Sweet sixteen.

  Even she couldn't believe she was finally at that magical age. The verge of womanhood easing away the soft edges of childhood with insidious progression. She didn't mind, she was ready to be grown up. Ready to be independent and out on her own. Ready for emancipation from her dad. The restraining order could go into permanent effect once the paperwork went through. She so couldn't wait. Caleb felt the same. He'd wrangled his parents into helping so they could push it through. Aunt Andrea wasn't great at pushing, obviously. She'd let the last three restraining orders die out and need to be re-implemented. It'd been a huge hassle.

  The bell rang for class dismissal and Jade walked through the Empath class door and saw Caleb before he saw her, his attention on Jonesy, per usual. She soaked in the sight of him, thinking she'd never get bored with Caleb. They'd been dating awhile now, gone through a ton of stuff together, and still, every day was new with him. She was thinking of how different he looked since they first got together a year and a half ago.

  She saw how his thick chestnut hair fell forward to just brush the tops of impossibly long, soot-colored eyelashes as he stuffed his one hand in a pocket, the other elaborating some detail to Jonesy (who would forget it ten seconds later), the muscles of his forearm bulging from the movement.

  Jade sighed, thinking that she was in lust. Not a terribly keen position to find herself in. Wasn't it the boy's job to chase her around because of her feminine wiles? Her lips curled into a smile. She thought she had that part down pat too. Caleb dug her, she reminded herself. As if on cue, he turned his head and those chocolate eyes pierced her. Pierced her heart, stealing her breath.

  She moved forward, his eyes taking in her face, her body, everything, happiness and comfort a warmth cloaking her as she approached him.

  *

  Caleb

  I stopped mid-sentence with the Jonester as I caught sight of Jade's smooth stride making her way across the hall toward me and was bowled over by her as she drew closer. I tightened my expression, I knew she'd put a hand on my skin and know everything but... couldn't a guy have a little mystery? Sometimes the Empath Girlfriend was a blast. Like when we were making out. I liked it then. A. Lot.

  But now, in front of the hundreds of students filtering through the hall, I'd like to not have everyone know that I was Jade's puppet. A willing one.

  Jonesy smirked. "Meow..." he began.

  "I'm not whipped, Jonesy," I growled out, itching to punch him a good one in the arm. "I'm waiting for the day when you have a girlfriend long enough to look at her like she means something to you," I said.

  Jade caught what I said as she moved in against my body and I tucked her under my chin, inhaling that vanilla smell that was Jade's.

  Mouth-watering.

  Jade turned her head against my chest to look at Jonesy scathingly. "You know, Jonesy... you could've gone out with Sophie," Jade said with real feeling.

  The LED lights flickered in the hall twice and Jade laughed. "Can't take back the leakage, Jones."

  I laughed and Jonesy gave me a dirty look, struggling for nonchalance. "I don't care who she goes out with," he said.

  "Right, whatever," Jade said, disgusted.

  I spoke against her hair, "Be nice, babe."

  She pulled away from me, her beautiful green eyes sparkling. "It's true. He could've had a great girlfriend instead of the skank-a-thon and been way happier."

  True, I thought. But that might be too much wisdom for Jonesy, whose expression was darkening by the moment.

  "Listen Jade," his eyes sought mine and the message he found was tread careful, pal. "She has sent me nothing but a bunch of lame-ass mixed signals. This is easier. I just date whoever and don't worry about feelings and crap. No hassles, no guessing, no perpetual PMS. You feel me?" he finished, his thumb in his chest.

  I felt him. Of course, Sophie was way more high maintenance than Jade. She had a hot-ass temper and so did Jonesy. Like fuel and flame. I didn't know if it would ever work out. What Jonesy didn't recognize was he did care about her. It was in the way he looked at her. And now she was dating a dude in the peripheral group of Dickheads: that would be the Carson Hamilton and Brett Mason brigade. It was a fight waiting to happen. And Sophie wasn't above flashing her new boyfriend in Jonesy's face.

  And he wasn't beyond getting into a jealous rage over it.

  Denial was a beautiful thing.

  "I do feel you, Jonesy. But I think it's you that's going to be feeling it," Jade said with knowledge. I stroked her back and gave Jonesy The Look. Back off, it isn't worth it. His eyes flicked to mine then back at Jade.

  Don't ask, don't ask.

  "Is she going out with somebody?" Jonesy asked in a low voice.

  I groaned.

  Jade looked at me and smiled evilly. She would put the screws to Jonesy and he'd be feeling some pain.

  Jade flicked her hair over her shoulder, a chunk making a black stripe on her bright pink backpack. The new purses of the pulse-age, I thought randomly.

