I gave a sharp nod, but narrowed my eyes.
“You’ll still call me.”
“No.”
“If you won’t, Matthew will,” I raised my brows and pushed past him with a haughty lift to my chin and a sway to my hips.
Behind me, Callum laughed and muttered. “Knew I liked you from the start, you cheeky shit.”
The next day we loaded up on Gray’s plane and the mood was full of playful excitement. Malcolm got us all involved in a ridiculous game of Magical Charadionary, which was like a combination of charades and spell writing. We had to act get the others to decipher entire sentences but alternate between acting out words and writing spells that then created an image that floated in midair. It was a children’s game, but Malcolm and Zavier had corrupted it so that we had to work with sentences like: “I had to wash my butt plug,” or “Your cum looks like cottage cheese.”
My ribs hurt from laughter before we’d even finished the first round.
When it was Andros’ turn to act, he stood, or tried to stand. He was too tall for the plane and had to duck. As soon as he started moving, Zavier started guessing: “Hunchback!” “Quasimoto!” “Gru!”
Andros had merely narrowed his eyes and bided his time. On Zavier’s next turn, every time he tried to start writing a spell, Andros would rewind him, until the rest of us were howling in laughter and Zavier’s timer was up. Confusion had turned into fury and he’d launched himself at his cousin, starting a wrestling match that had only ended when Gray’s pilot came onto the intercom and asked if we’d like to land in the ocean instead of on an island.
Z had taken the seat next to me, nursing a busted lip and a grin. Despite the fight he was in good spirits, because that was just him. He winked at me and said, “You like that fight huh?”
“Oh, so hot,” I deadpanned. “Watching you lose was just—” I fanned myself. “Whew!”
All the other guys chuckled and Zavier joined them, knowing he was more of the verbal sparring type. But his next word punch blindsided me. “Someday, you’re gonna have sex with all of us at once,” Zavier predicted, licking a drop of blood from his lips. “I can’t wait.”
Instantly, the mood on the plane changed. It was like someone had flipped a switch.
Humor turned to heat as every eye in the plane whipped over to stare at me. My cheeks grew as red as a fire pit. “Never.”
“Oooh, gentlemen, I feel like that was a challenge,” Zavier quipped, raising his hands up in the air like this was some WWE match and he was pumping up the crowd.
That little fucking trouble maker. If I didn’t love him so damn much, I would have wrung his neck. As it was, I took my travel pillow from around my neck and launched it at him. “No, it’s not a challenge. It’s a fact.”
Andros stared steadily at me from the seat he’d taken directly across from mine. When he caught my eye, he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees so that his biceps bulged. He was so huge that he took up nearly all of the space between us. His biceps were close enough to touch. Was he … trying to tempt me in front of the others?
My furious gaze flew to his, about to berate him too, but the hungry look in his eyes made the words die in my throat. I had to swallow hard and sit back in my seat to get some space. I was overwhelmed by his presence. Then he said, “You know, some people said breaking into the Pinnacle would never happen.”
Gray picked up the vibe as he leaned on the armrest of his leather seat to my left. He grabbed a lock of my freshly streaked hair and fingered an orange streak. “Some people said curing vampires would never happen.”
Even Evan grinned from his seat catty corner to me, across from Gray. “Hailstorm, I think you just waved a red flag in front of a bunch of bulls.”
He was right.
The plane was suddenly filled with a surge of testosterone as each one of my crew sized me up like they were ready to chase me down and show me their horns, right then and there.
My eyes flickered over to the one guy who hadn’t said anything yet.
Would he save me? Did I want him to? My brain asked two conflicting questions at the same time. I wasn’t certain which answer I wanted. My nipples were already as hard as glass, my breathing was shallow, having all of them focused on me was a heady aphrodisiac.
My eyes collided with Malcolm’s, where he stood in the aisle. He stared steadily back at me; his blue eyes and magic both sent tendrils of heat out to caress my skin. His face gave me no clue as to how he felt. Not until he said, “Hayley might not be ready for that … quite yet. But how about we play another game? Never have I ever …”
Zavier whooped before settling down in his seat and rubbing his hands together like a cartoon villain. He tossed an evil smile my way as he asked, “Ok, what are the terms?”
Malcolm’s mouth quirked up in a grin as he leaned casually against the back of one of the over-sized leather seats. He maintained eye contact with me as he declared, “We’re going to make sure Hayley loses. We’re going to make sure she can never say ‘never’ again.”
A thrill lit up my spine.
For once, I didn’t mind if I didn’t come out on top. Because that sounded like the game of a lifetime.
Afterword
Thank you for reading! Yes, Hayley and her crew will have more adventures since I’m sure you’re wondering! But first, there are some other characters in the Pinnacle world who have been shouting at me that it’s their turn for a story. The next book in the series belongs to Lysa from the Smiling Skull. Your intro to her story is below. Coming 2021 …#ded
Blurb
I’m a secret, a lie, and a liability.
I’m a Terra—I have power over earth and stone. But no one alive knows. Or so my parents thought when they hid me and forbade me from entering the regular magical world.
But we made a mistake.
We never counted vampires as living. My dad called them the undead. They were the crazed. The mad. Irreparable.
But now, someone’s bringing vampires back, curing them. And one of them knows my secret.
When they come for me, I run.
I head for the last place anyone would ever suspect. A school.
But not just any school. I run to one where I can find protection. I run to the Magical Academy for Delinquents.
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Acknowledgments
A huge thank you goes out to the following people: Ivy, Raven, Lysanne, Thais, and Summer. Without you, I would never have finished this book. Another huge shout out to Logan Keys for the awesome cover! To Lorie Collins, my proofreader: thank you from the bottom of my crusty old heart. To the hubby: you're the best and I love you so much for your support and help with everything in my life. It wouldn't be the same going on this grand adventure without you!