Insidious(98)

With one swift motion, Reese kicked the front door closed, pinning my body against it. The cool October air penetrating the steel surface only reminded me of just how much every cell of me was on fire. I needed him. I wanted him. I wanted every inch of him on me.

As if reading my mind, he picked me up so effortlessly, it was as if I weighed nothing more than a feather. Reese pushed off the wall, and my legs wrapped around his waist as he carried me through the foyer into the family room, setting me down on the empty couch.

Soft leather greeted my back, and I gasped as he laid his body over mine. “Wait…”

He finally pulled away, his vibrant eyes wide with apprehension. “What’s wrong?”

I actually cringed for not having thought of it before. “Your mom isn’t home, is she?”

He smiled beamingly down at me. “You really think I’d be doing this if she was?”

A shudder rippled through him as my fingers grazed the hard contours of his stomach. The deep, desperate moan resonating from the back of his throat only incited my hands to further explore his body. He pulled himself up enough to remove his vest, unbuttoning his dress shirt as well.

Reese’s peculiar choice in fashion had definitely accentuated the slightness of his frame more than I would have guessed. Quite deceptively so, because underneath the layers of clothing was a slender, yet handsomely well-toned abdomen.

“You know, I think my mom was right,” I whispered, trying to bite back my smile. “You really are trouble.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, but my favorite kind.”

Reese chuckled, laying back over me as I slid the shirt off his shoulders.

We both laughed, and my smile didn’t cease as his fingers slid under the hem of my shirt. Arching my back, he eased the fabric up and slid the shirt out over my head. His lips caressed my neck, and he took his time as they descended to my collarbone. His hand gripped my thigh, and my fingers teased through his hair. Reese eagerly retraced his path, meeting my lips once again. His kiss deepened, and I had to fight off the impulse to moan as the skin on top of my hand tingled.

Just as my nails began to dig into his upper back, a series of blasts erupted from all around us, and the entire room was swallowed up by darkness. Asides from parting our lips, Reese and I remained stock-still in place, wholly clueless as to what just happened.

Reese sighed, fingering the glowing blue rune on top of my hand, the only source of light now. “Did you just…?”

I opened my mouth, but I wasn’t sure what to say. Had I really taken out the electricity?

I followed his gaze to the stand beside the sofa, seeing flecks of shattered glass strewn all across the tabletop. The light bulb set within the lamp had burst. Reese retracted off me and we both surveyed the room in the limited light. Every last bulb had literally exploded.

But it wasn’t just the room. Even the street light at the end of the driveway was out. Reese headed out to the front porch for a better view down the stretch. “The whole block is pitch-black.”

Looking out into the black oblivion of the property sent chills raking up my spine. The feeling only worsened when Reese tried to call the electric company. Neither of our phones had service. Reese was more curious than concerned, insisting we take a trip to see how far this electrical disruption had hit. The entire West End was down. Not one house or store had service. It wasn’t until we drove to the mall that we saw any signs of electricity.

Though the parking lot was completely shrouded in darkness, we could see lights on inside through the windowed entranceway. It wasn’t until we headed in that we realized it was just the emergency reserve lights that were working. Despite the venture being a bust, Reese and I couldn’t help but find amusement in our surroundings. We outright laughed at the hysteria breaking out across the storefronts. It seemed that some of the cash registers weren’t backed up to an emergency power source, and irate customers like Mrs. Madison couldn’t grasp the logic as to why their credit cards wouldn’t work at the check-out counter.

Reese slinked up behind me and ensnared me into a hug, kissing my neck as we headed across the upper deck overlooking the plaza. A few familiar faces from school did a double take at us, and one girl even pointed.

“I told you,” sneered her friend. “They were probably going at it again in the dressing room.”

Reese buried another laugh into my shoulder, silently confirming my suspicions that he, too, had heard the rumors circulating about us.

“Oh, you have no idea,” I purred, running my hand through his hair. I even threw a wink at the girls, leaving their jaws agape in disbelief.