  She nodded, shrugging, feigning an indifference I knew was contrived. She totally knew everything about Sophie. "Yeah... I think it's some guy in her AP class."

  "WTF?" Jonesy all but yelled.

  Jade jumped and I pulled her in tighter. "Hey man, effing-cool it," I said, starting to get pissed. He was going to have to take the teasing if he didn't want to commit. He couldn't say he didn't give a hot shit then freak at the mention of a new guy scenting Sophie. Buck up or shut up.

  Jonesy straightened. "Okay, you two are so smart. You know what the thing is for APs?" he asked, looking profoundly smug, which made my sense of unease deepen exponentially.

  "Ah... no, Jones, can't say I do," I said.

  "Astral Projection sex, dimwits," he elaborated like, double-duh, as Jade liked to say.

  I got a visual of people humping in the air or something, like a cartoon bubble and couldn't stop the irrational laugh which ensued.

  Jade put a hand on my chest. "No, Caleb. Not helpful."

  Jonesy glowered. "What's so funny, asswipe?"

  Gum snapped behind me and an arm flung itself around Jade.

  Tiff.

  "How's it hanging, Jones?" she said with a sharp slash of a grin.

  "Oh... effing splendid. Did you know..." he began.

  "Sophie's having AP sex with Buddy? Yeah," her gum snapped as emphasis.

  I covered my mouth, I couldn't believe Tiff... where angels feared to tread, Tiff entered.

  Nice.

  Jonesy's hands flexed into fists and at that exact moment Sophie sauntered by, her hair bouncing in a fluffy honey cloud on the middle of her back, high-heeled boots clicking on the recycled quartz flooring as she came by.

  What was really eye-catching was the hand that was stuck in her back pocket, an appendage on her butt.

  It was Buddy, fellow AP student and possible in-the-clouds sex partner.

  Well, hell.

  I reached for Jonesy too late. He was over there in three strides, his chest almost touching Buddy's.

  Terran came jogging up, his carrot-colored hair having deepened to copper over the last year. He grabbed Jonesy's shoulder and said, "No, Jones."

  "Not now, John," Jonesy said, flinging John's hand off.

  This was gonna get bad, fast.

  "Caleb, do something!" Jade said.

  Tiff said, "Nah, let them beat the shit out of each other. I never did dig Buddy anyway, he's got eyes for Carson," she said, winking.

  Brother.

  I launched over there but Sophie took care of everything for all of us.

  "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked Jonesy, her aqua eyes on fire.

  Jonesy's eyes went to hers. With her heels on, they were about the same height.

  "Saving you from this dumbass!" Jonesy said like, obviously. He folded his arms across a chest ripped with muscles from working all summer as a yard slave like the rest of us.

  John and I were right behind Jonesy when Brody, Diego, Carson and Brett showed up.

  This couldn't get any worse if I'd choreographed the whole tamale myself. I did a mental forehead slap and shifted my gaze to Jade. I wanted to know her position when Brett was in attendance. I didn't put anything past his weaselly carcass.

  It didn't take a brain surgeon to see he'd picked up on the tension. Both mine and Jonesy's. I saw Brett drink in the sight of Jade and my heart sped. We'd managed the first two months of school pretty good without any problems. But now, the school quarter was coming to an end and we just couldn't seem to slide by without an altercation with these clowns.

  "I don't need saving, if you hadn't noticed. Remember, you're the one that wants to go out with whatever," Sophie said disdainfully and leaned back against Buddy, who was a good shot taller than her... and Jonesy.

  A vein in Jonesy's temple kept time with his heartbeat. He looked at Sophie for a long moment and I could see him trying to calm down with an effort. Restraint wasn't a Jonesy strong point.

  "What's the problem here, Buddy?" Carson asked, all smirk.

  Jonesy wrecked it again by saying, "It's your Buddy here, ya know, your butt-buddy? He's making the moves on Soph... and I don't think he's good for her."

  Carson's eyes narrowed and he came forward. "And you're so great for her, Jones. Right? Cuz, how I see it, you'll go out with anything that's female with two legs." His eyebrows raised to his hairline.

  He had him there. Carson was a supreme dick, but that was Jonesy, non-committer extraordinaire.

  "No comment, Jones?" Buddy asked, talking for the first time, voice laced with sarcasm.

  Thunder rode Jonesy's face, the dark skin of his face taking on a purple hue.

  Sophie huffed and crossed her arms.

  Tiff saved Jonesy's face by sidling up to Carson and saying, "Don't you have your own dick to scorch off or something? Hell," she swung her arm around to encompass the whole group of brainiacs, "you could probably do the whole group in like... five seconds."

