Eternal Love: (The Cursed Series, Book 4)

by Kara Leigh Miller

  He laughed. “C’mon, just open your window. Trust me.”

  With a sigh, I steadied my phone between my cheek and shoulder and opened my window. Trent stood on the ground below. My heart raced.

  “What are you doing here?” I practically hissed the words.

  “Step back.”

  “No, not until you tell me what you’re doing.” I didn’t really need to keep talking into my phone; he could hear me well enough, but I kept it to my ear so I could hear him.

  “I want to see you. Just for a minute,” he said.

  My insides melted at how desperate he sounded. I really wanted to see him, too, but sneaking into my bedroom? What if Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean caught him? That wasn’t the first impression he needed to make with them. Then again, Trent had come all the way over here, and I couldn’t just leave him standing outside.

  After a moment, I stepped away from the window and crossed the room to lock my door. When I turned around, Trent was in my room. I hadn’t even heard him come through my window, which meant no one else probably did, either.

  I set my phone on my desk and rushed toward him. He caught me in his arms, and our lips collided in a heated, urgent kiss. Yeah, letting him in had been a good idea. I threaded my fingers through his hair, groaning softly when he deepened the kiss.

  “I have been dying to do that all day,” he whispered, smoothing my hair away from my face.

  “You’re officially the best boyfriend ever.” I leaned into him for another kiss.

  CHAPTER NINE:

  He’s Back

  “SO, IS ISACH COMING OVER TODAY?” I asked Abby as we walked into school.

  “Yeah, he said he can’t wait.” She rolled her eyes. “What kind of guy can’t wait to hang out with a girl’s parents?”

  I laughed. “I’m pretty sure he can’t wait to hang out with you. Dealing with your parents is something he just has to do.”

  “Maybe.” She shrugged. “What about Trent? He’s cool with meeting Mom and Dad?”

  I nodded. “He can’t wait, either.” I bumped her shoulder with mine. “Don’t worry. Things will be fine today. We’ll introduce them, and then we’ll go do something else.”

  Abby sliced a look at me. “You’re in a good mood this morning.”

  “I finally got a good night’s sleep.”

  My mind flashed back to last night, to how Trent had snuck into my room. Then, as if my thoughts had conjured him, Trent came into view. He stood near his locker talking with Whitney and Luke. My heartrate quickened and so did my steps.

  “Hey, Abby.” Isach fell into step next to her, and her cheeks flushed pink. “Chloe,” he said, glancing around Abby at me.

  “Hi,” I said, smirking. “You two have fun.” I rushed toward my locker—and Trent.

  As I approached, I overheard Whitney say, “C’mon, you have to let me help.” Her voice was a whine.

  “Help with what?” I asked.

  Trent whipped around. “Nothing,” he said too quickly, and I knew those two were up to something.

  I eyed him suspiciously, but the second he pulled me into his arms, I forgot about everything else. His lips came down on mine, soft at first, then harder, more demanding. The hallway and all the noise around me faded, and it was just me and Trent for one bliss filled moment.

  “Well, this isn’t uncomfortable at all,” Luke said.

  “They literally do this all the time,” Whitney said. “You learn to ignore them.”

  I smiled against Trent’s lips and then reluctantly disentangled myself from him. He threaded our fingers and gave my hand a squeeze.

  “Took you long enough to get here,” Trent said.

  “Sorry. I couldn’t get Abby out of the house this morning.” I peeked around Trent and waved at Whitney and Luke. “Hi, guys.”

  Whitney shook her head. “Hurry up, or we’re going to be late.”

  The first bell hadn’t even rung yet. We had plenty of time. Though, I did need to get to class a few minutes early so I could talk to Mr. Gordon about the fact that I no longer had a Life Skills partner.

  Trent leaned down and gave me another kiss. “I’ll meet you after class, okay?”

  I nodded, then left with Whitney. I could feel Trent’s gaze on me as I walked away, and I wanted nothing more than to turn around and run back into his arms.

  If my feelings and urges were this intense right now, as a human, what would they be like once I was a vampire? I could barely pry myself away from him now; there was no way I’d be able to as a vampire when every emotion and sensation was heightened.

