Coven (28 page)

Releasing me, he turned me to face him but
in the dark, I could barely make out his outline. “I thought you
might want to be kissed by a real man.”

Before I could respond, he gathered me into
his arms and pressed his lips to mine. As always, the explosion
between us was immediate and I sighed dreamily, leaning into him
even more. He masterfully swept his tongue inside my mouth, tasting
me deeply and causing every part of my being to clamor for more. I
wanted to wrap myself around him and make a cocoon for the two of
us to hide in.

Groaning into my mouth, he held me even
tighter and I knew he felt exactly the same way as I did. Breaking
away, he kissed my forehead, leaning his head against the top of
mine. “Is it bad that I want to forget all our bargains?” he asked,
softly. “I want you so badly I’d lay you down right here in the
dirt if you’d let me.” His lips slid tenderly down the side of my
face and then recaptured mine, once more.

I was grateful he kissed me again. I didn’t
know how to respond to his comments because my heart was literally
being torn in two. Mentally I kicked myself for even agreeing to
such a silly arrangement and my dad’s words of warning suddenly
seemed to hit way too close to home. I was caught in a trap with no
reasonable way of getting out without hurting someone—not to
mention that choosing one of them over the other would be like
letting half of my soul die.

Jett’s hands grew bolder, slipping under my
jacket and finding their way against my bare skin at my waist. His
kiss grew more intense as his hand slid higher, his fingers inching
up my back, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. I felt like he
was branding me as his with his touch.

“Jett,” I said, breaking away
breathlessly.

“I know, dammit,” he replied. “I know. We
all promised.” Leaning his forehead against mine I could feel the
strain in his posture. “I don’t know how much longer I can take
this.”

“I’m sorry.” I really meant it, not that it
helped.

“How long is this going to go on?” His
fingers still moved against my bare skin, making it difficult to
think. “I need you, Kenna. I
need
you.”

It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love like
Seth had done, but it still conveyed the same feeling. It was
Jett’s way.

“I don’t know what to say,” I replied
honestly.

He hugged me tighter, keeping that full body
contact. “Say you love me. Say that I’m all you need.”

Bravely, I placed my hand on the side of his
face, feeling the rough stubble on his face underneath. “I do love
you, Jett. And I do need you.”

Sighing, he gave a wry laugh. “So close, yet
so far.”

Guilt flooded through me. I hated making
both of them feel this way. I wanted more than anything to be able
to just choose, but I didn’t know how to give one of them up for
good.

“I’m sorry,” I said, again, not knowing what
else I could say.

“Don’t be sorry.” He kissed my forehead
lightly. “As long as we have moments like this, there’s still a
chance I’ll be the one you pick. As long as I have that, it’s
enough—for now.”

“Thank you.” I sounded like an imbecile, but
I was at a complete loss for words. “I know it’s hard. It is for
me, too.”

“It doesn’t matter how hard it is. I’ll wait
as long as you need. I just want you to be sure of your heart.”

“What if my heart doesn’t choose you?” I
wasn’t sure why, but I always seemed to be able to ask him the hard
questions. Maybe it was because of our rocky start; but sometimes I
felt like we’d been through the rough stuff and I could talk to him
more openly and freely than I could with Seth.

A half strangled laugh escaped him. “I guess
I’ll just have to be settled with the fact that my girl is
happy—even if it’s with my best friend.”

“Your girl?” I loved how those words
sounded.

“Yeah, mine. Regardless of whose bed you’re
in, I’ll always think of you as mine. I just want you to be
happy.”

“Why?”

He snorted. “Because we always want the best
for the people we really love.”

And there it was. My breath caught. “You
love me?”

Laughter escaped him now. “Isn’t it
obvious?”

“I don’t know . . . I mean you
never said . . .”

“I just did. And in case you didn’t
understand, then listen. I love you, Kenna. I will always love you.
Ever since you came here you’ve been the reason I get up every day.
It’s like you opened up a whole new way to live. You showed me I
have other options and that the path I was on wasn’t necessarily
the best way to go. You’ve given me hope for a better future than
the one that’s planned for me.”

