Secrets Abound (Supernaturally Bound Book 1) (21 page)

It startled me. I jerked up. Losing my balance, I fell over onto the floor. My brain screamed at me to run, but it seemed like all my muscles were frozen in place. My eyes were glued to the pointer as it made slow circles on the board. Now that it had my attention, the pointer stopped circling and returned to the neutral position, but it didn’t stay still for long. It slowly inched over to the letter B. I held my breath as I saw it head for the R and then continued on to I-D-G-E-T before returning back to the neutral position. My heart clawed at my chest, and my stomach churned even as my brain tried to convince me this wasn’t happening. I was positive this was a hallucination. This absolutely could
not
be real. Then again, if I honestly believed that the ring was possessed, then this wasn’t a far stretch.

As I completed that thought, the pointer began to move, again stopping on the letter B. Except this time it slid over to the E following with W-A-R-E. I gasped aloud in surprise.
Bridget beware?
Beware of what?
This was so not happening. Too freaked out to seek any answers, I scrambled up. My eyes never left the board as I struggled to get on my feet. All the while the pointer spelled out BEWARE over and over, gaining speed with each spelling.

I raced to the front door as if something were chasing me but was too scared to glance back over my shoulder. At my hasty exit of the house, all eyes moved to me.

“About time, I thought I was going to freeze before I got my cigarette.” Grey teased as I handed him the lighter.

“Not likely with all that body hair.” Eli retorted, getting laughter from everybody and moving the focus away from me.

Eli handed me a cigarette and lit it. As I took a long drag, the words “Bridget Beware” kept running through my head. Obviously, it wasn’t Jeremiah. He didn’t need to use the Ouija board to contact me. Maybe, it was the glowing woman, but then what was she warning me of? Jeremiah? Herself? I was so deep in thought that when Eli wrapped his arm around my waist, I flinched.

He gave me a confused expression as he said, “Sorry, I was just trying to get your attention. Everyone’s going to bed. Are you ready head that way?”

“Yeah.” I gave him a smile and let him lead me inside. As we passed the living room, my eyes were drawn to the now empty coffee table. I was glad to see that someone had already put it away. I grabbed Eli’s hand as we continued to the guest room grateful I wasn’t going alone.

I headed straight for my bag, grabbing my toothbrush and concealer. I went to the bathroom and moved my hair to check my neck. The mark that Aiden had left was almost gone but not all the way. I dabbed more concealer on it, so Eli wouldn’t see. After I brushed my teeth, I knocked on Cassie’s door to ask about borrowing pajamas since I always slept in my underwear and didn’t have any. I continued to knock, but other than a few moans I got no response. Giving up I headed back to the room to find that Eli was sitting on the bed wearing only his boxers. It appeared he’d already brushed his teeth in one of the other million bathrooms in Cassie’s house.

“I’m sorry. I always sleep in my boxers.” He gave an unapologetic grin.

I found myself admiring his bronze chest which had a small amount of hair that trailed down over his well-defined abs past his belly button and into his boxers. A tingling seemed to pass through me, and I felt my control slip away as something else began to take over, something that felt like instinct.

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem.” I slipped off my shorts, reaching back to unhook my bra and slid it out from underneath my shirt. I was standing in only my tank top and underwear when I said, “As long as this is okay for me to sleep in.”

“I can handle that.” He grinned.

I tried shaking myself back to normal as I began picking up all my things from the bed and putting them back in my bag. Eli remained sitting on the edge, watching me. I had to reach around him since he wasn’t moving, and my chest brushed his arm. Our eyes met and he put his arm around my waist, guiding me into his embrace.

“What are you doing?” I asked, giggling.

“No
thing.
” He said with a mischievous expression.

He leaned over and kissed me, slipping his tongue into my mouth. My body responded instantly with fiery warmth that started at my lips and headed downward. I became lost in the moment. With a groan, he rolled me onto the bed underneath him. As one hand brushed hair from my face, his other hand eased its way under my shirt. He began rolling my nipples between his fingers. I gasped as each twinge of his fingers lit small fires down to my core. All I could do was hold onto the muscles of his arms as his lips made their way down to my right breast. I could feel his moist mouth through my shirt. The sensation caused me to moan and arch my back as my body became hungry for more.

After he suckled my right breast, he slowly moved to my left side where he latched on and began to suck with more intensity. I slipped my fingers through his hair as desire seemed to take me over. When I felt I could take no more, I gently tugged his hair to raise his mouth back to mine. He eagerly recaptured my lips without hesitation. I tightened my thighs around him and with a thrust of my hips I rolled him on his back.

