Chapter 38
“Here,” Asher drapes a wooly throw over my shoulders. “It’s getting chilly.”
I look at him appreciatively as I quietly sit on the deck and watch the sun begin to set on the horizon.
After my declaration, the group decided we’d had enough adventures, and Jagger talked with the film director about ending the filming. We recorded from dusk to early afternoon, and they had enough footage. If they don’t, they can digitally manipulate what they have to make a decent music video.
So the captain has turned the yacht back towards the marina, and we’re finally sailing home.
Home.
Such a small word with a huge meaning.
I know Haze’s house isn’t home for me.
Terra Sands is my home. It’s the place where I came to terms with peace regarding what happened to me. It’s more than just a physical space; it’s a comforting familiarity and a place of belonging.
It’s the refuge for my soul.
And I know that with all four men living permanently with me there, it will turn into the sanctuary of my heart. Combining my haven with the loves of my life will only transform it into the place where my heart finds its truest anchor.
“I want the four of you to move with me to Terra Sands. I know it’s small for us all, but we can make it work, can’t we?” I turn to Ash to find him grinning wide.
“I believe we will make it work,” he says. “I also think Haze will jump for joy because he’s already devised plans in his head about expansion,” he chuckles. “You might need to bring him down a notch or two.”
I smile at the thought.
“I’m not sure what to do about Catalina. She’s been with me forever. Terra Sands is also kind of like her home too. And sticking her in the trailer with Rick while we update the house seems more like I’m kicking her out of her house.”
“I see your point. But you need to see it from several angles and ask yourself some questions. Is she staff, or is she family? Also, there’s the gruesome fact that she secretly drugged you. If she’s more of a family to you, then discovering what she did is devastating, and as staff, she would be immediately fired.”
“Is it possible for her to be both?”
“Yes, it is, but then you need to make a decision on what’s right for you. Even talk it out and see where her mind is at. She’s been with her sister in New York for a while. Maybe she might actually want to stay there instead of feeling obligated that she has to return.”
“Hmm…you make a good point.”
It would make it easier for her to remain in New York because I know the guys wouldn’t want her around after they moved in. Dealing with her constant scowling at them is something they could probably suck up and live with, but trust went out the window after discovering what she put in my tea.
I chuckle a thought out loud.
“What’s so funny, beautiful?”
“Catalina is like the bad mother-in-law you’d boys hate.”
He huffs a laugh, and his gorgeous, bright smile emerges.
“Quite possibly so.”
I snuggle into his chest and stare into the ocean’s horizon.
There are a lot of things for me to consider now that I also want to make my relationship with them officially permanent.
A warm salty breeze tousles through my hair, and I can hear laughter and chatter somewhere in the distance, probably from the film crew having drinks by the bar area. I remain with Ash, just vegging as we watch the beautiful ocean scene in front of us. The sun’s hanging low in the sky, casting a golden glow over the yacht as it cruises along the horizon back to land.
My eyes suddenly fix on Callum making his way to the edge of the yacht. His movement is erratic and unsettling. Sitting up and away from Asher, I watch him teeter dangerously close to the edge.
“Hey, Callum!” I call out.
A sense of foreboding grips me as I notice the vacant look in his eyes.
“Is he alright?” Ash asks quietly. One can never tell with Callum’s moods.
I call out to him again, my voice lost in the wind. He seems entranced, his gaze fixed on the water below.
Panic sets in as I watch him leap off the edge, disappearing into the deep blue ocean.
Time seems to stand still as my mind races, my instincts kicking into overdrive. Fear surges through me, adrenaline coursing through my veins. Ignoring the shocked gasps of people now surrounding me and Ash to witness the event. I throw off the blanket, and without any hesitation, I sprint to the edge of the yacht, my heart pounding in my chest. Desperately calling out his name in dismay, I search for him to come to the surface. With a deep breath, I plunge into the water, breaking the surface with a splash.
The ocean pulls me under, and I fight it, swimming up toward the surface with a fixed determination. My heart is pounding in my chest. I reach the top and suck air into my lungs as the saltwater chills against my skin and dive back in. With a surge of relief, I spot Callum.
He’s sinking deeper into the depth, and I kick towards him, my arms slicing through the water, reaching him just in time, grabbing hold, and struggling to bring him back towards the surface. The weight of his limp form keeps dragging me down, but there’s no fucking way I’m letting go of him. My strength fueled by a fierce determination to bring my boyfriend back to safety.
As I emerge my head from the water, gasping for breath, I can see more people diving in to help. The sense of urgency and solidarity is etched on the concerned faces.
