Confined (Tethered Trilogy Book 3)

Sometimes the things in life that seem to confine us are often the things that set us free.

Becoming initiated appeared to be the answer to all of Addison Harmon’s problems. However, when things don’t turn out the way she expected, Addison soon finds herself tangled in a web of secrets, lies, and bitter betrayal. If she wants to survive, Addison must learn to rely on herself.

Questions will be answered. Trust will be misplaced. And hearts will be broken.

PROLOGUE

The water was surprisingly warm as it lapped against my ankles. I was mesmerized by the deep midnight blue of it as it mirrored the low-hanging, murky clouds above. It seemed endless, to the point of touching the sky. I stared, struggling to differentiate where one ended and the other began. The wind picked up as the ocean air dampened a little more, holding the promise of rain. Pausing in my walk, I turned to face the ocean directly. Inhaling the salty breeze, I allowed the dampness of the warm air to touch my face and seep through my skin.

Strands of my dark hair blew across my face in individual wisps as I turned to watch the others gather. Adrenaline pumped through my veins at a nearly nauseating pace, and my heart pounded out a nervous rhythm in my chest as I thought of what I was about to do.

My eyes shifted from Callie to Adam and then lastly to Kace. After tonight, they would all finally be initiated. After tonight, I would be initiated as well, and the tether between Theo and me would be broken.

CHAPTER ONE

Hoodoo Boy

How to Keep A Major Secret 101. I could teach this class, because apparently, I seemed to know an awful lot about the subject matter lately. In fact, it was all I felt like I’d been doing since the night on the cliff, when Theo had saved me. Now, nearly two weeks after our near kiss at the apartment party near Craven College, my secrets continued to pile up. I still had yet to mention anything regarding my sudden decision to become initiated to anyone.

Adjusting the little triangles of my bikini top, I straightened my limbs and wondered why I’d decided to keep that last piece of knowledge to myself for so long. Eventually, I would have to tell them all anyway.

A nice breeze caressed my skin, and I thought of the only person I knew who could make his own gust of wind like that—Theo. He’d consumed my mind since the night of the party. I’d thought about him every time the wind blew, every time Kace touched me, and every time Kace and I kissed.

I hated it, the way my mind seemed to work lately. If the initiation didn’t break the tether between us, then I was certain I’d die from guilt.

“Can you spray a little more sunblock on my back, please?” Callie asked, pulling me from my thoughts. “I always get burned there.”

“Sure,” I said as I moved for the bottle.

I used this moment as an opportunity to search for Theo, knowing good and well if he’d been close by, making the breeze I currently felt, I would have felt the warm sensation that always seemed to course beneath my skin whenever he was near.

Theo was nowhere to be seen. Not a surprise, but still a swift pang of disappointment shot through me. I was bordering on pathetic and nearly crossing the line at cheating.

All something I was not proud of at the moment.

Lately it seemed as though my body craved to be near Theo, as if I missed him—mind, body, and soul. It was ridiculous, frustrating, and heartbreaking all at the same time. I’d managed to occupy myself by either busting my ass at Spellbinding Reads or spending loads of quality time with either Callie or Kace. I made sure I was never alone, because I knew the moment that I was, Theo would visit me. And if he did, I wasn’t sure what might happen between the two of us.

The sensation to seek him out on my own was something that had been building inside of me, growing with every breath I took.

“Oh, I meant to tell you, I picked up some of those giant sparklers for tomorrow night,” Callie said as she lay down again on her stomach. She stretched her arms out at her sides, palms facing upward.

“I love those things,” I admitted, situating myself to soak up more rays.

I was slowly, but surely, gaining a decent tan, which meant I was finally looking more like a local and less like a tourist.

“Me too,” Callie said. “It doesn’t feel like the Fourth of July to me without them.”

“I know,” I agreed, glad we were striking up a conversation once more. Theo always seemed to invade my mind when I was in silence.

“The show they do on the beach every year is pretty cool. You’ll like it,” Callie muttered from beside me.

“Kace said something about a carnival too,” I said. “When does that start?”

“It started on Monday. It’s down on South Beach. They have it every year.”

“You don’t sound too thrilled. Are carnivals not your thing?”

“Eh, they’re fun. It’s just that it’s the same rides and stuff from when I was a little kid,” she said.

I sat up and reached for the bottle of water I’d brought. “That sucks.”

“Yeah, every year I go, expecting to see something new. But nope, it’s always the same.”

“Are you going this year?” I asked, only because I wanted to go. It had been a long time since I’d been to a carnival.

