It’s only lasts seconds, but it’s a real kiss – the kind from movies that leaves you breathless afterwards.
I don’t know how long we’ve been in the training room, but a ray of the dawn’s sunlight radiates through the roof and lights up Tavis’ face. His brown orbs look golden, and I can’t stop staring at them.
“Is that better?” I ask.
“…Much,” he says.
“Good...” I smile, and lean in again, brushing my nose against his. He moves in too, placing his lips so close to mine that I can feel every breath he takes. He teases me for a while, and I think that maybe he’s hovering because he’s unsure about it.
I am, too; especially as the thought of Knox lands in my head and I realize how wrong this is.
I start to pull away, just as Tavis makes up his mind, and his lips land firmly on mine. All thoughts I have melt away. This time, the kiss isn’t sensitive, or slow. It’s a full-blown make-out.
My first ever!
We’re battling for dominance, and I win. He concedes, as I wrap my arms around his neck and thrust my hands up into his hair. I grab a tight hold of his thick, soft locks and pull gently.
His lips leave mine to gasp for breath, and I don’t open my eyes for fear I will see regret in his.
That fear is silenced by his mouth on my neck. I moan and push his head back up and meet his lips with mine once more as he pushes me back, onto the mat, and covers my body with his.
I let him, and my thrill increases as his hands begin exploring. They’re all over me, and I feel excitement like I’ve never felt before in my entire life. It’s like being on the edge of a cliff with a parachute, looking out at the mesmerizing view; on the verge of something great…
But if the parachute fails, I could die.
Do I dive head first? Or do I retreat back from the edge?
I pull him closer to me, so close that we could become one person, and grip his hair tighter in my hands.
Diving, it is.
“Theo,” he moans my name, and pulls back a little. “Should we be doing this?”
I am ready to scream ‘yes!’ when a harsh squawking sound blares through the entire room, and the bank.
Tavis’ body leaves me cold without hesitation, and I sit up, straightening my oversized shirt.
“What the hell is that?” I ask.
“Security breach,” he tells me. “Come on!”
He lifts me from the ground, and then we’re running toward the main room. By the time we get there, the entire underground is already standing in defensive stances, their eyes trained on the door.
I catch Knox’s eyes and he glances down at me, standing close to Tavis in nothing but my nightshirt. I can tell that he’s noting that I’m still in my bed attire, but neither Tavis nor I came from the direction of the dorms. I look away from him, avoiding the accusations written on his face.
Maeve takes action, climbing the stone pillar beside the door, and leering out of the oval window near the roof.
“Oh, shit!” She shouts. “ It’s Detective Mendez, he’s found us…”
Fuck.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“He’s been knocked on his ass by the magic,” she says, shimmying down the pillar. “I’m just saying, if there was ever an opportunity for kidnap…”
“You want to bring him in here?” Tavis asks, incredulously.
“What other option do we have?” She asks. “He knows where we are, and he knows that something just put him down. If we don’t grab him now, then he calls his buddy’s screaming ‘assault on a federal agent’ and before you know it, fifty cops are sleeping on the ground outside, and we all die of starvation and B.O. inhalation before we can ever leave again.”
“She’s got a point,” Penelope says.
“Yeah, I don’t want to live in a sweat box,” Cleo agrees, lacing her fingers with P’s.
Katia and Max nod their head, and Zhavia and the rest of the hoard look too tired to care either way, but Amalie – fresh on her feet – holds her stomach, over her stitches, and takes a seat at the bench looking furious about the whole plan.
Her eyes slide over to me, and I hold a hand up in a wave. She ignores it, and turns her head away from me.
“Whatever we’re doing, we need to do it fast. We have maybe ten minutes before he wakes up, so let’s put it to a vote,” I suggest.
“Yay, another vote by Theo. Let’s hope nobody dies this time,” Amalie bites, narrowing her eyes at me.
A chorus of ‘Ooh’s’ make the rounds and she smirks as though she’s accomplished something.
I’m taken aback by her tone, and the snarling look she’s giving me. I open my mouth to defend myself but my mind goes blank and nothing comes out.
“Okay, so let’s vote,” Tavis says, filling the awkward silence.
I nod a silent ‘thank you’ to him, and the corners of his mouth lift up slightly.
The vote is close, but sways in Maeve’s favor.
She grins. “Can I do the honors?”
“Go ahead,” Knox says.
