Eternal Bond : (The Cursed Series, Book 3) Read online

  “Right.” He nodded, but that stupid, arrogant, sexy smile was still plastered across his full, kissable lips.

  I took a step back. What was wrong with me? Why was I having such inappropriate thoughts about Jax? “Can you please move?” I asked.

  He was blocking the entire hallway, which I was sure was on purpose. This was Jax, after all, and he loved to harass me.

  He tilted his head and took a step closer, eliminating what little distance I’d put between us. Then, he reached out and trailed his fingers over the bite mark on my neck—his bite mark.

  I shivered involuntarily and leaned toward him, my eyes fluttering closed. My entire body flamed to life with desire. With want.

  “It should have faded more by now,” he said, his hand lingering on my neck for a moment before moving up to cup my cheek. “Does it hurt?”

  “No,” I whispered, leaning into his hand.

  And then, suddenly, there was no more space between us. Jax’s body was pressed to mine, his heat enveloping me like an embrace I never wanted to lose.

  “This shade of red looks really good on you,” he said, his voice husky and full of desire that rivaled my own.

  “You have to stop doing that,” I muttered, though there was no force behind it. “Please.”

  “Please what?” He licked his bottom lip, and my gaze was drawn to his mouth, to the memory of how it had felt on mine. Of how ravenous his kiss had been. “What do you want, Chloe?”

  “You,” I gasped. “I want you, Jax.” I flung my arms around his neck and crushed my mouth to his.

  “Chloe? Hey, are you all right?”

  I blinked rapidly, confused. My heart hammered in my ears. I stood in the middle of the hallway, my towel still wrapped tightly around my body. Jax stood several feet away, concern etched across his face. What the…?

  I glanced around. It was just me and Jax, and we were most certainly not kissing. Had I imagined that whole thing? Or had it actually happened, and he’d moved away quickly with his vampire speed to make me think it hadn’t happened? I shook my head. No, Jax wouldn’t do that. If I had kissed him, he wouldn’t have stopped it. So, then, I must have been hallucinating. Or daydreaming.

  “Chloe?” he said again, taking a hesitant step toward me. “Your face is really red. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” I said a little too quickly. Why on earth was I fantasizing about Jax? “I just got out of the shower.”

  Had I actually run into him, or was that all part of my hallucination, too? Why couldn’t I remember?

  “Yes, I can see that.” Barely contained lust flashed behind his eyes. “I take it you and lover boy worked things out.”

  I frowned. “Yeah, no thanks to you.”

  “Now, why would I help you with that when you know I’d much rather have you be sneaking out of my room half naked?” He grinned, and my breath hitched.

  “I’m not doing this with you, Jax.” I put as much force behind my words as I could muster, and then I shoved past him. My heart was in my throat as I marched toward Whitney’s room.

  “Hey, Chloe?”

  Against my better judgment, I turned around.

  “That pulsing red”—he waved his finger around to indicate my aura—“says you do want to do this with me.”

  My eyes narrowed, and I scowled. I hated how he could so easily see my emotions, especially the ones I wanted to hide—like my attraction to Jax.

  I willed myself to get angry so he could see the other shade of red, the one he didn’t like as much. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t feel anything but desire. With a huff, I spun on my heel and walked away.

  Behind me, Jax called, “Think about it. I know I will be.”

  I curled my hands into fists, forcing myself not to turn around again. I stopped in front of Whitney’s door and banged on it harder than necessary. The pain against my knuckles was a welcomed distraction from my traitorous thoughts.

  The door swung open. “Chloe!” Whitney yanked me into a bear hug and flung the door closed.

  I tried to take a breath, but she was squeezing me too tight. I smacked the back of her shoulders. “Whit—” I choked out. “Can’t breathe.”

  “Oh, sorry.” She released me, and I gasped for air. “We really haven’t had a chance to talk since you’ve been back, and I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too,” I said.

  She tilted her head. “Why are you wearing a towel?”

