Confined (A Tethered Novel, Book 3) (4 page)

The simple fact of the matter was, I
could
feel his
main emotion, and that emotion alone was the reason my two feet were rooted in
place.

Focusing on him and the emotions flickering between us, I
came to realize the many layers he felt in the moment. It wasn’t just lust with
him. It was a passion so strong I could taste it. It snaked through the air
between us, caressing my skin delicately while sweeping into my nostrils and
down my throat, where it coated the inside of my mouth. My magick rushed to my
lips, tainting them with a sweetness I’d never tasted before.

“You think I don’t know what you’re trying to get away
from?” he asked. “The feeling of your body not being your own when we’re around
each other, like you have no control over your own movements. I get it, because
I feel it too.”

“Then why don’t you want me to go through with the
initiation?” I asked, my voice catching in my throat. “It would make it all go
away.” Why was I even asking him that? Why did his opinion matter to me? It
shouldn’t.

Theo tucked his lips in and inhaled deeply before answering.
“I’ve told you this. I don’t like the situation you’re about to put yourself
in. Don’t let the tether push you into their hands any more than you already
are, Addison. Wait it out and leave when you get the chance.”

There was a sense of desperation, infusing the air between
us, that I didn’t understand. Theo’s hands came up and brushed against his
shaved head. His elbows slid lightly against my shoulders in the process,
sending goose bumps across my skin from the brief touch.

“Please, just trust me,” he begged.

“Why should I trust you? Deep down you don’t even like me.
You hardly even
know
me,” I said, unsure where the words had come from
or when they’d even decided to fly from my lips.

“Not true,” he said firmly.

“Really?” I attempted to scoff, but it came out sounding all
wrong—too breathy and low and too much like a desperate question instead of a
jab.

A muscle in his jaw tightened. “I know you better than you
think and I like you more than you know.”

Had he not been so close, and had I been able to gain better
control over the emotions spiraling through me and the magick pulsating at my
lips, I would have laughed at his statement. He didn’t know me, and he damn
sure didn’t like me. What was he saying?

Glancing down at the tiled floor, I hooked a stray strand of
hair behind my ear. “Look, I’ve made up my mind about—” I didn’t get to finish
my sentence, because Theo bent down and pressed his lips to mine.

My eyes closed as his soft lips slanted across my mouth,
consuming the gasp that escaped me and overtaking my thoughts. I responded
eagerly and without hesitation. The sweetness of my magick, which had played
across my lips moments before, burst free and filled my mouth, shocking my
taste buds. Theo’s hands came up to cup the sides of my face. The contact
scorched my skin as my magick rushed to meet with his touch. His tongue slid
softly against my bottom lip, urging me to open my mouth farther. When I did, our
tongues met and my mind shut down. All rational thought left me, and I became
submerged in Theo and nothing more.

His kisses were gentle and tender. They were a contradiction
with the way he held himself all the time. To say I was surprised by this would
have been an understatement. It was as though he didn’t want to devour or
consume me like Kace did, but instead, he merely wanted to savor me, treating
the moment as though it were delicate and fragile.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he whispered in a harsh tone
as his lips released mine for a moment.

My knees weakened at the sound of his torn voice. “Me
either.”

“I don’t want to stop,” he admitted, and his hands left the
sides of my face to graze over the skin along my neck.

I dug my fingers into the muscles of his back, letting him
know I didn’t want to stop either. Theo’s fingertips skated over the skin of my
shoulders as his tongue urged my mouth open again. His fingers splayed against
my back and trailed down, sending flames licking at my skin in their wake. He
nipped at my lower lip, and then sucked it into the recesses of his mouth.
Dragging it through his teeth, he made my insides spasm from the sensation.

Perspiration beaded across my forehead as my body heated
more with every graze of his skin against mine. My tank top clung to my lower
back, and the skirt I wore stuck to my upper thighs. The feel of my magick
flowing through me had never been this strong before.

A calm, warm wind caressed my skin as Theo’s lips made their
way down the side of my throat. His hands came to rest on my hips, and he
hooked his thumbs underneath the waistband of my skirt. I slid my hands across
his bare back, feeling every ripple and valley of his muscles beneath my
fingertips as they tensed and tightened. His lips brushed against the sensitive
area where my neck met with my shoulder, and his hand came up to pull my tank
top strap down so he could continue his trail of kisses across my bare skin. I
hung my head back, lost in the blissful sensation of the moment, as the anticipation
over where it would lead overcame me.

My cell phone rang.

The loud harshness of the tone bouncing through the quiet
kitchen was enough to startle us both into releasing one another. My magick
still pulsated beneath my skin, and the sweetness I’d tasted still lingered on
the tip of my tongue, but a fog had cleared from my mind and now I could
finally think again. The ramifications of what I’d just done pounded through my
brain like nails driven in by a hammer.

