Tease Me (Teased and Broken Book 1) (6 page)

“Bob, please take us back,” Aaron answered for us both.

“Wait.” Thorn held up a black gloved finger. “What does Elena have to say about that?”

“Are you deaf as well as insane?” My friend poked a finger at his head. “She already told you she wants your stupid boat turned back.”

“Hey,” Bob interjected. “I would appreciate it if would you stop calling my son insane mister.”

Aaron looked like the man had struck him.
 

“It is cruel and unnecessary. Thorn means none of you any harm. I assure you kids of that, and what he says is true. He does have a flair for the dramatic. He is certainly intense. But that man has a heart of gold, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with his sanity.”

“Says his Dad,” Aaron snarked.

Thornton was ignoring all of this now, staring down at his phone, aghast.

“Is it Jimmy again?” Bob’s light blue eyes glittered in concern as he touched Thorn’s arm.
 

“Yes,” Thorn replied, tension flaring around his mouth. “He’s threatening suicide again. Excuse me, I need to take this.”

Distracted, Aaron and I exchanged glances of confusion.

“Hello,” Thorn answered softly, and moved away from us to stand right at the tip of the bow of the boat.

“He talks this guy and others out of doing stupid shit on at least a daily basis,” Bob sighed unhappily beside us.

Anger flared within; I was more than pissed that Thorn would be troubled by fuckers like that. It was not that I didn’t have sympathy for those who needed help. I just hated how very much like leeches they were, fastening onto a shining light like Thorn, and sucking everything out of him.

“Fuck’s sake,” I muttered in frustration, hearing Thorn’s deep voice carry over to me.
 

“You
are
worthwhile. I feel broken on a daily basis. Think of it like this, buddy, we are all broken. You don’t want to do it. No. Please don’t do this, for me. You say you love me. You say I am everyth-”

“The worst one was the lady who cut off her nipple and sent it to him. She’s big on self-mutilation,” Bob went on.

“So, we’re turning this boat around now, yes?” Aaron was clearly unmoved by Thorn’s efforts to talk someone down from suicide.
 

I ignored him for a moment and stared at Thorn who had one hand in his hair now, and was gripping the back of his skull. “This is ridiculous. Why does he do that?” My heart was suddenly breaking for him to indulge these freaks, inviting their shit into his clearly already over-complicated mind.

“Because deep down, he knows he is one of them,” Bob said sadly.

“And…?” Aaron jumped up and down impatiently, waving his arms around. “We are still not turning around the boat because?”

“Shut the fuck up, Aaron!” I hissed, flashing him a severe look. “I’m talking to Bob.”

Aaron fell silent, but his look would have incinerated me on the spot. He took out his phone and started furiously texting.
 

“Them?” I prompted Bob.

“The misunderstood, the passed over, the freaks of society. They see Thorn as their King. He is fiercely protective. He gave them jobs when no one else will. He keeps their families fed and off the streets. You need to understand, Elena, that they would do
anything
for him. He takes on all of their sorrow. My son…” Bob’s brow furrowed. “
Feels
way too much.”
 

“Please,” I heard Thorn’s voice raise an octave. “Don’t do this, man. This is not you. This is beyond. Now you’re talking… what now? Please. I have… I don’t. I am not even equipped to deal with this.”

“The first fucking thing Mr. ass wipe over there has said that makes any sense,” Aaron grumbled, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. “Your son is an arrogant
idiot
to be speaking with these people, they need professional help. He is not the fucking messiah.”

“He is t
heir
messiah,” Bob disagreed quietly. “Look. I don’t expect you to understand, mister… whoever you are.”

“Elena’s ex-agent and bodyguard if she hooks up with
him
!” Aaron’s face had turned bright red. I had never seen him so angry.

“Aaron!” I protested. “Nobody said anything about hooking up!”

“Actually,” Bob muttered, looking disturbed. “That is
exactly
what Thornton thinks is happening tonight Elena.”

Oh. Right. Because I hadn’t given him
that
impression at all with my teases. My heart began to pound.

“Watch yourself around my son, please. He has a fragile heart.”

Bob sounded like he was
pleading
with me.

“His heart is very safe,” I reassured Bob.
 

He nodded, and flashed a grateful but rather strained smile.

