Coven (18 page)

I had to know, right now. “Be honest. Have
you ever placed a glamour on Megan so she looked like me?”

He paused, clearly caught off guard by the
change in conversation. Clearing his throat, he finally spoke. “Not
ever. Seth was wrong to tell you about that.”

“Why haven’t you?” I wasn’t sure if I was
relieved or hurt by his confession.

Laughing, he shook his head. “Did you want
me to?”

“No.” I hesitated. “Seth just made it out
like you do this kind of thing all the time. I was just wondering
why I didn’t fit the criteria for your delusions, I guess.”

Moving closer, he was merely a hairsbreadth
away. “Every now and then, perfection comes along and there is no
way something like a glamour could ever hope to mirror the real
thing. For me, Kenna, you are that perfection.”

I couldn’t speak, even if I had wanted to.
His words filled something sweet in my heart and made me feel so
. . . special. A mere second later, his lips were pressed
to mine, once more. Heat flooded me, but I resisted him, standing
stock still as he tenderly explored my mouth.

“Five minutes, Kenna.” he growled against my
skin. “You promised me five minutes.”

“You’re getting it,” I answered, trying
desperately not to be drawn into the web of seduction he was
painting around me.

“I want five minutes with you as a willing
participant,” he whispered in between light kisses.

“I . . . I don’t know if I can do
that.” My knees were trembling.

“Try.” It was the last word he said before
dragging my body flush against his. Even with the difference in our
height, he managed not to break the kiss, instead letting his
tongue trace the crease of my lips.

As if under a spell, I opened my mouth and
gave him entrance. Groaning, he squeezed me tighter as his tongue
plunged heavily into my mouth, sweeping all thoughts about
everything else right out of my head.

My hands slid up of their own volition,
traveling over his lean muscled arms and wrapping around his neck
as I kissed him back, moaning as extraordinary heat flooded my
body, making me feel like I might actually combust in his embrace.
It was as if his kiss activated the magic inside me, making it burn
hotter and stronger. I simply wanted to melt into him and let him
have his way with me.

“Enough!” I said, breaking the kiss and
shoving away.

Breathing heavily, he stared at me. “That
wasn’t even one minute. You promised me five.”

Every part of me was shaking and certain
places on my body were begging to continue, but I just couldn’t.
“All you asked for was time to adequately make your point. You’ve
already done that. You don’t need any more time. Besides, five more
minutes of that would land us both in hot water.”

Staring at him as he flashed that dazzling
movie star smile of his, I felt my heart flutter. “So if you liked
it, will you go out with me?”

There was so much turmoil going on inside me
at this moment. “I . . . I can’t do this to Seth.” Tears
filled my eyes. “I like him, Jett. A lot. I want to get to know him
better. Yes, you proved there is something between us, but I don’t
know what, and I’m not at liberty to find out.”

Growling, he turned away from me. A second
later, an invisible energy burst shattered a tree across the
clearing. Great. Now he was pissed.

“I don’t want things to be weird between us,
though. I’m willing to just forget this and move on. But since we
both are friends with Seth, I suggest neither of us tells him about
this. I don’t want to hurt him and mess up his life over something
that meant nothing.”

“Damn it, Kenna!” Spinning around, he
pressed his mouth to mine again, and once more sparks flooded my
body. Desperate hunger filled his kiss and I was powerless to
resist him. It was like two halves of the same whole coming
together, as if yin and yang were happily, and wantonly,
united.

Unrelenting, his assault on my mouth
continued as his hands roved over me, taking liberties I’d never
agreed to, but somehow couldn’t bring myself to stop. Everything
about him felt good, so good—no, not good—incredible!

A soft moan escaped me as he kneaded my skin
and pulled me lower, first taking the two of us to our knees before
laying me gently back into the tall grasses, hiding us from the
view of the rest of the world as we melted into our own cocoon.

“Jett,” I whispered, both longing for more
and feeling terrified at the same time. “Jett,” I repeated, more
forcefully, trying to get his attention. Slowly, he lifted his
head, staring at me with hunger in his eyes.

