Page 20 of A Sublime Casualt
The room sinks in darkness as I turn out the light and crawl under the covers myself to stave off the icy sting from my legs. Moonlight trickles in, offering a dim ethereal glow, and it feels as if we’ve transported into a dream, another realm altogether.
“It’s cold,” I chug out the words, scooting to the center of the bed and he meets me there. “Did I do okay tonight?” I ask as if he’s about to rate my performance. The irony being he had no clue I was performing. The scary thing is, it’s beginning to feel less and less like an act.
“You did great.” His hands fish for mine as he swims in closer. The heat from his body travels to me, and my insides quiver as I drink it down, basking in his warmth. “My mother and Nikki love you. The consensus among my aunts is that you’re too beautiful for me.” His cheeks ride high with a smile masked in darkness.
“You’re too beautiful forme,” I assure him. “And trust me, I don’t mean that as an insult.” A husky laugh brews in my chest, and I give his fingers a quick tug.
He sighs as his head depresses deeper into his pillow, his glowing gaze still set heavy over me. “Tell me everything there is to know about you, Charlie. Leave no stone unturned. I’m interested.” His thumb rolls a soft circle around my forefinger. His breathing is calm and even, but it’s on an upward tick, as is mine.
I want to tell him that my name isn’t Charlie. That I’m a horrible person for what I’ve done. That I have an interest in his sister’s case for a very perverse reason. A part of me prays Theo never finds out. But that’s not how life works. Not mine anyway. I will be found out, and the harder I fall for Theo, the more dangerous it becomes.
“I miss my brother and sister.” There. It feels like a current releasing.
“Sisters,” he corrects with a tiny buck of the chest.
“I just miss the one. The other I can live without.” Because she doesn’t exist.
A thought comes to me, detonating in my mind like the flash from a gun. “I love Jeremy Newton. I’m thinking about getting tickets for his show in December.” Every last cell in my body is on fire at the thought. “Do you want to come?” Wow. I am in utter disbelief of my own stupidity. But the moon has poured its illusions into the room, and Theo’s face holds the light as if he were a god. I want Theo. I want him with me all the time. There is no place on the planet I want to be without him.
“I’m coming.” His entire face grins at the prospect. “You couldn’t stop me if you tried. In fact, I’m buying the tickets. Consider it an early Christmas gift.”
I suck in a quick breath. “I can’t let you do that. I’ll never mention another thing if you do it.”
“Then we won’t go anywhere else.” His finger bounces gently over my lip. “I’m sorry.” He pulls back.
“No, it’s okay.” My voice comes out smoky, far sultrier than I had intended, but my thighs are humming, my body buzzing to have him. I pull his finger up and kiss the tip, watching as his eyes close lazily with the action. “I guess that was our first kiss.”
A soft groan emits from him. “No, this is.” Theo glides in and lands his lips over mine, soft and gentle, lingering just enough to make me shake for more. He pulls back ever so slightly, looking at me with those drugged eyes.
“Is that all you got?” It comes from me breathless, and we both share a dark laugh before he’s on me again, mouth to mouth. Theo is bringing it home, deeper, longer, stronger. All of his affection exploding at once, and I meet him right there. Then in an instant we are all hands and teeth, my legs locking over his back. We tug off our clothes, roll around the sheets like lions trying to claim a pride. His mouth races over my body, licking a line from head to toe, hitting all of the crevices in between as if he owns them. Theo pulls a condom from thin air and glides it on. His eyes dart to each of mine.
“Do you want this?”
“Yes, I want this. I want you, Theo.” My fingers find a home in his thick glossy hair as his lips fall back over mine where they belong. We are at war with one another, vicious and beastly, then soft and delicate, making love like civilized people. The headboard slams against the wall like a heartbeat with his every thrust, and as much as the practical side of me demands to cringe, I grunt along with it.
Yes, Officer Theo Stavros has made a very literal inroad into my body. And as much as I would like to deny it—he’s made one into my heart as well.
The headboard slams into the wall like a grenade going off, one final bang, and it sounds like a gunshot.
A visual of that night rings through my mind, Peavey and Devyn already down the street with their things, my shaky arms unprepared for the recoil. It was the look in his eyes that I remember most as he flew back into the wall. Blood splattered over the sofa as if someone stepped on a ketchup packet. It was truly a thought that went through my juvenile mind. I have grown leaps and bounds since then and lost my soul in the process.
Theo lands over me in a heap, our dewy skin searing against one another, and the iced air cools us in an instant. I pull the quilt over his back and we lie there, catching our breath.
It’s as if I’ve stepped outside of my good senses altogether. It’s as if playing Russian roulette with my life has become my new favorite sport.
In the morning, after I make love to Theo again, I’ll do another sweep of Lizzy’s room. I would do anything to bring Lizzy back. It’s the least I could do to help her. After all, she’s helped me. I don’t know what I’ll find in there, but I do know what I won’t—her wallet. It was confiscated as evidence. Her identification is with me. I wonder how Theo would feel if he knew he just slept with the woman impersonating his sister? There are not enough words to explain why I did it. I could empty the world of all its excuses, and not one would be valid in his eyes. No. Theo would hate me. But I’ve already gotten him beat in that department.
I curl my body around his as we drift off to sleep. If only we could wake up to a new reality, a brighter day in both our lives.
If only.
Theo
In the morning, I rouse to consciousness with the sun lasering its brilliance over my reluctant lids. A warm arm lies stretched over my stomach as echoes of last night pump through me, playing back like a silent movie, and my lips can’t help but curl. Charlie didn’t hold back. Neither did I. And am I ever glad she didn’t demand an explanation as to where that condom came from. I fished it out of the duffel bag while she was in the bathroom, tucked a few into the nightstand just in case, and I felt like an ass with every move. Charlie takes a sharp breath before rolling to the other side of the bed. Her loose curls fall over her bare back dark as iron. I pull the covers up to her neck, and she snuggles into them before settling back into a deep slumber. Can’t blame her, we were up half the night. I toss on my sweats and head down to the kitchen. The grandfather clock at the base of the stairs reads a quarter till eleven. Nikki is the lone wolf sitting at the island picking at a muffin with her laptop opened in front of her, and she can’t take her eyes off it.
“I’m shopping. Don’t judge,” she murmurs as she pops another bite into her mouth. She casts a quick glance over her shoulder and smirks at me. “It’s you.”
“Just me. Everyone bug out already?” It’s practically as traditional as the turkey itself, the big exodus that occurs at the crack of dawn the next morning.