Finding Callan Read online

  “I found a bottle of that smelly salt stuff and thought it would help.” He takes a step towards me but hesitates.

  Smelly salt stuff.

  “It’s okay, I’m not afraid of you.” I’m not. Not of him. I’m… confused, but not scared. I was at first, I think, but the more time that goes by the more time I’ve had to process, and I’ve realized that fear is not what I am feeling. I’m not sure what it is, exactly. It’s hard to decipher emotions sometimes. So, I’ll stick with confused.

  He closes the distance between us and brushes the stray hair from my face, tucking it behind my hear. His hand runs across my shoulder and down my arm. When he reaches my hand he pulls it to his lips, kissing my knuckles. One at a time he presses his lips to each knuckle, ever so gently.

  “Let me help you.” I bite my lip, meeting his gaze I nod my approval. His hands go to the hem of my shirt and slowly lift it over my head, dropping it to the floor. He slides his hands around my waist, and up my back to unhook my bra. He pulls me close to him, my breasts grazing his firm chest. My nipples harden at the soft contact. The feel of his skin on mine makes me want to melt, but I won’t allow that. I look up to meet his ocean blue eyes as his hand slides up my side, his thumb brushing over my nipple causing it to harden further under his touch. A barely-there moan escapes my lips and I’m instantly disappointed in myself.

  I toe off my shoes and socks. While Lenny’s hands make their way to my waist band and he pulls my leggings and panties down all in one motion. He bends down to free my ankles from the cloth, his face so close to my sex that it tingles with want. One foot free, and then two. Another pang of disappointment hits me when he stands, both in myself and for him not staying down there. He takes my hand and leads me to the now full bathtub.

  I should feel weird being in front of him like this. In my birthday suit. But I’m not, and I think that concerns me more than anything.

  Lenny turns the tap off and motions for me to get in. I dip my toe into the water to feel it out, it’s the perfect temperature. Just a little too hot, the way I like it. I slowly slide down and cover myself in the hot water, already feeling better. I expect Lenny to leave now that I’m inside and comfy, but he doesn’t. Instead, he kneels by the bathtub, takes a white facecloth and dunks it into the water. Taking the small bottle of body wash that was left by the hotel, he pours some onto the cloth and slowly rubs the soft fabric over my shoulders and down my back. He’s washing me. Yes, washing me. I’ve never had someone wash me before, not as an adult. This is easily the most intimate moment of my life and I’m loving every second of it.

  His hands glide across my body with a gentleness I’ve never experienced before. When he washes my hair, he takes extra time to massage my scalp, relieving more of the stress that I didn’t realize I was carrying. When he’s finished, he pours some of the body wash onto his hands and starts to massage my shoulders. It’s not as good as lotion, but it’s a smart move and feels amazing. He’s fingers knead into the muscles in my shoulders for a long while, loosening up the tightness that’s been building up for who knows how long.

  Another moan escapes me and this time I mentally slap myself. Get ahold of yourself, Friday.

  His hand goes astray, wandering to my breast and pausing when his thumb lands on my nipple. He meets my eyes but doesn’t say anything. Not verbally, but his eyes say it all. He bites on the corner of his lip, while starting to make small circles over my erect nipple. His other hand runs down my side, over my belly and to my thigh. I lay my head back and revel in the moment. Pure relaxation, that’s what I feel right now. Like a princess.

  Lenny runs his hand up my thigh almost reaching my sex, but before he does, he stops and runs his hand back down. He does this again and again. Lenny and his games. My hips rise just enough for him to know that I want more. That I need more. When he comes back up again, he allows his fingers to run through my folds, spreading my lips. The feel of the warm water on my most sensitive parts along with his fingers causes me to moan again. Only this time, I don’t care.

  I take deep, slow breaths, allowing myself to enjoy this moment for all that it’s worth. Whether it should be happening or not, I don’t care. I want this, in this moment, right now. That is all I care about.

