Beautifully Toxic Read online

  Beautifully Toxic

  Candied Crush #1

  Charity Parkerson

  Contents

  Introduction

  Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  About the Author

  The scanning, uploading, and distributing of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Brief passages may be quoted for review purposes if credit is given to the copyright holder. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Any resemblances to person(s) living or dead, is completely coincidental. All items contained within this novel are products of the author’s imagination.

  —Warning: This book is intended for readers over the age of 18.

  Copyright © 2020 Charity Parkerson

  Editor: BZ Hercules and Consultants

  ISBN: 978-1-946099-71-6

  All rights reserved.

  Created with Vellum

  Introduction

  A famous drummer. A homeless teen. It’s hard to tell which one is the savior.

  When Jessie Thunder, a famous drummer, learns a homeless person has been sneaking into his home, Jessie decides to help him out. The eighteen-year-old “boy” is too old to go in the system, and Jessie can’t stand the thought of anyone going hungry. He also hopes rescuing Theo will ease his soul. Otherwise, there’s nothing redeeming left of him.

  Even though Theo doesn’t trust Jessie’s help, he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. At first, Jessie’s attention feels like heaven. He’s never had anyone care about him, especially someone as amazing as Jessie. Everything seems perfect. That is, until Theo realizes Jessie’s beauty is only a mask. Inside, Jessie is poison and Theo has to get out before he finds himself in worse shape than when he lived on the street.

  With Theo gone and no one to save him, Jessie has to make a choice. He can either rescue himself or drown in the toxic waste his life has become. Only one of those roads leads back to Theo.

  Beautifully Toxic is the first book in bestselling author Charity Parkerson’s series, Candied Crush, where the men are like candy—rich, irresistible, and bad for your health.

  Note

  This book contains heavy drug use.

  One

  It was rare for Jessie to be awake before noon. Yet, here he was awake and sober—like a double fuck you to his sanity. Jessie stared at his bedroom ceiling for half an hour before giving up on sleep. While the blackout curtains in his room kept him plunged in darkness, he could tell the sun shone brightly due to the sparkling Paris skyline. He didn’t live anywhere near Paris. It was an illusion created by an artist friend of his. The tiny holes in the curtain made it look like lights were on in the Eiffel Tower. In reality, they showed a new day had come without Jessie’s permission. Again. Damn, he was tired of waking up every day. Jessie was tired of showering, eating, and shitting. Life had a thousand tiny chores that drove him insane with boredom.

  Jessie zoned out in the shower as notes started forming in his head. He needed to write them down before he forgot again. New songs came to him less and less these days. He was getting old. To most, thirty-four might not seem that old. To a man who had lived a hard rock lifestyle since his late teens, Jessie imagined his brain had been half pickled from the hardcore drugs and alcohol years ago. Jessie wasn’t worried. He hadn’t expected to live this long. Every day was a blessing, or a curse. However that saying went.

  By the time Jessie dressed, he had already forgotten half the beats he had created in the shower. He trailed down the hallway and through the living room, trying to recapture his love for anything at all. Jessie had a feeling it was too late for all that.

  As he cleared the kitchen doorway, Declan, the head of his security, looked up and froze with a huge spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth. “Wow.” Declan twisted his wrist to look at his watch, inadvertently dumping his next bite back into the bowl. Specks of milk splashed Declan’s shirt. The gigantic dark-haired guy who had been at Jessie’s side for years didn’t seem to notice the mess he made. “It’s nine a.m. When was the last time you saw this time of day?”

  “Probably the same as the last time you saw your dick,” Jessie quipped as he headed for the fridge.

  A rumble of laughter followed Jessie. Declan was a big guy, but he wasn’t fat, and they both knew it. Still, Jessie loved giving the guy hell about his size. Even though Jessie had never met Declan’s parents, he was pretty sure one of them was a giant. As Jessie eyed the contents of the fridge, his long black hair fell in his face, reminding him he hadn’t pulled it up yet. Since he wasn’t hungry anyhow, Jessie gave up his hunt and pulled his hair into a ponytail before securing it with the hair tie from his wrist.

  “Hey, by the way, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about your houseguest,” Declan said, pulling Jessie’s attention his way. “I know it’s not unusual for you to bring home a stray for an extended stay, but this guy has been here two weeks. Do you plan to introduce him to security at some point?”

  Jessie spent a moment trying to make Declan’s words make sense. “I haven’t brought anyone home in...” Jessie didn’t know how to finish that. He couldn’t recall the last time he had bothered with anyone at all.

  For a moment, Declan stared at him in silence, as if giving Jessie time to remember he did in fact have a houseguest. “He’s staying in the pool house,” Declan tacked on unhelpfully.

  A hint of irritation rose in Jessie. He might stay high a good eighty percent of the time, but he wasn’t an idiot. “I’m telling you I don’t have any guests.”

