Boxed Set: The Ink Series Volume 1-5 Read online

  I pursed my lips. So much for an invite, it was more a statement. “Okay, invite me.”

  He crossed his arms, standing in the doorway. “I just did.”

  “No, you said you came here to invite me. But, you never invited me.” I smirked.

  Slade’s eyes locked on mine. I swallowed. “Is there something you want to say?”

  I hesitated for a moment. “I wonder if you like me. If you’re really into this…situation… the same way I am.” I looked away embarrassed.

  Slade sat down beside me. His fingers stroked my arm. “Why do you doubt that now?”

  “Because you don’t say anything to make me believe otherwise.”

  He ran his fingertips across my cheek, watching intently. I wanted to hear him tell me he liked me, loved me even. He said it once, was it so much to ask for him to say it again?

  “Would you like to go to the bonfire with me, Hope?” A small sign of a smirk showed on his lips. He trailed his tongue along the metal of his lip ring.

  “Yes,” I said letting out a sigh. “I’d love to go hang with you and just have some fun nothing more.”

  “Then that’s what we will do. I’ll pick you up in an hour.” He kissed my cheek.

  “See you soon,” I said, he left.

  ***

  I cleaned the dinner dishes. It was the first time seeing my family all at the same time. And I didn’t let the moment slip away. I made a big pot of chicken and dumplings to show them how much I missed them all.

  And after scarfing down the entire pot between the three of them, Elliot and Easton left to a friend’s house for the night, and Dad went to Lynette’s to watch movies. I was alone—like usual anymore in our house.

  I tossed the last of the silverware into the water and just in time because Slade was coming to the door along with Karsen and Kidd. He was dressed in his usual black shorts and shirt, aviators shielding his eyes from view. Why he needed them in the dark I was clueless.

  “Are we ready to have some fun?” Karsen said, clapping her hands together like some cheerleader. She twirled around in her light yellow dress acting like a goof.

  “Yeah, what’s better than fun?” I asked. I collected my sandals and purse. Slade stopped me.

  “No purse, just bring yourself.” He pointed out. I shrugged, pocketing my lip gloss and house key in my shorts. I tossed my purse on the counter.

  “Hey, Slade, why don’t you ditch the shades, only druggies and celebrities' sport sunglasses at night,” Karsen said, making Kidd laugh.

  Kidd kissed Karsen’s cheek, amused by her teasing. “I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can…so I can,” Kidd sang. Slade tugged the sunglasses from his eyes and chucked them at Kidd’s head. Kidd picked them up and pocketed them.

  “I wear them because I hate fires,” Slade said. “It irritates my eyes.”

  We all laughed at him and headed to the beach.

  Finally, I was having fun, on our own personal blanket and snuggling by a giant fire. The moon shining against the water, the familiar sound of waves crashing in front of us, it was perfect.

  Slade rubbed his nose against my ear making me smile. “Are you having fun?”

  “Oh yes.” I kissed his neck. “This is fun.”

  We watched Karsen and Kidd roasting marshmallows and laughing together at some inside joke. Kidd knew how to make Karsen giggle that was for sure. It was cute.

  Slade poked my side. “Do you want to roast a marshmallow?”

  I shook my head at the thought of it. After the ordeal years before I never wanted to be around a marshmallow again.

  “I don’t like marshmallows.”

  “Who doesn’t like marshmallows?” Slade laughed. He wrapped his arms around me forgetting about the marshmallow. I fit perfectly between his legs.

  Oz plopped down beside us with his guitar. “Let’s hear something.” He begged Slade.

  I twisted around to get a look at Slade. I loved to hear him sing.

  “Do it for your girl,” Oz pushed. Slade sighed.

  “What does my girl want to hear?” he asked.

  My heart skipped a beat at his words. He called me his. Oz smiled at me.

  “Do you know, Dear God?” I asked.

  It was one of my favorite songs by one of my beloved bands, him singing such a song would be heaven. I was sure of it.

  “Yeah he knows it,” Oz said, plucking the strings and making the song materialize out of thin air.