Callie sat up and pulled her hair free from the elastic band holding it up. It fell in a stringy, wet mess past her shoulders. I watched as she twisted it all back up into a high bun on top of her head.

“Probably, Adam loves it.” She smiled.

I chuckled. “Of course he does.”

How could Adam not enjoy a carnival? He was practically a big kid.

“I mean, I do too, but I also like a little variety,” she said. She lay back down and turned her head to face me.

“So, does that mean we’re all going tonight?” I asked with a little smirk.

“Absolutely.” She grinned.

I chuckled. “What time?”

“Adam wanted to go around nine. Is that all right with you guys?”

I shifted to look at her better. “I don’t think Kace gets off until around then, but it should be fine.”

“Cool.”

I lightly sprayed another thin layer of sunblock across the tops of my legs and stomach. Closing my eyes, I hung my head back to enjoy the sunshine a little more. That was when I felt a familiar warmth stirring within me. The blood in my veins heated, and I knew exactly why. It was the sensation I’d been pathetically waiting on for a while now—the feel of Theo’s nearness.

Sitting up straighter, I glanced around, hoping Callie wouldn’t notice and ask what I was searching for. The warmth vibrated beneath my skin, and the awareness of Theo’s emotions filtered through my mind. He was just as desire-filled and blissful as I was to have finally felt what we’d been yearning to for almost two weeks now.

It didn’t take long before I found him in the crowd.

He stood off to my right, with a group of three other guys, wearing a pair of solid sage green swimming trunks and nothing more. I zeroed in on him, taking in the dark curves and ridges that made up his sculpted frame. When my eyes finally traveled higher than his shoulders, they locked with his—even through the lenses of my sunglasses.

Theo stared directly at me as though we were inches apart instead of a few feet. The intensity of his gaze made my stomach flutter. His lips pressed together firmly as his eyes narrowed in my direction. My muscles tensed, and my heartbeat quickened from the sudden burst of irritation coming from him.

It became clear then that Theo hated what the tether made him feel for me.

It took everything in me, but I ripped my gaze from him and lay flat on my towel. His apparent irritation with everything about me was just more confirmation of my decision to get this initiation over with.

“Are you getting hungry at all?” Callie asked in a muffled voice. The side of her face was now pressed firmly against her towel.

I wasn’t starved, but I could eat. Bonus—getting something to eat would get me away from irritable Theo too.

“Yeah, a little,” I said.

Callie pressed up onto her elbows. “Can we head back to your place and get something? I’m starved.”

“Sure,” I said, thinking that sounded perfect. “I’m not sure what I have, but I’m sure we could find something.”

Sitting up, I tossed the sunblock I’d been using back into my beach bag, and then stood to shake out my towel. Heat slithered across my skin, trailing from my exposed cleavage, down my stomach, and along the length of my legs. I knew whose eyes the heat belonged to without having to glance in his direction—but the fact of the matter was, I wanted to.

So I did.

Theo and his buddies were standing just a little closer to me than they had been the last time I’d looked his way. They were laughing and cutting up as they scoped out the surrounding females. Theo’s eyes were directly on me though, just like I knew they would be. I folded my towel and draped it over my arm. After wiping my fingertips on the bottoms of my bikini, I slid my sunglasses down to the tip of my nose so I could glare at him, all menacing like, over the rims. I was positive he could feel my annoyance at him for staring—for being here at all. Little trickles of amusement darted from him to me, cooling the heat of my annoyance instantly.

This pissed me off. Why did he think it was so funny whenever I was angry?

“Geez, Hoodoo boy is staring at you hardcore,” Callie said. She tossed her wadded-up towel into her bag without shaking it out, and bent down for her water bottle.

“I know,” I said, still glaring at him.

“What’s that all about?”

I shook my head and feigned ignorance. “I have no clue, but I’m ready to get out of here.”

“Seriously,” she agreed.

I pushed my glasses up and slung my bag over my shoulder before starting toward my house with Callie at my side. My eyes never moved from Theo for more than a second during my walk across the sandy beach to the bridge that led over the prickly grass and onto the sidewalk. He folded his arms across his perfectly sculpted chest, and I felt double-edged daggers of relief and resentment pierce at me. I continued walking with my eyes glued to him, and tripped over a pile of some kid’s abandoned sand toys just before the bridge. Theo’s lips had twisted into a small grin when I glanced back in his direction. Either he’d thought something one of his friends had said was funny, or else he really enjoyed seeing me nearly fall flat on my face.

From the emotions I felt stemming from him, it seemed more like the latter. Asshole.

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