Asher is the first to arrive, followed by Haze and Jagger. The latter two take Callum and bring him back to the yacht. Asher accompanies me and helps me climb up as another crew member pulls me up onto the deck.
Still gasping for breath, my mind races with concern for Callum. As soon as they hoist him onto the deck and lay him down, the yacht’s crew springs into action, providing first aid and calling for medical assistance.
Ash and Jagger stand on either side of me as we watch with dread the crew performing CPR on Callum. Tears mixed with seawater fill my face. Someone hands me a towel, but my eyes are fixed on my boyfriend as they fight for his life.
Soon, I watch his chest rise, and he jerks up as a surge of water is thrown out of his lungs. I rush towards his side and wrap my arms around him.
“You crazy bastard, I don’t care about the why, just that you’re alive.” I cry into his neck, and he wraps his arm around me.
When I pull away, he looks perplexed.
“What happened, mate?” Asher crouches down to us. I look around us and see Haze and Jagger pushing everyone to go back on their way, telling them the show’s over.
A crew member checks Callum’s vitals and gets up. I hear him telling Jagger he’ll have to log in an incident report.
“I don’t know,” Callum says, seemingly confused and lost. “An overwhelming sense of depression seized me, and I couldn’t control it.”
“Was it because of what I told you earlier?”
He looks at me, his eyes empty and lost. Instead of replying, he nods his head, and guilt spreads through me.
I caused this.
“Don’t blame her for this,” Haze mutters angrily. “What are you on?”
What? I stare at Haze, stunned and confused by such an unexpected question.
“What the fuck have you been taking, you bastard,” he repeats crossly, and Jagger pushes him away.
“I haven’t,” Callum looks at all of us confused. “I promise you I haven’t taken anything. I’m clean.”
His confusion warrants me to believe him. I told him something traumatic. But what surprises me is that Callum is usually the tough, angry one, and Asher is the sensitive one who feels other people’s pain.
How was Callum so emotionally traumatized? It doesn’t make any sense.
“I believe him,” I look up at Haze, who’s currently foaming at the mouth with the idea that his brother reverted back to taking drugs.
“He’s tricking you, princess. That’s what my brother does. Tricks you into thinking he’s innocent. I fell for his bullshite countless time to be considered a pro in Callum’s fuckeries!”
“Mate, now is not the time,” Asher says and glances at me. He suspects the same as me.
“He needs to go to a hospital to get checked out anyway,” Jagger says. “We can order a drug test.”
I look at Callum, and he nods in agreement but still looks extremely confused. He sits forward, grabs his knees to his chest, and rests his forehead on them. Ash and I sit on either side of him and grip his shoulders, assuring him of our support.
“It’ll be fine, mate. Whatever is going on, we’ll get you through this,” Ash says in his usual calm manner.
I gaze up at Haze and give him a silent warning to keep his mouth shut. I get that he’s fuming and that he’s been dragged through hell by Callum before, but this incident tells me something is different.
“The report came back conclusive with traces of methylenedioxymethamphetamine in your system….” The doctor’s voice trails on as I run through those words in my mind.
My heart seems to have dropped down into my gut. I was so sure Callum wasn’t on anything.
“Molly? You son of a fucking…” Haze grits his teeth hard and snarls at his brother.
“I swear I haven’t taken anything. You need to believe me.”
“I should never have trusted you, dumbarse, good-for-nothing piece of shite,” Haze spits out. “We’ve all been dragged down by you, but this is just one step too far.”
I step away from the bed in which Callum rests. He’s still struggling to understand, determined to convince us, and I feel trapped because I desperately want to believe him, but the toxicology report says otherwise.
Running so many scenarios in my mind, I push my thoughts back, trying to remember when he started acting strange. Callum’s not naturally a happy, active person. He’s reserved, usually with a chip on his shoulder, ready to throw a punch at anyone who crosses his path to piss him off.
This morning, he was way too alive for anyone’s good. Unusually active in a way no one’s ever seen him. We were too tired to focus on his behavior, and he cried when I told him my traumatic story.
Callum doesn’t cry, maybe teary-eyed, but if I think about it, his natural reaction to my story would have been throwing a fist into a wall.
I watch Asher go through Callum’s stuff and find his metal box. He opens it, examines the contents, and quietly leaves the room.
“Eden?” Callum calls out, but I ignore him and follow Ash, where he finds the doctor who treated Callum. He says something and hands the box to him. The doctor nods and walks away with it.
As soon as Asher turns back, he sees me and smiles.