  Slade’s intense vocals slipped into my skin, his voice so strong I could feel his intensity. He kept time to the song tapping my thigh with his thumb, a simple tap, but to my skin, it was glorious.

  I mouthed the words totally into the moment. So was everyone else, Karsen and Kidd stood in front of us along with Erica and Audrey. I was disgusted to see such a pleased smile on her face as she watched him sing his heart out. He stopped singing, and everyone clapped.

  “That was great,” Karsen said, offering him a kind word for once.

  Audrey hurried over. “I love his voice. Don’t you?”

  I ignored her and looked away to the small crowd walking the shore in front of us. The bonfire blazing, the ocean spilling its foam on the shore, it was perfect until she showed up.

  Erica and Audrey made themselves comfortable on either side of our blanket. It didn’t take long to realize Erica and Audrey were friends. Their easy banter and giggles proved how alike they could be.

  “Watch this,” Audrey said, she pointed at the group of guys heading in our direction. They seemed to be carrying on a conversation.

  Erica laughed, watching Audrey scheme. I watched a large piece of wood tumble out of the bonfire, spilling flecks of orange fire and ash, it headed for the guys on the beach.

  All three of the guys jumped, hardly missing the flaming log rolling at them.

  “What is wrong with you?” I hissed.

  Audrey and Erica gave me a mystified look, engrossed in their prank.

  “No, it’s more like this,” Slade told Audrey sending the log back the way it came and the guys jumping again. The blonde one’s expression was a bit baffled. He studied the log as it came to a stop back at the fire.

  I jumped up. “Someone needs to apologize to them.” It wasn’t funny. It was a serious thing.

  Erica and Audrey laughed, finding my demand amusing. Slade ignored my glare refusing to give in either. The two of them giggled causing Slade to laugh.

  “It’s a joke. Nobody was hurt, lighten up, Hope,” Erica said.

  “I don’t think it’s funny,” I told the three of them. What got into Slade? Since when was he so cruel, he just lectured me about using magic because it came from somewhere dark.

  The way the three of them acted was dark.

  Audrey jumped up and placed a hand on my arm. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have been so stupid. Why don’t we have Slade sing something again, that seems to work its magic on just about everyone?"

  “What are you trying to say, Audrey?” Slade said.

  Audrey pushed her hair from her shoulder and smiled that sweet smile I hated. “I’m saying I love to hear your voice.”

  “I think you have a groupie,” Erica laughed.

  Slade bit at his lip ring. I dropped my jaw totally thrown by the flirtation taking place right in front of my face. If I wasn’t mistaken it seemed he was flirting with Audrey. I backed up into Karsen and Kidd. Kidd placed a hand on my back to keep me from falling.

  “She’s friends with Erica, that’s why she’s here,” Kidd said, a sympathetic smile on his face. It didn’t make me feel any better. “Don’t get upset, Hope. Slade wouldn’t want that.”

  I scoffed. “You think so? Because it seems he doesn’t care about much of anything right now.” Karsen chased after me.

  “Are you okay? What are you doing?” she asked, tugging me to a stop. She looked worried; I could see it in her eyes.

  “I’m going to apologize to those guys for my boyfriend, and his cling on almost setting them on fire. A
nd then I am going somewhere else, because right now I want to be far away from this. You can tell Slade not to bother coming after me.” I let her hug me and then trudged through the sand to the blonde and his two friends.

  I was going to apologize for their ridiculous behavior and then go home to brood. I was over the bonfire.

  Fresh air

  As I got closer, I didn’t know what I would even say. I didn’t know if they would accept my apology, or if they even thought I had anything to apologize for, or maybe they would think I was nuts. Normal people didn’t see a rolling log and think anything other than it was a rolling log.

  It hit me, as soon as I was standing in front of them. They stopped chucking stones at the water and zoned in on me. I held my hair in place. The wind was picking up speed and thrashing my hair in every direction. I couldn’t apologize for the log. They would think I was nuts.

  “Hello,” the dark-haired one said, his gray eyes twinkled against the moonlight. I was thankful he was nice.

