Filed To Story: Pretty Poisoned Novel by Elle Mitchell
“Can you take off the handcuffs now?”
“No.”
“What? Why not? I need to use the bathroom. You can’t just”
He looks up at me and laughs. “I’m just kidding, Teagan. You’d think you’d be a little more relaxed now.”
I don’t know how to respond. I can’t see how he’d think that was funny.
He grabs a key from the nightstand and unlocks the cuffs. “Is that better?”
I bring the hand into my body and rub my sore wrist. “Um, yeah. Do you have something I can wear?”
“Yep.”
He kisses me before getting out of bed, walking over to the dresser, and tossing me a hoodie that almost reaches my knees. Once on my feet, I’m able to fully take inventory of all the muscles that ache.
It’s pretty much all of them.
I use the bathroom, wash my face, and drink water directly from the faucet. When I walk back into the bedroom, Luca’s wearing sweats and a t-shirt, his normal human costume back intact.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“It’s 3:30,” he says.
“What? In the afternoon?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. Are you hungry? I’m fucking starving.”
“Um yeah.”
“Well, come on,” he says. “I’ll make you something.”
“I need pants,” I tell him.
He shrugs. “If you insist.”
We stop at the room I’d shared with Layla, and I slip on a pair of underwear and my jeans before heading downstairs. Most of the others are in the main room and look like they’ve been crying. River’s eyes are puffy. Alana looks physically ill, resting her head on Brady’s shoulder.
I guess they know what happened to Layla.
Luca turns toward the kitchen, and I practically run to the couch and sink down next to River.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her.
“Are you okay?” she asks me. “Brady said you saw it happen.”
I shake my head. “No. Not in any way.”
“Declan said it was beautiful and peaceful,” River says, smiling through her tears. “He said he spent the night in the forest with her.”
“Did she seem happy, Teagan?” Hazel asks.
“I don’t I’m not sure. I couldn’t tell.”
But I guess she did seem happy, didn’t she? She smiled.
Alana scoffs and shakes her head. “I can’t fucking do this.”
She stands and kicks over the coffee table, sending a porcelain vase flying until it shatters on the marble floor. “This is just too fucked,” she says before storming out of the room.
“Alana ” Brady calls after her.
“No, Brady,” she says, looking back over her shoulder. “Just no.”
It’s quiet as we watch her go, her footsteps echoing throughout the obscenely large space. No one tries to stop her again. They don’t go after her.
“How’s Luca?” River asks quietly.
“Umm ”
My mouth gapes. I don’t even know where to start with that question.
“I told you he was intense,” she says.
“Intense!?” I hiss. “I could have used a more specific warning than that. He’s unhinged. He’s like the Jekyll and Hyde of sex. He told me he loved me and made me sleep in handcuffs because I scared him. And you don’t look surprised by any of that.”
She covers her mouth to stifle a laugh.
“And you’re laughing!”
“Why are we laughing?” Luca asks, walking out of the kitchen. “What’s funny?”
Brady and Hazel laugh, too.
“Nothing is fucking funny,” I reply bitterly.
He sets a turkey sandwich and a water bottle down in front of me.
“I didn’t know if you’d want coffee or water, so I brought you water, but I started some coffee,” he says. “Do you want both?”
“Um, yeah. I do,” I tell him.
He kisses me on the forehead. “Okay.”
He walks back to the kitchen, and I chug half of the water and devour almost the entire sandwich before he comes back. I realize I probably look like a fucking animal; I can feel them all just watching me, but I don’t give a fuck. I haven’t eaten in almost twenty-four hours.
He sets a cup of coffee in front of me and sits down with his own food. “River, I need you to do me a favor,” Luca says.
“Sure,” she says. “What is it?”
“I’m going to have a car come and pick you up,” he says. “I need you to go shopping and get some clothes for Teagan. I’ll give you my card. You can get whatever you want, too.”
“Oh, fun! What kind of clothes?”
He shrugs and takes a bite of his sandwich. “Stuff she likes.”
“Can I go?” I ask.
He looks me up and down like maybe he’s considering it. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Teagan,” he says. “Sorry, baby.”
I sigh, defeated.
“Teagan’s going home once we get to Seattle, so you might as well get used to not having her around now.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.