  His fingers slide up through my crease and pause at my clit. With the perfect amount of pressure he starts making circles with his thumb. His other hand continues to play with my nipple, rolling it between his fingers. He lets out a small moan of his own when he feels me opening my legs wider. The heat building in his gaze could burn an entire city to ashes. He starts a rhythm and my hips move with him naturally, causing the water to ripple. The state of relaxation that I am in is making this build up feel better than it ever has before in my life. My whole body feels nothing but good. His hand moves faster, my hips move faster, our breathing gets faster. My moans get louder and more frequent. It feels so good, too good. When I feel like I’m going to come, I open my eyes and meet Lenny’s deep blue stare. His heated look is what ultimately sends me over that euphoric edge. I take my bottom lip between my teeth and bite down as my hand goes to his firm forearm. The feel of his muscles tightening as he rubs me to climax turns me on more than I can explain.

  I come hard. A long, borderline embarrassing moan that I can’t control comes out of nowhere. I’m shaking and trembling, causing water to slosh out of the tub and onto the floor. Lenny pulls his hands from me, stands and walks out of the room. Leaving me in pure euphoria and alone with my thoughts.

  CHAPTER 3

  Friday

  I lay in the tub until the water is cool, almost cold. Mostly because I can’t move. My body is so relaxed that I can’t do anything other than breathe. I finally muster up enough energy to empty the tub and stand. I pull a white towel from the rack, dry my hair and then wrap it around me. I catch my reflection in the mirror as I walk out, the fog has since dissipated and I can see how pale I look. I’m normally pale, don’t get me wrong – it’s why I chose auburn for my hair, makes my features more drastic – but the extra pale? I’m not sure where that came from.

  I expect to see Lenny in the living room when I exit the bathroom, but when he isn’t there I go in search of him. I walk down the hallway, hesitantly. I pop my head into the room I was staying in, nothing. Alec’s door is closed, but I walk to it anyway. Lenny promised we were alone, so I open the door slowly and peak in. Empty. The only other place he could be is… that room. Maybe I’m being childish. Being afraid of a room, who does that? But it’s not the room itself that bothers me. It’s the memory of what I saw. The unknown. What the actual fuck was going on in that room? The door is opened just slightly, the same way it was earlier today – or yesterday. What time is it?

  I take a deep breath and tell myself to suck it up. It’s just a fucking door, Friday. It isn’t going to grow teeth and latch onto your neck. The way Maddox was latched onto Callan–

  Okay, too far.

  Reset.

  I knock on the door and when there no answer I grab the handle and start to push.

  “What are you doing?”

  I nearly shit myself, but twirl at the sound of that familiar voice. I lean against the wall, my hand over my chest as I learn how to breathe again. Lenny rushes to me from the end of the hallway. “Are you okay? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  I hold my hand up in the stop motion, “I’m okay. Just give me a minute to breath.” He takes a step back, rocking on his heels. “Where did you come from, anyway? I checked the living room and you weren’t there.”

  “On the balcony.” He hooks a thumb over his shoulder.

  “Balcony? There is a balcony?” How did I miss that?

  “You weren’t here for long. Come with me, we need to talk.” He grabs my hand, trying to pull me along behind him but I resist. He looks back at me with his eyebrows raised. I swipe my hand up and down, gesturing towards my body. “Uhm, clothes would be nice.”

  “Oh, right. Yeah. I’ll wait here.” I
shake my head and walk to the trolley that’s currently parked in the kitchen. I let out a sigh and throw my head back. I do not want to go through all this stuff. What are the chances of me pulling out the perfect outfit in one shot?

  Five bags divided by however many pieces of clothing I have. Or would I multiply?

  I scrub my hands over my face and then rake them through my hair.

  “I have an idea,” Lenny walks behind me towards his bag that’s on the floor by the couch. He pulls out a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He hands them to me with a big cheesy smile. “Just for now. Until you go through your stuff.” I can’t deny him, so I take them and go into the bathroom and change quickly. I leave the towel on the floor by my pile of clothes, not bothering with cleaning anything up. I don’t waste time with a bra. When I walk out, Lenny is waiting in the corner of the room by a sliding glass door that I hadn’t noticed before because it was hiding behind curtains – or because I’m not that observant.

