Chapter 15 Mariella
My body’s on fire. My limbs are shaking, my heart pounding.
I’m naked, my chest pressed against skin, warm and firm.
My fingertips ripple over the muscular ridges of a strong, broad back.
Eyes clamped shut, tension builds between my thighs as hands explore my body, roughly caressing and teasing, guiding my hips as they rock.
Each breath abandons my lungs in a short pant, quickening when soft lips and coarse stubble press against my neck.
With each passing second, I’m closer and closer to shattering.
The palm on my thigh glides upward, over the skin of my bare abdomen to rest over the wild thumping of my heart.
And beneath it, chilling energy flares to life, a contrast to the euphoric heat between my thighs.
Starting as a tiny ball, the power wells, snaking through my body, and ricocheting against my rib cage, searching for the path of least resistance.
I push the feeling away. I want to focus on the lips trailing down my neck. But it only grows until my entire body’s pulsating with current, radiating from my chest to the tips of my fingers and toes. A stubbled cheek presses to mine, and a sharp whispering fills my ears.
I jolt awake, unfulfilled and gasping for breath, the words dissolving into hazy wisps that will forever be out of reach.
I’m lying on Parker’s bed, alone and hungover, my body buzzing with electricity.
I bring my hand to my face and stare at the pads of my fingertips, the sparkling current racing along my skin.
Closing my eyes, I focus on it, and electrical energy combusts within my chest, jolting my heart into a frantic rhythm.
Power inundates my body, shooting down my arms and legs.
I cry out and force it away, shaking my hands like they’re crawling with eight-legged insects.
My heart’s still racing when I sit up and the room spins. Did it look like this yesterday? I rifle through my hazy recollection of last night. Parker’s heated gaze flashes through my mind and every muscle in my body clenches. I have a sudden urge to capture the moment in my sketchbook.
Clutch and shoes in hand, I exit the bedroom, my chest sinking when Parker isn’t in the living room or anywhere else in his apartment.
Neither is Rose. Every scrap of paper has been removed from the tiny dining table.
No dishes await cleaning in the kitchen sink.
No toothbrushes or soap sit beside the spotless bathroom sink.
I lock the door from the inside and pull it shut behind me. “Shit.” I stop outside my own door without a key. Shivering in my dress, I knock on our door.
“Coming,” Anna calls, answering the door still dressed in last night’s clothing. “Just getting home, are we?” she asks with a knowing grin.
If only she knew the half of it. “I lost my key.”
“I just got in myself.” I enter her apartment and we both collapse on the sofa. “Where did you sleep?”
Think of an excuse, Mariella.
My stomach rolls and I groan. I lower my pounding head onto a sofa cushion and flinch from the sting of my new piercing.
“Ella?” Anna says.
I’m too hungover for this.
“In Rose and Parker’s room,” I say, my words stifled by the pillow.
Anna gasps, sitting up. “You didn’t. Where?”
A slow smile pulls at my mouth, and I brush my knuckles across my lips. “On Parker’s bed.” My cheeks flush and I cover my head with another sequined cushion. “They only have one bedroom, so Rose was in there too. I slept there, that’s all.”
“And Parker slept where? With Rose?” Anna asks, yanking the pillow away.
I peek up at her. “Actually, they’re just friends.”
“What? Are you kidding me? This whole time he’s been single? I could’ve sworn they were together. Wait, you didn’t answer my question. Where did he sleep?”
Parker’s intense gaze flashes through my mind and my blush deepens at the memory of his dilated pupils and the moisture on his parted lips. I’d give anything to touch you, one last time. A thrill races through me.
“Mariella. Katharine. Adams. You little hussy,” Anna squeals, whacking me repeatedly with a cushion.
I hold out my hand to prevent a blow to the face. “Nothing happened. We just… fell asleep.”
“Sure. Sure.” Anna’s grinning from ear to ear. “When are you seeing him again?”
The smile on my face falls. I may have entertained the possibility of a future with Parker last night while drunk, but now I’m sober, reality’s set in. I clear my throat. “Parker’s not my type.”
“Please,” Anna says, rolling her eyes. “With that face? He’s everybody’s type.”
I hesitate, then relent, knowing I’m not telling Anna anything I shouldn’t. “When I woke up this morning, their place was empty. Completely empty. Besides the furniture. It’s as if they don’t live there anymore.”
The smile on Anna’s face wavers. “What? They weren’t there?”
“No. They must’ve left before I woke up.” It’s even stranger when I say it out loud.
“Maybe they changed apartments? Or…” Anna’s brows crease.
“Or what?” I ask, a chill sweeping down my arms despite the warm air blowing from Anna’s heater.
She winces. “Well, the other day when they were here looking for you, Rose mentioned they weren’t staying long.”
I tear my gaze from Anna’s. This is for the best, right? Parker will never be a constant in my life. He’s from a different time. A different world, really. One I can’t be part of, unless I enter Neurovida and become a time traveler. A hard mass forms in my stomach. I won’t.
The mail slot on the front door squeaks, and a thin envelope drops onto the floor. Anna hops off the sofa and picks it up. I expect her to tear it open, but her mouth drops and she extends it toward me. “Ella,” she whispers.
I reach out and take the sealed envelope, addressed to me and bearing the hospital’s teal logo. The paper trembles in my hands. Holding my breath, I tear it open.