“What is it?” he asked, searching my
features.

“I’m sorry; well, I’m not really sorry
because it’s just the way things are, but I’ve never
. . . well, you know. I’m not ready for any of this. And
I can’t be the other girl, either.” I hoped he would understand and
not be offended.

Unmoving, he stared down at me, desire
written clearly on his features and reflected in his amazing blue
eyes. “I must’ve failed to mention that Megan isn’t really out sick
today. We broke up yesterday. You’re right. It’s not fair for me to
be with her when I have feelings for you—feelings you obviously
reciprocate, I might add.”

Guilt flooded me. “But they can’t. You might
be free now, but I’m not.”

“Which of us do you want more?” Jett
demanded, drawing that line.

“Why do I need to choose? Can’t I just like
you both? Why do we need to rush anything?”

Sighing heavily, he moved lower, resting his
head against my chest and I ran my fingers through his thick hair
that was so long on top, but buzzed close to his head underneath.
His bright blue eyes never left my face. “Can I tell you
something?”

“Yes,” I said, not really wanting to rush
this since I was pretty sure it was the last time we would ever be
together.

“One of my powers is premonition. I don’t
have it all the time, though. It’s like fate, or the universe or
whatever, reveals bits and pieces to me.”

“Cool ability.” I wondered if I’d want to
know things about the future or not. It seemed scary.

“It is, when it happens. I haven’t tapped in
on how to control it—not that I’ve really tried. But that’s not the
point.”

“So what is the point?” I continued to run
my fingers through his silky hair, watching as it fell through my
hand and back against his head. It was crazy how life was
constantly delivering unexpected things. If anyone had told me I’d
be kissing Jett in a field today, while he lay on top of me, I’d
have told them they were delusional.

Maybe I was the delusional one.

“Sometimes it happens to me in the form of a
dream, other times it happens in a vision, but this particular one
was a dream.”

“What happened in it?”

“I dreamt of this girl.”

Of course he did. That’s probably all he
ever dreamed about, vision or not.

“She was beautiful,” he continued. “I
couldn’t take my eyes off her, or the sheer white dress she was
wearing that hid nothing about her beautiful body from me. She
crawled into my bed—”

“Hold it right there!” I ordered. “This is
not going to be some gross recounting of a wet dream, is it?
Because trust me, you don’t want to go there.”

“Kenna, you’re not listening. This wasn’t
some sordid wet dream. It was you in my dream.
You.
” Rising
up, he brushed my lips. “We were together on our honeymoon.”

My breath caught, full stop.

He gently brushed my hair back from my face.
“Don’t you see? You’re meant for me. You even told me in the dream
that it wouldn’t always be easy, but to please trust you.”

My mind was reeling with this information.
“How can you be sure that it wasn’t just some random dream? Maybe
you saw me at school and it triggered something for you. Things
like that happen all the time.”

“That’s not what this was.”

“How do you know?” I sounded panicked, and I
was shaking.

“Because, it happened a few weeks before you
moved here. I had no idea who you were.”

Pushing at his chest, I tried to calm the
panic welling inside me, but couldn’t seem to do it. “If you knew I
was coming, then why were you so mean to me?”

“I already explained I wasn’t necessarily
trying to be mean, but I admit I was upset. You were hanging all
over Seth, and you’re supposed to be mine.”

I couldn’t listen to any more—it was too
much. “Get off!” I ordered and thankfully he didn’t argue. Besides,
I was pretty sure he was well over the initial five minutes I’d
granted him.

Standing, I wrapped my arms around my
stomach, trying to process the things he’d just told me; but all I
could feel was chaos moving inside me. “I need to go back to school
now.”

“Fine,” he said, moving behind me and
turning me to face him once more. “I know you’re probably really
conflicted right now, and that’s okay. I have no problem waiting
until you’re feeling ready to pursue things. I simply want to be
part of your life—even if that’s in friendship. I want to get to
know you better—much better. Is that okay with you?”