  “I don’t have any clothes.” I quickly explained what had happened and how I’d already had a dwindling wardrobe before losing what little I did own. “So, I’m really hoping you have something I can borrow.” I flopped down onto her bed.

  “Of course.” She went straight to her closet, which was so full, clothes tumbled out at her feet. Laughing, she scooped them up and tossed them onto the nearby chair. “You can wear whatever you want.”

  “Thank you.” Relief flooded me.

  I rummaged around in her closet, finally settling on a pair of denim shorts and a simple red T-shirt. The irony of the color wasn’t lost on me, but with any luck, it would dull the color of my aura.

  I was going to have to go shopping for new clothes. Not that I had any money to replenish my entire wardrobe. Maybe Dad would send me some money.

  “Okay, so what’s going on?” Whitney sat cross-legged on her bed, waiting expectantly.

  “I don’t even know where to begin.” I sighed and sat across from her.

  Reliving the entire ordeal wasn’t high on my list of things I wanted to do, but once I started talking, I couldn’t stop. Everything poured out of me.

  Trent asking me to change for him the night of my birthday party, sneaking out to see my family, Ivy snatching me, being a prisoner, Jax getting locked up with me, the coven starving him, forcing him to feed on me, kissing him, Trent finding out…

  When I finally finished, I was winded, and my shoulders sagged. “I’ve made such a mess of everything.” But it felt good to come clean without having to lie or give half-truths.

  “Wow.” Whitney paused for several moments, and I worried she might hate me now.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have told her. She was practically family to Trent and Jax, and I’d just admitted to hurting them.

  “So, Trent understands why Jax fed on you?” she asked.

  “Yes. I did it to save Jax’s life. That’s it. I swear. And the kiss…” I blew out a breath, forcing the memory to stay locked up in the back of my mind. “I was just caught up in the physical reaction to being bitten.”

  “You know it meant a lot to Jax, right?” She pinned me with a knowing look.

  My jaw dropped. “Have you been inside his head?” I really hated how she could just read anyone’s mind whenever she felt like it.

  “Not on purpose. But his thoughts have been very loud.”

  I groaned. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask what those thoughts were, but I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know. And I was tired of talking about this, obsessing over it. I wanted things to go back to normal.

  “Enough about me. How are you? Are you going to stay around for a while?” I asked.

  Now that the Rose Coven wasn’t an immediate issue, I had no idea what Whitney’s plans were, but the thought of her leaving had sadness burrowing into my chest.

  “Sean said Wyatt and I could stay as long as we wanted, and Jax is freaking out about Isach being around.” Whitney rolled her eyes. “I mean, I get it. Isach’s dangerous, but he did help get you back, so he can’t be all that bad, right?”

  My brows lifted, and I gave her an incredulous look. “He tried to kill me.”

  She had the grace to look a little apologetic. “I know. But maybe he’s changed?” She shrugged. “Either way, Wyatt and I agreed to hang around and help keep an eye on you and Isach, make sure nothing happens.”

  “Great, so I have an entire group of vampire babysitters.” I got off the bed, shaking my head with disgust. “You know you all can’t watch me twe
nty-four seven, right? I am going home, and there’s no way Aunt Beth will let you move in. And then there’s school…”

  “Oh, yeah. We’re all going to school with you.” She grinned and gracefully eased off the bed.

  “What?”

  “Well, Trent and Jax are already students, so they’ll just go back for the start of the new year. Wyatt and I enrolled last week. We’re Trent and Jax’s cousins, if anyone asks.” She laughed. “I haven’t been to school in decades. I can’t wait to go back.”

  “It’s not all that great, trust me,” I said.

  “Are you kidding? I get to hang out with all those humans and make new friends and go to dances and sleepovers and stuff.” She squealed with excitement. “But the best part is I’ll get to see you every day.”

  I smiled. I’d never seen anyone that excited about high school, but I couldn’t deny it would be fun having Whitney around. She would get along so well with Ellie and Abby and all my other friends.

