Luminescence Trilogy: Complete Collection

by J. L. Weil

  “I’m such a light-weight,” I proclaimed, flipping Tori’s boots off. My feet were killing me. Lukas and I were sitting in Tori’s backyard with a jug of the good stuff. I was having a hard time staying upright. Giggling, I fell on my back, staring at the millions of stars as they spun in dizzy circles.

  “That’s not such a bad thing,” he assured, resting beside me on the grass.

  I waved my hand in the air, playing connect the dots with the stars. “I think the world is spinning.”

  “I think you have reached your limit.” There was amusement in his tone. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”

  Home. That sounded nice.

  Chapter 22

  LUKAS OFFERED ME A HAND. What a gentleman. I lifted mine to take his in fear of falling back on my ass, but a voice broke through the darkness before my hand touched Lukas’s. It was sinister and filled with a promising threat.

  “Don’t touch her,” Gavin growled.

  I shivered. Whether it was from the dark scowl on his face or his presence, I didn’t know. Maybe a little of both. That didn’t mean I forgave him. The pain was too fresh and too deep, though the special punch had helped to alleviate some those feelings.

  Lukas glared over my shoulder at Gavin’s overshadowing form. “Someone needs to help her. She can barely walk.” He wasn’t the least bit put off by the disdain dripping from Gavin. That was more than I could say for myself. I’d seen Gavin’s fierce temper. He was not someone I would take lightly.

  A muscle in Gavin’s jaw ticked. “And I am sure you had nothing to do with that,” he baited.

  Lukas sneered. “Sorry. That was all you.”

  Gavin looked to me, questions radiating from those explosive sapphire eyes. So much was going on behind the scenes of those eyes. Confusion. Anger. Hurt. Pain. They were all emotions reflecting inside me.

  And in my current mood, I was all too glad to enlighten him. “I saw you with Rianne,” I blurted.

  He glanced out in the distance and sighed. “Then I am guessing you didn’t wait around to hear me tell her she didn’t have a chance in hell with me, and she should put her efforts elsewhere.”

  No, I hadn’t.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Lukas beat me to it, probably not the smartest move. “That’s neither here or there. Haven’t you done enough for one night?”

  His muscles bunched, and I was afraid I knew what was coming next. The yard was empty, and my eyes bounced between them. This was going to turn into a royal rumble, the golden witch against the dark witch. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying that when I opened them, this would all disappear, a horrible, bad dream that my wild imagination was so well known for.

  Yeah, that didn’t happen.

  I blinked. Lukas was gone from beside me, his body slammed up against the side of the brick house, secured by an invisible ribbon of force. Gavin. His cool eyes were tight with determined concentration. Lukas’s body gave an unsettling thump as it hit hard enough to knock the daylights out of him. I winced.

  All hell broke loose.

  Hanging suspended, he raised his head, emerald eyes radiating like an alien. I was no expert in defensive or fighting magic, but I suspected things were about to get cosmic. In my current condition, I wasn’t certain that there was anything I could do to stop it.

  With a flick of his wrist, Lukas sent a bolt of neon green light sailing straight at Gavin’s chest. I stumbled, my reflexes slow and clumsy, but unless I was mistaken, the beam of magic was coming at me. Gavin lunged like a predator, tackling me. He pivoted in the air, making sure he took the brunt of the fall. My breath expended in a whoosh as we hit the ground with me on his chest. It was jarring to say the least, but we had dodged a lethal bullet.

  He rolled me off him, and I fell onto the grass—blackness momentarily blinding me. Snarling, he was on his feet again, pairing up against Lukas who had been able to break free from his magical cuffs. “Are you trying to kill her?” Gavin roared.

  The golden witch looked offended. “It wouldn’t have touched her. My aim is accurate, you can be sure.”

  Gavin jeered a second before launching himself at Lukas, and the dark witch let a warrior cry bellow through the twilight. Their bodies crashed in an array of tangled limbs, fist and swirling colored magic. I couldn’t tell who was beating who. Fists connected with flesh, groans mixed with gasps, all intermixed with the occasional shards of bold, bright magic. I sat on the cold grass in disbelief.