Holy shit, I’d just cheated on Kace!

My fingertips met with my lips as though I could wipe away
the moment Theo’s lips had first pressed against them, but I knew that was an
impossible feat. My breathing became restricted, and I couldn’t be sure if it
was a side effect of my emotions regarding the situation or something stemming
from Theo.

The phone continued to ring, but I didn’t move a single inch
to answer it. I couldn’t. I was too dumbfounded by what had taken place between
us. My eyes met with Theo’s, and I watched as he raised his hands to his head
and grazed his palms against his shaved hair.

I can’t believe that just happened.

The words seemed to stream through my mind. They were spoken
in Theo’s seductive, velvety, Southern voice, but his lips had never moved.

Nausea sloshed through my stomach, causing saliva to pool in
my mouth. I took a small step back and bent over at the waist. A chilled
sensation spread across my skin just as my cell finally stopped ringing.

Why in the hell did I let it go that far?

The words floated through my head in Theo’s voice.

I was going to vomit. Not only had I cheated on my
boyfriend, but now I could hear Theo’s thoughts in my head. My life had just
gone from bad to worse in thirty-five seconds flat.

What have we done?
The words rippled through my mind
on repeat as I struggled to catch my breath and calm the sickness churning in
my stomach.

Theo’s hands fell from his head, and his eyes snapped to me.
“Fuck, it made it stronger!”

I swallowed hard and forced myself to take in another deep
breath. Standing up straighter, I made direct eye contact with him. “Don’t
visit me again. Don’t worry about me becoming initiated, because like it or
not, it’s going to happen. Especially now. And get the hell out of my house.”

I’d meant for the words to come out sounding strong with a
heavy dose of anger laced within them, but they hadn’t. Instead, they’d sounded
more like a frightened little girl, unsure of what she should do, and I hated
it. That was not the person I wanted to be in this moment.

Theo narrowed his eyes at me. “All you feel right now is
anger. Focus on where it’s coming from.”

You
, I projected to him mentally.

“Wrong,” he insisted, his jaw tense. “I’m not the one who’s
angry, you are.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, and tried to pinpoint who
the anger I felt so strongly was for, but couldn’t. It was too overpowering.
Theo’s jaw visibly tensed, and he turned back toward the door. He left without
saying a word.

I crumpled to the floor where I’d stood. Drawing my knees up
against my chest, I wrapped my arms around them tightly, and thought of
everything that had just happened. Tears pricked my eyes, and my breathing
became labored again. Theo had been right. Now that he was gone, I could feel
that the anger was mine. It was all me.

I was angry with myself for cheating on Kace, for allowing
Theo to kiss me, but most of all, for enjoying it.

Betrayal can come in many forms and hide in the eyes of
those we trust most. Remember that, Addison.

Theo’s voice echoed through my mind, sounding distorted and
far away. Apparently, this freakish mind-reading thing could be heard over a
distance. I replayed his words and wondered what he’d meant. I didn’t dare
respond to ask him, though.

After I’d gathered myself together, I found my phone to see
who had called and unknowingly saved me from going further with Theo.
Vera
.
Pressing on her name with the tip of my finger, I called her back.

“Hey, chick.” She answered on the fourth ring.

“Hey,” I said.

“How’s it going? Just thought I’d give you a call. I haven’t
talked to you in a day or two.”

Sighing into the phone, I walked across the kitchen to sit
at the little table in the corner. “You just saved me from making a huge
mistake,” I said.

“Oh, really?” she asked. I’d piqued her interest. “How is
that?”

Hanging my head back, I glanced at the ceiling. I probably
shouldn’t mention anything to her about Theo and what we’d done, because it
would only lead to more questions. However, I had to tell someone, and Vera was
the person I always told everything to. Well, with the exception of lately.

“I was making out with someone who wasn’t Kace in my kitchen
when you called,” I said. I bit the edge of my thumbnail while I waited for her
to speak.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Not in the least.”

“And are you going to tell me who this mystery person is?”
she asked.

My stomach rolled. “Theo Van Rooyen.”

“Shut the front door! No way!” she shouted in my ear. “How
in the hell did
that
happen? If I remember correctly, he was Mr.
Uninterested when it came to me.
Maybe
that was because he was too busy
scoping
you
out!”

“I highly doubt that,” I said, knowing her comment couldn’t
have been further from the truth.

“So, was he a good kisser? How did it happen? Dish girl,
don’t be shy,” she said in that overly excited tone I knew to expect.

“I honestly don’t know how it happened,” I said, which was
partially true.

“And…good kisser, yay or nay?”

I smirked, remembering just how good of a kisser he’d been.
“Yay.”