Coven

by Lacey Weatherford

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.”

  “That seems kind of useless.”

  “It all depends. There are some who are masters at it. They understand how all the intricacies work.”

  “I’m afraid I’m not one of those people.” Despite all my training, sometimes I still felt inadequate. There was so much to know about the Craft that I wondered if anyone actually “knew it all,” so to speak.

  Bels laughed, tossing some of her long dark hair over her shoulder. “Me, neither. Is there a particular reason you asked about this?” Her eyes practically bore through me, missing nothing.

  “There’s a guy at school,” I replied, seeing no reason to hide the truth from her. “He claims to have the power of premonition. Today he told me that he dreamed I was coming before I arrived.”

  “And you didn’t know him before this?”

  I shook my head. “Nope.”

  “Is he a witch?”

  “He is.” I conveniently left out the part about him wanting to be turned into a demon.

  “Hmmm. Interesting.”

  “Interesting good? Or interesting bad?”

  She stared at me for a moment. “Do you like this guy?”

  Immediately, my traitorous body reacted, sending a flash of heat zipping over my skin at the memory of being with Jett this afternoon. “I, uh, it’s complicated.”

  Bels laughed and leaned forward against the counter. “It’s only complicated if you make it that way. It really is an easy answer. Do you like him? Yes or no?”

  It wasn’t nearly as simple as she made it out to be. Teeth clenched, it was almost as if I was afraid the word would jump right out of my mouth. “Maybe. Is maybe okay?” It was the best I could do at the moment.

  Thankfully, Bels decided to ease up on me. “I think ‘maybe’ will work.”

  “So is it good or bad?”

  “It depends on your view of the situation. If you like the guy, then it could be very good. Usually dreams of people before you meet them are referred to as Soulmate dreams.”

  Shoot. Me. Now. She had to be kidding . . . right? “Uh, maybe I heard him wrong or something.” I knew I was grasping at straws, but there was no way in hell Jett could be my soulmate. Could he?

  “Remember what I said earlier. Fate is fickle and subjective. One dream doesn’t necessarily shape a future.”

  Feeling thankful for her words, I took a deep breath. Fate must not have seen Seth before my arrival. Surely everything that had happened after I moved here had shifted the balance. Suddenly I could breathe easier—I didn’t feel so panicked.

  Except that there was that one niggling voice in the back of my head that kept trying to ask the question I refused to answer.

  Would it be so bad to be crawling into that bed with Jett, as his dream suggested?

  “Shut it, Kenna,” I whispered under my breath as I hurried back to my task. There were still several books to shelve before I could leave to get ready for my dinner at Seth’s house. Until then, I needed to find something else to occupy my mind.

  ~~~

  “I thought now was never going to get here,” Seth said with a smile when he answered the door. Turning, I gave a wave to my Dad and he pulled away.

  “Be safe,” he whispered in my head.

  “I will. Have fun working with Kyle tonight. I hope you find a cure for Mom,” I quickly replied.

  He chuckled. “I hope so, too. I feel like we’re getting closer. I’ll do my best.”

  “Good, love you.”

  “Love you, too. See you later.”

  Clicking out of our mental link, I reinstated all the defensive walls in my head and gave Seth my complete attention. “I didn’t think so, either.”

  “Come in.” He smiled and opened the front door wider so I could step inside. “Are you feeling okay? You look kind of beat—but in a drop-dead, completely gorgeous way,” he added quickly.

  “I am exhausted.”

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get any more sleep after I left.” Regret filled his eyes.

  “It was worth it.” I grinned. “Totally worth it.”

  He laughed. “I have to agree. I say we pick right up where we left off.” Dragging me into his arms, he kissed me full on the lips. Immediately, I wanted to sink into him and just keep doing this, but concern over his parents seeing us caused me to hesitate and push away.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked, observing me carefully as I glanced around the very nicely decorated room with its restful ocean-colored themes.

  “Nothing. I was just worried about your parents walking in.”

  He pulled me closer. “They aren’t here, yet. It’s only me and you at the moment.”

  “Oh. I assumed you’d all be here cooking.”

  “Actually, there have been a few bumps in the road. My mom forgot about a previous appointment she had, so she’s actually ordering dinner from Nicolazzo’s. I hope that’s okay.”

  Just the mere mention of Jett’s parents’ restaurant brought all my guilt over this afternoon flooding back to the surface. “That’s fine.” I restlessly toyed with the purse hanging from my shoulder.

  “You can leave your things in my room if you’d like.”

  I couldn’t help my grin. “Sure, thanks. And that was real subtle, by the way.”

  Laughing, he grabbed my hand and pulled me after him. “What can I say? I like the idea of you in my room.”

  I liked the idea of me being in his room, too; but the guilt flaring inside me had me all tangled in knots. “Your house is really pretty,” I said as we moved throughout the Cape Cod style home. While the two-story house wasn’t overly huge, it was beautifully decorated in restful pastel blues and yellows that gave a very cheerful feeling to the place.

  “Nothing like your house,” he replied, leading me up the stairs. “That place is impressive.”

  “Yeah, well, I think this place is pretty perfect.”

  “Good. I’m glad you like it. Maybe it means you’ll spend a lot of time here.”

  “I’d like that.” I really meant it. My feelings for Seth seemed to grow so quickly. I wasn’t sure why, but every time I was around him, there was just something inside me that seemed eager to be with h
im. I honestly couldn’t get enough. Considering the short amount of time we’d known each other, it was a bit frightening. And now there was this whole thing with Jett. I wasn’t sure what “normal” high school relationships were supposed to be like, but I was pretty sure this wasn’t it.

  Pausing in the hallway, Seth opened a door and ushered me inside. I glanced around his personal space, decorated mostly in a blue and white sailing theme that I was sure his mom had chosen for him. Here and there, red and black items from school were showcased, like the banner that said “Salem Witches” hanging on the wall and several trophies and pictures of Seth in various red and black uniforms.

  Drifting closer, I leaned in and observed several of them. “Wow. You play a lot of sports.”

  “It’s kind of my thing.” Lifting my bag off my shoulder, he set it on his desk next to a stack of school books. I liked the way our things looked mixed together.

  “So, how was the rest of your day?” he asked, dropping languidly on the bed and patting the space beside him.

  Sitting, I noticed my skin was already tingling in anticipation of being next to him. I couldn’t figure out why I always had such a strong, instant reaction to him, but I liked it. It reminded me of the stories my parents had told me about falling for each other and how they knew they were each other’s soulmate.

  Instantly, my mind reverted back to what Jett had to say and I took a deep breath. Time for honesty. “It was eventful.”

  “Eventful, how?” he asked, completely at ease. I, on the other hand, was as tense as humanly possible. My insides were in knots and trembling.

  “Well, after you left, Jett kind of kidnapped me instead of taking me back to school.” Seth’s eyes widened in alarm. “I mean, he did take me back, just not right away,” I rushed to add.

  Sighing, he stood, moving to lean against the dresser across from me. Folding his arms casually, he stared at me. “Continue.” The tightness of that one word belied his relatively calm exterior.

  “He said he wanted to talk and clear the air between us. Actually, he invited me to kick his ass.”

  Seth gave a half smile at that comment. “That sounds like Jett.”