  So the battle ensued, and I was helpless to do anything about it, except hope no one else noticed. That seemed pretty far-fetched, though I was too buzzed to care. Sitting in the blades of magic-sprinkled grass, I scrambled back up as they rolled in the glades toward me.

  I’d had enough. “Knock it off!” I yelled jumping to my feet, my head seriously unhappy with me. The ground did this whole wavy thing and I stumbled again. My sheer lack of grace lessened the threat I was trying to deliver.

  They ignored me like a pesky fly. Of course, that only infuriated me. Lately, I felt like a ticking bomb just waiting to go boom. And I’d reached the end of my fuse.

  Forgoing magic, Gavin used the time-tested fist-to-the-face, followed by one to the stomach. They were on the grass pummeling each other in a series of blinks. I couldn’t tell if the punches were being packed with magic; it all happened so fast.

  I had to end this before any more bloodshed.

  It started with a crackle and a flash of light. A strange and foreign feeling spread down the lengths of my arms, traveling throughout me. I gathered the whole potency of my power, and at full strength, it almost felt as if my feet weren’t touching the ground. The earth trembled and the wind seemed to whisper my name, answering an unconscious call. Then I screamed. “Stop!” I threw everything I had behind that one singular word. A wave of air expelled, rippling until everything just froze.

  The world stopped moving around me. Trees didn’t sway with the wind, the music and laughter inside died. Everything was so silent you could hear a pin drop. I looked at the two hotheaded idiots. Neither of them made a single move.

  Wow. That was a cool new trick.

  I took a few cautious steps to where they were crouched and stood over them with my hands on my hips. I hated to admit that walking was a feat in itself. Damn liquor.

  “You’re both acting like lunatics. Are we ready to play nice?” I scolded as if they were two disobedient children. After all, they were acting like children.

  Neither of them moved or said anything. I ran a hand through my frazzled curls, glaring. Lukas’s lip was bleeding and Gavin would probably later be boasting a shiner. What was the point in making each other bleed?

  Okay, so I managed to stop them from doing more damage, but how the hell did I release this spell?

  Man, I could really get myself into all kinds of pickles.

  Biting my lip, I inhaled a deep breath and slowly let go of the pulsing energy inside. Degree by slow degree, the gentle hum receded, and with a swish, the world was back in motion, including the two nincompoops.

  They were both rattling off insults at the same time.

  I stood there and rolled my eyes.

  Gavin unclenched his fists, brushing the dirt and grass off his jeans, and Lukas ran a hand through his hair, picking out pieces of grass. Neither of them looked at the other.

  The fight looked over, and I was ready to go home. This party girl was exhausted.

  In an unsteady voice I demanded, “Somebody take me home.” At this point, I didn’t care who stepped up, just as long as this seasick feeling stopped rocking my head.

  Gavin put a hand under my elbow, and I leaned on him. “Let’s go,” he whispered in a voice still hard as ice. He pivoted on his heels as he turned around to Lukas. I held my breath and watched as he gave Lukas the bird, then guided us through the yard toward his car.

  “Mature,” I slurred.

  “Who said anything about being mature? He’s lucky to still be standing. I should have knocked his ass to anot
her planet.”

  Ugh. Boys. Hadn’t they knocked each other around enough?

  His strides were longer than mine, and I found it difficult to keep up. I faltered more than once, tripping over my own feet. Gavin sighed, sweeping me up into his arms. Under different circumstances, I would have protested, but tonight my head was spinning, and I didn’t have it in me. Laying my head on his shoulder, I inhaled his unique scent, closing my eyes.

  When I opened them again we were in my bedroom. He placed me on my feet, my body brushing down his. I sighed in contentment.

  He took a step back. I took a step forward, moving into him slowly and deliberately. And kept moving, until my body was molded to his and my arms were twined around his neck like ropes. Where I was soft, he was hard. I brushed my lips over his neck, again and again, loving the taste of his heated skin. Then I sank my mouth into the soft warmth of his lips.

  Apparently, alcohol turned me into a hussy.