“I do believe Callum was taking drugs, but I suspect he was unaware of it,” he says when he approaches me.
“You think he was purposely drugged?”
He directs me back into the room where the other three are.
“You mentioned your stalker had the ability to drug you and get in and out of your home unnoticed. He wants to ruin you. Why?” he looks at me, and I shrug my shoulder.
“I’ve tried for years to figure that out.”
“This stalker was dormant for years and suddenly turns up when you return to LA.”
“Are you going to believe what he says?” Haze stares at us disbelievingly and shakes his head. “I’ve had to deal with this bastard’s lies for years!”
“I asked the doctor just now if it”s possible to lace tobacco with Molly,” Ash explains, ignoring Haze’s ranting. “He said there are several potential ways to consume it. Smoking molly is probably the least way users would take it because it doesn’t give you an immediate high. The effect would be gradual and wouldn’t last as long. If Callum needed an instant fix, he wouldn’t smoke it in his tobacco, but if his tobacco is laced with it, at the amount he smokes, it would give him a light buzz, at the very least after a long time of smoking it. Maybe today, it reacted badly with him? I don’t know, but if they find it in his tobacco, then I believe that Callum never knowingly took it. It would make no sense because it wouldn’t give a junkie the instant fix he would seek.”
“I’m not a junkie,” Callum insists.
“I believe you,” Asher says.
“So do I,” I chime in.
“Add me into that mix,” Jagger declares.
We look at Haze.
“If what you say is true, then he’s targeting us too now.” I watch him swipe a hand over his chin, his face in full thought.
“Lads?” He says, addressing Jagger and Asher, “A moment?”
He’s beckoning them for a private chat, and that’s fine. I need one alone with Callum.
“Fancy a coffee, luv?” Asher gently caresses my lower back.
“No, I’m good, thanks,” I smile at him warmly, and he nods and follows the other two out the door.
I make my way around Callum’s bed and sit at the edge, glancing up at the drip going into his hand.
“Technically, I’m well enough to go home.”
I squint my face at him in disagreement.
“Technically, you almost drowned and have been fed MDNA for who knows how long. So I’m gonna side with the doc on this one and keep you here for another few hours.”
“So you believe me?”
“I do.”
“I haven’t yet thanked you for saving my life.”
“Oh, it’s nothing you wouldn’t do for me,” I kid and nudge my elbow into his arms.
“I mean, it siren. What you did….” He breathes a heavy sigh. “Jumping from a moving yacht into the sea was brave and foolish.” There’s a little playful twinkle in his eyes. “I should reprimand you for doing something so insane.”
I huff a laugh.
“I love seeing you laugh, siren.”
“I love you,” I reply with ernst. “I was so scared, Callum. Honestly, you mean the world to me. I jumped in with only one thought in mind: save the man I love.”
“I’m sorry I scared you.”
“I’m sorry I doubted you,” I retort. “About relapsing. I mean, the thought did linger, and I hate myself for having those doubts, but I had a moment of going off track, and I should never have doubted you.”
He finds my hand, squeezes it, and then takes it to his mouth, where his lips linger briefly on my skin before kissing it.
“What’s important is that you believe me. Don’t kill yourself over it.”
I stare at him wide-eyed and a little shocked by his choice of words.
“Too early for such puns?” he asks and smiles.
“But honestly, siren, everyone’s allowed to go off track every now and again. It’s what makes us human. I sure as shite used up all my allowances for going off-track for this lifetime.”
Despite the seriousness of his words, there’s a playful cadence to his voice.
“Haze shouldn’t be so hard on you.”
“He has every right to be. But don’t ever tell him I said that,” Callum takes a deep breath and sighs. “I’ve disappointed him in more ways than one.”
“That’s still no excuse for how he looks down at you. Once upon a time, you two were close. They couldn’t even separate you on Tone Wars, even after Oliver Jones said you were too young. Haze insisted on you two being together, or there was no deal. I remember him telling the judges he wasn’t a musician without you. I miss that connection you both had. It was beautiful to watch.”
“I miss that too, siren. But people grow up, move on, have different goals.”
“You and Haze have very similar goals. And you’re dating the same woman.”
“Mmm….Perhaps you’re right. But I did things. Said lies. Haze tried to help but sometimes people need to take a step back. It wasn’t easy for him to do that. I drifted for a while, not really caring. Drugs do that to you. When you’re high, your only priority is finding your next fix; you don’t look around at the people who care about you and see the pain you’re inflicting on them. I was in rehab a few times. Each time, I focused on getting better. By the time I was in my last rehab therapy, Haze and I had been separated for so long that we were more strangers than brothers. He was fully focused on building his name in the sports business, and I was re-entering a world as a born-again ex-junkie, trying to learn how to survive on my own two feet. I hurt my brother, and I don’t blame him for not wanting to have anything to do with me.”
