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 left 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.

Neither of us was prepared for the abrupt interruption.

The hissing off a very p.i.s.sed of Lunar broke through the haze of our pa.s.sionate 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 s.e.xual tension still vibrating in the air.

He scooted back against the bed beside me leaving just enough s.p.a.ce 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."

"What kind of dreams are you having?" he murmured, and I felt myself getting sucked in again.

Grabbing the nearest 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 h.e.l.l 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.

With a deadly smirk, his fingers plucked pillow stuffing strewn in my hair. "We've shared dreams and as you know, they can be very real."

Umm, you could say that again. I absently played with pieces of stuffing on the bed.

"The person you dreamscape usually has a choice to accept or refuse. Though there are witches with the strength to take the decision out of their hands," he continued.

Oh G.o.d. Was I that kind of witch? Did I force them into my dreams?

He noticed the self-conviction spread over my expression. Putting a finger under my chin, he lifted my eyes to his. "You didn't force me into your dreams."

"Well at least that's comforting," I muttered. But what about Lukas?

"Bri you are too hard on yourself. Just give it time and you will feel more in control."

He was probably right. I needed practice, loads of it. Then maybe I might feel relaxed about being a witch. Now would have been the perfect opportunity to explain about Lukas, except my tongue wasn't cooperating. Try as I might, I couldn't form the words.

Instead, I chickened out like a pansy. "You're right. It's just I've never felt so unsure or lost as I do with magic."

"We're going to change that." Always the voice of reason, and he said just what I needed to hear. His confidence was like a shield.

I envied him for it. "This is so much more complicated than I bargained for," I mumbled.

"It might be, but the pay-off is huge. Plus you get to spend more time with me." His grin said it all.

"This is serious," I groaned.

His eyes sobered. "I know. I just don't like seeing you stressed."

Tucking my legs underneath me, I turned and faced him. I wondered if there was any chance that the dream and weather thingy was it for me. Was that all the magic I had? "Got any idea what else I can do?" As if dreamscaping and weathercasting weren't enough.

"Nope, but it should be interesting to figure out. Something tells me that exploring your magic will be anything but dull. It should be downright entertaining." His eyes gleamed with antic.i.p.ation.

He must have a warped sense of entertainment. "Great," I replied, dripping in sarcasm. "I can't wait."

Just what kind of witch was I?

And who the h.e.l.l was going to clean up this mess?

Chapter 4.

SAt.u.r.dAY ARRIVED FAR TOO QUICKLY and not soon enough.

My hands were unsteady, my palms were sweating, and I couldn't decide how I was feeling. It was like a giant mountain of emotions. Fear. Guilt. Excitement.

Sweet Jesus I was a disaster.

All morning I fought with myself. Do I text him to cancel because I am chicken s.h.i.t? Or do I grow some ovaries and get the answers I sought? These were the kind of questions that would haunt me. It wasn't like he was just going to pull a disappearing act. I doubt it worked that way. Nor was I sure I wanted him to disappear. If I was being honest with myself, I wanted to see him.

I just hated that I was keeping it from the people that mattered most. My heart ached thinking about Gavin. Pinp.r.i.c.ks of pain.

So why was I?

It was like trying to figure out the meaning of life.

What I did know, was I needed the truth. And Lukas was somehow part of this. I needed to find out how he fit in. If he fit in.

Tossing another crumbled up shirt into the corner of my room, I changed for like the zillionth time. Fed up with my wardrobe, I huffed and sent him a quick text before I changed my mind again. Then I headed for the door.

Well, here went nothing. If anything, I hoped I would at least walk away from this with some kind of understanding of what was going on between us. Then maybe I could move forward to the next problem in line.

University of NC campus was like a maze for a small town girl like me. Even though I had been here before, suddenly it felt like I was being swallowed up. I was Alice, lost in Wonderland.

We were to meet at a place called the Hawk's Nest, a large dining center on campus. There wasn't an abundance of students lounging around probably cuz' it was a Sat.u.r.day, but it was enough to be comforting. Smoothing the flyaways in my hair, I scanned the sitting area and locked with a pair of emerald eyes I knew far too well. I would have even recognized him in my dreams.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

If I didn't find some form of humor in all this, I was going to lose my nerve. My legs were like Jell-O, and I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. For reasons I couldn't explain, this wasn't like meeting Lukas in my dreams.

This was more...real.

Putting one foot in front of the other, I concentrated on each step. It was his sunny smile that finally set me somewhat at ease. That smile was familiar with those deep dimples. It would warm even the coldest of hearts. I was still anxious about what I would learn, but this was a guy I spent more time with than any other.

This was Lukas. My best friend. The guy who knew all my secrets, every nitty, gritty detail.

It didn't have to be weird. I just needed to stop thinking about all the dirty laundry he knew, and I needed to stop thinking about the kiss, what it could have meant.

Sliding into the seat across from him I gave him a sheepish grin. "Hey."

His smile brightened. "You're nervous," he commented, hitting the mark on the head.

There he went, reminding me how well he really knew me and how little I knew him. In my dreams, I had never held back. Hmm. Now I was wondering if that had been the wise. "Yeah. I am. Is that weird?"

"In this situation, I don't think weird cuts it." He had on a UNC t-shirt looking like just another college boy.

I took a moment to study him, see if there were any differences that I could remember from my dream-version of him. He looked exactly as I could recall. A poster ad for the boy next door: sandy hair, football built and a smile as bright as the sun with the greenest eyes I'd ever seen.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked.

I guess we could get to the heavy stuff in a minute. A cup of coffee just might calm my jittery nerves. "Sure. Carmel Macchiato?"

The corners of his mouth lifted. "You would be one of those girls that drink fancy coffees I can barely p.r.o.nounce. I'll be right back."

I watched him stroll over to the Starbucks stand with carefree swagger. He filled out his jeans in all the right places, and was hard to ignore. I didn't seem to be the only one who was looking. Girls turned their heads as he walked past.

Who could blame them when he aimed dreamy dimples their way? You would have to be dead to not be affected.

Seriously, I totally shouldn't be checking out his a.s.s. Averting my gaze back to the table, I mentally scolded myself and fumbled with my fingers. It crossed my mind that not too long ago I was in a coffee shop with Gavin.

The thought weighed heavily on me.

A few minutes later Lukas set a mug in front of me, bringing me back from my trip down memory lane. I was glad to have something else to do with my hands. Wrapping them around the paper cup, I blew off a stream of steam.

Silence stretched between us. Where did I even begin? Lucky for me, he took charge of the matter.

Stirring a cup of black coffee he said, "So you finally figured out you have magic."

Glancing around the room, I realized that we were strategically placed in a far corner, remote and away from anyone eavesdropping on our conversation. Wouldn't that have been an epic debacle? "Yep. It only took me seventeen years." I took a huge gulp of my frothy drink.

Heaven.

He chuckled low.

"How is it that we practically live in the same city and have never run into each other before?" I asked what had to be on both our minds.

Shrugging, he causally stretched his legs out under the table so they just touched mine. I couldn't tell if it was deliberate or not. "Honesty, I haven't got a clue. It's been running through my head since the market. I knew you were out there, I just"

"How?" I interrupted. "How did you know that I wasn't just a dream?"

His eyes danced at my confusion. "Because we have more than just dream sharing in common. I'm like you Brianna a witch."

"A witch!" I cried. Christ almighty.