Amethyst Tears (YA Paranormal Romance) (Luminescence Trilogy) (3 page)

And I rolled my eyes.

By lunch, the haze that Gavin’s presence always left me in had mostly dissolved. We had some crazy-out-of-this-world chemistry and not just in class.

A
pproaching our table, I was bombarded with squeals and hugs from both Tori and Sophie.

“Eeee!
I’m so glad you are back.” Tori’s high-pitched voice was over-exaggerated, drawing way too much attention.

You think I had just come back from a year abroad. I had only been gone a few days for goodness sake, but I appreciated their concern nonetheless. What
were friends for?

“You look better
.” Sophie whispered as she gave me a quick hug. “How are you feeling?” We both knew there was an underlying question.

I nodded. “
Fine. It feels great to be out of the house. I was literally going stir crazy at home.”

“Where is that reckless brother of mine? I am surpr
ised he isn’t glued to your side.” Sophie asked.

Now
that she said something, it was bizarre that he wasn’t here. I shrugged. “I don’t know actually. He was here for third period.”

“Well
, I wouldn’t be surprised if he vacated all other classes. The only reason he shows for third is because you’re there.” Sophie grinned.

“Speaking of s
mexy and gorgeous, have you guys made it official?” Austin asked with a sly grin.

Everyone at the table was staring m
y way, waiting for me to dish some dirt on our relationship status. “I hate to disappoint you but…”

Tori snorted. “You guys just need to get it on already.”
Sex – her answer to everything.

Sophie snickered beside me.

“I second that,” Austin commented adding his two-cents.

If I had any food in front of me, I would have tossed it at the three of them.
As it was I didn’t have an appetite. Instead of giving into the urge, I sucked on a straw full of my chocolate shake, ignoring them.

Chocolate cured everything.

Well it used to.

“Should I give that bonehead brother of mine a nudge?”
Sophie asked with just a little too much enthusiasm.

I choked on the smooth shake. “Christ Sophie. Don’t you dare.”

She smiled in response, and I wasn’t reassured.

“Sophie I am serious,
” I warned.

“Fine. I won’t
do anything but seriously, one of you needs to make the first move. Honestly, I’m a little floored he hasn’t. Gavin isn’t usually so cautious with girls. You must be different.”

It was like twisting a knife in an open wound.
Her intentions were good. It was my guilt that was panging me.

After lunch Sophie caught up with me in the hall
while everyone else headed to class. “Hey. I noticed your aura is off. It’s a weird mixture of brown and pink. You know you can talk to me if something is bothering you.”

I could feel beads of sweat lining my brow. There wasn’t much you could hide from magic. “I know.” I was almost afraid to ask. What I really needed was an aura reference guide or something. “What do
es that mean?”

“It
can mean multiple feelings. Auras aren’t always clear. Brown can be confusion or deception and pink could be guilt or love. Not always the most reliable. So what’s going on in the pretty head of yours?”

“More than I think I can handle.”

“Brianna you are not alone.”

I didn’t have it in me to tell her this time it was more than self-esteem issues with being a witch.
This time it went outside my own personal demons.

Chapter 3

DRIVING HOME AFTER WORK I
was filled with an extreme concoction of excitement, anticipation and anxiety. There was nothing I wanted more than to be alone with Gavin, doing all the wicked things my mind imagined, but I knew the moment he found about the
secret,
we would lose something. The longer I stalled, the bigger the damage to our relationship, and I so wanted a relationship with Gavin.

Didn’t I?

Then there was that, the purple elephant in the room. What were my feelings about Lukas? Did I want something more than friendship from him?

I was so frustrated with myself.

How can I possibly be so sure that I loved Gavin, then turn around and doubt those feelings?

I was a mess.

Opening the door to my bedroom, my heart sighed like a sappy love song. Gavin was spread out on my bed with a purring Lunar curled against his side. He looked like he should be on the cover of Rolling Stones. Dark. Edgy. Killer eyes. The two of them together looked like trouble and more trouble. His grin aimed my way was downright sinister, like he could see the naughty images conjuring in my head. They would have made the devil himself blush.

I was drawn to him. Not just drawn, compelled might be a better word.

Just staring at him, I was suddenly filled with a boost of confidence. When it came to boys I was more than a little inexperienced. I was downright clueless. It was not like there was a step-by-step manual on dating, or a guide to teenage love. If there was, I probably would have memorized it.

As it was
, I felt empowered.

Maybe
some part of me was tapping into my magic, or maybe it was because Gavin made me feel beautiful. Wherever my new found confidence stemmed from, I wasn’t about to let it slip through my fingers. I was going to take full advantage of it while it lasted. Meaning, I was going to take full advantage of Gavin.

Setting aside my keys, I crawled into bed alongside him, propping my head on my hand.
His eyes hadn’t left mine since I entered the room. Neither of us said a word. Words weren’t needed for what I had in mind.

We
had at least an hour before my aunt came home, and I wasn’t about to waste any more time. Without a second thought, I started what I had wanted more than anything in chem class.

Our lips met in one quick fluid motion.
The spark of our magic ignited as soon as our mouths touched. It was a fine line between pleasure and pain. For some insane reason it felt like we hadn’t kissed in years. I felt starved for him. For his touch.

He fisted a hand into my hair, tugging me closer to him. I could feel the waves of
heat coming off of him as our bodies collided. This was… Crazy. Wonderful.