I considered this for a moment before
nodding. “Yeah, as long as you don’t try to interfere with Seth and
me.”

“I’ll leave you alone to make your choices,
if you promise me one thing. That’s all I’m asking.”

“What?” I searched his face, seeing pain
there, and it didn’t set well with me.

“Promise me you won’t sleep with Seth. It
would kill me if you two have sex. I don’t think I could handle
it.”

Raising my chin, I stared at him defiantly.
“That’s so not fair. You’re asking me to put restraints on my
relationship with him so it will benefit you.”

His hand slid to my cheek and his thumb
brushed across it. “No, I’m not. I just want you to make sure you
have absolutely zero feelings for me before you go any further with
him, physically.” He stared at me intently.

“All of this is just so bizarre,” I said,
turning away and walking back toward where he’d parked the car.
Jett didn’t say anything more, but I could hear him moving through
the meadow behind me.

“Kenna, please,” he whispered once we’d
reached the vehicle. “Just let me have a little hope—any hope,
please?” Pressing me against his car, he kissed me heavily, a kiss
to end all kisses—a kiss that said he worried he may never get to
do this again.

My body was flushed and singing with
pulsating desire by the time he pulled away, leaving me feeling a
bit like Jell-O, not able to properly move. Arm slipping around
behind me, he opened the door, never breaking his gaze. “I hope
you’ll give me a chance.”

“I’ll think about it,” I replied, sliding
into the seat, my body still singing.

Guilt washed over me as I thought about
Seth. He’d be heartbroken when I confessed this.

Glancing over at Jett, I tuned in to his
aura, almost gasping at the change I saw in it. Gone was the angry
red, replaced almost entirely by a bright glowing pink. Even the
black that snaked through was changed, more muddied and brown
looking.

I’d changed his aura. I’d changed him. This
was even more proof of the truth in his words. He was excited
. . . hopeful, and I was terrified.

What the hell had just happened?

Chapter Sixteen

“What’s your opinion on divination?” I
asked, my mind wandering as I moved the small cart through the
different aisles, adding merchandise to the displays. Glancing at
the book in my hand, I made a mental note of the title,
Seeing
the Future: Fact or Fiction
, before placing it on the
shelf.

Despite desperately trying to forget my
moment of “infidelity,” I couldn’t seem to think of anything else.
Thankfully, Seth’s dad ended up needing his help longer than
planned, so I hadn’t seen him before football practice.

After cheer, my mom picked me up and dropped
me off at Bell’s Book and Candle, so I could start my training with
Bels.

Giving me the tour of the front and back of
the store, she briefly explained some of the duties I’d have. I
mentioned my previously scheduled dinner date, so I was only doing
a couple hours of training before meeting Seth.

“Divination . . . you mean like
forecasting?” Bels replied from where she was working on the store
records near the register.

“Yeah, or seeing the future. I saw this book
and wondered if you think it’s real? I’ve never known anyone with
that power except for my mom’s friend, Shelly. She’s not a witch,
though. I guess she’s a psychic, but I’ve never actually seen her
do it, or maybe it doesn’t happen anymore or something.”

“I do believe it is real; but I also believe
it is to be used with caution, because it’s very subjective.”

Leaving the cart behind, I moved around the
end of the aisle so I could see her. “Subjective how?”

“Well, let’s ponder on this for a moment.
Say you and I divine that a certain patron is going to arrive at
our store at six, this evening. In that moment—that particular
second—everything is perfectly aligned to bring that outcome. But
what if something changes during the execution of it?”

“Like what?” I asked, totally fascinated
with what she was saying.

She shrugged. “Maybe in the moments after we
divined the person’s arrival, he or she forgot their wallet
somewhere and had to go back for it. That would change the timing
and the course of events. The patron could still end up at the
store some time later, or become completely distracted by something
else in the process and never make it at all.”

“So you’re saying outside forces can
constantly be changing the outcome of what was originally
perceived?”

“Yes, and the only way to divine that
perfectly would be to continue to foretell and follow the event
clear up until it actually happens.”