  A deep line appeared between Declan’s eyebrows. He pushed to his feet. “Then who in the fuck is this guy?” He motioned Jessie over to the counter and flipped open his laptop. After a few clicks, Declan pulled up security footage of a guy entering the pool house.

  Jessie moved closer to the screen as Declan played more clips of the same guy entering and leaving several times. “What the fuck? Who is that?”

  “I don’t know. He’s been here for so long that we were certain you knew he was here.”

  “No.” Jessie’s gaze slid Declan’s way. “Is he here right now?”

  Declan nodded.

  Jessie headed for the door. Nobody fucking broke into his place. This entire property was his blood and sweat. His soul. He had lost everything, including his sanity, for his place in the world.

  For a big guy, Declan moved fast. He cut Jessie off before he made it to the back door. “Nope. You’re not going out there. For all we know, this might be some crazed fan who would just love to kill you so they can keep your body for a fun time. It’s time to be sane.”

  As much as Jessie wanted to storm the pool house and drag the unwanted guest out by his hair, he saw Declan’s point. “You’ve got five minutes to fix this, or I will.”

  Declan rolled his eyes. Jessie got no respect. That was what he got for treating his employees like family. Declan dug out his cellphone and made a call. “Yeah. I need to report a break-in. No. They’re still inside. I didn’t call nine-one-one because it’s not an emergency,” Declan said, sounding irritated.

  Jessie shook his head. “You called the police. Fuck that. I don’t need
the cops crawling around here.” He headed for the door again.

  Declan snatched him off his feet. It was ridiculous how easily he held Jessie in place with one hand while continuing his phone conversation like nothing happened.

  “Come on, man. I’m gonna end up on TMZ.”

  “You’re really gonna end up on TV if you go storming out there now. The police are sending someone. Just wait and watch. Everything will be fine. Let the cops do their job.”

  Jessie growled.

  Declan huffed. “Do I need to lock you in your room like a little kid?”

  “No, you don’t need to lock me in my room like a little kid,” Jessie said, sounding exactly like a little kid and incapable of stopping. This was his house. Some strange person was living in it. Jessie had every right to his anger. Someone needed to get pissed off. It may as well be him.

  The police got there much faster than Jessie expected, but it was still enough time to make Jessie’s rage grow. He watched from the window as they surrounded the pool house before storming the building. Declan stayed inside with Jessie. By the way Declan watched him, Jessie assumed he would get tackled to the floor if he tried to go outside.

  Jessie stared at the open pool house door with his breath held. Shouts penetrated the walls, but Jessie couldn’t make out their words. A few moments passed. Two policemen emerged with a handcuffed kid. Jessie leaned closer to the window. It had been hard to make out any details or features from their security footage. In the light of day, there was no mistaking the guy was no older than a teen. He looked eighteen at max, and that was pushing things.

  “It’s a kid.” The shock was thick. It coated Jessie’s mind, making it hard for him to think. The boy looked scared. His eyes were wild and his features sharp—like he had been starved. “What will they do with him?”

  Declan shrugged. “I’m not sure. Take him to jail, I imagine. Would you like me to find out?”

  “That’s a kid,” Jessie said, pointing toward the window. “I won’t sleep again until I know what happened to him.”

  Declan released a loud sigh. “Don’t move from this spot,” he said, pointing at the floor. “You’re not getting killed by some crazed fan on my watch.”

  “I won’t move.” Jessie meant it. He knew Declan wouldn’t leave him alone otherwise, and Jessie needed to know the intruder’s story.

  With a sharp nod, Declan left him alone. Jessie stared so hard at the spot where Declan disappeared amongst the cops that his eyes watered. It felt like an eternity passed before Declan re-emerged and slipped back inside the house, closing the door behind him. Jessie held his breath until Declan’s light green gaze focused on him.

  “They’re saying it’s up to you. If you want to press charges, they’ll take him in. If you don’t, they can let him go.”

  Jessie’s forehead furrowed. His irritation spiked. “What’s he doing here?”

  The way Declan kept his expression blank made Jessie wonder why Declan didn’t want Jessie to know his thoughts. “He’s homeless. It seems he was just looking for a warm place to sleep and stumbled onto the pool house when it was left unlocked. He doesn’t even know who lives here.”

  “But he’s a kid,” Jesse automatically argued. Even he didn’t know why he couldn’t stop pointing out that detail. It just seemed wrong. “How does a kid end up homeless?”

  “Actually, he’s not a kid. He’s eighteen. While he has no ID and all his worldly possessions are in a backpack in the pool house, I don’t think he would have admitted to being an adult if he realized how much trouble he’s in, so I have to think he’s telling the truth. As to being homeless, he just aged out of a group home. The officer I talked to said he was what they refer to as a failed adoption. Some couple out there adopted him as a baby and then turned him back in at nine when they decided they didn’t want to be parents after all. The guy says that’s pretty common. Anyhow, by then, he was too old for anyone else to want him, so he lived in a group home until he turned eighteen. Then they turned him out. He had nowhere to go.”

