Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  Unfortunately, my rebound guy wasn’t going to be him. He was crazier than me.

  Kace nodded. “Yes. It’s something I’ve never actually felt until last night, when I touched you on the beach. I’ve always heard of it though—from my parents, from their friends, from my grandparents. It’s something that even they haven’t felt in a long time.”

  He was serious. Staring into his light blue eyes widened by excitement, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was serious. He actually believed what he was telling me.

  I pursed my lips together and raised my eyebrows at him. “Huh.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “You don’t believe me.” He grinned wickedly, amused by my reaction. “Do I need to kiss you again for you to believe? Because I have no problem with that, you know.” He cocked an eyebrow at me.

  Why did he have to be crazy? He was too gorgeous for this.

  “I just find it … far-fetched is all.” That was putting it mildly. Real mildly.

  He nodded in agreement. “I can easily see where you, not being raised around magick, would think that. But, I know you felt what I did. We were meant for each other. Air and Fire.” He pointed from himself to me, the excitement in his features never wavering.

  I took in a deep breath—readying myself to tell him I thought it would be best if he left, because what he was talking about was just plain crazy—when he kissed me again. The warmth that had coiled back in on itself and nestled in the same place within me that it must have always been hiding released again. This time though, it was more immediate, like it had been lingering, waiting, for the feel of his touch … the feel of his whatever, to call it out again.

  “You know I’m right,” Kace whispered between kisses in a sexy-sweet rasp. “You can’t deny what you’re feeling right now.”

  I didn’t respond to his words, only to his kiss. The guy may be crazy, but he sure as hell knew how to kiss.

  “What would you call what you feel sparking to life inside of you right now?” he questioned, his lips leaving my mouth to drag along my throat. “What would you label it as?”

  This was on purpose. His kisses were clouding my mind, encompassing my every thought. They pulled the warmth from the center of my chest outward, so that it could travel freely through my bloodstream.

  “Lust,” I whispered, my mouth betraying me completely by releasing such an embarrassing truth.

  Kace chuckled against the sensitive skin at the hollow of my throat. His lips hardened slightly as they twisted into a smirk. “I like that word, but it’s not the one I’m searching for.”

  Searching …

  The warmth within me expanded until it was all-consuming, as though it were searching within me for something more. Some sort of release. I could feel it attach itself to the pounding of my heart. Kace’s lips found mine again, working as though they were attempting to pull what was lingering just beneath the surface of my lips out.

  “Next label,” he demanded in that sexy-sweet rasp of his again.

  “Passion,” I answered, feeling every syllable of the word as it left my lips.

  “Not the right label.” His lips slid up to my earlobe. “Try again,” he whispered.

  The next word stirred within my mind, floating along the current of my hormones and stroking against the warmth that Kace’s touch had ignited within me. When it finally came into my grasp, I couldn’t deny the truth of it.

  “Magick,” I breathed. My eyes snapped fully opened from their hooded, desire-filled state at the sound of the word.

  “Exactly,” Kace said. He pulled away just enough to look me in the eyes as a wickedly sexy grin twisted into place on his face. “Believe me now?”

  “Oh shit … I have magick?” Real magick.

  I looked down at my hands. They were shaking. My entire body had begun to tremble with this sudden epiphany, this sudden realization of what was inside of me, of what he had sparked to life.

  Kace released me and crossed the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he reached in and grabbed one of Vera’s Mountain Dew’s. “Here, sugar is good to have when you’re in a state of shock,” he said, twisting off the cap before handing it to me.

  I took it and put it to my lips, letting the too-sweet syrupiness de-numb my mind. I had magick. What the hell did that mean? Where the hell had it come from? And how did he have it too?

  “I think you should go. I need some time to think,” I heard myself say without really having a grip on what exactly I was saying.

  It was true though; he should go. I needed to analyze what had just happened. The way I’d felt. How this changed things. I needed to understand. But I had to do it alone, away from him, because he clogged my head too much with feelings and desires. I couldn’t think clearly with him around.

  Kace frowned, but nodded his head. “All right.” He headed back to the fridge and unclipped the black marker from the dry erase board Vera had bought for the fridge on our trip to the grocery store. I couldn’t see what he was writing, but I did notice the muscles of his back rippling beneath his T-shirt with his every move.

  Yep, he definitely needed to leave.

  “My number,” he said, shifting to the side so I could see the bold numbers he’d written. “Call me.” He turned and left the kitchen out the back door.

  I sunk back against the counter as soon as the door had closed behind him. Holy hell, I had magick?

  CHAPTER SEVEN - Burnt Toast

  I couldn’t be sure how long I spent standing in the kitchen, sipping the neon sugar Kace had given me, while thinking about things that had unfurled moments before, but streaks of pink and purple had spilled though the windows before I forced myself up the stairs and into bed. I lay there, unable to fall asleep, listening to the noises of the house, while I remembered the warmth that had consumed me upon our touching. The feel of Kace’s lips pressed against mine slid through me next. There was an undeniable attraction between us, and I wasn’t sure if it had to do with the magick that coursed through us, calling to one another, or if it simply was something that would have been there all along.