“But you also hurt,” I say. “He hurt you by walking away.”
“Sometimes one has to.”
“Regardless,” I purse my lips together. “You are also hurt by him not seeing you for the person you are now. It hurts you that he can’t find it in his heart to trust you again.”
“Hmm….” He says thoughtfully and then grins. “Right about now, I’d roll me a fag, light it up and tell you that life is what it is, but my fags might be dangerously laced with molly, so I’ll give it a pass.”
“Plus, it’s a hospital, so you can’t exactly smoke.”
His eyes light up, and a lingering quality of amusement sparkles in his gaze.
“What are you sucking on?” he asks curiously, and I look at him confused.
“In your mouth, your tongue keeps swirling something around, shoving it into your cheek.” He clarifies.
I grin amusingly, take the large, colorful jawbreaker from my mouth, hand it over to him, and he takes it and pops it into his mouth.
“It’s a fruity sweet,” he says, unimpressed, crunching down on it.
“You’re not supposed to chew on it!” I exclaim, a little worried he might break his teeth. It’s a well-known fact with these candies.
“Really?” he looks up at me with a hint of playful mischief in his eyes and stops. “Why not?”
“Well, for starters, it’s called a jawbreaker, and you’re supposed to suck on it to wear away all the different fruity layers until you get to the middle.”
“What’s in the middle?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never gotten that far yet.”
“How long do you need to suck on them?” he asks curiously.
“I don’t know, days, maybe.”
“Days?”
“Because of all the different flavors, the taste experience is truly one of a kind. You need to have patience.”
“Nah, I ain’t got none of that!” He takes the candy from his mouth. “Here, take your sweet, babe.”
I take it, pop it back into my mouth, and go to get off the bed, but he reaches out and yanks my hand towards him.
“Come here, you.”
The pull is strong enough for my face to crash against his; his hand tangles in my hair as he holds the back of my head. His kiss devours every bit of sadness and fear I have, as if it’s everything I need him to do to me. I’m not sure how it happened, but the candy lands once more inside his mouth, and he pulls away, taking it out and resting it on the bedside table.
“You taste very fruity-sweet, siren,” he looks at me with a coy grin.
“So do you,” I say as my smile unfolds like a well-kept secret.
His lips move back to feast on mine, and when our tongues meet, the sensation rips through me, and all I want to do is straddle this man and do illicitly hot things to him. As if it’s an automatic reflex, my hand slides under the blanket to pull up his gown.
Perhaps he’s reading my mind or senses the pheromones my body gives off—if one actually believes such is possible—and pulls his mouth away from me.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish, lass,” his voice almost like a warning.
“I think you need to conserve your energy,” I retort, pulling my hand away from him.
“Ever fucked in a hospital?” The playful eyebrow winking and subtle curve of his lips cracks me up, causing me to giggle rather than be shocked by his question.
“Have you?” I ask, tilting my head, now intrigued.
“Maybe. Honestly, the last time I was in a hospital, I was so high, I wouldn’t even remember if they gave me a lobotomy.”
I chuckle, “You need your rest.”
“Listen, siren, if you’re feeling prudish, that’s you’re prerogative. But if you fancy a bit of a British sausage, there’s nothing kinkier than getting it off in a hospital.”
I laugh because I’m not sure what else to do. Temptation seems to be getting the better of me right now.
“Are you naked under that gown?” I ask, a little fascinated by his offer.
A suppressed grin plays hide-and-seek on his lips, betraying the amusement he’s hiding.
“As naked as the day I was born.” He quips the twinkle in his eyes and tells me he’s serious about this. Then again, Callum never needs much convincing to get it off with him.
Tempted, I glance at the door over my shoulder and bite my top lip, wondering if I haven’t gone completely insane. Of course, this is typical for Callum, but I usually do things in calculated measures.
“Live a little, baby.” He murmurs quietly, but the sparkle on his face is unmistakable. He’s both daring and encouraging me to do this spontaneous act with him.
“Unless you want to remain PrudishPearl and confirm the generalized term that all Americans are prudes.”
Oh, no, you don’t, Callum Evans! That’s it, the dickhead has just pressed my buttons, and the coy smirk he wears tells me he knows he’s challenged me.
I pull down the bedcovers and pull up his gown, only to find his thick dick standing up at a full erection.