As if he was
n’t satisfied with our closeness, I abruptly found myself lying on my back and Gavin’s glorious weight sinking into me. Our lips never lost contact. That took skill. Deepening the kiss, he tasted of summer nights.

Smoldering.

Heady.

Magical.

I slipped my hand under his shirt, running my fingers over the planes of his back. Right now I was beyond thinking rationally. Beyond thinking at all. It was all need. Lust. Hormones gone wild.

Holy hot moonbeams
.

Bunching my fingers at the hem of his shirt, I pushed it up and in a swift mo
vement it landed on the bedroom floor. My fingers couldn’t have been happier. I traced patterns on his back and his eyes locked onto mine, dark and steaming. They captivated me, holding me prisoner.

A
strangled groan escaped before he took possession of my lips again, more potent than before. The hotness radar just blew off the scale. My fingers dug into his already messy hair, and my lips greedily ravished his. I loved the texture and feel of him.

His
knee shifted between my legs as I soared to yet another dimension. Nuzzling my neck, his lip ring left a cool trail behind the scorching heat. His body contoured to mine in all the right places. Inside me, there was a feeling I couldn’t yet identify. Magic-y, I guess, a strand of energy that pulled us together. Being with him like this was beyond words.

It was unworldly.

I never wanted it to end.

When
had I become such a hussy?

I loved the tingling sensation his hands l
eft on my skin. It made me wonder if these were normal teenage reactions or if our touch and feelings were heightened because of what we were – witches. I had to believe the latter. Being a witch changed the rules.

More than ever, I wanted to tap into my magic. Usually I used it subconsciously, but right now I felt the urge at my fingertips.
Launching from the center of my chest, it splintered everywhere – building.

If I could ever think intelligently again
, I wanted to ask him about it. Right now, all I could think about was how sizzling Gavin’s lips were. He made me feel like I was floating, soaring on some mystical cloud.

N
either of us was prepared for the abrupt interruption.

The hissing o
ff a very pissed of Lunar broke through the haze of our passionate make-out session. Something had gotten Lunar’s back-up. Literally. He stood on all fours with spiked hair and was arched like a bow. From the back of his throat he spat like a tiny lion. Then he scattered under the bed with his ears low.

It was just the interruption we needed before either of us got caught in a very awkward
position if my aunt had walked in.

Hovering above me
, I watched as indecision ran through the depth of his ocean eyes. I could see the choice swimming in them. Does he kiss me again as he clearly wanted to, or do the sensible thing? And then he closed his eyes, and I knew which answer had broken through the surface, to my utter dismay.

My
body was still humming like a live wire.

Sitting up on the side of the bed, he reached down and grabbed his discarded shirt. I took a deep breath, steadying my racing heart.
He tugged his shirt back on, and I internally groaned. Fighting the urge to have his shirt back on the floor, I bit my lip.

“Well that was intense.”
His voice was slightly gruff.

Boy was it ever. Intense might even be an understatement. “I’ll say,” I muttered under my breath, trying to brush my hair back into place.

I wasn’t sure how we were going to just
talk
, when my body was thinking about anything but talking. “So…” I said lamely, breaking the sexual tension still vibrating in the air.

He scooted back against the bed beside me leaving just enough space so our bodies didn’t touch. A wise choice. “So
…” he echoed, making me grin.

I turned my head toward him.
“I missed you at lunch. Where were you?”

“I had some stuff to take care
of,” he replied nonchalantly.

“What kind of stuff?” I hated that I was being so nosey. It
was not like I expected him to never leave my side.

“The magical kind of stuff,” he said evasively.

Smooth.

I let it go. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it. Plus
, it was draining me. There was enough bouncing around inside my head without worrying about what kind of trouble Gavin was getting into. And I am sure it was plenty.

“How have you been sleeping?” he asked
studying me, looking for any physical indication that I was having trouble.

What he really meant was
, have you had any of those crazy dreams? You know, the ones where you summon other people. “I haven’t had any of
those
kind of dreams if that’s what you are wondering.”

“Wh
at kind of dreams are you having?” he murmured, and I felt myself getting sucked in again.

Grabbing the neare
st pillow, I tossed it at his head. Mid-air, before the pillow had a chance to reach the target, it met an unfortunate demise. Gavin, having read my devious intentions, he knew me well, shredded the poor pillow into a million pieces. Fabric and stuffing snowed all over the bed.

Lunar was going to go bonkers over the mess, if he ever came out of hiding.
I glared at Gavin in annoyance. “Was that necessary?”

He held up both hands smirking. “Hey, you attacked me.”

Resting my head on the headboard, I chewed on my lip. Bringing up dreamscaping had flooded back all the emotional anxiety about Lukas.

Shifting on the bed, he
angled his body toward me, sapphire eyes examining me. “I can see a gazillion questions running around in that head of yours.”

Boy did I have questions.
Let’s start with the one that seemed to be the cause of all my trepidation lately. Dreamscaping. What exactly was it, and how the hell did it work? “You said I dreamscape. What does that mean?”

“Dreamscaping is a merger of dreams. Mostly just two people but in some cases
, if the witch is powerful enough, they would be able to summon more.”

I gulped. One time I had both Gavin and Lukas in a dream together. Worse, I didn’t even know
I
was doing it.