I eased up, breaking our kiss as I lowered my mouth to do a bit of exploring of my own. I traced my hands down his chest playing with the small amount of hair before brushing my fingertips across his abs all the while kissing his jawline and neck. He massaged my hips while I slowly made my way to nibble on the lobe of his ear. He let out a low groan as he applied pressure on my hips, pulling me closer to meet his thrust.

The thin material of our undergarments did nothing to cover the excitement of our bodies. The hard evidence of his arousal pressed into me as it hit secret places of pleasure I never knew existed before this moment. A desperate need grew within my core as I captured his mouth in a passionate kiss.

“Did you need something, B?” Cassie opened the door and we grudgingly moved apart.

“Not anymore.” I said irritably.

“Damn, B. I told you sex was good.” Cassie said. I sprung up and yanked her out of the room by her arm. “
What
?” She grinned.

“We weren’t having sex.” I whispered after I closed the door behind us.

“
Yet.
” She teased. “First Aiden, now Eli. I’m rubbing off on you, you slut. I almost thought you were going to keep your V-card forever.” Cassie said louder than I would have liked.

“First of all, I still
have
my V-card. Second of all, go to bed.” I said in a hushed voice. Unfazed, Cassie leaned forward, giving me a peck on the cheek and waltzed back down the hallway towards her room.

“Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let Eli bite. At least not
too
hard.” She yelled over her shoulder as she disappeared around the corner.

I opened the door to the room, hoping Eli hadn’t heard what she said. I was relieved to see that Eli was laid back on the bed with his arm across his eyes looking incredibly sleepy. As I joined him on the bed, the mattress shifted with my weight. He lifted his arm slightly and gazed at me with drowsy eyes.

“Are you asleep?” I asked.

“Not yet. Come here.” He said softly. I smiled as I scooted across the bed and slid into his arms.

As we lay there silently cuddling, Cassie’s words sang through my mind. I wondered if she might not be right. I’ve never been one to move so quickly with a guy, let alone two. It seemed like everyone was telling me I was acting differently, but I’d always followed my instincts. I didn’t feel like that had changed. It seemed my instincts were the ones that had changed and apparently for the sluttier. Maybe, I
was
starting to act less like myself, but I didn’t think I was acting like Cassie. So, I guess that begged the question,
who was I acting like
?

My mind cleared as Eli shifted, tightening his hold around my waist making me feel safe as I nestled closer to his chest. I soaked up his warmth as the rise and fall of his chest soothed me to sleep.

I woke up the next day still cuddled in Eli’s arms. Nuzzling my face into his chest, I inhaled deeply, savoring his scent. He smelled of a cologne that I couldn’t identify and a scent that was all his own. It had a freshness to it that reminded me of what the earth smelled like before it rained. As I rolled over to stretch, I noticed he was awake and my cheeks reddened with embarrassment, but he smiled as our eyes met.

“Good morning.” His voice was hoarse.

“Morning.” I grinned.

“Did you sleep okay?” His finger traced along my arm. The touch made me shiver.

“Better than I expected.” I bit my lip.

“What do you mean? You didn’t think I’d be as comfortable as your other boyfriends?” He teased as he played with a strand of my hair. I smiled to hide the sudden shyness I was feeling. I had never slept with a guy before, in any sense of the phrase.

“That’s not what I meant, but you
do
have some hard parts.” I poked his chest. “Hold on, did you just refer to yourself as my boyfriend?”

“Well, what do
you
think I am? Just a friend?” His brow arched as he gazed down at me.

“I’m not sure.” I traced the hair on his chest with my finger.

I didn’t know how to take Eli’s straight forward attitude. I was so used to having to guess about mine and Aiden’s relationship status that I had assumed this would be the same.

“Well, would a friend do this?” He brushed my hair back. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the side of my mouth slowly making his way down to my neck. “What happened?” He jerked back.

“You don’t remember?” I rubbed his arm.

“
I
didn’t do that.” He asserted.

“Do what?” I asked genuinely confused.

“It looks like something bit you.” He commented running his finger across the no longer concealed mark.

“It’s only a scratch.” My hand flew up to cover the spot.
Crap, I thought it wasn’t that noticeable. That bite is taking forever to heal. What did Aiden do to me?

“Do you two want to go get food?” Cassie yelled through the door. I’d never been so delighted to be interrupted in my life.

“Yeah, but we have to get dressed.” I answered, shooting out of bed. I slipped into a pair of jeans and headed for the bathroom with my toothbrush and concealer in hand.

