The Second Sign (6 page)

Pat shrugged. “Parent’s don’t care,” he responded, a
contagious smile on his face with all the energy of a kid on
Christmas day, though his wide, blue eyes held a hint of anger.

Some history lay between them, and Jake felt
suddenly in the middle.

“I’m having a get together at my place if you wanna
come,” Pat said turning to Jake. He seemed to know that it would
have to rain fire to get Gabby around people.

“Sure,” Jake said.

“Nah,” Gabby said at the same time.

Pat laughed. “She knows the address if you can get
her to come. Catcha later.” And he was off, taking all the energy
with him.

Elle shook her head and went back to inspect the
angel pieces while Jenna looked on, admiring the woman's sense for
detail. Jake followed Gabby to the back aisle, her hands clenched.
She stopped in front of the postcard carousel, where she brought
down her arm warmer and started gazing at the different pictures on
the cards. A sad expression crossed her face, giving him the urge
to reach out and comfort her.

“I’m sure you’ll have a great time with Pat,” she
said, turning her head toward him.

“Why don’t you come with me?” He stepped closer to
her, his hands in his pockets to avoid the urging desire to touch
her as she scrutinized the cards.

Picking one with a clear sunset, the colors swirling
indigo and orange, the landscape of water and mountains, she turned
it over in her hands and then placed it back.

“I don’t do parties.”

“Why not? It’ll be fun.” Taking a step closer, he
brushed his shoulder against hers, nudging her.

A hint of a smile played on her lips as she stepped
back.

Having to see her through the dark lenses of her
glasses irked him. He wanted her exposed to him, to read her. The
desire made his stomach knot. “You know it’s rude to hide your
eyes.”

She took off her glasses and glared at him. Her brow
furrowed. She looked too cute.

Shaking his head at her, he said, “Give it up. There
are no defenses against me. You might as well just agree to
everything I say.”

Stepping closer to her, he nudged her again, feeling
as if he’d known her his whole life.

“Would you stop?”

Standing close enough to see the tiny freckles on
the bridge of her nose and smell a hint of peppermint on her
breath, he slid her braid off her shoulder so that it fell down her
back, and traced the hollow of her throat. The touch sent ripples
of vibrations through him. “Come on. Consider it a payment for
saving your life.”

Eyes glued to his face, she stepped back. “Fine.
I’ll go for a little while,” she said, her voice tense almost
defeated.

He smiled as she turned and went back to the counter
and the safety of the ladies.

Led By The Nose

After falling into the hole, Gabby thought she’d be
forced to join the ranks in Hell. Then Jake saved her, and for some
reason she allowed him to lead her by the nose. He was as annoying
as he was intoxicating. And worse, she was attracted to him. She
could count the times she'd felt attracted to anyone on one hand,
and that included Jake. Shivers blasted her core every time he
looked at her with those intense, green eyes, and she wanted to
reach out and touch him despite her fear of his touch.

Then Pat showed up. Out of nowhere. And here she
was, in Hell again, parked in front of Pat’s house, not wanting to
go to his get-together, but not wanting to lose Jake just yet. She
stared out of the truck’s window and contemplated her options. They
had dropped off Jenna, who wanted to draw some of the designs she
captured on film at Elle's shop. Gabby suspected she’d been set
up.

The ride had been fairly quiet except for Jake
asking a million times if she was sure she wanted to do this. And
although she wasn’t, she smiled and nodded. Not sure why. Jake held
her in a way no one could, although she wouldn’t admit it to
anyone. He calmed her mind, settled her in a way that only a few
people did. Gabby knew that it was only a matter of time before he
befriended some more interesting people worthy of his attention.
She wasn’t even sure why he wanted to be with her. She attracted
bad luck like the plague.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want.” Jake
broke her from her thoughts.

“I’m good,” she said and got out of the truck before
she changed her mind.

Groups of people and couples were clustered all
around the rocky shores of Sand Beach on the eastern part of the
island. Blankets and coolers were spread out everywhere. Some were
already on WaveRunners and swimming to the deep platform in the
water while others lounged around. There were too many to count,
and Gabby didn’t know most of them. Holding her bag tight against
her chest, she resisted the urge to bolt.