  I remembered how he had mentioned two elements found in nature and thought about all I knew of the elements: Air, Fire, Water, Earth. How were Air and Fire connected? And then it hit me: Air ignited Fire. It fueled it. Was this what we were to each other? Why we were attracted to one another so intensely? Even realizing all of this didn’t make anything seem more believable, more acceptable. Everything still seemed so incredibly far-fetched.

  Binks came into my bedroom then. He hopped up onto the foot of my bed and curled into a ball, like the one he’d been in on the kitchen counter earlier. I sat up and began stroking his back, listening to him respond to my touch with a rumbling purr.

  “How is it possible you’re my grandmother’s cat? You don’t seem ancient to me,” I whispered.

  Binks looked up at me. His head cocked to the side as he continued to glare at me as though he were trying to figure out what I was yapping about. He yawned and his eyes fluttered closed again as he laid his head back down against my comforter.

  “I just don’t understand any of this,” I admitted as I fell back against my pillow with a soft thud.

  ***

  I woke to the sound of my cell phone chiming loudly through my room.

  “Jesus, will you answer that,” Vera yelled from somewhere in the house, startling me worse than waking to my phone. “It’s rung like twenty times already.”

  “Wow, someone’s a little snippy,” I shouted back as I slid out of bed and padded across the floor to where my phone was going crazy on my dresser.

  “You would be too if you had a headache as killer as mine right now,” Vera replied, walking past my room toward the stairs with her hands pressed to her temples.

  I frowned after her. Hungover Vera was no fun. Ever.

  My cell stopped ringing as soon as I picked it up. Glancing at the screen, I realized it had been my mom calling. I clicked call and waited, heart pounding,
for her to answer. It was strange talking to her after everything I’d learned last night. After everything I’d come to find out about my grandmother in the last couple of days. Did she and Dad know any of this?

  She answered after three rings. “Honey, how are you?”

  I closed my eyes at the sweet sound of her voice, the genuine excitement. “Hey, Mom, I’m good.”

  “So, have you girls spent a lot of time at the beach? I hope you’re remembering to wear some sunblock.”

  “We haven’t really hung out at the beach during the day much. We went last night for a bonfire party with some people we met, but that’s about it,” I informed her, even though I knew exactly what her next words would be … some form of motherly concern.

  “Oh, well … how old were these people? I’m not going to be delusional about the situation, I’m sure you were drinking. I just hope you girls didn’t accept any opened drinks from anyone and you stayed together.” Her voice managed to only crack once as she spoke. I knew she wanted to freak out, but she’d contained herself well.

  “We did. We were safe about it. Promise,” I assured her. “And they were some locals who were around our age.”

  “Well, I just worry about you, you know. Things can easily get out of hand at a party like that, especially with people you don’t know. I just want you girls to be safe.”

  “I know, we are,” I said, hoping to ease her conscience for a second time.

  “How about food, did you manage to find the grocery store okay?”

  “Mom, the town is like the size of Linfrank … Finding a grocery store was a piece of cake.” Not really. I’d gotten lost once, but she didn’t need to know that. It would only make her worry more.

  “You’re right. I know.” She sighed. “So, have you decided if you’re staying the two weeks like Vera, or are you gonna stick it out for the entire summer?” I could hear the panic in her voice clearly, even though she’d tried to hide it behind false excitement.

  There was only one answer she was hoping for, and unfortunately, it wasn’t the one I was planning on giving. This was not a conversation I wanted to have at the moment with her. So, I did what any person would do … I stalled.

  “Umm, I’m not sure yet.”

  “Oh, okay” was all I got in reply.

  “Well, I should probably go. I think Vera wants to go to breakfast or something,” I lied, because I didn’t feel like being on the phone with her anymore. It was awkward—something it had never been before between us.

  “Breakfast? It’s eleven thirty.”

  I had no idea what time it was. Obviously. “Brunch then.”

  She chuckled a little. “All right, well I love you, sweetie. Have fun, but please stay safe.”

  “Always, love you too. Bye, Mom.”

  “Bye.”

  I hung up with a weird feeling floating through my gut. Things had changed between us and she had no clue. I wanted to question her on what she knew about my biological parents, but didn’t know how to broach the subject. I was hopeful the time would come one day.

  ***

  Vera stood at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the doorframe with a piece of burnt toast in one hand and a Mountain Dew in the other. Her tank top was inside out and backward, and her hair was in a rat’s nest-looking bun on top of her head. Mascara smeared beneath her eyes, creating a severe raccoon effect.

  “God, you look like shit,” she said, eyeing me up and down. “And I was the one hammered last night, how is that even possible?”

  I chuckled at her jab at my looks, wondering if she’d taken the time to look in a mirror yet this morning. I continued past her and into the kitchen for a glass of orange juice and a heaping bowl of Peanut Butter Cheerios.

  “I didn’t sleep well,” I said.

  There was no way I was telling her what happened between Kace and me last night. She’d think I was nuts for sure. Everyone would. Even I was still on the fence about it.

  “Why is that? Did you have a little action going on last night?” She grinned at me wickedly and followed me into the kitchen. “Is that why there’s some guy’s number on the dry eraser board?”