 
“Calm down, Dad, you will scare the lady.” Thorn had apparently finished the phone call, and was looking severely displeased with Bob.

Seven

Bob shook his head. “It’s just the truth, son.” He slapped the side of the boat. “Let me know if I am turning this thing back.”

“Actually…” Thorn breathed. “No, at least not yet. I need you to get me home as soon as possible. Jimmy has threatened to show up at the party and wipe himself out. He told me he was going to go down in a blaze of glory.”

“Fire again,
really
?” Bob groaned, brows arching, looking incredulous.

Thorn nodded grimly.
 

“Be careful, Thornton.” Bob’s gaze lingered upon me before he left us.

Thorn noticed this, and glowered after his father’s retreating back, then I heard a sudden crack.
 

“Your phone!” I cried.

He had broken the fucking thing in half. As you do. When you are Thornton Darko, dark insanely good looking death metal rock star, devil worshipper, and man who did some crazy shit for even crazier fans.
 

“Fuck!” Thorn was now staring in disbelief at his rather destroyed phone.

“You’re bleeding.” I looked pointedly at the dark red blood spilling from the cut.

“Well, how about that?” Thorn’s prefect white teeth flashed as he forced a smile. “You actually give a shit.”

I frowned. “And I wouldn’t because?”

Thorn’s fingers dove into the pocket of his long black coat, and he withdrew what looked like something the size of a flipping black scarf and wrapped it securely around his hand.
 

“As soon as we get to my place, Dad will take you and Aaron back to Ashby,” he said coldly. “I am sorry to make you wait…” His gaze was vicious as it swung to Aaron. “But I need to save someone from doing something incredibly stupid.”

“Know what is incredibly stupid?” Aaron sighed. “That
you
think you can do something for that man. Save the idiot. That is just the height of arrogance.”

“And what would you have me do with someone like Jimmy?” Thorn asked. “I would never ignore or abandon him. He was one of my first fans when no one knew of Cellrager. When I had exactly five-” He held up his wrapped maimed hand, and I saw that it was shaking. “-people who gave some kind of a shit.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Whatever. How far to your place?”

“Not far,” Thorn snarled. “I do hope you never ever have to deal with anyone with a mental health issue in your life.”

“I already do.” My friend shot me a look. “
Her.”

Thorn laughed. “Well, that is something that we can agree on, at least.”

“Hey!’ I objected.

“You don’t make a lot of sense, Elena,” my rock star said quite seriously, but I noticed a smile playing at the corners of his lips. He seemed to be trying hard to fight it, because he still looked incredibly annoyed with me. “But I
like
that.”

“Sounded to your dad you more than like it,” Aaron goaded.

“For fuck’s sake, Aaron!” I shoved him back a pace. “Can you
stop
being an asshole?”

My friends bottom lip started wobbling, as his gaze swung from me to Thorn and back again, realization was dawning on his face. “Oh, no fucking way,” he uttered softly. “Elena,
no
. Please, don’t do this, hon.”

I knew exactly what he was talking about, and bowed my head so I wouldn’t meet his worried and hurt gaze. I really was a piece of shit friend.
 

“What is wrong
now
?” Thorn asked, looked a mixture of perplexed and bored.

“You’re going to go to his stupid little party, aren’t you?” Aaron seized my shoulders and shook them. “Please. Why do you always do this, Elena? When things start going a little bit good for you, hon, you fuck it all up. Every time. Here’s a chance not to do that. You have an important meeting tomorrow afternoon.” He looked hard into my eyes, reminding me without saying it, of Brett. “I am begging you.”

“Elena is not going anywhere with me.” Thorn looked amused now. “I urgently retract my invitation.”

 
“Wait, what? You don’t want her now?” Aaron looked disbelieving.

“I didn’t say that. Of course I
want
her. I just don’t want her at this party tonight for obvious reasons,” Thorn said testily. “A mentally unstable person is threatening to take himself out with a blowtorch.”

What the fuck? I was trembling, tears were filling my eyes at the thought. Why would anyone threaten to do such an unnecessarily hideous thing? How selfish, manipulative, and self-indulgent to weigh Thorn down with that shit! And to turn up at his party and do it, no less. I would take this Jimmy fucker out myself, I vowed silently, if he kept doing this to Thorn. Did he not realize how much he was hurting him?
 