“You don’t want to be converted anymore?” I
asked, surprised at this revelation.

“Not if that is going to keep me from you. I
always want to be wherever you are.”

“Oh Jett. I want that, too.” This time I
pressed my mouth to his, my heart swelling with his words. I
couldn’t believe how close we’d grown so quickly and now I couldn’t
imagine a world that he wasn’t a part of. I wouldn’t want to live
in a world he wasn’t part of.

“Jett? Kenna?” Seth’s voice floated through
the air. “Where are you guys?”

Giving a slight growl, Jett broke away from
me. “We are so not finished with this conversation,” he whispered.
“You hear me?”

I nodded and then wondered if he could see
me. “Yes.”

He briefly pressed his lips to mine again
before releasing me and moving away, raising his voice. “We’re over
here, dude.”

A ball of witch light appeared between the
rows illuminating us in our hiding place and Seth glanced between
the two of us. “What’s going on here?”

“Nothing, man,” Jett replied.

“It doesn’t look like nothing to me.” Seth
was clearly upset and I could feel the animosity growing between
them.

“Says the guy who tried to convince her to
ditch me last night,” Jett replied, and I couldn’t help my
gasp.

“You know about that?” I asked, turning to
Seth. “You told him about last night?”

“I haven’t said a word,” Seth said staring
straight at Jett. “Somebody has been keeping tabs on us.”

Jett shrugged. “The first rule of
competition is to always know what your competitor is doing. I’m
just playing the game.”

“This isn’t a game,” I said hotly,
infuriated.

Leaning closer, he pointed at me. “Oh, trust
me, darlin’, this is a game and you’ve set yourself up as the
prize. It’s too late to change it now. One of us has to win.”

“And it will be me,” Seth said assuredly.
“So let’s just end all of this now.”

“Like hell. There is no way I’m giving up
until I win.”