  I shook my head and smiled as I got a glass from in the cabinet. My stomach knotted at the memory of Kace scrolling his number across the board. “How do you know it’s a guy’s number? There’s no name.”

  “A wild guess.” She leaned against the counter and took a tiny bite of her toast. “But, I know it is now.”

  I poured some orange juice and put the container back in the fridge without looking at her. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because of the shit-eating grin on your face right now.”

  “What shit-eating grin?” I asked, trying desperately to downgrade my grin to a small smile without much success.

  “That one right there.” She laughed, pointing at my mouth. “So, is it Kace’s number?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.” Damn she was good.

  “He came over?” She set her burnt toast on the counter and twisted the cap of her Mountain Dew off. “Did you guys do the dirty?” She raised an eyebrow at me as she took a swig.

  “I had to have someone help me get your drunk ass up to your room last night. And no, we didn’t.” I would have, most likely, but we didn’t and that was all Vera needed to know.

  “I was bad off, wasn’t I?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  She leaned against the counter and forced herself to take another small bite of toast. “I feel it this morning, that’s for sure.”

  “I bet you do,” I said, taking my bowl of cereal and glass of juice into the living room where I’d left the newspaper. I still needed to see if there was anyplace hiring, because one thing was certain—now that I knew what was inside of me, I needed to stay in Soul Harbor to figure out more about it, and that meant getting a job.

  CHAPTER EIGHT - First Come, First Serve

  There were only a handful of places hiring in the entire paper. If I wanted to be a telemarketer, a truck driver, or a person who sold stuff off some sketchy website online, then I had it made. Unfortunately, none of those seemed to be up my alley. That left me with Ingles stocker, gas station attendant, table busser at Fisherman’s Brew, or cashier/stocker at Spellbinding Reads.

  Fisherman’s Brew table busser was out. For sure. I didn’t even think Twila would give me an application for the position and I didn’t ever feel like setting foot back in that place again. Gas station attendant was out too, because I was not working crazy hours, which is most likely all they would have available for a newbie. Cashier at Ingles and the job at Spellbinding Reads was all that was left on the table. Either would do.

  After getting a hot shower, I headed to Vera’s room to see if she wanted to come into town with me and get the applications, but found her lying across her bed, snoring. Guess that meant I was going it alone.

  ***

  I headed to the bookstore first, because it was my number-one choice. If I was going to spend the summer here and had to work, then what better job could I find than at a bookstore by the beach?

  Spellbinding Reads was on Main Street. I pulled my Jeep into a parking space directly in front of the store. The rolling, fluttery feeling of butterflies coming to life in the pit of my stomach began as soon as I cut the engine. I’d only ever applied for a job once, when I was sixteen, but only because I didn’t want to work as a paper pusher at my parents’ chiropractic office. I’d applied at a local Wendy’s restaurant as a cashier, got the job, and only lasted about three weeks.

  Fast food had to be one of the most stressful industries to work in. All it took was one lady to toss a dime at me through the drive-through window when I’d nicely told her she was ten cents short for the burger she’d ordered to set me off and make me decide I never wanted to come back. I turned in my uniform the next day and went to work logging stuff in on the computer for my parents after.

  I’d been there ever since.

  I slicked my hands down the sid
e of my skirt, smoothing out any creases, and tightened the hair tie holding my hair back in a ponytail, before gripping the metal handle to Spellbinding Reads’ door.

  A bell hung above the door rang as I opened it. Air the perfect temperature met my skin as the scent of lemon and some sort of spicy tea tickled my nose. My sandals slapped against the dark, rustic-looking wood floors as I stepped inside. A tall U-shaped desk stood along the far wall, but there was no one standing behind it. Bookshelves nearly as tall as me were lined up in neat rows in the center of the room, and larger ones that touched the ceiling lined the outer walls. Celtic music of some sort flowed through the room, creating a calming environment. A makeshift coffee bar stood in the far right corner. Fluffy, overstuffed chairs were placed sporadically through the entire store.

  This was definitely a place I wanted to work. It was a book lover’s paradise.

  “Come on in, look around, and I’ll be right with you in just a moment,” a male voice called from somewhere near the back of the store.

  “Thanks,” I called out to him, trying to pinpoint where his voice had come from. The door at the back wall?

  I headed straight to the New Adult/Young Adult Paranormal titles shelf clearly labeled by a sign with the same design as the one hanging above the shop door outside. My fingertips brushed against the shiny new book spines filling the shelf. I pulled out a few that had titles that caught my interest, just to look at their covers. I was too nervous to actually read any blurbs and I didn’t have the money to buy anything today anyway.

  There was nothing worse than finding a book you desperately wanted to read, only to determine you couldn’t afford it at the moment. It was the same way with shoes.

  “Is there something in particular I can help you find?” asked the man who had greeted me when I walked in from behind me. I hadn’t heard him walk up, and his close presence, mixed with my already nervous energy, made me jump. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said smoothly.

  “It’s okay. I just didn’t hear you walk up,” I said, taking in his features. There was an odd familiarity about him, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.