evil or bad. It wasn’t their fault. It was the demon. Abby, we made a call. Right or wrong, I did it.”

“No, the fault lies on each of us, Alexander,” Caleb corrected. “We are sorry, Abby.”

I looked at all the sullen faces. “Am I in danger?” Four heads nodded. “From who?”

The weight of Heaven pushed Xander’s shoulders down and I would do anything to take it away from him. “Abby, close your eyes.”

I did what he asked and his hands went to my temples. Images flooded in and it felt like I was on a tilt-a-whirl. Missing memories of my friends, the party, and Jake touching me, kissing me, grabbing me returned.

It snapped together like a toddler’s puzzle. It was there in front of me the whole time. “It’s Jake?”

“Yes. He seems to use Jake a lot. But it’s important to understand while Jake is weak, he’s innocent. He is your friend. It’s not him acting like that. It’s the demon taking him over.”

Caleb said, “I want you to think of when Jake seemed strange. This will help you identify when someone is possessed.”

Closing my eyes again, I focused. “His eyes are darker than normal and he seems aggressive, confrontational. His skin is cold. Icy cold. He calls me, ‘Pink Polka Dots.’” I paused. “Who is he? Please.”

“The demon’s name is Cresil,” Hannah explained. “Low-level lord, but to you, he’s very dangerous.”

Xander knelt in front of me, he held my hands, and looked into my eyes. “Abby. Cresil…he is your nightmare.”

His words swirled in my ears before my brain could make sense of them. “Wait, the evil thing in my nightmare, what I’m running from every night? He’s the demon possessing Jake this whole time?” Tremors racked through me.

Xander kept his hold on me. “Since the basketball court.”

“My bedroom?”

He nodded.

“He keeps coming after me?”

He nodded again.

Now my voice shook. “Why are you forthcoming now? Why did you keep it from me this whole time? He’s come after me. A lot.”

Xander blew out a deep sigh. “Abby, he’s your nightmare come to life. Your day to day will be a living hell. I didn’t want that for you.” He traced my scar over my shirt. “At first, I hoped claiming you would deter him. It did just the opposite. He’s been watching you, waiting for you to be alone. I need you to know, to help us protect you.”

“What does he want from me?”

Letting go of me, he slumped and looked away.

“Xander?”

He muttered, “He wants to take you away from me.”

“Why?”

With disgust, he said, “Because he can.”

A lump formed in my throat. “What do I do?”

His hazel eyes blazed up at me. “Run.”

Without any warning, hot tears streaked down my cheeks. “Xander, I can’t run.”

Xander pulled me into his arms and his body trembled around mine. “I know.”

That night I was plagued with nightmares. I hadn’t seen Xander in them since the camping trip. It was just the evil and me. Somehow, knowing his name made the dreams even worse.

Late Sunday, Xander took me home, and that night, I woke five times. By Monday morning, I was a wreck. I didn’t trust anyone but my four angels.

It didn’t take long to understand why Xander wiped my memories. He knew this would wear me down. He knew what was best for me.

School that week was one of my hardest. Every touch or loud sound made me jump. Paranoia ran deep, expecting some horned creature to jump out of the fridge or trash can.

Beth and Mel noticed. They invited me out to lunch and shopping trips, but I didn’t want to be anywhere Xander wasn’t and he felt the same.

By the end of the week, I was emotionally drained and exhausted. Purple bruises shadowed my eyes that no amount of makeup would hide.

Sitting around the lunch table on Friday, I picked at my sandwich and Xander’s thumb traced over my knuckles.

“Abby, let’s go out this weekend! Tonight! You need fun.” Mel, bless her for trying.

Beth looked hopeful, too.

Xander tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “We should.”

I cringed. “I don’t know.”

“You need a break from this, Abby.” Trailing the hollow of my eyes, his finger heated. “It’s our four monthiversary, I want us to celebrate. Please. Caleb, Calista, and Hannah will come. Right, guys?” They nodded to him. “We’ll go together,” Xander offered.

I relented because I was too tired for an argument. “Okay. Where do you want to go?”

