The moment they all pushed the energy back into her heart Skye gasped loudly. Her head fell back as she let out a moan. Suddenly a wave of heat rolled over the four of them and their belongings. They were engulfed in a bright light. Their bodies tingled and shook.
Then there was nothing. No lights. No power. No tingles. Skye opened her eyes in amazement. She was back in her home. It had worked. She let go of the hands she had been holding so tightly to and looked around her home.
Her parents, Gary and Cloud, were looking around shocked at the nice home she was living in. Mike sighed as he looked down to the ground. Skye glanced at her parents.
“This is my home.” Skye blushed slightly.
“This is beautiful. How did you afford it?” Gary asked looking around.
“When… when I got rid of Lucille and her husband, I was able to get your insurance money. I bought a home.”
Mike was picking up his things. He was happy he didn’t grab too much so that he would be able to carry it in his arms with ease. Skye looked at him.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“We are home. I should go back to mine.” he said with a shrug.
“Mike…” Skye walked up to him placing her hand on his shoulder. “I get what happened between us may be awkward, but I care about you. Your home isn’t going to be yours anymore. My home is your home.” Mike stared at her in shock.
“Skye…” he shook his head.
“Don’t argue with me. We have been living together for two years. We will live together here just the same. Follow me.” she said to Mike. He could do nothing else but follow her.
She took him into a room downstairs behind the staircase. It was fully furnished with a full size bed, TV, chest, and its own bathroom.
“Skye, this is nice. Maybe your parents should take this room. It has privacy.” Skye shook her head and helped him put his things down on his new bed.
“I have a room upstairs for them. It’s a little bigger plus a great view of the backyard so mom can see the plants.” he smiled.
“Thanks, Skye.” Skye put her arms around him and embraced him. Mike allowed the comfort and sighed softly into her hair.
“We’ve made our friendship work for six months in our home realm, we can make it last here too.”
“I believe you.” Mike nodded.
“Okay, I’m going to get my parents settled upstairs.” She smiled as she left him alone.
As she suspected Gary and Cloud loved the room upstairs. It had a large bed with everything they could need, including their own large bathroom. Skye had been right. Cloud’s main focus had been on the windows facing the beautiful scenery behind the house.
Skye let out the breath of relief she had been holding. Having her parents in her own home felt different, a good kind of different. They could make home work no matter where they were if they only tried and had each other. That was the missing piece she had finally found in her life. Family.
“My room is at the end of the hallway. There’s a small staircase that leads you to the attic.” Gary laughed.
“Skye, you would live in an attic with all this space? We passed several bedrooms. Why not live in any of those?” Skye shook her head.
“I like the attic. It’s darker and just feels right.”
She smiled as she left them alone. Walking up into her new room she sighed happily, flopping back onto her king sized soft bed. The room was covered in her band posters and everything was practically black.
She had once lived in one of the rooms on the second floor, but she couldn’t go back to it. She had shared that room with Maddox. Skye had no desire to re-hash those feelings of being abandoned and betrayed by him. A new start meant a new room, again.
Skye decided to take a short nap before heading to the grocery store to get food for everyone. She would also have to get the cable and phones turned back on. She had a mental list of everything that needed to be turned on. She gave herself a quick nap in her soft comfortable bed to recharge before rushing out to accomplish any of those chores.
Chapter Eighteen
Skye was amazed at how fast she was able to get everything turned back on again. She supposed when you were willing to pay upfront that people were more willing to work. Whatever the reason, she was grateful.
Cloud watched TV in shock. She couldn’t believe how different things were since she had been on Earth during her short time before Skye’s birth. Skye made a grocery list and grabbed her wallet, shoving it into the back pocket of her ripped up jeans.
Wearing her favorite jeans along with her black corset top made Skye feel more like herself than she had in a while. It surprised her at how much simple clothing could make you feel better.
When Skye went to leave, Gary walked behind to her to see her off. He was still upset that she didn’t want him to come with her. Skye told them it would look less suspicious if she were alone. As much as they wanted to argue with that, especially Mike, they agreed.
Opening the door to the garage, Skye heard her dad gasp loudly. Skye turned towards him afraid of what had made him make that sound. She was quickly relieved when he nearly ran past her to touch his old car.
“You kept it? After all of these years?” He looked at her in disbelief.
“Of course I did. Lucille tried to get rid of it, but I wasn’t about to let it go. I love the beast.” Skye smiled. Gary hugged her.
“It’s amazing to see this old car again. She still runs okay?” he stroked the hood gently making Skye smile.
“She runs great. I’ve had her tuned up and she still purrs like a wild cat.” Gary’s eyes raised.
“Can I turn her on?” Skye cringed at the wording, but tossed him the keys. Gary quickly jumped in hesitating at first, but finally turned the engine over and was giddy as a school girl when she growled and purred as he had remembered.
“I’ll let you drive her sometime.” Skye said with a wink. Gary slid out of the car and laughed.