  He grabbed a fistful of my shirt at the small of my back, and it felt like a small victory. The room was spinning, but for entirely different reasons.

  He made me forget. Forget everything. Forget who I was. He was turning me inside out.

  With Gavin, I was just a girl head-over-heels in love. “Don’t stop,” I murmured.

  “I wasn’t planning on it,” he murmured against my mouth.

  Our lips sealed. As he deepened the kiss, my mouth slanted across his. I was thrilled to a whole new level. Every sensation was magnified. We landed on the bed without ever separating. The softness of the mattress on my back and his weight sinking on top of me was as sensual as kissing him.

  I was bursting with a gazillion feelings, and suddenly I knew that I had to tell. It was probably the spiked punch talking. There was also a good chance I could get drunk off his kisses alone; they were that heady.

  “Wait,” I breathed, putting my heads on his chest.

  He raised a brow. “Make up your mind, woman, which is it? You pull me close, you push me away.” Teeth scraped over my leaping pulse.

  “I love you,” I murmured, breathless.

  “I know.” There was so much cockiness in those words.

  I rested my head on his shoulder, my heart galloping in my chest as I realized what I was about to say. “I don’t want to be just some girl.”

  He rained kisses over my eyelids, my cheeks, and my chin. “You could never be just some girl. Not to me.”

  “I want more. I want to be your girlfriend.” I was going to curse my loose tongue in the morning.

  “Are you asking me to go steady?” he asked. I was pretty sure he was laughing at me and totally killing my buzz. “Oh yeah, you’re cute when you’re hammered.”

  Great. I was a cute drunk.

  A small smiled curled on my lips. “Maybe,” I yawned. I just needed to close my eyes for a minute.

  I fell into a dreamless slumber curled into his embrace.

  It was the most peaceful night I’d ever had.

  Chapter 23

  ROLLING ON MY SIDE, a stream of sunlight beamed behind my closed lids. I groaned, putting a hand to my temples. My head was killing me.

  Hangovers blow.

  “Hey, sunshine.”

  My eyes popped open. I wasn’t alone in bed. My eyes tumbled into a pair of stunning sapphire gems. Gavin. A rush of euphoria raced through me. He hadn’t left. I don’t know why, but it touched me, struck a chord in my heart.

  He brushed a piece of hair out of my face, leaving a sprinkle of tingles in its wake.

  I rubbed my face into his hand, needing the warm contact. “You stayed,” I muttered. The sound of my own voice vibrated inside my head. Not a pleasant sensation, but it was dulled by the touch of his fingers. I sighed at the relief.

  “I was worried. You were vulnerable last night. I didn’t want you to have any unwanted guests in your dreams.” He put his arm around me and pulled me close. “Just me.”

  I snuggled against him, burrowing my head in his chest. “I’m glad you did.”

  He gave me a saucy grin, and nothing but trouble of the mischievous kind brewed in those stormy eyes. “So you want to be my girlfriend?”

  It took a moment before the flood of memories washed over me. I’d said that, hadn’t I? Cursing the spiked punch to hell and back, I groaned and threw the blanket over my head. He pulled it back down, and the sinful scent of woods surrounded me. “I was hoping that had been a dream,” I admitted, my cheeks staining pink.

  “Not a chance.” He tucked me back into his embrace. “How are you feeling?”

  I laid my hand on his beating heart. “Better with you here.”

  “I tend to have that effect on girls.”

  I heard the smirk spread over his lips and fought the urge to smack him. “So you’ve said.” I would be lying if I didn’t admit that there was a little bit of jealousy pouring through me at the thought of him with another girl.

  “I’ve also been told that my hands are like –”

  I covered my hand over his mouth. “Don’t even finish that sentence. I don’t want to know.”

  His lips grinned behind my hand and he kissed the inside of my palm. Chills streamed down my back. He leaned up his elbow, staring down at me with eyes sparkling. “I don’t like sharing you, so I think we should probably make this official.”

  “What did you just say?” I just couldn’t believe this was real. It had to be a joke.

  He dazzled me with a crooked grin. “You heard me.”