  The sick feeling in Jessie’s gut screamed he needed to act. “What kind of people turn out a nine-year-old kid?”

  Declan shrugged. “There are a lot of shitty people in this world, Jess. Not everyone takes in strays and loves them like kin the way you do.” Declan glanced over his shoulder at the crowd gathered outside. “So what’s the plan? Are you pressing charges?”

  Jessie spent a moment chewing his bottom lip. He couldn’t let the boy go to jail, but he also couldn’t turn him out into the street. Jessie’s gaze locked on Declan. “Hit the store and find him some clothes, shoes, toiletries, and whatnot. Pull off the tags. I doubt he’ll accept them if he thinks they're new. I’ll go deal with the cops.”

  Declan didn’t budge from his spot, blocking the door. “What are you about to do?”

  Jessie lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “I’m keeping him.”

  With a shake of his head, Declan pulled his phone from his back pocket. “Wait and let Johnny go with you just to be safe. All we have is this kid’s word that he’s not really some crazy person trying to get close to you.”

  Jessie smiled. He had known Declan all of his adult life, and he knew Declan believed he made the right decision. Otherwise, Jessie would already be locked in his room until this was over. The idea of doing right, even in the smallest way, warmed Jessie’s heart. Most days, he didn’t think he had much heart left. This was the right decision, though. Jessie felt it in his gut.

  In hindsight, Theo recognized he had stayed in one spot too long. He should have known he would get busted crashing in such a sweet pad eventually. Damn, he hadn’t expected the police to come busting in, waving guns and shouting threats. That was wild. Thankfully, they hadn’t killed him, and now it looked like he would get three meals a day and a bed. He didn’t imagine jail was all that different from a group home. Another day in the life of Theodor Harlow. Unwanted since birth. What a shitshow.

  He kind of wished the cops would at least let him go to the bathroom, though. His bladder was about to burst. They had pumped him full of coffee and stuffed him with donuts while he waited to learn his fate. It was kind of funny in a way. He always thought people just went straight to jail. Instead, they were treating him like royalty. He was fairly close to Hollywood now. Maybe things were different here. Theo still couldn’t believe he had survived the walk from San Diego. Six days of off and on walking with barely anything to drink and only what he found in the garbage to eat along the way had damn near killed him, but he had made it. His only friend, William, had left the group home six months ago. He had sworn he would give Theo a place to stay if Theo could make it to Los Angeles. Theo was here. William was nowhere to be found. Such was life. Abandoned again.

  The police milling around him suddenly buzzed with excitement. Theo felt the change in the air. He was sitting sideways with his legs hanging out of the backseat of a cop car. They had taken off the handcuffs, but he wasn’t free to go. Theo wanted to stand up and see what was going on, but he was scared to get shot. As hard as he tried to swallow down his fear and accept that he was about to go to jail, he didn’t want to die today. Then the police parted, and Theo saw him. Long black hair. Whiskey eyes. The sexiest jawline Theo had ever seen in his life. Theo’s eyes burned when he refused to blink against the sight of him. People kept stopping the new arrival and he kept signing things, smiling, and tossing glances Theo’s way. Theo’s skin heated. Every passing second, it got a little harder to breathe. By the time the crowd finally let the man reach Theo, Theo didn’t even know his own name.

  Those whiskey eyes focused on Theo. “Do you know who I am?”

  Theo shook his head.

  A way too sexy smile touched the man’s lips. “I’m Jessie. It’s my pool house you’ve been bunking in.”

  Horror washed over Theo. He rushed to try to make things right. “Oh, god. I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean any harm. I even slept on the floor so I wouldn’t get the furnitur
e dirty. It just gets a lot colder at night than I expected.”

  Jessie made a dismissive motion. “I’m not angry. In fact, I’m here to offer you a choice.”

  Theo’s mouth went dry. He looked so nice. Theo couldn’t look away. He was willing to bet Jessie was someone famous. Jessie was too beautiful not to be. “Okay.”

  “You can go with these guys or you can stay with me.”

  Confusion glued Theo’s tongue to the roof of his mouth. Only because Theo hated to look like an idiot, he forced himself to speak. “I don’t understand.”

  A kind smile tugged at Jessie’s sexy lips. “I can’t let you leave here with nowhere to go. So I can have these nice men leave you with me, and we can discuss you getting on your feet, or you can go with them. Either way, I can’t let you go just to sleep in the street.”

  “Why?” God help Theo, he couldn’t stop the question. No one ever did anything out of the kindness of their heart.

  Jessie didn’t even try to alleviate Theo’s curiosity. “Which will it be? Me or jail?”

  Holy shit. He was a wild beauty. Theo found himself leaning closer. “You.”

  The wicked smile that stretched Jessie’s lips at Theo’s response made Theo wonder if he had just agreed to sell his soul. He had never seen a man so tempting. Surely no good could come of this. At least he wasn’t going to jail. That was the only comfort Theo could find. Now all he could do was wait to learn what the future would bring.

  Two