  “Hi,” I said, my voice coming out in a whisper.

  This ignited the three tall guys into big grins, was it funny I was nervous? It seemed that way.

  “Quite the bonfire over there,” the dark-haired one said.

  I nodded. “Yes, it is, uh, I just wanted to come over…and...Uh introduce myself and apologize if my friends were rude at all to you.” There, that was decent enough I thought to myself.

  The blonde one came forward, he was the tallest out of the bunch. And now he was staring me down.

  “That’s quite polite of you to apologize for a whole mess of people,” he said, his accent odd. I raised an eyebrow, trying to figure it out. British, he sounded British.

  He raised one back, studying my expression, his eyes holding my gaze. An impish smirk gracing his lips as we locked eyes.

  “It’s the right thing to do,” I told him. “So, that’s all. I just wanted to make sure nobody was offended.” I turned away and cringed. God, I sounded like such a moron. I was apologizing for something they would never understand. I shook my head hurrying over the sand for the boardwalk. I needed to get home and put this day to bed—and myself.

  “Leaving so soon,” He called after me. He was on my heels, his friends left behind to fend for themselves. I lifted a leg to get over the braided rope that separated the beach from the boardwalk.

  “Yeah, time to get home,” I told him.

  “That’s not so polite. You didn’t even tell me your name.”

  I looked at the ground. This guy made me nervous. I wasn’t sure in what way yet. I pushed my hair behind my ear, and looked him over. He slipped over the rope with little effort.

  I liked the way his hair curled around his ears. And the silly grin when he spoke to me. He was amused, maybe by me, but it was still refreshing to see someone smile.

  “Hope,” I said.

  He smiled bigger. “Beautiful name.” His fingers grazed his five o’clock shadow as he studied me.

  “Thanks, do you have one?”

  “A beautiful name?” He raised an eyebrow, oh how he loved toying with me. I felt like a small creature under a giant oak tree. Never did I feel so delicate and petite than at that moment.

  “Or a name,” I offered, giving a shrug of my shoulders.

  He extended a hand. I accepted his handshake. The moonlight caught the glint of the metal of his ring on his hand, a metal band with a black stone.

  “Hutch.”

  Before I could question him, he pressed a single finger against my lips quieting my concern. “I understand it’s an odd name. I swear it's real, and I also assure you it’s mine.”

  I nodded, pulling away from his finger. I looked past him at the bonfire.

  “That’s your boyfriend and friends over there?”

  I shook my head.

  “And yet you’re going home?”

  I opened my mouth trying to produce some kind of answer, “It’s been a long day.”

  He nodded. No matter my answer he would have nodded. “Nice to meet you, Hope, get home safe.” He winked.

  I turned to leave, but something tugged me back. “Your new here?”

  He spun back around in the sand. “Indeed.”

  “And your accent, is that British?” I tilted my head to the side, trying to figure him out.

  “That it is, thanks to my father, seems a bit of his upbringing rubbed off on me.” He waved. I watched him walk away. He was a different kind of guy. Nice clothes, charming smile, proper even, and with a name I never heard before. Hutch.

  Left field

  Karsen untied her bathing suit top throwing it to the side and buried her head in her hands. She let out a glorious sigh happy to be basking in the sun getting a tan.

  “Must you always take your top off?” I asked. I looked around paranoid we would be thrown off the beach for indecent exposure. She turned her head to shoot me a useless glare.

  “My tatas are hidden, Hope. And you know I do not like tan lines.”

  I sighed fiddling with my own bathing suit to make sure it was still in place.

  “Since when are you such a sister Nancy?”

  I stared at her confused. What was a sister Nancy?

  “A sister Nancy,” I smirked.

  Karsen lifted her head higher to give it to me now. “It’s the name of a nun.”

  I laughed, shaking the bottle of sunscreen. The sunscreen Karsen refused to apply to her or me. I did my best to reach every body part on my own. I feared the sun, while Karsen welcomed it and all its toxic beams her way. I knew which one of us was going to be haggard and wrinkled by the time we hit forty.