“You son of a bi—”
“Language, babe,” Callum cuts me off. “I love you, but as much as I haven’t seen my mum in years, do not disrespect her.”
I bite my lip with his cheekiness and bring my other leg over his body to straddle him.
“Is someone feeling like they need to prove something?” he huffs a laugh, clearly amused by my sudden change of mind.
“You’re the human version of a migraine,” I say, adjusting the oversized t-shirt someone gave me after my clothes got destroyed jumping overboard. I shove my panties to the side and slide down his cock with my already wet slut of a pussy.
Callum mentions sex, and my core stirs with excitement. I hate that I can be controlled that way, but I’ll never tell him.
“Someone’s eager for my knob.”
“You mean, your British sausage?” I say, mocking him.
He narrows his eyes at me and rolls his hips, “It was the molly talking.”
“You talk so much shit. I don’t know whether to offer you a breath mint or toilet paper. Now shut up, and let me get on with riding this sausage of yours.”
“Lift up your t-shirt and show me your tits.”
“Aha!” I say, gently rotating my hips over his pelvis. “That isn’t molly talk! That’s typical Callum perversion.”
He chuckles and grabs hold of my hips, lifts me up, slams me back down over his cock, and then reaches under my shirt and grabs my breast.
My breasts aren’t small by any means, but Callum’s hands are large like everything else on his body, and he’s able to fit my boob in the palm of his hand.
He raises his other hand to do the same, and my eyes catch the blood in his intravenous drip, slowly beginning to mix with the clear liquid.
“Ignore it,” he says. “Most of my blood has gathered around my cock, and I’m about to fucking go haywire watching you grinding your pussy against me like the PrudishPearl you are.”
“I have four boyfriends. How the fuck does that classify me as prudish?” I reach down to touch myself to hasten my orgasm before Callum goes off.
“Having four boyfriends classifies you as damn horny.”
“And you’re one moody bastard.”
“Siren, it goes without saying that my three moods are: hungry as fuck, horny as fuck, tired as fuck.”
And with that statement, he brushes my hand away from my clit and replaces it with his, immediately finding the spot and begins tracing circles over me in the most perfect way.
“Ahhhh!” I sigh with a heavy moan as I begin my ascent towards my climax.
“Fuck,” Callum breathes deep, his hips thrusting out of control.
“Omigod, I’m…I’m….ahhhh!” I scream, and he grabs his pillow and throws it over my face. But it’s already too late; the entire hospital must have heard me.
I lift my hips and slide up and down his cock, my cum coats him, and it’s getting slippery and sloppy. Callum grunts twice and squeezes my hips as I feel him fill me up. He holds me momentarily, gripping hard until his orgasm is over.
“That was a pretty fast but good hospital fuck,” he says, loosening his hold on me. “And now the whole world has heard that beautiful siren voice of yours.” He winks his eye at me, and I cast the pillow into his chest as I get off the bed and saunter over to the bathroom to clean myself off. My only panties are completely wet and uncomfortably unwearable, and I take them off and throw them in the garbage.
As I emerge, I look for the small bag of clothes one of the guys brought for Callum, and I rummage through it and find a pair of boxer briefs.
As I put them on, my eyes follow to Callum, and I catch him staring intently at me.
“What happened to your knickers?”
“Unwearable. Mind going commando when we take you home? I haven’t even got a bra on, and I really don’t feel comfortable going panty-less under this t-shirt.”
“No, I don’t mind,” he replies, rising from the bed and swinging his legs over the side. “PrudishPearl.”
A witty comeback plays on my lips, but he winces as he moves. I rush to his side, but he rebukes my attempt to help him.
“Call me what you darn like, but planting my naked pussy or ass on some unknown chair or seat that’s probably never been washed isn’t a desire to try out.”
He gives me a side-eye stare.
“Where are you going?” I watch him drag himself out of bed, taking the IV sack with him.
“Loo. Care to join and hold my willy?” he jokes which renders a smile from me.
“You’re a big boy. I think you and your willy will do just fine without me.”
“Then watch me strut over to the loo. This open-back hospital gown does wonders for getting laid.”
I watch him shuffle towards the bathroom, and the open-back gown exposes his rear end, prompting a mischievous grin to spread across my face.
Damn! I chuckle silently. Callum is probably one of the few who could effortlessly pull this hospital gown off.
”Looking good, babe!” I quip with a playful wink, my eyes fixated on the view.
Our laughter fills the room as Callum finally disappears into the bathroom, leaving me to admire his antics—and his sexy firm ass—from afar.