  She grabbed my hands and jumped up and down. “Ahhh, this is going to be so much fun!”

  I laughed and jumped around with her, because what else was I supposed to do? The towel I’d had wrapped around my hair fell off, and my damp hair hung down my back. It was a knotted mess and would take me forever to brush.

  Suddenly, Whitney froze, head cocked to one side. “Trent’s back,” she said releasing my hands. “And he’s very excited.”

  “He’s planning something, but I have no idea what.”

  “Want me to find out?” There was a devious twinkle in her eyes.

  “No,” I said around a giggle. Okay, having Whitney around was going to be a lot of fun, and I was eager to go back to school now. “Thank you for the clothes, but I need to finish getting ready.”

  “Have fun,” she called as I left her room.

  There was something in her tone that made me pause—she’d totally read Trent’s thoughts and knew what he had planned. I was going to have to talk to her about that.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

  Memory Mash-up

  “WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?” I asked for the tenth time.

  And for the tenth time, Trent simply smiled. But this time, he took my hand and laced our fingers. “I told you. It’s a surprise,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes. “And I told you. I don’t like surprises.”

  He laughed, the sound wrapping around me like my favorite blanket—warm and comforting. We’d been driving for almost an hour, and I still had no idea where we were, and he wasn’t even giving me a hint. I unhooked my seat belt and scooted across the seat so I was next to him.

  “Whitney told me that everyone is going back to school with me.” I rested my head on his shoulder.

  “Well, with Isach around, I figured the more eyes I had on you, the better.” He lifted our hands and kissed my knuckles. “I hope that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, it’ll be fun having mind reading vampires following me around.” My tone was sarcastic. “She said the story is that they’re your cousins.”

  “Mm-hmm.” He nodded.

  The truck slowed, and he made a sharp right turn. Now, we were on a dirt road that looked like it hadn’t been driven on in years. Grass sprouted up in haphazard patches, and crater-sized potholes threatened to trap us.

  I sat up straight and looked around. He’d brought me into the middle of nowhere. Literally. There were no signs of other people. No cars or stores or streetlights. It was the definition of desolate.

  And then, out of nowhere, a clearing appeared. Surrounded by trees, the area was set up with two tents, folding chairs, and a fire pit in the center. Trent stopped the truck and killed the engine.

  “Camping?” I glanced at him.

  He removed his sunglasses and slid them onto the dashboard. “You said you wanted to be outside.” His mouth curved up into a gorgeous grin, and my heart fluttered in response. “You can walk barefoot in the grass. Bask in the sunlight. There’s a small lake not too far through those trees, so you can even go swimming.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. “You’re the best, you know that?”

  “I am pretty great.” He winked, then opened the door. “C’mon.”

  I scrambled out behind him, and he took my hand, leading me toward the campsite.

  “That’s our tent,” he said, pointing to the blue one to my right.

  “What’s the other tent for?” I asked.

  “You’ll find out.”

  “Great. More surprises.” But I couldn’t hide my smile.

  Laughing, he wrapped me in a hug, his lips easily finding mine. “Haven’t you learned yet that my surprises are the best?”

  “Your ego is getting a little big,” I teased.

  But he was right. His surprises were the best, and I wasn’t complaining. My curiosity was piqued, though. What could he possibly need a second tent for? Were more people coming?

  “Make yourself comfortable.” He nodded toward the chairs. “I need to unload the rest of the stuff from the truck.”

  “I’ll help.” I was much too excited to sit still.

  All I’d done for weeks was sit around. I needed to move and be active. We unloaded two large coolers, sleeping bags, firewood, and bags of groceries.

  “You’ve been busy,” I said, eyeing a bag overstuffed with chocolate bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers.

  “Honestly, I have no idea why anyone thinks this is a vacation. It’s a lot of work.” He grabbed a duffel bag from the bed of the truck, then slammed the tailgate closed. He held the bag out to me. “Whitney packed for you.”

