17 First Touch

Aiden quirks an eyebrow. "I wouldn't hurt you. I have enough control to … give you a taste. It'll wear off in an hour or two. Then you'll be clear headed. You can drive home."

I have to consciously tell my lungs to keep taking in and expelling air. His warm hand strokes up my arm.

"It'll stop the cravings for a while," he says carefully.

My breath stops. "I… it scares me," I croak. Would doing this mean the end of my sobriety, even if there's no substances involved?

And what does it mean if it isn't?

"I promise, you'll love it. Give me a couple hours. You won't regret it."

In my mind I see my wrist grasped in his hand, those flames on my fingers, the warmth, the thrill. The feeling of life flowing through me.

He says it's better than that? And leaves no trace? No destruction in its wake? If I was sure, I couldn't sign up fast enough.

I stare at Aiden and he stares right back, waiting. I remember all the times listening to my parents screaming, my sister crying, because of me. The bone-deep feeling that life sucks and it probably won't get better anytime quick. The dread that weighs every time I think about facing the rest of my life without an escape.

I pull my phone out to check the time.

"Okay," I say before I can chicken out. "Two hours."

Aiden's smile lights his face brighter than the flash of the bonfire.

"Two hours," he says. His voice has gotten deeper. It makes my mouth dry.

"Home by midnight," I reply, like we're in a negotiation.

Aiden nods, staring, eyes alight with desire that I can't miss. I don't know whether to be flattered or afraid. "Come with me."

I expect him to lead me back to the beach. But instead, he weaves to the right and continues up the pebbled path between the dark buildings.

"Where are we going?"

Aiden takes my hand and nods toward an even darker space in the side of one of the buildings. "In here. I need to be careful if you want to be clear headed in two hours. I don't want to get distracted."

My feet drag. I'm having second thoughts. But I'm also curious. And there's no doubt the dark is less intimidating with Aiden there.

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

I wait for him to drop my hand, but he tugs me toward the burned out warehouse, through a wide, black space where a door should be. I hesitate, but his fingers are warm as he pulls me inside.

Inside is utter blackness broken only by shafts of starlight and firelight through holes that used to be windows and doors. I pull against Aiden's grip because I can't see where I'm walking. But he urges me a couple steps further before turning to face me.

I can barely see him against the black, but he's close. Very close.

"Why here?" I'm scared, but feverish. Anticipation curls in my stomach like a purring cat.

I can get high. And it won't cost me anything.

Aiden shifts, moving the air. "I need to be careful. No distractions. Or pranks," he says dryly.

I can't see anything except the shape of his head, where it's vaguely silhouetted by the stars where the roof should be. If there's a time to stop this, it's now.

I open my mouth, but instead of an excuse, "What do I have to do?"

"Tell no one," he says, his voice husky. "To be spellbound, you just have to accept it. But once you've done this . . . Kate, you can't tell anyone until you're one of us. I'm serious."

"I won't. I promise."

"Then we're ready." I can hear the smile in his voice. "I'll have to figure out the best way . . ." he trails off.

"What?"

He chuckles. "I'm not used to doing this without being . . . closer."

"Closer?"

"Yeah . . . Do you care if I touch your face? It'll make it easier."

"Oh. Sure. I guess."

"Good. Okay. You stand here." He shifts me a step to my right, then back, until I'm right in front of the wall, the rough-hewn wood catching on my sweatshirt.

One of Aiden's hands slides into my hair leaving goosebumps in its wake. He cups my jaw with the other. "Ready?"

"Not even close."

Aiden chuckles again, then takes a deep breath. The bright points in his eyes are so eager, it's either touching, or terrifying. But there's no time to decide which, because he whispers words I don't understand. A second later the air gets thick. Then jagged.

I tense.

"You can feel that?"

"Yeah, it's like electricity in the air. Or, something pushing on me."

Aiden doesn't respond, but goes back to whispering, his fingers pressed into my skin. The feeling in the air changes, like its slowing spiraling, pulling around and down, toward him. Under his fingers my skin tingles. Then the charge in the air seeps into me under his hand. Heat burns in my jaw.

I suck in a breath, try to retreat, but come up hard against the wall behind me. "That hurts!"

Aiden curses, jerks away, and all the sensations cease—the charged air, the pressure—gone like they were never there.

He huffs a broken laugh and shakes his head.

"What happened?" I don't know why I'm whispering.

"Little hiccup. Don't worry about it." But there's an edge to it. "Derek will love you," he says in a dark voice. Before I can reply, he presses into me until we're hip-to-hip. I tense as his hands return to my cheeks, grab at his waist. "It's okay," he murmurs. I'm sandwiched between the rough, cool wood, and his searing heat, a delicious tingle chasing across my skin wherever we touch.

But I can't sink into that because my face is burning.

"It's hot," I gasp.

"Relax. You're fighting it. Breathe." His voice is a soothing monotone. The air crackles, snapping at me. My skin blisters beneath his hand and I squirm. But the power is a physical thing. If I knew how, I could grasp it . . .

I try to remember what changed last time, right before I felt that delicious power. I lean my head back against the wall and try to relax. But it burns. "Aiden—"

"Let go," he whispers. His breath flutters in my hair. "Relax," he chants, pressing the power into me.

I'm going to combust.

Aiden swears. "Breathe, Kate. You've got to let go."

I try to pull away, but the wall's behind me and I can't get loose. "It hurts," I gasp.

"I'm not used to doing it this way." Aiden says through clenched teeth. "I'm being careful, but you're interfering." His fingers curl, his nails scraping my cheek.

The heat sears my eyelids, travelling over my scalp and down my neck. I throw my head back, try to let the power in without burning up. "Do whatever you normally do. Please. It burns."

Aiden whispers, "Don't be scared." Then his lips, soft and warm, trace mine. His breath flutters in my mouth, and his fingers tangle in my hair.

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