As I came back into the room to finish dressing, Eli was pulling on a shirt. I strolled over to him and as his head came up through the shirt, I gave him a playful kiss startling him into a laugh.

“If putting my clothes
on
gets that type of reaction out of you, what would taking them off do?” He asked, tugging his shirt back up.

“No.” I said grabbing it. “I really need food.”

“Okay then, to be continued.” He grinned.

As much as I hated going to Betty’s Diner on my days off, it was the only place in town to get food. When we got there, we had to push tables together so we could all fit. I settled into a chair next to Eli and listened as Cassie began filling everyone in on the gossip of our tiny dot-on-the-map town. Since none of them had been here before, they were all fascinated.

“Somebody pulled the most epic prank at school last week.” Cassie told them. I stared down at my lap with a small smile. “First thing I saw when I walked in was a huge maze of spider webs. There were ghosts, goblins, and witches all over the school. The funniest part was when Principal Heckler got slimed opening his office. He was so
pissed
that a vein started popping out on his forehead. He stomped off to the bathroom, yelling at anyone who laughed.”

“Sounds like a prank I almost pulled a few years ago.” Chad piped in from behind my chair, startling everyone. I twisted around to meet Chad’s gaze. He gave me a wink and a knowing grin.

“Looks like someone stole your idea.” Cassie smiled.

“That’s okay. It sounds like they did it justice.” Chad said. “So, BK, been staying out of trouble?”

“It’s easy to do when I’m not hanging with you.” I retorted.

“Need I remind you that your most recent brush with the law had nothing to do with me?” He countered.

“Touché.” I grinned. I twisted back around to see that we had become the center of attention.

“Sorry. Everyone, this is Chad. Chad, this is Nicole, Grey, Tiffany, and Hail.” I pointed out each person as I listed them. “And this is Ryan, Cassie’s… whatever.” As I turned to Eli, he placed his arm around my shoulders, but before I could introduce him, I was interrupted by Chad.

“Let me guess, this must be Aiden.” Chad interjected to my horror, and I felt Eli’s posture tense. I could have strangled Chad at that moment.

“No, this is Eli.” I abruptly corrected him.

“Who’s Aiden?” Nicole asked, making things worse.

“Remember that hot guy that picked her up from the bonfire?” Tiffany wiggled her brows.

“The one she said was only her
friend
?” Nicole asked, and everyone glanced up at me expectantly.

“He’s her ex, now. It doesn’t even matter.” Cassie attempted to save me. I sent her a sharp look, and she hastily corrected, “Besides, they
are
just friends.”

“My bad.” Chad said. “Nice to meet you guys. Hate to run, but I have to drive all the way to Lincoln to pick up a few kegs.”

“Kegs?” Cassie asked, perking up.

“Yeah, there’s a party tonight at Old Man Fisher’s barn.” Chad replied. “You can all come if you want.”

“We’ll be there.” Cassie answered for everyone. With a wave goodbye, Chad headed out.

“Um, I can’t go tonight.” Tiffany said. “We have dinner with the parental units.”

“Can’t we get out of that?” Hail asked.

“Not this one. We have to discuss the plans for our debutante ball. No way are we getting out of that.” Nicole said. Grey and Hail whined in defeat.

“Debutante ball? What is this, the eighteenth century? People still do those?” I commented sarcastically, and everyone eyeballed me like I was from Mars. Until this moment, I hadn’t noticed that I’d surrounded myself with rich kids.

“We wish it
had
stayed in the eighteenth century.” Eli joked, and everyone but me laughed. “Well,
I
don’t have any plans.” Eli said, changing the subject.

“So, it’s just the four of us, then. More beer for me.” Cassie said. “What do you guys want to do to kill time?”

“Why don’t you give us the grand tour of the town?” Eli suggested.

“Grand tour? Okay, well after the five minutes
that
will take, we should head over to Music Note. I want to see if they have Psycho Sally’s new CD, yet.” I said, and they nodded in agreement.

Walking down the sidewalk, Cassie halted the group as we came upon a four way. “There’s the post office, there’s the market, there’s city hall, and there’s the library.” She said with a flourish of her hand.

“That’s the
whole
town?” Nicole asked, bewildered.

“Other than the Music Note, there’s nothing worth seeing in this town.” Cassie said as she pushed the button for the crosswalk.

“I disagree.” Eli whispered, giving me a sexy smile and sliding his arm around my waist.

