Heaven and Hell (Beautiful Beings, #2) Read Free Page A

Braxton has the final decision on where he stays, and he decided on England.”
    “That was a month ago, when everything was fresh and confusing. Surely now he realizes he belongs here.  I’m sure he’s suffering greatly. I’m sure he’s lonely and longing to come home.  All he needs is a little push, a little reminder of the people here who are ready to help him.”
    “I’m sorry, Lux.  There’s really nothing I can do.”
    “Fine,” I muttered in exaggerated defeat.  It was hard to believe how close Braxton and I had quickly become, so inseparable, so connected, right from the start.  When we recognized we shared common abilities, we grew closer still.  And now he was a world away.
    With Brax so far away and unreachable, and Asher in jail, I was left alone to deal with the things that were going on at the Academy, alone to face Moore and Shayne as they went about their lives as if nothing had ever happened.
    “Is there any way you can just contact him?  Just let him know I’m trying to contact him?”
    She looked woefully at me.
    “Please, Ms. Bright.  I’ve left dozens of messages with a relative of Braxton’s, but I don’t think they’re relating the messages to him.  It’s the only contact number I have and it’s useless.  No email address, no Facebook, no Braxton.”
    She offered me a faint and sympathetic smile.  “You must truly miss him,” she said.
    I nodded hopefully.
    “Look.”  She pulled out a little notepad.  “I can send him a friendly note, just a few words to remind him how we’re all still thinking of him and wish him well.  Just a warm note from a friend, not from a school administrator.  That’s all I can do.  I can’t promise I’ll get more of a response than you have.”
    I wanted to stick around to see her pull out his address, or even the name of the school he was attending, but she simply smiled and offered a polite but dismissive nod.
    Pleased to have her at least make an attempt, I rose and turned to the door.  “I really appreciate this.  It may not give me the results I want right away, but it’s a start.”
    I slid back into the hall and joined the remaining stragglers who leisurely headed to their first class of the day.  Joining the relaxed pace, I headed to my French class with a sense of accomplishment.
    Just three doors from my class, a hand clamped to my shoulder.  My heart shut out Brax and my body immediately went into battle mode.  Wasting no time I turned, grabbed the offending hand in both mine and twisted it around, effectively pushing it up into the back of the person who’d dared touch me.
    He was tall, his shoulders strong and wide and inches above mine, but I didn’t care.  I held nothing back as I shoved him into a locker, denting the narrow metal door in the process.  Just as swiftly as I banged his head to the door, he turned my hold against me.  With strength that surprised and surpassed me, he grabbed my wrists in one hand, twisted around and shoved me back into the locker.
    Overcome by lust, I had to inhale deeply as I tried to understand the reaction of my body.  Heated and hungry, it was far from the reaction of the warrior I was.  My legs were suddenly weak and my breath hot and labored.
    Before I met his gaze, before I raised my eyes over the breadth of his shoulders, the strong line of his chin and perfect lips, I knew him; his scent, his unearthly power, the touch of his hands on my skin, and his relentless ability to so easily conjure up such great lust and longing.
    One strong hand brought my arms above my head, pinned to the lockers and leaving me helpless to defend myself, and when he pushed his body to mine, pinning me more securely to the lockers, I knew I didn’t want to fight him off.
    “It’s not easy sneaking up on a girl like you.”
    “What do you want, Moore?” My voice was strong despite the thrills and hunger that left my body weak.
    “A moment.  A word.  A touch.”
    I stared at him,