yawn. “Thanks, but I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I have school in the morning.”
He studied me.
“What?”
“I find it interesting that when given a choice to spend time with me or kiss me, you choose the latter. I’m not sure if I should be insulted or flattered.”
I play-punched his shoulder. “Shut up!”
“I’m going to go with flattered.” He smirked, causing his dimple to show. “And that you secretly crave being in my arms.”
“In your dreams.” I had half a mind to try to zap myself home. But as powerful as I felt, I didn’t want to take the chance that I’d splice myself in two or misjudge the distance and end up in shark-infested waters. “Wipe that smile off your face.”
If there were any other way home, I’d take it. Unfortunately, my options were limited.
I stepped closer to Caden and slid my arm around his waist before I could change my mind. The brown in his eyes bled to red, but I’d seen this side of him too often for it to scare me. The warmth of his hand found my lower back. With his free hand, he tilted my mouth up to his.
Caden really was a good kisser. He started slow, almost teasingly. His fingers slid to the back of my head as his tongue brushed my lips, coaxing me to kiss him back. I gave in. If he wanted a real kiss, I’d give him something to remember. As the fingers of my left hand got tangled in his soft hair, the fingers on my right hand slipped inside his coat pocket. A soft moan escaped his lips when his hand cupped my face. I palmed the chain. I didn’t think about what I was doing; I just did it. Our tongues did a slow ballet in our mouths as the ground beneath me vanished.
Don’t think, I reminded myself as we entered the void.
Chapter 17
Facing Death
I DID IT. I had acted without thinking and pulled one over on Caden. The smile plastered across my face when I fell asleep announced just how proud I was of my deceit.
There was no school on Friday—teachers’ institute day or something. Isaac and I lay on our backs on his bed. He held the chain above us and examined the ice-blue metal.
“What do you think it’s made of?” I had stared at it last night for a long time, admiring its craftsmanship.
“I don’t think it’s from this earth.” Isaac paused, appearing to think it over. “Fae, maybe.”
Since each section of the binding chain was a different color—silver, gold, rose, and pale blue—Isaac and I believed they represented the four elements: air, earth, fire, and water. We wondered if the witches who spelled them had been part of a coven, each representing one of the four elements, and if that was important to making the talisman.
“How’d you get it?” Isaac asked.
“Caden let his guard down.”
Isaac set the chain on the nightstand next to the bed. “With him able to get in our heads, I wouldn’t have thought that possible.”
That’s because you’ve never kissed him.
I’d had the chain clutched in a death grip when Caden and I had arrived at my house. When he’d cupped my face with both hands, savoring the taste of our kiss as we stood inches from my bed, I had carefully slid my hand over his chest and around to his back. The guy was buff. I remember thinking that as my fingers traced the curve of his muscles. For a moment, I had been sure our kiss had passed the point of business. I wouldn’t have let it go further, though. And Caden must have known that, because his hands never wandered past my arms, my back, my face. But he also must have known that his touch messed with my resolve, because I couldn’t help the internal war that brewed inside me. I should have hated the feel of his hands on me. I should have pushed him away the moment my feet had hit carpet. I should have stressed that I was Isaac’s girl and there would never be a him and me.
I hadn’t, though.
Instead, when our kiss had ended, I’d tucked my hair behind my ear and avoided eye contact.
“Madison, you’re one of a kind,” Caden had said. He then kissed me one last time. It was the type of kiss that’s way too short and leaves you wanting to lean in the moment it’s over.
I hadn’t done that either, but I think