Hurting him
. My last ranting thought rang hollowly through my heart, and I shuddered.

Thorn noticed, and winked at me. “Don’t worry, enchantress, your powers are not ailing, consider my heart well ensnared.” His hand rose up to pat his chest.

Enchantress… a shiver passed through me. How did he know–?

“Come now, you don’t think I run background checks on people I invite into my life?” Thorn smirked. “Besides, I would have smelt it on you anyway; like you, I come from a long line of magical folk myself,” Thorn went on quite seriously. “The last witch that fucked with me tried to vanquish me so I tend to be very cautious about inviting that shit into my life.”

“Would that be your dead wife?” Aaron asked.

I stomped on his foot, and he cried out.

“My wife is missing, not dead,” Thorn corrected. “But yes. I am speaking of Andrea.”

Then he laughed at our horrified expressions. “Can’t anyone take a joke?”

My head was reeling; I was most definitely triggered by him making light of that shit. He sounded so incredibly mean the way he described his missing wife, calling her a witch. How could he be so heartless? He had presumably lost the love of his life.

“Relax, buddy, she isn’t a practising witch,” Aaron muttered.
 

“Do I look relaxed?” Thorn’s arms folded across his chest. “I have invited the devil into my life.”

“That’s a little harsh!” I glared. “What are you? A fucking warlock or something?”
 

Thorn looked amused. “Now,
what
an odd thing to say.”

I don’t know where that had come from, but then I did, and I didn’t want to know or think about that weirdness and unpleasantness right now. Still, I vaguely remembered my Grandmother saying when I was young that warlocks and enchantresses were not to ever fraternize. Her voice came into my mind.

“Don’t ever, ever tease one. Don’t ever use your powers on one.”

“Why?” I heard my little girl voice asking.
 

“It never ends well,” my grandmother answered, sadness welling in her eyes. “I should know.”

 
“Thornton!” Bob interrupted. He was waving from the top of the cabin with binoculars in his hand, and he pointed. “Look, I think Jimmy’s shown.”

“Fuck!” Thorn practically leapt up into the cabin as he swung himself easily to the top, and snatched the binoculars off Bob. “Why aren’t they leaving?” he despaired, his voice cracking.

I looked in the direction he was looking in, and it was far from the scene I had been expecting when the Black Eagle gently glided toward its own private mooring. A glistening stretch of a private beach with a party in full swing. I had never picked Mr. Cellrager for beach parties.
 

But there it was, the beach spread out before us, and beautiful half-naked bodies writhing on the sand. I jumped and let out a startled cry when red flame flared from a darkened stage; Thorn had said this Jimmy was going to take himself out with a blow torch, after all. Distantly, I heard a man scream into the microphone.

“Unbelievable and unacceptable!” Thorn fumed as he surveyed the scene.
 

“Jacob said your security have the situation in hand,” Bob said with a shrug. “I couldn’t convince him or any of your people I could get hold of to get off the damned beach. I guess Jacob wanted to show off his new songs too much.”

“And I thought my ego was maniacal,” Thorn growled and disappeared into the cabin; I saw him splashed in its yellow light glowering out at us. Bob remained outside, staring at me uneasily, his big red hands gripping the binoculars so tight his knuckles had turned white. Thorn pulled on his mask, shrugged out of his long black coat, pulled on another that looked exactly the same, and strode onto the deck.

Thorn nodded at me slightly. “Good night, Elena,” he said quietly as his gaze slid from mine, and performed a very slow, deliberate crawl all over my body, and my dress suddenly felt more and more like a flipping nightie. I saw approval and longing flare in his eyes when his gaze lifted again. “Don’t stop teasing me.
Ever.”

Eight

“I am not leaving until I know my son is safe,” Bob folded his arms and glared at us defiantly. “Once he’s dealt with Jimmy, we’ll head back to Ashby.”

Aaron shrugged, looking unconcerned. “Fine, I guess.”

Well, this was an about-face from him.

I tugged on his hand. “Let’s go for a walk,” I suggested. I slid a look over my shoulder at Bob. “Thorn’s dad is starting to freak me out.”

My friend nodded. “Sure, he’s freaking me out, too. Mostly from the looks he keeps giving you, Elena. I don’t like it.” Aaron looked around furtively. “Actually, I got us a new ride, anyways.”