  My heart melted. He really had thought of everything.

  I took the bag. “Thank you.” I set it inside our tent. “Y’know, this is the first time I’ve ever been camping.”

  “Really?” He sounded as if he didn’t believe me.

  “Yup. My mom loved to go to the beach, but that was the extent of her desire to be outside.” I laughed. “So”—I glanced around at everything he’d brought—“who else is coming? Because there’s no way all of this food is just for the two of us.”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” He busied himself stacking firewood in the circular pit.

  I sat in one of the chairs and watched. For weeks, I’d spent every night with him. And then I’d spent weeks with Jax. It was going to be strange to go back to my own room, alone.

  A sense of melancholy settled over me. I was really going to miss being with him every day and night. At least I’d get to see him in school, and I had a feeling we’d be spending the weekends together, too. Though, Abby would probably dominate my time for quite a while.

  My eyes widened, and I sat up straighter. When I’d snuck out to go see her, I hadn’t known what to tell her, or how to answer all the questions I knew she’d have. And I still didn’t know what to tell her. I’d specifically asked her about Trent, and she had no memory of him. Now, I was going to show up with him. I’d told Ellie about him, too.

  “Um, Trent?”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

  “What am I supposed to tell Abby and everyone else?”

  Trent stood and wiped his hands on his jeans. “What do you mean?”

  “When I left, you wiped my memories. Did you do that to anyone else?” I inched to the edge of the chair, panic swirling in my chest. “Because we were very much together, and then I left, and when I talked to Abby, she had no memory of you. I asked her. I told Ellie about you, too, though she thinks you’re just some guy I’d met at school in Malibu. But now you’re back here, and we’re together again and—”

  “Chloe. Stop.” Trent knelt in front of me, resting his hands on my knees. “I erased myself from everyone’s memory I knew you’d talk to. Abby. Aunt Beth. Uncle Dean. Ellie.”

  Shock and disbelief whipped around inside of me like a tornado. “You did?”

  He nodded. “I wanted to make sure you had a clean slate, and that was the only way I knew how to do that.”


  “That’s why Abby didn’t remember you. And why Ellie didn’t, either.” My head spun with this knowledge. “So, what am I supposed to tell them now?”

  “We can tell them whatever you want.” He smiled.

  I blinked with disbelief. He couldn’t be serious. We were just supposed to pretend he’d never existed before now? Granted, I’d went about my life for months with absolutely no knowledge of him, but that was different. That had been my choice.

  “You told everyone you were spending the summer traveling with friends, right?” he asked.

  I nodded, too dumbfounded to speak.

  “Okay, so that friend was Whitney. You were traveling with her this summer, and you met me.” He smiled, his dimple making a rare appearance, and my face heated.

  “Okay,” I said, still very much confused about how all of this was supposed to work.

  But then I remembered I’d already told Abby the same thing—that I was traveling with my friend Whitney. Of course, I hadn’t given Abby any more details than that. Suddenly, that lie didn’t seem all that bad.

  “Abby already knows I was traveling with a friend. So does Ellie. But…” My head ached with trying to figure all of this out in a way that made even the tiniest bit of sense. “I asked Abby about you before I ever mentioned Whitney to her. Same with Ellie.”

  “Did you tell them about every single person you met while you were in Malibu?” he asked.

  “No,” I said slowly, my eyes narrowing in concentration.

  “Then problem solved.”

  I stared at him in confusion. How did that solve the problem?

  “You didn’t specifically tell them when or how you met me, right? So, as far as they know, you very easily could have met me through Whitney. How will they ever know the difference?” he asked.

  “Okay, so, I tell them Whitney and I were friends first. Then I met you… And now all of you just happen to be living in Keene Valley?”

  Trent chuckled. “You’re overthinking this. Just stick to the story. Between all of us, we’ll make it believable.”

  “You clearly don’t know Abby very well,” I said. And he really didn’t know how awful a liar I was if he thought I could sell a lie this massive.