Mel didn’t need a second to think; the idea had already cemented in her head along with her immoveable pixie strands. “Heat Strokes! They have great music, a dance floor, and it’s an underage club.” Since most of us were still under twenty-one, it would be a nice change from the normal parties.

“Okay. Heat Strokes it is,” I conceded.

Mel grinned. “Ooh, Beth, we should see if Henry can come!”

This perked me up. “Who’s Henry?”

Beth blushed and I knew this was serious. Beth didn’t blush. “He wouldn’t be interested.” She made small tears in her napkin, avoiding my stare.

I looked to Mel, who obliged my demanding gaze. Mel bounced in her seat. “Henry is Greg’s older brother. He works for an investment firm. He met our Bethie last week and they hit it off.” Mel looked pleased with herself. My guess was she played matchmaker again.

Beth shook her head to dismiss the idea. “What guy wants to hang out with a bunch of underage college kids?”

Mel caught Greg’s attention as he paid for lunch. Jake and Greg bounded over and Greg gave Mel a kiss. She glowed when he pulled away. Did I look like that with Xander? “Do you think Henry will come out to Heat Strokes with us tonight?” Mel asked.

He looked to Beth. “You going?” She nodded to him and Greg said, “Trust me, he’ll be there.”

Beth didn’t look convinced. “How do you know?”

“I’m risking a giant foot up my ass, but he hasn’t stopped asking about you.”

I smiled at Beth, and before I knew it, Xander cupped my cheek to turn my face, and he was kissing me. The group groaned and threw balled-up napkins at our heads.

“I’m eating here!” Hannah complained.

65

Abby

“These would go perfect with your dress.” Hannah held up silver earrings.

Wearing a tight pink cocktail dress with three-quarter sleeves that came mid-thigh, I paired it with beige heels and let my hair hang down in loose waves. I took the earrings and thanked Hannah.

Getting ready with two angelic sirens was an even bigger hit to the ego than when I would do this with Mel and Beth. Calista wore a red dress that would cause accidents if she stepped out near traffic, and Hannah’s dark teal dress might cause a few heart attacks.

Caleb peeked in to make sure we were on time; he looked handsome wearing a blue T-shirt under a sports jacket and boots. He was sure to grab the attention of every female tonight. I couldn’t wait to see Xander.

With Hannah’s dangly earrings, I went to Xander’s bathroom to put them in and grabbed my lip-gloss. A dark form reflected next to mine and I spun.

Xander wore boots, dark blue jeans, and a dark gray button down shirt that really knew how to adhere to muscles. Hazel eyes sparkled. My stare was shameless as I appreciated my hot angel boyfriend. And I realized it had been too long since we dressed up for each other. Why had we waited so long?

“Wow. You look handsome.”

His eyes roamed over me and he didn’t speak.

My stomach churned; maybe he didn’t like my dress. “Do I look okay?” I asked.

Closing the distance between us, his stare intensified and caged me against the counter. Two large hands ran up my thighs to the underside of my breasts, giving me butterflies and tingles. His head dipped and warm lips kissed my neck. A freshly shaved chin slid against my throat and soft hairs tickled my cheek as his Heavenly scent blew over me.

His voice was thick and husky. “You look amazing. I love when you wear heels.”

My heart raced as if his lips alone controlled the Earth’s rotation. “You’re gonna make me want to stay home if you keep kissing me.” I craned my neck for more.

“Mmm, you shouldn’t have worn this dress.”

Hands went to my backside, pulling me flush to his body, and I gasped when his response pressed against my belly. Warm feelings imploded deep within me and my fingers itched to yank off every article of clothing between us. Fabric pulled from my shoulder, lips caressed my bare skin, and his hand gripped my thigh, making tiny circles that seemed to be going higher and closer to where I ached.

Caleb appeared in the doorway. “Later, you two! Let’s go have fun.”

Xander grumbled, “I was having fun. Brothers.”

Struggling to compose myself, Xander helped fix the dress and put my earrings in with touches completely unnecessary, but welcomed. Meeting the group in the garage, Xander complimented everyone and Caleb did the same.