“I’d appreciate it.” Skye kissed his cheek and got into the car.
“I’ll be back within an hour.” Skye pushed the garage door button to open it and drove away only after making sure the garage door was closed again.
Reaching over, she hit the radio button and found that it was blasting one of her favorite songs. Skye sang along loudly with the song as she drove to the nearest grocery store. She had missed the small things like this when she was in her family’s realm.
Skye pulled into the grocery store and rushed inside to get the groceries her family had requested as well as some snacks she had severely missed. She grabbed a cart and pushed it down the aisles grabbing food.
She had a smile plastered on her face the entire time without truly realizing it. She had missed junk food. Natural food had been wonderful and even tasty, but there was something about junk food full of sugar that made her salivate at the thought.
She quickly skipped to the checkout counter, paid, and pushed her full cart to her car. She started loading the grocery bags into the trunk when she paused and grabbed a soda and opened it.
“I can’t wait.” She giggled as she took a long gulp of the sugary goodness. She coughed a little after swallowing though. After not having it for so long, it was a little of a shock to her system. She took another deep gulp and sighed happily. She already felt the sugar high on its way through her body.
“Skye?” She froze at the sound of the deep voice that made her insides quiver. NO! It can’t be, she thought to herself. What were the chances she would run into him in the parking lot of a grocery store?
“Skye’s not here right now. Leave a message after the beep… BEEP.” she said taking another drink of her soda to finish it off. She threw the can into the trunk.
“You look different.” His voice was soft like it usually was in the erotic dreams she had of him. Why couldn’t the dream be better than real life for her? It made resisting to look at him harder.
“Well that’s what happens when you’re go
ne for like over two years.” she said flippantly as she began loading the rest of the groceries into the trunk closing it quickly. Pushing the cart off to the side, she tried to walk around him to her car, but his hand shot out grabbing her arm.
She gasped loudly and heard him gasp as well. Their connection was even stronger than the last time they were together. She felt her knees go weak. She really did not want to hit the ground in a parking lot.
“Let go.” she managed to utter. He released her arm stepping back. Skye’s eyes finally looked into his eyes. She hated herself for feeling anything for him after everything they had been through.
“You grew up on me. Not as old as I am, but still you look beautiful.” he smiled.
“Yeah, like I said…” she sighed.
“You were gone over two years your time I know. You were only gone a few months my time though.”
“That’s plenty of time for you, isn’t it? I mean you were over me before I even left.” Skye didn’t care that it sounded childish.
“Skye, I need to tell you something. I know that you are with Mike now and you are happy together. Hell you’re probably married for all I know, but you need to hear the truth. I never cheated on you. I only pretended to so you would leave me. I thought it was the only way to keep you safe from my father.”
“Are you serious?” Skye laughed. “I must have wanted to hear that so bad that I found a way to make my dreams come true.” she said more for herself than for him. Maddox frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“You, Maddox. I’m talking about you! I had a dream you told me this same bullshit. As if that negates everything anyhow, but really?” she turned away from him. She needed not to look at his face. She needed to not want to touch his face, his chest, and to press her lips against his. She realized she apparently needed some self-control.
“You acted the same way.” he muttered.
“What?” she asked frustrated.
“I told you about the truth, this, in a dream of mine and you acted the same way. You decided to forgive me in the dream though,” His voice got softer, more seductive. “You wanted me and I almost had you. Then you disappeared just as I was…” Skye turned quickly and pushed him.
“How?”
“How what?” he asked confused.
“How do you know that?”
“What do you mean? It was my dream.” he said backing up a little when she balled up her fists.
“No! That was my dream. MINE! How did you know?” Maddox stood still staring at her.
When he didn’t answer her, she pushed him again. He allowed the contact just so he could feel her small hands on his chest. When she went to hit him though, he grabbed her arm. The electric pull between them was stronger. She could feel his need for her and she could see in his eyes he could feel how much she wanted him.
Maddox pushed her up against her car without thinking. His lips found hers. The attraction with the strange electric connection made Skye gasp allowing Maddox’s tongue entrance into her mouth. His tongue swept over hers softly, but when Skye made a small moaning sound he could no longer hold back.
He grabbed her hips lifting her onto the car even more and Skye wrapped her legs around his waist as he held her in place. His hands started roaming all over her body. She felt like fire in his arms and he couldn’t pull away. He was the moth to her flame.
“Skye, I love you.” he whispered in the kiss. Skye froze at the sound. He felt her stiffen and looked into her eyes. She jumped down out of his embrace and backed away. There were a few people who had been watching them. She hoped they enjoyed their show. She flipped them off as a form of saying ‘it’s over move on’.
“I can’t do this.” she whispered shaking her head.
“I swear I didn’t cheat on you!” he swore under his breath frustrated.
“Fine. I believe you. That’s not the point.” she said quickly. A deep growl escaped from his chest.