  “So, what were you and Trent talking about?” I asked as we rounded the corner.

  “Oh, nothing.” Whitney flipped her hair over her shoulder. “He wants to redecorate his room, and he has the fashion sense of a slug, so I’m begging him to let me help.”

  I narrowed my eyes. Trent hadn’t said anything to me about redecorating his room. Why would he want to? We hadn’t talked about living arrangements after marriage, or after I changed, but I assumed we wouldn’t be living in his dad’s house. Would we?

  “We could do it together,” she said suddenly, eyes bright. “You and me. That would be fun!”

  We walked into our class. Mr. Gordon wasn’t at his desk, which meant I’d have to wait to talk to him.

  “Think about it, okay?” Whitney said as she slid into her seat.

  “I will,” I agreed, even though I knew she was lying. I had to admit, though, she was convincing. I headed toward the back of the room when my heart stopped, and all the breath rushed from my body.

  Jax.

  He was sitting at his desk, exactly like he used to before everything happened. My world tilted on its side, and I gripped the closest desk for support. What was he doing here?

  “Uh, could you move?” someone said from behind me.

  I didn’t bother to see who it was, but his voice was enough to make Jax glance up. His gaze collided with mine. Tormented blue eyes lingered too long on my face before dropping lower. The mark on my neck heated and tingled, and a wave of nausea swept over me.

  “Chloe,” he said, his voice level, but… off somehow.

  Whitney turned around and stared at me, then Jax. I gave her a pleading look that said, why’s he here, please help me. But all she did was shrug. Well, that wasn’t helpful.

  Weak and shaky, I sat in my seat, heart racing, ears ringing. “Jax,” I said, praying my voice didn’t shake as bad as my hands currently were. “What’re you doing here?” I cringed. “I mean, I thought you left.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted in the faintest hint of a smile. “I did.”

  “Oh. Are you planning to stick around?”

  “I do live here,” he said, amusement coloring his tone.

  I narrowed my eyes. Was he amused with my admittedly dumb questions, or because he knew he was getting to me?

  “Right.” I nodded. “Well, are you okay?”

  Despite everything, I did care about him, and even though I knew I was playing with fire by talking to him like this, I needed to know he was going to be okay, that I hadn’t broken him beyond repair. Maybe that was selfish of me, but what else was new?

  “I’ve been better,” he said.

  Having no idea how to respond to that, I turned in my seat so I was facing the front. My backpack slid to the floor, and I rummaged around in it until I found my cell phone. Careful to keep it hidden under my desk so Mr. Gordon wouldn’t catch me, I sent Trent a frantic message.

  Me: JAX IS BACK?!!?!? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME? A WARNING WOULD’VE BEEN NICE!

  Trent: I DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS BACK.

  Me: WELL, HE IS. AND HE’S SITTING RIGHT BEHIND ME!

  My hands would not stop trembling. I set my phone on my lap and flexed my fingers. The ringing bell barely registered in my brain. My phone vibrated against my legs.

  Trent: I’M SORRY. ARE YOU OKAY? WANT TO SKIP? WE CAN LEAVE RIGHT NOW.

  I momentarily closed my eyes and took a
deep breath. If I skipped, the school would call Aunt Beth, and I couldn’t get into trouble. Not when Trent was finally meeting her and Uncle Dean. Today was too important to let anything—or anyone—ruin my plans.

  Me: I’LL BE OKAY. NO SKIPPING.

  I hesitated, my thumb poised over the send button. I absolutely could not get into trouble, but the thought of spending the entire day with Trent was extremely tempting. I quickly sent the message before I talked myself into doing something stupid.

  Trent: ARE YOU SURE?

  Those three simple words had some of the tension easing from my body. That was so Trent, always worried about me, wanting to do whatever he could to make sure I was okay.

  Me: YES. I LOVE YOU.

  I’d been so engrossed in my phone I hadn’t noticed Mr. Gordon approach my desk until he loudly cleared his throat. “Miss Madison?”