Forty minutes later, we arrived at Heat Strokes. In the dense crowd, I spotted Beth with a large guy who could only be Greg’s brother, Henry. Greg and Mel danced nearby. Hannah darted across the room and invited Jake to dance. I watched Jake laugh and smile as Hannah chastised his terrible moves and my heart ached for him. His mind was innocent and his body had been used as a demon’s puppet. Jake was my friend, forced to do things he would never do.

At the bar, Danielle stood in what looked like a purple bandage. The group of guys surrounding her were older. Between two different broad shoulders, she met my gaze and her eyes narrowed. The evil eye spoke volumes, but no matter how much she hated me, I prayed she was safe tonight, that she made smart choices and protected herself. If any of those guys wanted to take advantage of her, they could.

Warm lips brushed my ear. “What’s that look for?”

“Danielle. We’ll never be friends, I know. I can’t help but worry about her.”

He kissed my neck. “You’re too good, you know that? Danielle makes her own choices and she puts herself in bad situations. She doesn’t deserve your concern. Come on, I want your undivided attention tonight.”

Xander pulled me onto the dance floor and didn’t allow any space between us. Tonight, he wasn’t sweet or gentle. We moved to the music in a different way. It was sexy and I felt sexy. He ran his hands over my body, keeping in mind people were watching.

“Your dancing isn’t terrible tonight.” He looked me up and down from the side.

I tipped my head back. “Oh? You can thank my dance instructor.”

“Mmm, you should kiss him instead,” he challenged.

I missed this. I missed being playful with each other. His strong arms wrapped around me, guarded and protected me. I was safe here, at home in his embrace.

Holding me against him, his arousal was unmistakable, hidden between us. Maybe it was the public place or just knowing what I did to him, but the heat building in my core was unbearably sweet and moved to between my thighs. His lips found mine and his tongue did things to me that would have had me collapsed on the floor if he wasn’t an angel. This kiss engulfed us in passion and burn. The world didn’t exist, our fears melted away, and it was just us.

Someone yelled across the room, “Xander, you’re gonna sprain her tongue, man!” Cheers and whistles erupted. Okay…so it wasn’t just us here.

Pulling apart, we laughed at the football team raising their sodas to us.

Xander grunted. “I’m getting blocked from all sides tonight.”

“Not from me.”

He smiled. “No, not from you.”

“They’re jealous.” I tugged him back down for another long kiss.

Greg boomed, “This is a public place!”

Xander groaned against my lips. “We shouldn’t have come. I want to get you back home. I want to get this dress off of you.”

“You’re gonna have to wait, Mr. Wright.”

Hours flew by, filled with kissing and dancing. Xander made it clear he wasn’t sharing tonight and no one bothered to ask. I was his. He was mine.

The entire group left around midnight, hungry. We decided to eat breakfast—I would never turn down maple syrup.

We ate, laughed for hours, and we had a chance to get to know Henry. We learned that we actually had two Gregs. Henry was a tank, too. He towered over the group with dark skin, cropped black hair, playful brown eyes, and a great smile. Henry and Beth made a good match, and most importantly, he made her happy. I hadn’t seen her smile like this in months.

Xander whispered, “You look beautiful tonight. Thank you for coming.”

I kissed him and he tasted like syrup. Something knocked his lips away from mine. A balled-up linen napkin landed in our laps and all eyes avoided ours.

Xander drove us home at three in the morning. After saying goodnight to his siblings, we brushed our teeth, and then he pulled me into his bedroom. I put my heels in the corner. He picked them back up and his voice came out deep and thick. “Oh no. These stay on.”

I put them back on without questioning him.

Soft country music played from my phone’s song list, our favorites. Xander’s arms enveloped me and we picked up where we left off at the club. His hands roamed, and this time, no one was watching. His kiss was forceful, intense, a wanting for me burned in those lips and I matched it.

“Every single night you’re not in my bed is torture. I’ve missed you,” he said between kisses lacing my neck, and then broke away. Xander assessed me, considering something.

Suddenly, he grasped the hem of my dress and dragged it off. Without missing a beat, I began unbuttoning his shirt, but Xander tore it off with multiple
plinks
as the buttons hit the wall and furniture. His pants flew to an unknown spot in the room. The rest stayed on.