“Would the two of you stop arguing over me
like I’m some damn trophy? There’s an easy way for me to fix this.”
Shouldering past both of them I moved back out onto the path. “I
won’t have anything to do with either of you.” I knew it was a
total lie as soon as it left my mouth, but I was angry. “Don’t
follow me. You two need to work things out between yourselves.”

~~~

The sound of the cars pulling up outside
didn’t surprise me. I didn’t even look up when the door opened,
continuing to stare into the flames dancing in the stone
fireplace.

“We thought we might find you here,” Seth
said.

I didn’t reply. The two of them came over by
the couch but, wisely, neither of them sat; instead, Seth chose the
hearth and Jett decided to sit on the floor, leaning against the
wall.

This tiny abandoned cabin had almost become
like our home away from home in the last few weeks. Glancing
around, I noted the shelves filled with magical herbs and items,
all brought here for working and exploring our magic, together.

Glancing between them, I felt tears rim my
eyes. “I’ve been unfair to you both. I can’t choose. I can’t. I
don’t know if I’ll ever be able to. Maybe it would be best if we
all walked away from this. The more we are all together, the more
invested I become with each of you. I just don’t see this decision
ever becoming clearer with time. I only see it getting worse. If we
dissolve this now, then maybe we will still have a chance to
recover and move on—to have some semblance of a normal life.” The
words sounded hollow to me even as I spoke them.

“Bullshit.” Jett stared hard at me, his blue
eyes glittering like ice. “We’re already too invested for that to
work.” He sighed heavily. “Either way, it’s gonna be all screwed
up. There’s no way around it.”

“Then I don’t know what to do.”

“We’ll do whatever we have to,” Seth said.
“There’s no way around this and there’s no obvious solution; so why
do we keep trying to force an outcome?”

“Honestly? It’s because I’m feeling pressure
from you both to take the relationship to the next level and I just
can’t do that, don’t you see? That physical barrier is the only
thing I have left—it’s the only thing keeping my heart from being a
complete mess. I can’t sleep with both of you. Could you imagine
what a disaster that would be? What if doing that made me realize
that I did want one of you more than the other? What then? I make
my choice and the two of you have to continue looking at each other
knowing you both had me. What would that do to your friendship?
Your future? It would eat at each of you—it would eat at me.

“This thing,” I continued, pointing around
at all of us, “isn’t just physical or emotional, it’s magical. I
think we’ve more than proven there is something about the three of
us that makes us stronger together. Jett, you even talked about
binding our powers to make a trifecta. That means the three of us
would be tied together for life—
for life
! Do either of you
really want to be tied to that, knowing you weren’t the one who was
chosen? Knowing that for one moment in time you got to have me in
your bed and you will never have me again?”

“I’d live on the memory of it forever,” Jett
mumbled.

I was sure disbelief was etched on my face.
“You’re telling me you’d rather live with that kind of pain for the
rest of your life? You’d be willing to stare at me every single day
knowing you could never have me, and that I went willingly with
him?” I pointed at Seth.

Jett’s eyes never left mine. “That’s exactly
what I’m saying.”

Eyes wide, I glanced at Seth and he nodded
slightly. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“Well, I’m not!” I shouted, jumping to my
feet. “I will not sleep with both of you and then spend the rest of
my life with that memory constantly etched in my mind every time I
look at you. How can I be solely committed to one of you while
carrying that around?” I gave a frustrated grunt and moved toward
the door. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“Kenna, wait!” Jett’s voice called after me
and I halted but didn’t turn.

“What?”

Both boys appeared beside me.

“You can’t leave like this,” Jett said,
slipping his hand into mine. “We need to figure out a way to work
this out.”

“He’s right,” Seth agreed, taking my other
hand. “There has to be a way.”

“There is,” Jett said firmly.

“What do you mean?”

A sharp wind swirled around us, whipping my
hair around my face, and I briefly saw Jett grab Seth’s free hand
and he started chanting.

“Unite us three in power,

“Mind, body, and spirit together,

“Enlighten us in knowledge and
strength.”

“What are you doing?” I shouted, recognizing
he was working a spell, but for some reason I was unable to break
the circle as he continued on.

“Focus and bring the magic within,

“So mote it be and let it begin.”

Instantly, a white light formed in the
middle of us, crackling as it grew larger and larger until it
became so bright I felt like I was being consumed by it. Enveloping
us, the wind grew even stronger and strange sensations, along with
unfamiliar powers, began dancing through my body.

“What’s happening?” I yelled, feeling like I
was coming apart at the seams.

A thunderous explosion ripped through the
air and suddenly I was catapulted backward, slamming heavily into
the log wall and slumping to the floor. Gasping for breath, I
glanced around the now quiet space, finding Seth looking dazed,
too, as he and Jett struggled back to their feet.

“What the hell was that?” I shouted, feeling
more than a tiny bit freaked out.

Jett locked gazes with me. “I just bound all
our powers together. No matter what happens now, the three of us
are in it together—for the rest of our lives.”

“Why? Why would you do this?” I was
horrified.

“Because you can’t decide and I can’t let
you leave like this.”

“That wasn’t your choice to make, Jett!”
Anger infused me. “How dare you! How dare you!” Getting up, I ran
out the door, slamming it behind me.

Everything was a complete mess now.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lying on my bed staring at my ceiling, I
felt pouty. I couldn’t sleep because the power thrumming inside me
wouldn’t be disregarded. I couldn’t ignore Jett or Seth. They were
part of me; and I could feel their powers enhancing mine, making me
feel both stronger and scared at the same time.

The ceiling in my room changed, gradually
fading away until only the starry night sky was revealed.

“Jett,” I breathed out, knowing he was the
one sending the illusion. “You can’t do this kind of stuff.” I
couldn’t really speak with him so much as feel an impression of
what he was feeling. He was sorry I was upset, but not sorry for
what he had done to us.

Seth was strangely quiet, brooding somewhere
in the background, and I knew he was just as upset with Jett as I
was, but I didn’t reach out to him. I wanted my space from both of
them; and yet, space was probably something I’d never have
again.