Filed To Story: Pretty Poisoned Novel by Elle Mitchell
I don’t answer. But he’s rightI did fuck him afterward.
“You and I are not that different, Teagan. When you finally let go, you’ll see that.”
Eventually, without saying a word, he picks up that book and starts reading again. I take mine from my bag and do the same.
The drive to Portland is about three hours; I spend each of them like thisin bed with Declan, in this odd, almost comfortable silence.
Luca is never quiet. I always know exactly what he’s thinking because he tells me. I don’t think I’ll ever know what Declan is thinking; I’ll never know what he wants.
And if what he wants is just to get under my skin, he fucking got it. I don’t think there’s much I can do about it now except ride it out.
When we finally get to the hotel, we don’t have long before the guys have to be at the venuejust enough time to check in and get everything moved upstairs. Luca takes my hand in the elevator, and I follow him into a suite on the ninth floor. Shortly after, there’s a knock on the door. Luca opens it, and Declan steps inside.
“Are you ready to go?” he asks.
Luca sighs before answering. “Yeah, I fucking guess. If you want to go now.”
“You know I have that thing after the show tonight?” Declan says. “I want you to go with me.”
Luca shrugs. “All right.”
I’m not sure what it is, but I can tell Luca doesn’t want to go.
“Bring Teagan,” Declan says.
He laughs a little, looking between me and Declan. “You’re kidding, right?”
Declan raises an eyebrow at him in response.
Luca shakes his head and scoffs. “No,” he says. “No, I’m not doing that to her.”
“It’s not up for debate,” Declan says. “She’s coming.”
“No,” Luca says more forcefully.
“She’ll be fine,” Declan argues. “Wear something pretty tonight, Teagan.”
“Where are you taking me?” I ask.
“I have some business outside of town. Don’t worry about it; you’ll be fine,” Declan says.
But the uneasy look on Luca’s face has the opposite effect on me. I’m really fucking worried.
“Five minutes, Luca,” he adds before pulling the door closed behind him.
“Fuck,” Luca mutters under his breath, pacing in front of me.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
He sits beside me at the foot of the bed, pushes his hands through his hair, takes a deep breath, and turns to me. “Nothing,” he says. “Nothing that concerns you. We’re going to get in a car, go to a house, then Declan will talk to some people, and we’ll leavethat’s it. You don’t have to talk to anyone or do anything. You just stay with me okay?”
“Okay,” I tell him.
He kisses my lips. “That’s my good girl,” he says. “I’ll see you at the show, okay, baby?”
I nod.
“Don’t tell the girls or Brady, all right?” Luca says. “And you should wear the black lace dress River got for you.”
“That’s kind of a lot for a concert, isn’t it?”
He shrugs. “You’ll look pretty. You always look pretty,” he says sadly. He hugs me tightlylike he doesn’t want to let gothen leans in and kisses me on the mouth. “Bye, Teag.”
“Bye,” I tell him.
He smiles, kisses me one more time, and leaves me there, sitting at the foot of the bed in the empty room. After a few minutes, I get up and spend extra time on my hair and makeup before slipping into that black lace dress Luca asked me to wear and meeting everyone downstairs.
“You look fancy, Teagan,” Hazel says when she sees me. “Is that one that Riv picked out? It looks like something she would wear.”
“Yeah. I just felt like dressing up,” I tell her.
We get into the back of a car and head to the venue, the three of them drinking and laughing while I just stare out the window. And when we get to the show, I can’t even enjoy it. All I can think about is what is going to come after. All I can do is worry about what could possibly have Luca so upset.
image-placeholder
After the show, I anxiously wait for Luca backstage like he told me to. When he comes out, he’s wearing a suit and tie. He kisses me on the cheek and throws his arm around my shoulders, and then we walk out the back door and get into the back of a black limo.
I slide all the way over beside him. “Luca?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re making me nervous,” I tell him.
Like I said, Luca is never quiet. I always know what he’s thinking.
“I’ve never seen you act like this. And we ” I pause, lowering my voice even though there’s a partition between us and whoever is driving the vehicle. “We buried a body together.”
“I’m sorry,” he says.
“You hosed me down in your backyard in thirty-five-degree weather and smiled about it.”
“Mmm I was in a weird mood.”
“Luca!”
“Nothing is going to happen to you, but I don’t think you’re going to like it; that’s all. Please don’t hate me for this.”
“I won’t.”
He places a hand on each of my cheeks. “I love you, Teagan. I know you don’t like it when I say that, but”
“No, it’s okay,” I say. “I like it.”
He kisses me, sliding his tongue into my mouth. I wrap my arms around his neck just as the door opens and Declan, also in a suit, climbs into the back and sits down.
“You need to blindfold her,” Declan says.
“What?” I ask.
“Sorry, baby,” Luca says. “It’s just for the car ride.”
He pulls a piece of black cloth from his pocket, folds it in half, and covers my eyes. I fist his shirt as he ties it behind my head, and the car starts moving. He pulls me into him, and I rest my head against his chest as the dome light turns off, and everything goes dark.
“I’ve got you,” Luca says.
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.