Taking Flight (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Caged Series Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Flying Free Sneak Peek

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  About the Author

  A Note from the Author

  Taking Flight

  Kellie McAllen

  Copyright © 2017 Kellie McAllen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.

  Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

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  www.coffeeandcharacters.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Flying Free Sneak Peek

  FREE BOOK OFFER

  About the Author

  A Note from the Author

  1

  Strong fingers kneaded their way over my shoulders and down my arms before sliding around to my sides, pulling me tight against his lean body. His hands splayed out on my back, searing the skin beneath my thin blouse, then slid slowly down past the waistband of my shorts, lighting a fuse that writhed erratically inside me, threatening to detonate at any moment. Hot breath tickled my ear as he rubbed his cheek against mine then trailed his lips towards my mouth, and my own hands clutched at his hips, desperate to be closer. I moaned as he sucked my lip between his teeth then plunged his tongue inside.

  He explored every inch of my mouth, staking his claim, clinging tightly to my body till finally I pulled away, gasping for air, my heart fluttering like a frantic bird trying to escape its cage.

  He groaned at the release. “Oh God, Lexus. I’m sorry if I’m going too fast. I’ve just wanted to kiss you like that for so long.”

  “Me too,” I whispered, trailing my fingers down his firm chest, outlining the muscles beneath his Iron Maiden tee shirt.

  “Really?”

  I nodded, pinching my bottom lip between my teeth.

  Phoenix’s face spread open in a smile, crinkling the corners of his crystal grey eyes, his happiness making his handsome face even more gorgeous.

  I couldn’t believe he was mine.

  Phoenix Easton was my polar opposite. He was loud and boisterous, funny and outgoing, and his face and body rivaled anything I’d ever seen in a magazine.

  I was more like his brother, Griffin — shy, quiet, with my head more likely stuck in a book than at a party.

  The only thing the twin brothers had in common was their identical face. Well, and the fact that they were both dating me.

  Yeah, you heard right.

  We’d spent a lot of time trying to ignore the complicated relationship blossoming between us, but now, the solution seemed so simple and obvious, I couldn’t understand why we didn’t think of it sooner. I loved both of them, they both loved me — why shouldn’t we be together?

  Too bad the rest of the world didn’t quite feel the same way about it. I didn’t care, though. I’d been a social outcast for most of my life. I was used to it.

  Phoenix slid his hands in my back pockets, and I draped my arms over his shoulders. “I wish I could take you out somewhere on a real date, just you and me. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?”

  I tried to imagine my perfect fantasy, but all I could picture was another moment just like this with him in my arms, nothing standing between us.

  “Maybe the beach? I’ve never seen the ocean, only Lake Michigan.”

  Phoenix’s lips curved up in a naughty smile, and his eyes twinkled mischievously. “You in a bikini, frolicking in the water, is something I’d like to see.”

  I grinned and dipped my head to hide my blush. My self esteem had never allowed me to see myself as desirable, but the twins had a way of making me feel differently.

  Phoenix bent his head to capture my lips again but groaned when the door swung open. “Go away. Don’t you know how to knock? I had the door closed for a reason,” he mumbled around my lips.

  I pulled away and wiped my mouth, still a little embarrassed to be kissing one of them in front of the other, even though they swore they were okay with it. “Hey, Griffin.” I gave a little wave and grinned at him.

  He smiled back and reached for me, wrapping his arm around me from behind as he leaned in for a kiss. Phoenix still had his hands on me, though, so I felt like the center of a hot guy sandwich.

  “Wow, you two really take sharing to a whole new level, huh? Got room for one more?” Jaxson said, taking the unlocked door as an invitation to enter. His deep voice was melodic, but it scraped along my spine, sending tremors of fear up and down my body.

  My heart revved as I realized what this meant. So far, we’d managed to keep our unusual relationship a secret, but now that Jaxson had seen the three of us together like this, I was sure the whole school would know about it by tomorrow. Either that, or he’d hold it over our heads as leverage.

  Phoenix narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, and his hold on me tightened. “Get out of here, Jaxson. How dare you show your face around here?”

  Jaxson held up his hands in surrender and stepped backward. “I just want to talk to you, okay? I’m not here to cause trouble.”

  Griffin scowled, turning to face Jaxson and shifting my body behind himself. “You’re not supposed to be anywhere near Lexus, and we don’t want you anywhere near us, either. I thought you were locked up.”

