“Shit,” he curses, dropping his forehead against my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I got carried away and—”
“I’m not sorry,” I murmur, grinding against his groin simply to feel him shudder against me. “I don’t want to stop. I just want to change venues.”
He nods enthusiastically in agreement before immediately helping me to my feet and dusting the sand from our… well, everywhere. After collecting my backpack full of supplies and our shoes, we make a hasty retreat back toward the car.
“So was that actually you in my, uh, sexy dream?” I ask a little breathlessly, my legs taking more steps to match Felix’s longer ones.
“Am I gonna be in trouble if I tell you yes?” he answers, apprehension worming its way into his words.
“You’re not in trouble,” I assure him, squeezing the hand he’s using to half drag me along the beach. I guess we do have some catching up to do.“I ask because if it was, then that meant the dream kisswasyour first kiss unless you lied about it for some reason.”
“No, that was it. Pretty memorable, actually.” He laughs, the warmth of the sound sending tingles down my spine.
“Which means what we just did on the beach was your second kiss?” I question casually, like I’m asking about the weather.
He stops and turns to look at me, wariness coloring his features. “Yes. Was it… Was it bad? I mean, I know in the dream Nolan showed up and you were between us, so I don’t know if just me wasn’t…”
Heat burns through my cheeks as I remember the skimpy lingerie I wore while I sat on Felix’s leather-clad lap and Nolan kissed me from behind. Trying not to dwell too much on the withering possibility of that becoming true, I assure him, “The kiss was perfect. Obviously, since I want to do it again. No, it’s that your first kiss was… well, within an orgy sex dream. Your second kiss was laid out on a public beach.” I run one finger along the neckline of my sports bra, which grabs his full attention. “I’ll have to get creative to top those, ya know? Got any ideas on how I could do that?”
A glazed look takes over his eyes, and I’m pretty sure I just melted his brain. In an awed whisper, he marvels, “This is officially the best day of my life.”
“It’s certainly becoming one of my top ten,” I tease with a giggle.
Felix tugs on my hand and starts running toward the car, shouting over his shoulder, “I’ve got some work to do then. The first time we get to be together in the real world should at least be a top five—despite the fact that all I got to do was learn balance and posture, and I neverdidlearn how to karate chop someone.”
Chapter 15
Kaleb
Sitting on the far side of the hospital’s cafeteria, tucked into a small nook surrounded by windows, Callie and I finish something that resembles dinner before preparing to head back for our volunteer shift in emergency care.
“I have an idea that I want to try,” she shares with a look that says I’ll be the guinea pig for this experiment.
“Oh?” I ask casually, hoping that I won’t have to say no. She looks excited, and I want to be a part of it. “What’s the idea?”
Callie leans over the small, beige table and stage-whispers, “I think I can help calm and stabilize patients without anyone knowing.”
“How?” I whisper back, leaning in close. There doesn’t appear to be anyone who could overhear, but I’d rather not take any chances.
“By doing what I already do, holding their hand,” she explains with a pleased grin. “Magic is all about intent, so I don’tneedto say any incantations if I think about it with enough focus. Also, healing is easier when I can touch the person.” She lightly touches my wrist as if to demonstrate the need for physical connection. “While I hold their hand to comfort them, I can send small threads of magic to both soothe and, at the very least, get a sense of what’s wrong with them. It shouldn’t require any verbal components.”
She takes her hand back and nervously pushes loose strands of hair behind her ears. Her expression turns guarded as she waits for me to tell her all the reasons her plan to help people is wrong. That she’ll expose herself. The Council will come for her. That every time she uses her magic on mortals, she risks her very life. It makes me tired and sad. With her, I was supposed to be different. It was a chance to be more than the know-it-all, stick-in-the-mud everyone thinks I am.
Aware there are numerous reasons I should say no, instead I simply ask, “What do you need me to do?”
“Really? Thank you so much!” she squeals and runs over to give me a hug. “Once I perfect this spell, we can help so many people.”
“I trust you,” I announce in earnest while hugging her back. Before she can pull away, I hold her gently by the shoulders. “I know I’ve been… difficult when it comes to your healing magic, which is wrong of me after promising to help you explore your abilities.”
“To be fair, that was before you found out I have deity strength magic… and, ya know, brought someone back from the dead.” She shrugs, her eyes cast downward as her bottom lip becomes firmly trapped between her teeth.
Carefully, I cup one side of her face and lead her to look up at me. While my thumb tries to save her lip, my gaze locks with her crystalline gray eyes. “I’m sorry, Callie. I meant it then, and I mean it now. I want to help. Tell me what to do.”
“You’re forgiven, and for this spell, all you’ve gotta do is sit there,” Callie replies giddily, breaking away so she can pull her chair next to mine. Her hands feel cool to the touch as she wraps them around my left hand. Smiling gently as she looks into my eyes, she instructs, “Tell me if you feel anything.”
I ignore the fact that I always feel something when I’m near her—something involuntary and consuming, leaving me weak and strong all at the same time. I’ve been trying to figure out the perfect time to tell her that I love her, but the timing hasn’t been right for months. If she isn’t busy, then I am at school, doing extracurriculars, or helping Felix.
I don’t regret the time spent with Felix, too grateful to have him back in our lives. However, if I’m honest with myself, guilt is also a motivator—an ever-present weight around my neck. Somehow, I feel that if Felix succeeds in his transition into James’s life, then what I did was okay. I saved a life. Callie may have performed the magic, but Felix wouldn’t be in James’s body if it weren’t for me. James could have been healed had I let Callie try, but instead, I hurried him onto the afterlife with pleasant promises, knowing damn well that it’d be impossible to keep them.