Pat bounded down the steps to meet them. “Hey, you
made it,” he said, giving Jake a high five. He looked at Gabby with
a clear sense of surprise. “And I’m glad to see you too,” he said,
though he didn’t make to touch her.

“We have to change,” Jake said, already drooling
over the water craft.

“Yeah, over there.” Pat pointed to two lean-to’s he
probably made himself, wedged between rocks.

A thin curtain separated the occupant from the rest
of the world, a curtain that clearly showed the curves of the girl
changing behind it.

“You gotta be kidding, right?” Gabby scoffed.

Pat smirked. His blue eyes squinted in the light,
his teeth bright. “You can go inside the house if you want.”

Gabby cringed. She wouldn’t go into his
house...ever. Pat knew it. He was goading her. She wanted to hit
that wicked smile off his face. Without answering, she started
toward the lean-to.

“Guess we do the lean-to,” Jake said behind her.

“Do you mind just guarding it for me?” she asked him
sheepishly.

“Since I forced you to come, I will.”

“And don’t look,” she added just before retreating
into the tight structure. Using her teeth to tear the tags of the
swimsuit Jenna, or rather Jake, had picked out for her, she felt
naked. The red two-piece made her flesh look pale white. She
expected to glow.

After she picked up her clothes and stuffed them in
her bag, she folded her arms across her belly in an attempt to
hide, and stepped out into the blazing heat.

Jake gave her a fool’s smile that reached the tips
of his ears. Almost. “Wow, you
are
a girl.”

“Shut up. You wouldn’t have an extra tee shirt would
you?” She tiptoed to look in his bag.

He handed her a white tee. “What for?”

She went to pull it over her head, but he snatched
it out of her hand. “Come on,” she groaned, so needing to wear
something over the bikini she bought on a dumb whim to feel normal.
She was anything but.

“Nope. I don’t think so. Your turn to guard the door
for me.”

She glared at him. Didn’t work. He ignored her evil
eye and led her to the men’s lean-to. Averting everyone’s gaze, she
hadn’t realized he stopped until she slammed into him, forcing him
to take one step forward before coming to a full stop.

“Hey,” she started, lifting her eyes to Alexi
Lancaster.

Pat stood beside her, an I-told-you smile on his
face. Alexi was the town cattle, putting it as nicely as Gabby
could. Alexi’s father ran the town, and he instilled in his
daughter a sense of ownership of everything else. Pat, like every
young man Gabby suspected, had owned her for about two minutes. She
had made the biggest mistake of shaking hands with Alexi, once. It
was all she needed to get a glimpse of the dark side of her nature.
Gabby shivered.

“Well, well,” Alexi began, her hand on her exposed
hips. “I didn’t believe Pat when he told me, but look at you.” Her
eyes pierced through Gabby who stepped behind Jake, using him as a
shield. “You look nice,” Alexi added, though her eyes were centered
on Jake when she said it.

“Thanks,” Gabby muttered, looking over Jake’s
shoulder. Using a human shield wasn't Gabby's style, but this time
she felt naked, exposed. Gabby usually preferred to be fully
clothed when dealing with the likes of Alexi Lancaster who was more
likely to stab you in the back with a shank, than have a face-off.
A truce between families had sparked a common tolerance between
them, which meant they stayed away from each other.

“Well, aren’t you going to introduce?”

“Name’s Jake.”

“Alexi, nice to meet you, Jake.” She looked from
Jake to Gabby with a broad smile. “Make yourself at home,” she said
before sauntering off with Pat beside her.

Heat spread throughout her body before Gabby
realized that she was leaning against Jake’s back with her hand
wrapped around his waist and pressed into his hard abs. His large
hands gripped hers, and she flinched at the touch and pulled away
from him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Maybe I should go—” Panic
threatened to consume her.

He turned around to look at her. “No. I want to take
you on a ride. Come on. It’ll be fun.”

Her heart slammed against her chest by his gaze. Why
couldn’t she just say no to him? Why did she care? And then the
touch...usually the slightest touch would blast her with
impressions. A sixth sense that included some sort of visual or
deep-rooted emotion. She sensed nothing from him. Nothing but the
heat sparked by her racing heart. Her resolve shattered to a
million pieces as he waited for her answer.