  Jaxson seemed offended by the less than friendly welcome. “Hey, I’m sorry, okay? I know I overreacted—”

  Phoenix’s face blazed red, and the tendons in his neck stood out from his skin as he clenched his muscles and stalked towards Jaxson. “Overreacted?! You kidnapped Lexus at knifepoint and tried to kill me and my brother, you shithead. You call that overreacting?”

  Jaxso
n didn’t back down this time, just scowled and sucked in a breath, expanding his chest and standing up straighter to emphasize his height. He wasn’t as muscular as the twins, but he had a good four inches on them and a serious superiority complex. He wore all black as usual, and his dark hair hung just past his ears, as shiny and iridescent as raven feathers.

  “I said I’m sorry, all right?” he growled down at Phoenix, his delicate features snarling. “But my parents are missing, and I was pretty worked up about it. I thought you guys might have an idea what that feels like.”

  The words filled up the room around us with a heavy sense of tension.

  “Sarah told me your parents disappeared a while ago,” he explained when the twins gave no response. “Seems like a pretty big coincidence. Did you ever ask Anders if he knew anything about that?”

  “How would Anders know anything about our parents?” Griffin scoffed.

  “Because he says he knows where mine are, but he won’t tell me anything. I thought maybe you wanted to figure out what happened to them.”

  2

  At Jaxson’s words, the pain of losing my parents exploded in my chest again like a grenade, and I stumbled backwards as my insides clenched against the piercing shrapnel of memories.

  Suddenly, I was six years old again, waiting in the principal’s office for my parents to arrive, hours after they’d been called to come pick up their misbehaving son. I remembered the dread I felt, fearing how they would react when they learned what I had done that day. I had no idea how much worse it would be when they didn’t show up at all.

  I blamed myself for years, and he never said so, but I was sure that Griffin blamed me, too. It was only later that I realized something bad had happened to my parents, and they hadn’t just abandoned me and my brother because of my disobedience. But no one ever uncovered the reason behind their disappearance, no bodies were ever found, no clues to what had happened, and Griffin and I were left to mourn the loss and accept that we would never know why we had lost our parents.

  Jaxson’s suggestion that Anders might know something about it stoked a long-dead ember of hope, and my eyes flamed with curiosity.

  Griffin’s ignited with rage. “Nice try, Jaxson. We’re not helping you with anything. You burnt that bridge the minute you put a knife to Lexus’ throat. Now get out of here before we tell Anders.”

  I frowned at my brother. “Wait a minute, Griffin. Let’s hear what he has to say. Maybe there’s something to this.”

  Griffin scowled at me, glancing towards Lexus. “Forget about it, Phoenix. Don’t you get it? Our parents are gone. They’re not coming back. Either they’re dead or they want everyone to think they are. Either way, there’s no happy reunion in our future. Jaxson’s just trying to bait us to get close to Lexus.”

  He was probably right — my brother had a way of seeing reality beyond the cloud of emotions that always distracted me. But what if Jaxson was telling the truth? What if Anders did know something? Even if our parents were dead, there would be some relief in knowing for sure what happened to them.

  “Don’t you want to know the truth, Griff? Cuz I sure do.”

  “Sometimes the truth hurts worse than ignorance, Phoenix.”

  We stared at each other for several moments, neither one willing to budge, and hostility ratcheted up between us.

  “Tell me what happened.” Lexus’ soft voice was a pressure vent, releasing some of the tension.

  I let go of my breath, and it rattled between my clenched teeth as I looked down at her. Her sweet face looked up at me, shining with sympathy, and I suddenly wanted to spill my guts to her.

  I sat down on the bed, pulling her down next to me, and her tiny hand wrapped around my knee as I stared at my lap.

  “They disappeared when we were six. We were supposed to be moving that day. They’d packed the U-Haul and rented an apartment on the other side of town, but they never showed up to pick us up from school. The truck had been returned, and our old house and the new apartment were both empty. No one ever figured out what happened to them.”

  Lexus glanced between me and Griffin with so much sadness on her face, I felt like she was the one who needed comforting, but she threw her arms around me and pressed her soft body into mine, pushing my head against her breasts.

  My groin responded immediately, and I clenched, hoping she wouldn’t notice. Griffin sure did, and he rolled his eyes at me, but I didn’t care. I’d take her any way I could get her. Griffin had already had the pleasure of burying himself in Lexus’ body, and I was still jealous about it. Now that she was mine too, I was hoping I’d get the same chance someday.