  Carson moved toward her. And since Tiff so didn't know when to quit she continued as she was backing up, "I mean, a pile of millimeter sausages like you queers would be rudimentary for you?" Her gum snapped, momentarily blinding her because of size. She was brought up short by John, who'd moved behind her protectively. His long fingers wrapped her upper arms.

  "Tiff... quiet," John said in a low voice above her head.

  "It's okay, Terran. Carson can't do anything, he'd get his pecker in a twist for sure," she said, supremely confident.

  I wasn't, because I didn't think Carson gave a shit. After all, daddy would bail his ass out no matter what he did.

  Carson got right up in Terran's grill and Tiff had a bird's-eye view of his chest. Her head leaned into John's chest and she turned her face away.

  "Keep the corpse-lover in line, Terran. Or I'm gonna rethink my position on female beating. Maybe she needs to find out first hand what kinda junk I carry?" He leaned down close to her face and whispered with menace, "Up close package patrol for you, right?"

  John's face became a mask of rage, his cool demeanor replaced by heat. He pulled Tiff back and even I could see Carson had rattled her cage. No small feat.

  She recovered, unfortunately. "I wouldn't do you with my dog's dick, Hamilton. Keep your pathetic parts in your pants."

  Carson moved toward her again and John put Tiff behind him as Brett grabbed Carson's arm. "Not worth it, man. Just take a chunk out of her brother's ass. Hell, she's got five. Pick one," Brett said with his logic.

  Brett-logic was so flawed.

  Jade spoke and I died a little as the males from this group trained their eyes on my girl. My beautiful, vulnerable girl.

  "Listen, let's just... agree to disagree," she started.

  Diego laughed. "Your friend just told us we had no dicks. Not gonna get over it fast, sweetheart."

  "I'm sure she didn't mean it," Jade said weakly.

  Tiff snapped her gum. "Totally. Meant. It."

  Wow.

  The bell shrilled and Carson gave Tiff a grim look, then turned his eyes to Jonesy. "You don't have territory rights here, Jones. She doesn't want you. Go hump some willing girl, you're good at that."

  I saw the knife dig deep on Sophie's face. I didn't believe that Jonesy was having sex with a bunch of girls. He was a female appreciator though. That last had been for Sophie's benefit. If Carson could cause trouble in our group, he was all for it. The jackass.

  Buddy gave a slow stroke on Sophie's arm and she gave Jade the thumb signal for a pulse in the future, her face carefully neutral. Like she hadn't just heard that Jonesy was a man-whore. Jade nodded, her face solemn.

  They walked off, Jonesy's eyes trained on Sophie's back. I didn't think he was watching her butt. Unless that included Buddy's hand in her pocket.

  Carson glanced over his shoulder, pegging Tiff with a look. She smoldered back at him in anger and he smirked, disappearing into the crowd.

  John's eyes met mine over Tiff's head. Only two months into sophomore year and already a fire was burning.

  Guess who the match was?

  A Love Letter to My Readers:

  As of March 31, 2011, it's been almost two years now since my first book, Death Whispers, was published. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you that has supported my writing. Without my readers, I would not have an audience for my work. Many of your emails, support via recommendation, encouragement and critical feedback/reviews have allowed my improvement as a writer and as a human being. Words are an inadequate thanks for the depth of my gratitude to you. Please know how much your support has meant, and will continue to mean in the future to come.

  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart~

  *

  If you enjoyed this book, please support the author by posting your review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iBookstore.

  Please also consider recommending or reviewing the book on your blog, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

  Acknowledgments:

  You, my reader! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

  Danny

  Lisa

  Beth & Dianne

  My editor, Stephanie T. Lott, for giving my work the polish it needed!

  My girl from the beginning:Shana B., thank you, words aren't enough~

  My four boys and all their friends for making the dialogue possible...

  A special thank you to reader, Shannon French, who supplied the name Merranda; Randi for short~

  Connect with Me Online:

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  Books available now:

  Death Whispers (Death Series, #1)

  Death Speaks (#2)

  Death Inception(#3)

  Death Screams (#4)

  Death Weeps (#5)

  Unrequited Death (#6)

  The Pearl Savage (Savage Series, #1)

  The Savage Blood, (#2)

  The Savage Vengeance (#3)

  Blood Singers, (Blood Series, #1)

  Blood Song, (#2)

  Future Titles:

  2013

  The Savage Principle

  The Savage Protector (#5) March

  Blood Chosen, (#3) May

  The Reflective, (Reflection Series, #1) October

 

 

  Tamara Rose Blodgett, Death Inception

 

 

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