“You don’t know tha—”
“I do. You won’t hurt me. And I’m the only one who can safely pull your magic from you.” As his fated, I’m the only one. Combine that with my powers from my ocean magic, and it’s almost as if it’s meant to be. It might only be a temporary fix until I can get him back home to his parents and his coven, but it’s better than nothing.
“Magic?”
“I’ll explain everything, Kaleb. But first, I need you to take a chance and trust me. I need to kiss you. Hell, Iwantto kiss you so badly right now,” I confess.
Finally, he nods. Before he can change his mind, I swoop in and close the distance between us, pressing my lips to his.
Chapter seven
Kaleb
The look on Darius’ face is intense and yet somehow tender. Damn, is this really happening? How is this my life right now? I’ve gone from thinking I’m crazy to…this. To the stunning man from my dreams, looking at me like he wants to kiss me. Again.
My mind whirls with a million emotions. Just moments before, I’d felt so foolish, just waiting in the rain like that. As soon as I pulled off the side of the highway and parked, my mind went back to other times, trying to convince me that my premonitionswere fake, just a coincidence. They were dreams that just felt real.
All the dozens of voices I heard throughout my life telling me I’m crazy. I reverted to believing them.
And as for the magical sparks that’d left my hands the other day? All my imagination. Or maybe someone slipped me something. I don’t know, and I didn’t care. I needed to get help. The words circled around in my head until I almost drove away.
But then I thought, ‘What if?’ What if I wasn’t crazy? What if I had the chance to save a life? And not just any life.Darius. The first person to make me feel something in years, even if our interaction was brief.
So, I waited. And waited. As the rain started pouring, pelting off the roof of my car, I began to panic. The sound was so similar to the one I heard in my vision. The image of Darius getting hit by that speeding car became so vivid in my mind, it was like reliving his death over and over again. The car was stifling hot, and the windows were fogging over so much that I had to get out and wait. It didn’t matter if I got wet. I’d wait till 3:30 just to prove that I was either going crazy and needed to get help, or that I was really going to save a life.
Then he actually showed up. He’s here. Now. And he’s saying things like ‘shared dreams’ and ‘magic.’
“I’ll explain everything, Kaleb. But first, I need you to take a chance and trust me,” he says. Oh gods, I want to trust him. “I need to kiss you. Hell, Iwantto kiss you so badly right now.”
The urge to kiss him is so strong. It felt so good at the club. Can I believe him? And what does that mean—that he can pull the magic from me? Memories of that night in the club tingle on my lips. The way he kissed me, how good it felt. It was as if he were draining all the negativity from my body and filling me with lust.
Heat.
Passion.
He said I hadn’t hurt him, but can I really trust him? Can he trust me?
That supernatural golden glow swirls in Darius’ eyes, and I realize that’s my answer. I can trust him. My stranger with the golden eyes. The man from my dreams. I nod. ‘Kiss me,’I plead silently. ‘Kiss me and show me what it feels like to have someone believe me.Kiss me and show me what it feels like to be someone’s first choice.’
He closes the distance between us, and suddenly it’s as if we’re back in the club that first night we met. His mouth is tempting and hot, and as my tongue traces his bottom lip, he parts them for me. Darius tastes sweet, almost like peppermint.
My tongue dives deeper into his mouth, and he groans, sucking gently. I whimper a needy sound I’ve never heard before. Then, I feel it. I feel something swirling around in my mind’s eye, pulling and tugging. I remember the same feeling from that night. Instead of pushing back, I float there, submitting and letting Darius take control. We kiss for what feels like hours. Darius is pulling me apart and piecing me back together. His presence is both calming and exciting. Nothing makes sense, and yet he makes all the sense in the world.
When Darius pulls away, I’m in a daze. My lips chase after his, wanting and needing more. “What was that?” I ask. It’s as if I’m lust drunk or high. “I feel so good.”
I open my eyes. Darius looks just as sated. He presses one more light kiss to my lips. “I’ll explain later. But you might want to open your door and let that little one in before she tries to scratch up my car.”
“Huh?”
Darius points outside the window of his car. Standing there on his hood is Cleo, soaking wet and swishing her tail angrily. I gasp. “How the hell did she get out of my car?”
Darius chuckles. “Would you believe me if I said she’s also magical? Or is that too soon?”
Twenty minutes later, Darius, Cleo, and I are standing in line at my favorite café downtown. I’m clutching a now-dry Cleo to my chest as she purrs. Luckily, this little café allows dogs inside, as long as they are trained and on a leash. They’ve never once complained about Cleo being a cat on a leash.
Darius nudges me playfully. “What would you like? My treat.”
I eye the new seasonal menu that went up with a frown. “Why the hell did they add the Christmas flavors to the menu already? It’s still November.”