Flattered, I smiled back at him. He leaned down to give me a brief but sweet kiss. I glanced up and met Aiden’s eyes as he drove by in his truck. I couldn’t help but hold his gaze as he passed. I felt my heart skip a beat and guilt my face.

“Are you okay?” Eli asked, noticing my blank stare.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I grabbed his hand as we followed the group across the street. Aiden didn’t own me. If I wanted to kiss another guy on the street, that was my prerogative. So, why wasn’t this feeling of guilt subsiding?

“Welcome to Music Note.” Mike greeted us as we entered the store.

The guys headed straight for the instruments while the girls went to the CD section. Not able to find what we were searching for, we joined the boys as they tried out different instruments. I was surprised when Eli picked up a guitar and began to play it.

“I didn’t know you played guitar.” I said.

“I’ve got a lot of hidden talents.” He said flirtatiously.

“What did you think he
did
in our band?” Grey arched his brow at me.

“You’re in a band?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah
,
maybe you two should take your tongues out of each other’s mouths every once in a while.” Hail joked, but it made me think. There was so much I didn’t know about Eli.
In fact,
the short biography I wrote on him for my project was basically
all
I knew.

“When do I get to hear you guys play?” I asked, not responding to Hail’s comment.

“We have a gig over spring break.” Eli placed the guitar back on its stand. “You should come. I mean, unless you have other plans.”

“No, we don’t have any plans, yet.” Cassie answered for me. We hadn’t discussed anything specific this year, but we usually went out of town for spring break. “We could get a hotel room in Lincoln this year.” She suggested, turning to me.

“Okay.” I agreed.

Later that evening, I was riding to the party with Eli. Cassie was riding with Ryan. We decided to take both cars since Eli wouldn’t be able to stay as late as us. We all had school the next morning, but Eli still had to make the long drive back to Lincoln. I slowly built up the courage to bring up the subject I had been avoiding all day.

“I should have told you about Aiden.” I blurted awkwardly. He gave me a thoughtful expression.

“Okay, I just don’t understand why you felt you had to lie.” He said mildly.

“I never lied.” I asserted. “When I first met you, Aiden and I
were
just friends. Some things did happen
after
that, but it was over before I saw you again at the club.”

“And your neck?” He asked.

“Okay, I
did
lie about that. I’m sorry.” I apologized.

“Don’t sweat it.” He said with a blithe expression.

“You’re not mad?” I asked.

“No, it’s none of my business.” He smiled. I felt relieved if not confused. He was so much more easy-going than I thought. It was an excellent change from all the drama of Aiden’s push me pull me. “It’s not like I’m your boyfriend or anything.” He gave me a coy grin.

“You’re not?” I asked playfully.

“I don’t know. You never answered my question this morning.” He pointed out.

“Well, you asked me what
I
wanted, but what do
you
want?” I asked.

“Hmm, what I want more than anything right this moment is to pull over and
really
get to know you in my backseat.” He gave me a leering expression.

“And miss the party? Where’s the fun in that?” I teased.

“Oh, there would be a
lot
of fun in that.” He maintained.

“So, are you saying you
don’t
want to be my boyfriend? You only want to have sex with me?” I lifted a brow.

“I can’t want both?”

“You can, but you’re not going to get
both
.” I asserted.

I knew now was as a good a time as any to clear up any sexual expectations Eli might have of me. As close as I had gotten to being ready for sex these last few weeks, the whole thing with Aiden pushed me back ten paces.

Of course, when I say
ready
, I’m speaking strictly emotionally. I was definitely physically ready. In fact, it was getting harder and harder to convince my body that I wanted to wait. It was like it had a mind of its own lately. But my body wasn’t going to be the one to make this decision.
I was
. I had to regain control, or I would end up doing something I’d regret.

“Ever?” He frowned.

“No, but not for a while.” I didn’t know if this was going to be a deal breaker for him, but it was better to find out, now.

We were quiet for the rest of the ride to the party except when I gave him directions. Old Man Fisher’s barn had been abandoned for years, ever since Mr. Fisher just disappeared one day. It’s been rumored to be haunted by his ghost, but I’d never seen anything. It was mostly just a spot all the teenagers went to party.

We parked on the field behind the barn since there were woods in front of it. I could hear music and laughing as I stepped out of Eli’s convertible. It sounded like the party was already well underway.

I gave Eli a sideways glance as he lit a cigarette. I was starting to regret not waiting until the end of the party to have that discussion, but it was too late, now. I stood in front of his car, waiting awkwardly for him to finish. I was beginning to wonder if he was waiting for me to go into the party so he could leave. I started to head around to the front of the barn without him so he could have an out.