  My lips broke out in a generous, stupid smile. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  “Technically, you asked me last night. You might not remember, you were a little—”

  I launched a pillow at his face. He evaded the missile only to capture me in his arms, pinning me with his weight, a clever maneuver.

  “Maybe I should get drunk more often,” I teased.

  “Not a chance,” he murmured against my skin. “I like the good girl Bri better.” He slowly began to make his way to my lips giving me a soft kiss. “Way better.” His smile was slow and full of the devil, and then he sealed that devastating mouth with mine.

  He stirred my senses and tangled my head with the hot punch of his velvet kiss as I skimmed my fingers through his silky hair and sighed. He yanked me on top of him, taking us both to a dangerous edge.

  His mouth sampled mine leisurely at first, like sweet, succulent candy. It wasn’t long before the innocent kisses turned into mindless heat. Against his mouth my breath quickened when he trailed a finger up my inner thigh, touching lace, making my body quiver and arch into his. He did things with his mouth alone that left me writhing and my bones melting.

  Our tongues tangled together, our bodies intertwined, and my hands slid up his chest, pushing the pesky material out of my way. Our lips broke apart only long enough for him to whip his shirt over his head.

  This time his kiss wasn’t light. He didn’t tease. He devoured. He possessed.

  Kissing him became a matter of self-preservation. It sounded dramatic; I swore it was true. My skin grew hot, his taste wild on my tongue.

  Once upon a time, I thought I wanted the world, now I just wanted Gavin. I poured everything I had into kissing him, giving him my whole heart. Tendrils of magic slipped into my fingers, dazzling throughout me, but it wasn’t just mine alone. Our hands linked.

  The lights in the room flickered off and on as a surge of energy poured over the room. Us. Our magic merged and sparked like long-lost lovers. I gasped from the pure bliss of our power. I had no idea magic could be mixed in such a manner. My skin prickled where he touched me and then burned. All the while his mouth was driving me crazy. His hand slid up, skirting the edge of my shorts, and—

  My phone went off on the nightstand, shrill like a fire truck. I pulled back a little, panting, and for an instant I thought about ignoring it. Groaning, I grabbed the phone with one hand and glanced at the screen. Tori’s picture flashed across the screen.

  When I spoke my voice was rough.
“It’s Tori. She’s probably checking on me. I never did have a chance to say good-bye.” The call went to voicemail and I bit my lip.

  He laid his forehead on mine before kissing me on the nose. “I’ll see you later, girlfriend,” he murmured, leaving me in a delicious mess. I got all warm and fuzzy inside and watched him until he disappeared out the door.

  Punching in Tori’s number, I waited for her to pick up. Already, I missed him.

  Pouring a cup of sweet black coffee, I opened the cupboard and pulled out a box of strawberry Pop-Tarts. I nibbled on one square as I thought about last night: the party, the fight and mostly the making-out.

  I finally had gotten what I longed for. Gavin.

  Eeep. I had a boyfriend. Not just any boyfriend. A sexy, hot witch who made me feel as if was the luckiest girl in the world.

  Even my pounding head couldn’t take away the elation I was feeling. For the first time, I didn’t dread the Monday morning blues. Swallowing the last bite, I went to get ready for school.

  In my knee-high socks, boxers, and sweatshirt, I climbed the stairs to transform myself from tired, Pop-Tart addict witch to high school senior with an extremely hot boyfriend. Excited, I rushed my morning routine.

  I waited impatiently downstairs for the rumbling of Gavin’s engine. It had only been hours since we had last seen each other, but each minute that went by felt like days. We had spent the entire weekend shut up in my house, hanging out, kissing, watching movies, kissing, and a lot more kissing. We couldn’t get enough of each other.

  He greeted me with a kiss. “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself.” I pressed my lips to his again.

  We arrived at school just as the bell rang, thanks to Gavin’s amazing driving skills, and parted ways. We were going to have to cut down our morning greeting or risk being continuously late.

  The day seemed to be broken up by classes and how long before I got to see Gavin again. I should have known that my day would eventually go down the crapper. Nothing this good ever lasted long.