  He holds his arm out and I walk to him, hooking my arm into his. He steps out and I follow. The cool air sending a chill through me as it hits my still damp hair, but it’s comforting in a strange sort of way. It’s a beautiful view from up here, nine floors up. Streetlights glow brightly below on the quiet sidewalks. It’s too late for anyone to be out and about in a small town like this. If we were in a big city, the streets and sidewalks would be riddled with people. The emptiness is both peaceful and calming. Odd, since only a little bit ago I was running from that feeling of emptiness and now I’m embracing it. Though, this is a different kind of emptiness, I realize as I glance at Lenny out of the corner of my eye. His perfectly straight hair blowing in the breeze. I walk to the railing, lean over and look down without hesitation. When I was a child, I was afraid of heights. I used to be afraid of a lot of things, but I learned as I got older that it’s pointless to be afraid of anything. Now, I look down below without an ounce of fear.

  Lenny comes up behind me and slips his arms around my waist. His warm body pushes against my back, giving me chills in an entirely different way. His touch is more than welcome. He nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck and he breaths me in. He places a chaste kiss on my cheek. “Sit. I need to tell you something.” He whispers into my ear, causing unnecessary goosebumps to travel down my arm.

  There are two lounge chairs in the corner, I sit in one and instead of Lenny taking the other he sits on the end of mine. I don’t mind, I enjoy being close to him. Even though my brain is telling me that I shouldn’t even be here. Who really needs to listen to their brain anyway? Clearly not me. Something about him makes me comfortable, and I’m choosing to go with my gut over my brain. I feel like I can be myself around him, and that’s something I didn’t realize I was missing until I met him. I lean back and he takes my legs and pulls them over his. His hands go to my foot and he kneads the flesh with his fingers – another spot that I didn’t realize was sore.

  “I’ve thought of how to have this conversation with you many times, even before you… saw what you saw. I’ve come to the conclusion that the easiest thing to do is just say it.” He takes in a breath and lets it out quickly.

  “MaddoxisavampireAlecisanElementalCallanisaKnowledgeManipulatorandI’maWarlock.”

  I blink a few times, trying to register what the word vomit translates into. “What?”

  “Maddox is a– “

  “No, I heard you. You’re a… a Warlock?”

  “Guilty,” he shrugs.

  “A Vampire?”

  “Yep.”

  “Ele–elemental?”

  “Air. Yes.”

  “And… and Callan is a what?

  “Knowledge Manipulator.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “It’s actually kind of cool. See, he can manipulate facts. Whatever you’ve been taught, he can change it. Make you think something completely different. Make you believe the sky is green or that you’re a monkey.” I can tell he’s passionate about explaining this, but I just… I just, fuck. I. Don’t. Know. I don’t know what to think about any of this. This is not what I was expecting. Or maybe it was? My first thought about Maddox was that he was a vampire. So, I was right? How could I have been right?

  Vampires are real?

  “Lenny, I need a minute to process this.” I really got myself into something fucked up this time. A vampire? Seriously? All the other things seem fine, but a vampire? That’s fucking creepy. Like, going to suck your blood and turn into a bat kind of vampire? Holy fucking fuck.

  “Was Maddox trying to eat Callan?” The words fall out of my mouth and I don’t realize how silly they sound until they leave my lips. Actually, I don’t realize how silly that sounds until Lenny starts shaking with laughter.

  “What? Hell no. It’s not like that, he’s not like that. He just has to feed once a week to stay strong. Normally it’s me that does it, because I live the closest to him but when we are all together the other guys take turns.”

  “Feed. Right. Totally makes sense.” My voice turning to the hysterical side. You know, exaggerated tone, high pitched, all that good stuff.

  “Friday?” He catches my attention and I look to him. “There’s more.”

  “More? Of course there’s more. Why wouldn’t there be more? I’m Friday McKay and nothing in my life is simple. I don’t know how much more life thinks I can handle, but sure, go ahead.”