“Okay, but hurry.”
I don't want to have to fend
for myself,
she wanted to add.

Jake went into the lean-to while she waited for him
in front of the curtain as her eyes scanned the lake.

“Okay, I’m coming out,” he announced.

Gabby held her breath. Jake's dark, long hair was
tied back, his features perfect, and his body taut and well-formed.
He was too perfect. She was glad he seemed more interested in the
watercrafts than her staring at him, until he pulled out the
sunscreen from his bag and handed it to her. She broke her gaze
from his lean body and met his face and cheesy grin.

Caught ogling him.
Gabby didn’t do ogle.

“You shouldn’t smile so much. It makes you
look...weird,” she said, feeling her pulse race.

“Well, thank you.” The cheesy smile remained. “Here,
Jenna’s orders. Do me and I’ll do you. You look like you should use
it.” He scrutinized her body making her want to crawl into the
earth.

She didn’t reach for the tube right away, her heart
doing flips. Without the protection of a layer of clothing between
them, if she touched the tube, she would know what he was
about...what he was
really
about. She’d know his desires,
his past, and sometimes even his future. She didn’t want to poke
into his private thoughts or his mind.

Alexi, probably waiting for an opportune moment to
butt in, snatched the lotion from his hand, smiling. “I’ll do it.
She seems scared to touch it.”

Jake didn’t move, unsure what he should do.

Gabby gave him a comforting smile. Just the fact
that he didn’t leap right into Alexi’s arms made him tolerable. “Go
ahead. I’ll meet you at the platform.”

Without waiting, Gabby dropped her bag and entered
the water. She didn’t want to look back at what was happening on
shore. Alexi trailing her fingers along his curved back, his
shoulders, smoothing out the lotion along his ribbed abs, his
chest, while he gazed into her blue eyes and warm complexion. Alexi
wasn’t ugly, a fact Gabby hated to admit. Alexi’s short cropped
hair framed her perfect petite face. And Alexi wasn’t shy...at
all.

Gabby dipped under the water and slammed head first
into the platform. Strong arms slinked around her waist, hoisting
her up out of the water and onto the platform. Coughing up water,
she opened her eyes to Pat. He had one foot on the stairs to the
platform, the other on his WaveRunner.

“That was fast,” he said, tying off his watercraft
and hopping onto the platform.

Lying on her back, the sun blinding her and
silhouetting his frame, she struggled to breathe and closed her
eyes, hearing him sit beside her.

“You’re lucky you didn’t break skin, but you’ll
probably get a nasty lump.” He swiped her bangs from her forehead
where the pain flared. The small touch of his fingers against her
skin sent tiny shivers under her flesh.

“Thanks,” she managed and sat up. She looked out to
the docks where Jake mounted a WaveRunner. Alexi followed behind
him, and just as Jake made his way on one, she jumped behind it,
clasping her hands around his waist, leaning into him. Gabby
wondered how it would feel to touch him. Not to be cursed with
visions and impressions of his future or past. To be normal.

“Hey, you okay?” Pat asked. He followed her gaze.
“Aw, don’t worry about it. You know Alexi.”

Gabby scowled. “I do know Alexi, Pat.” She spat out
his name as if it were venom. “She leeches on to anything with a
pair of balls.”

Pat let out a sincere laugh that forced a smile to
her own lips. Was she jealous?

“Let’s give ‘em a run for their money,” Pat said
with a mischievous grin that lit his handsome face.

Pat wore his hair short with a few deliberate
strands falling around his hard features. His blue eyes seemed to
always glint under the sun, and his smile lit up his whole face.
With a tan, abs to die for, and a careless attitude that didn’t
include thinking about consequences, he lived for the now. The next
second or the next year didn’t really matter as he had all the time
in the world to figure it out later.

It was what had drawn Gabby in, the false sense that
he could make her normal, liked, the way so many people liked him.
People seemed to gravitate toward him just to be a shadow in his
light. It may have something to do with the fact that Pat was one
of the Fallen—once an angel, now something else. Gabby had trusted
him until he tried too hard to get into her pants and all hell
broke loose.