“Is this about your boyfriend? Or are you and Mike married now? I bet he didn’t wait a full day before he made his move on you.”
“You are so stupid sometimes.” Skye yelled at him.
“You belong to me.” Maddox said.
“No. Hell no in fact. I belong to no one! I belong to myself! I’m not with Mike anymore. We broke up.”
“Really? Why? What happened?” he seemed curious.
“Like that’s any of your business? No. I’m not doing this. It doesn’t matter. I need to get back to my family.” She started to open her car door, Maddox he shut it.
“Your family is here?” His eyes were wide with shock.
“Shit. Don’t tell anyone that. I mean it.”
“I’m not. But why are they even here?”
“I’m a fugitive and my family loves me. They are here with me so that we can remain a family. Let go of my door.” He let go so she could slide into the car.
“Skye are you in danger?” he asked concerned.
“When am I not?” She started the car.
“Let me help you. I still love…”
“Stop saying that! Too much information and it’s information I don’t want or need right now. My life is in danger and my family’s lives are in my hands. Love is something I just can’t afford to worry about at the moment.”
“Skye, please.” he begged.
“No. I can’t do it Maddox. Please leave me alone.” Skye quickly pulled out of the parking lot and drove home.
Chapter Nineteen
Even blasting music couldn’t get Skye’s mind off of what Maddox had just told her. How had he had the same dreams that she did? They shared a connection sure, that’s why electricity pulsated through their bodies whenever they touched, but was that really enough to cause them to share dreams?
“It can’t be possible.” Skye muttered to herself as she pulled into her garage. She took a deep breath and decided to not tell anyone what had happened just yet. She really wanted to talk to her dad alone first. They had a deeper connection and she felt he could help her more. Plus, she knew the thought of Maddox scared her mother more than she would like to admit. Skye supposed she couldn’t blame her mother. Who would want their daughter dating a damned demon?
Skye put on a fake smile and began carrying the groceries into the house. Gary and Mike quickly jumped up to help bring the rest of the groceries into the kitchen.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist.” Mike said shaking his head. Skye put milk into the refrigerator and looked at him. Had she been found out already?
“What are you talking about?” Skye asked nervously.
“You already drank some soda.” He shook his head in amusement.
“Oh. Well come on. I was gone for like two years and I really needed the sugar.” Skye turned away continuing putting groceries up as Mike helped her. Gary stood in the corner of the kitchen trying to help, but couldn’t take his eyes off of his daughter.
“Apparently you should have waited. You’re all jittery! After going that long without caffeine, soda it isn’t the best thing to put into your system you know.” Mike said with a laugh. Skye shrugged.
“It’s worth the jitters. It tasted like heaven to me.” Skye opened another can and drank a large sip in front of him and then stuck her tongue out at him trying to play around so that no one would notice she was truly nervous.
“Skye, I need to talk to you.” Gary’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She nearly groaned but turned instead and smiled.
“Sure dad. Mike, can you finish in here?” Skye asked.
“Someone has to put it away correctly.” Mike rolled his eyes and continued putting the groceries up.
Gary walked over to Skye and took her hand gently as they walked outside to the front porch. They ambled over to the small swing on her porch and sat down hand in hand.
“Is everything okay dad?” Skye asked not looking him in the eyes.
“What happened?”
“How do you always know what’s going
on with me?” Skye sighed.
“We have always been close and I can feel when things are not right with you. When you left for food you were full of life and excitement and when you came back… well now you’re the Skye who first came to my realm.”
Skye sat back on the swing allowing her head to fall back and closed her eyes. Gary always had a strong intuition and sometimes was very useful. Right now though she preferred to suffer in silence, but she knew he loved her way too much to allow that to happen.
“It’s Maddox.” Skye said after a moment’s silence. She had no idea how to describe how she felt at that moment. She wasn’t even sure.
“You saw him.” Gary said. It wasn’t a question. “Did he hurt you?” Skye shook her head and then shrugged.
“Not in the way you’re thinking. He said things to me that hurt me on the inside. Ripping a healing heart back into pieces again.” Skye looked at her father. “There’s something I haven’t told you or anyone for that matter.”
“Tell me now.” he said gently taking her hand.
Skye took a deep breath. She told him about her dreams involving Maddox the entire time she had been gone. She even told him how they both always seemed to be naked in front of each other. Gary was unaffected by that. She should have known he would be, nudity was natural to light creatures.
Skye found it took a large weight off of her shoulders and maybe even her heart to finally tell someone what had happened. She told him what happened in the parking lot and how Maddox had had the same dreams she did.
Gary listened quietly never interrupting. He watched his daughter with kind eyes and an open heart. After Skye finished talking she looked back at him and waited. She had hoped he would say something that would make her feel better. Something that would make sense of the insanity she had been dealing with.
“Those weren’t dreams, my sweet daughter.” Skye ran her hands through her hair in frustration.
Slivers of Skye (The Skye Chronicles Book 2) Page 10