  I jerked my head up. Shoot. “Yes?”

  “Unless you have a medical condition down there”—he pointed at my lap—“that you need to see the nurse about, hand over the phone.” He held his hand out.

  Giggles rippled through the room, and my face heated with embarrassment. Groaning, I set my phone in his palm. Well, so much for not getting into trouble today.

  “Consider this your warning. Next time, you’ll get detention.” He gave me a stern look. “You can collect your phone at the end of the day,” he said, then walked back to the front of the room where he proceeded to drop my phone into one of his desk drawers.

  I slouched down in my seat. Today sucked.

  Thankfully, though, Mr. Gordon was still in the middle of teaching a lesson on taxes, so I didn’t have to work with Jax on anything. But I would eventually, and I had no idea what I’d do then.

  As soon as class was over, I raced out of the room like I was being chased by a crazed killer in a horror movie. I was being ridiculous. Jax wasn’t going to hurt me; even when he’d had the chance—and he’d had plenty—he’d never once harmed me.

  But him hurting me wasn’t the issue. Being close to him was the issue. The mark on my neck hadn’t stopped tingling, and my insides were warm, buzzing with the urge to let Jax touch me, to once again fall into how easy it was to be with him.

  Not paying attention to what I was doing, I slammed into Trent’s chest and nearly fell backward. Thank God for his quick reflexes.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing.”

  Jax sauntered out of the room like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  My heart thudded painfully, and I fought the urge to stand there and stare at him, to let myself remember the time we’d spent together, the way his touches and kisses had felt.

  Gently, Trent guided me behind him, placing himself between me and Jax in a way that was clear Trent was staking his claim to me.

  “Jax,” he said, a bite to his tone. “Didn’t realize you were back.”

  “Didn’t realize I needed to announce it.” He crossed his arms. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he reached into his back pocket and produced my cell phone. He held it out to me. “I swiped it from his desk when he wasn’t paying attention.”

  My jaw dropped. I wanted my phone, desperately, but Mr. Gordon would notice when I didn’t show up at the end of the day to get it. He’d already threatened me with detention, which was enough for me to not push him. I had no doubts he’d make good on his threat.

  “He has a drawer full of them. He’ll never know yours is missing,” Jax said.

  Even after I’d broken his heart, he was still being nice to me. I was the biggest jerk on the face of the planet. I reached out and took my phone, my hand still trembling.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Jax’s finger grazed my hand, and I involuntarily bit down on my lip to stop from saying anything I shouldn’t. Heat flamed inside of me, and I shifted on my feet. I needed to get away from him. Now.

  Jax nodded, his attention returning to Trent. “You can relax. I’m not going to do anything to Chloe.” But the look he tossed in my direction said something entirely different.

  “Then why are you here?” Trent asked.

  “What’s the matter?” Jax smirked. “Worried my bond with her is too strong?” He took a step closer. “Or are you afraid she’s going to change her mind?”

  Trent’s body tensed, and he snarled.

  I shoved myself between him and Jax. “Knock it off, Jax,” I said, infusing as much anger and authority into my tone as I could muster.

  Jax gave me a cocky grin, held up his hands in surrender, and then slowly backed away. God, he was infuriating!

  I turned to Trent. His eyes were pitch black, and his jaw was clenched.

  “Hey.” I took his face into my hands and brought his mouth to mine.

  At first, he was stiff and unresponsive, but then he softened, his kiss quickly becoming heated. He pressed his hands against my back, drawing me closer. Much too soon, he broke away and rested his forehead to mine.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  He hadn’t done anything wrong. Jax, however, was back to his old self—making comments he knew would make Trent mad and saying things he knew would get under my skin, for no real reason other than he liked to push us. While I was relieved to know he was okay, a large part of me wished he hadn’t come back.

  But now, more than ever, I needed to talk to Ivy and see if she really could break this bond. And I needed to convince Trent to go with me.

  CHAPTER TEN:

  The Return of Ivy Rose

  I’D MANAGED TO AVOID JAX FOR the rest of the morning, but my nerves were raw and frayed, ready to snap at a moment’s notice. With Jax gone, ignoring the bond had been easy, but now that he was back, so were the feelings and urges, and I didn’t know if I could resist them.