  I dropped down on the towel, shifting until I got a better position. I threw my arms behind my head and shut my eyes. A day to relax was what I needed after the other night. I hadn’t spoken to Slade since, sure it was only one night, but I hoped he understood the depth of my anger.

  As if she sensed what was on my mind Karsen put her two cents in. “He was upset you left. But, like the good friend I am, I told him to stay away from you and let you have your space.”

  I sighed. Did I really want to hear all the gory details? “He was flirting with Audrey.”

  “She’s something else that’s for sure. Even so, I promise you when you left he stayed far away from her. Actually, he left ten minutes after you did,” Karsen assured me. “I would have decked her if she tried anything with Slade, Hope.”

  And I knew she would have. She was that kind of friend. Karsen would take a punch for me or give one.

  “It was all disturbing. They act like they have no sense. I don’t get it.” I shook my head.

  “You mean the log rolling toward those guys on the beach?” Karsen asked. “Kidd told me about Audrey, she’s a witch, a really big bitch apparently too.”

  “So does that mean it’s okay for her to torture every living thing she sees fit?” I turned over resting on my side. “She’s crazy. And she wants Slade.” This I was sure of. I knew lust when I saw it. Audrey wanted Slade, it was written all over her face every time she looked at him.

  Karsen pressed her cheek against her arm. She studied my worried expression. “That doesn’t mean he wants her. He’s a hot guy. I'm sure a lot of girls want him. We all know he wants you. Kidd says so all the time.”

  It was reassuring to hear. However, the dark cloud swooped back into my thoughts raining on my sense of security. The vision of Slade’s lip ring, the way he replied to her comment, I couldn’t get rid of the bad feeling. I drug a hand through my hair.

  “Why was he mad I left?” I asked, Karsen. “He was enjoying torturing those guys along with the two of them. I wasn’t going to sit there and be in on it.” I wasn’t some sadistic girl who got off on other’s people’s pain—I think that was called a sadist, and that I was not.

  “It might have been the tall dashing male following you off the beach. The one that got up close and personal with those lips Slade loves to kiss all the time.” Karsen offered, she laughed at her stup
id joke.

  “You act like I made out with the guy. It was a finger, not his mouth.” A mouth that was oh so inviting, I shook my head, what was I saying? I knew what I was saying, his mouth made a girl swoon. And the way he smiled at me last night, my stomach crawled with pangs of lust. I shook my head again, sitting up.

  “First it’s a finger, then it’s his tongue playing tag with your tongue. Don’t fool yourself.” She flipped over covering her chest with her hands. I hurried for her bathing suit top. Karsen fought me like a small child refusing to take a bite of dinner when I tried to get her to put it back on.

  “Put your top on before the cops come and remove us.” I ordered, my eyes dashing around the beach. She shoved me with one hand, knocking me over and laughing as I spit sand out of my mouth.

  “Admit you think he’s sexy, and I just might cover these headlights.”

  I laughed at her. “Never, put your top on and I won’t bury you in the sand.”

  Karsen stood, hands on her chest, several crowds of sunbathers dotted the sand, along with surfers. She pursed her lips, removing one finger at a time.

  I screamed. “Okay, he was hot!” Panic setting in my veins I gave in, Karsen yanked the top from my clutch and secured the tie round her neck.

  “See, I knew it.” She put her hands on her hips. “If you want to get to Slade that is definitely the way to go, give him a taste of his own medicine.”

  “I’m not trying to get even. I’m not trying anything. I am just going to sit here and suntan. I am not even going to entertain your theory anymore I’ll have you know.” My words fell on deaf ears. Karsen ran into the water leaving me alone to mow over her theory that I liked Hutch.

  I relaxed, drifting off into a nice slumber. I wasn’t sure how much time elapsed, but I was awakened in a panic, something had brushed across my stomach. Thinking the worse—like a swarm of hungry seagulls, I screamed, tearing my sunglasses from my eyes and swatted in every direction.

  “Ow!”

  I jumped, realizing I socked someone in the face, and it wasn’t Karsen. It was Hutch, in nothing but blue swimming trunks, a hand clutching that perfect mouth.