  “That must have been terrible! To be so young and have no idea what happened to them. I’m so sorry.” Lexus reached out to comfort Griffin too, and he sat down next to her, sandwiching her between us. She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his middle.

  My first instinct was to be jealous, but her other arm stayed wrapped around me, and the green monster settled back down as Lexus pulled us both towards her.

  Jaxson narrowed his eyes as he watched us, trying to figure us out. “So that’s your solution, huh? A threesome? How does that work, anyway?”

  Griffin jumped up and growled at him. I’d never seen my brother so aggressive before. “Our relationship is none of your business, Jaxson. And neither is our family. Stay the hell away from us.”

  Jaxson shoved his hands in his back pockets, making his chest look bigger, and tipped his chin towards me. “Your loss, losers. Phoenix, if you decide to quit letting your brother boss you around, you know where to find me.”

  He turned and walked out the door, leaving it open, and Griffin stomped after him and slammed it.

  3

  I threw my hand over my mouth and raced to the bathroom, making it just in time to lose my supper in one of the toilets. My whole body convulsed as I retched, my face red and sweaty, tears trailing down my cheeks as I hugged the cold porcelain.

  The fear of seeing Jaxson again, the stress of him discovering our secret, and the heart-wrenching story of Phoenix and Griffin’s parents’ disappearance all converged in my stomach like a twister, tearing me apart inside.

  Griffin rushed in after me and kneeled at my side, one hand rubbing my back while the other one held my hair, mindless of the fact that this was the girls’ bathroom.

  Eventually, my stomach was empty, and my body convulsed one last time then shivered as I sat back on my heels.

  “Are you okay, Lexus?” His voice and eyes were soft with sympathy as he stared into mine, looking for assurance.

  “Yeah, just a little overwhelmed.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and took a deep breath to steady myself. The acrid burn of my own vomit mixed with the cloying scent of floral air freshener turned my stomach again, and I swallowed a gag.

  He frowned, pinching his brows, but nodded when I gave a weak smile to persuade him. He stood up and held out a hand to help me to my feet, and I brushed off my knees as I rose, trying to hide my shakiness.

  Phoenix stood outside the stall, looking equally concerned, and he grabbed me in a bear hug as soon as his brother moved past. His hands roamed freely up and down my body as he buried his head in my hair, his toned muscles firm against my weak flesh.

  “Don’t let that douche bag get to you, Lex. We won’t let him hurt you ever again.”

  I nodded, warmed by their concern, but in truth, they weren’t the ones who’d saved me from Jaxson’s wrath, I’d had to save myself. This newfound ability to control Conduits without their knowledge was heady and terrifying, and I hadn’t quite come to terms with my own power.

  It was one more in a long list of things I wanted to keep secret from my new peers here at the academy. The problem was, Jaxson was privy to most of them. My stomach clenched again at the thought, and I forced it from my mind. Jaxson would do what he wanted; there was nothing I could do about that. All I could do was hope that it benefited him to keep my secrets.

>   I’m sure he didn’t want people to know that I’d managed to siphon his power and control him without his knowledge. Spilling that secret would only diminish his own godlike reputation.

  But what about my relationship with Griffin and Phoenix? He’d never said as much, but the twins believed he wanted me for himself, and not just because of my powers. Did he still feel that way, or did he hold a grudge against me for what I’d done to him? Either way, he had no reason to protect the twins. Would he reveal our secret just to spite them? Or use it to manipulate them into helping him?

  I cringed just thinking about what he was capable of.

  We stepped out into the hall and almost ran into Mr. Grant who startled at the sight of all three of us emerging from the girls’ bathroom. He stepped back and gave a curious smile but didn’t ask any questions.

  “Lexus, boys, I was just looking for you. Can we have a word?”

  We nodded and headed back towards the boys’ room. Anders closed the door behind us, his normally stern face even more serious. His steel gray slacks matched his military-style hair, and his tie was the same color as his piercing, cerulean eyes.

  “I wanted to let you know that I have released Jaxson with the express condition that he is not to come anywhere near the three of you.”

  Phoenix rolled his eyes behind Anders’ back, and Griffin opened his mouth to protest, but Anders kept speaking.

  “He has exhibited sincere remorse and apologized for his behavior, and I believe that your ability to control him has dampened his megalomaniacal sense of power. But if he attempts to engage with you in any way, let me know, and he’ll be back in containment immediately. Jaxson is a great resource for this school, and his talents are very valuable to the Special community as a whole, but I won’t allow him to rule with impunity.”