  I walked into the cafeteria. Ellie, Gina, Tonya, Luke, Nick, and Abby were seated at their usual table. Ellie waved to me, and I smiled. My gaze swept the room for Trent. He was seated at a table in the corner with Jax, Whitney, Wyatt, and Isach.

  Swallowing hard, I made my way toward them, praying Abby didn’t decide to wander over and see what we were doing. She didn’t need to overhear our conversation. I sat in the empty chair next to Trent, and he immediately took my hand, giving it a small squeeze.

  Jax sat on the other side of the table, and while I was grateful not to be sitting next to him, being directly across from him wasn’t any better.

  “We told Abby and Luke that we were planning something they couldn’t know about yet, so make this quick,” Isach said.

  “Ivy’s back,” I blurted. All eyes were now on me, and I shifted closer to Trent.

  “What do you mean she’s back?” Jax asked, his voice tight with controlled anger.

  “The night of the dance, she approached me and Chloe,” Trent said, his gaze never wavering from Jax. “Said she moved into a house on the outskirts of town.”

  Jax’s hands curled into fists on the table, and he scowled. “And you’re just telling us this now?”

  I cringed. I knew it had been wrong to wait so long to tell them, but in our defense, this was the first time all of us had been together since Ivy had shown her face.

  “Why is she back?” Isach asked.

  “Because of you,” I said, pinning him with a hard glare. “And me. She knows you’re a Zoya, and she was concerned you might have killed me.”

  Isach laughed bitterly and shook his head. “This is unbelievable.”

  “What? So she’s here to try to force you to change again?” Whitney asked.

  Her gaze darted toward Luke’s table, and she grinned. Was she seriously flirting with him right now?

  I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the present conversation, but I wanted to be anywhere else right now. I was tired of dealing with this curse and witches who wanted me dead.

  “She claims she’s here to help protect Chloe,” Trent said, his hold on my hand tightening. “That she wants to make sure the Zoya don’t kill her befor
e she agrees to change.”

  Jax laughed, the sound transporting me back to the cozy nook in the bookstore where we spent so many afternoons talking. I momentarily closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, forcing the memories away.

  “I take it you didn’t tell her about…” He tapped the side of his neck and then nodded at me.

  “She knows,” I said, my tone level.

  Jax raised a brow. He folded his arms on the table and leaned forward, that familiar menacing look flashing in his eyes. “Interesting. So, I guess I need to watch my back, huh? If she takes you again, she’ll have to take me, too, considering I’m the only who can change you now.”

  Trent stiffened, a lethal snarl rumbling from his chest.

  Leave it to Jax to point that out. What a disaster.

  “What’s he talking about?” Isach asked, his gaze darting around the table.

  “Didn’t you hear?” Jax leaned back and crossed his arms, his muscles bulging. “Chloe and I are bonded, which means no one but me can ever bite her.” Satisfaction dripped from his tone, and I had the sudden urge to lunge across the table and slap him senseless.

  “Jax,” Wyatt said, an undercurrent of warning in his tone. He gave a small shake of his head, and a knowing look passed between them.

  Jax rolled his eyes, but his demeanor softened almost immediately. What had happened while those two were gone?

  “Wait… So, you can’t change her?” Isach asked Trent.

  “No,” he bit out. “But he isn’t going to, either.” He glared at Jax with so much fury I half expected Jax to drop dead right there.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said, clearing my throat. “Ivy said she can break the bond.”

  A myriad of emotions played out across Jax’s face. “And you believe her?” he asked.

  “No,” Trent said without hesitation.

  “Yes,” I said.

  Great. That was all Jax needed—to see Trent and I disagreed about this. Jax wouldn’t hesitate to use this to his advantage, to try to weasel his way between me and Trent, to convince me not to break the bond.

  But if I’d learned one thing about Ivy it was that she only cared about breaking this curse, and it didn’t matter to her who she hurt in the process. And she’d go to any lengths to get what she wanted.