  “If you need time to process…”

  “Nope. Lay it on me. I wanna know the rest. Let’s go.” I wave my hands at him. “Let it all out.”

  “Maddox thinks, well, we all kind of think that…”

  “Think what? Just say it, Lenny!”

  “Well, you’re one of us.”

  That’s it. This has got to be a joke. He can’t be serious. No fucking way is he serious right now. This is a joke. Has to be. One of those TV shows. Where are the cameras?

  “You can’t be serious.” I run my hands through my hair and sit up straighter. I pull my legs away from Lenny, a look of disappointment crosses his face and I fold them under my body. “So, you’re trying to tell me that I’m, what? Like a werewolf?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “You don’t know!?”

  “Not yet.”

  “How convenient.” I’m stuck between disbelief and hysteria. I’m not trying to be rude, but I know that’s the tone my voice has. I can’t help it. This is outrageous. Fucking insane. “Know what? Fine. My life has been fucked up since the day I was born, why should it be any different now?” I throw my hands in the air and let them fall into my lap. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “Yeah, but– “

  “But what?!” My voice is becoming shrill. I didn’t think it was possible for it to get this high, but hey, you learn something new every day. Dontcha?

  “I think we should wait for the guys.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Callan

  “We shouldn’t be staying in this cheap ass motel when I paid for a fucking fancy one,” Maddox says through gritted teeth. He’s been arguing with himself and with Alec for so long tonight that I’ve lost track.

  “Maybe if you grew the fuck up and stopped acting like an arrogant son of a bitch all the time, we’d be there instead of here. But no, you have to be a pompous prick!”

  “Pompous? Oh, that’s rich. Coming from an asshole like you.”

  They’ve been going at it for hours. Back and forth, back and forth. It’s non-stop. I feel like a child caught between fighting parents that are too stubborn to get divorced. I almost left, but I fear they may actually try to kill each other. It wouldn’t be the first time. Lenny is always better at keeping them calm, but right now that isn’t an option. I have to make sure they keep their monsters and magic in check. Especially for Maddox’s sake. It’s never good when Alec loses control. I, also, do not want to get caught in the middle of that. This room is not big enough for that kind of fight.

  So many times I’ve thought of changing their ways o
f thinking, but we promised each other that we wouldn’t use our powers on each other, and that is a line we never cross. Plus, the problem with that is, it’s never permanent. You can change someone’s way of thinking, but it doesn’t change them as a person. They will eventually find their way to who they truly are. So, they’d hate each other soon enough, anyway.

  “I’m sure that if we just take some time to relax, Lenny will take care of it. I’m sure he will be calling us any minute.”

  As if on cue, the phone rings.

  Dead silence.

  All three of us gape at the cell phone lighting up on the desk. Maddox stomps to the phone, swipes it off the table and puts it to his ear.

  “Hello? She’s still there? And you told her? But she’s there? Lenny, I swear if you’re fucking lying to me. Fine. No, you fucking will not. What do you mean she doesn’t want to see me? She’s what? Then explain it to her! Obviously not well enough if she thinks– You’re kidding? Fine. Bye”

  Alec and I both have our eyes trained on Maddox. He turns around to face us, his jaw twitching with anger. I haven’t seen him this angry in a long time. I’m not equipped for these types of situations. I should have stayed at the hotel, and Lenny should have come here. But really what good would that have done? I can’t talk to her either.

  “Guess we’re staying here for a bit longer, so get comfy Shitbags.”

  Alec goes into the adjoining room and slams the door closed. One smart thing that Maddox did was get two rooms. We didn’t need it, really, but I’m glad he did. They need to be kept separate. Like two rabid animals.

  “If she’s really our One, she’ll come around.” I keep making these comments in hopes that one of them will get through to him.

  “Whatever you say, Fruitcake.” Maddox disappears outside, probably to smoke for the thousandth time since we’ve been here. No matter how many times I tell him how bad that is for him, he doesn’t stop.

  Alec