She smirks, practically dancing her way to the door. I lower the enchantments for her and she bursts through like she’s walking onto a stage. I hear a loud rustling and a metric tonne of cursing outside before Maeve reappears in the doorway, dragging a limp Mendez by his ankle.
“Can I get a hand? This guy is a lot heavier than he looks.” She grunts, and I roll my eyes, moving to take the second leg.
“Watch his arm,” I say as it bangs off the second door.
She snorts. “Oops, that’s going to hurt like a mother tomorrow.”
The guys are standing with amused expressions. Not one of them is moving to help us.
“Where is the chivalry, boys?” Maeve asks as we pull Mendez further into the bank.
“Oh hell no, you guys are independent women,” Knox hollers with a snort. “You don’t need us.”
“Besides, you two are stronger than half the guys in here,” Ben adds and nudges River with his shoulder. “River, babe, help your girls out.”
River playfully punches him in the arm and laughs.
“God, what does this guy eat?” I yell. Sweat starts beading on my forehead. I almost lose my footing and have to steady myself. He’s halfway over the threshold, and I pray that it’s too early in the morning for anyone to walk down the street.
“Hurry it up, this doesn’t look right,” Tavis comments, mirroring my thoughts. There’s a glint in his eyes and his mouth is tugged upwards, almost on the verge of a singular laugh.
Finally we get Mendez into the bank, and lock the doors behind us.
“Can someone conjure a chair or something?” Maeve yells, and I snort.
“What do you think this is? A Vegas magic show?”
“Shut up, T! Just get something to tie him too.”
Tavis emerges from the back, carrying a large, wooden chair and some ropes.
“Where the hell did that come from?” I ask.
“I conjured it.”
Maeve flicks her eyebrow up at me, and it’s all I can do to not throw my middle finger up at her.
He places the chair in the middle of the main room, and Maeve and I stand back and watch as Knox and Tavis lift him from the ground and settle him in the chair. Then, they wrap the ropes around him. They’re trying to tie them tight enough that he can’t get away, but they’re having trouble with the knots. Neither one of them was ever a boy scout – it shows.
“Move over,” Maeve says, pushing them out of the way.
“There’s an easier way to guarantee he won’t get out of the chair,” I tell them, stepping forward and removing the detective’s suit jacket. Their eyes land on me, and I grin. “Can someone get me a knife?”
Zhavia nods and heads to the kitchen
“I learned how to do this as a kid,” I say, taking the knife from her. .”My sister taught me. It was summer break from the academy, and all of the academy orphans went on class-vacation to the Bahamas with one of
the teachers, and she was a real bitch. She wouldn’t let us do anything or go anywhere, so Anna pulled me to one side and said there was a way we could ditch her.”
I kneel down, in front of a still knocked-out Mendez, and roll his shirt sleeve up to his elbow. I take the knife, and create a small cut, gathering his blood on the edge of the blade.
“ Idest inaequalitate,” I say the Latin words for amass, and watch as the blood accumulates into one, big drop, dangling from the tip of the knife. I lift it up as high as I can and plunge it into the wood arm of the chair, and bind him. “Liga.”
I stand up. “There, now we just wait for him to wake up.”
***
“Is he dead?” Maeve asks, resting her head on one hand.
“I don’t think so,” I answer with a sigh. “He’s breathing… I think?”
The rest of the underground go about their day while Maeve and I sit idly at the food benches and watch the detective. He’s still sleeping, and I wonder how powerful my enchantments were. I didn’t think they’d have lasting effects like this.
“Maybe we should slap him or pour iced water on his head, or something?” I suggest.
She mulls it over silently.
“Maybe we should stab him with something?” My eyes go wide, and a smirk crosses her lips. “Not like stab stab… maybe just like one quick jab to the shoulder.”
I snort. “Yeah, sure, lets stab the cop! That’s a good idea, right? No way that could backfire.”
“I’ve had worse ideas,” she admits. “But you’re right, yours is better.”
She steps from the benches, and lifts a hand high in the sky. With a crack that could break the sound barrier, her palm collides with his face. I hiss, almost feeling the pain for him.
Still, he remains motionless, and Maeve sighs, putting her hands on her hips. “I’ll go get the water, and then when I get back, you can freeze it… and then before we pour it over his head, you can tell me why you weren’t in bed when the alarm sounded and why you came from the direction of the ‘training room’ with Tavis and hair that looked like you’d been—”
“Oh my God, stop!”
She gives me a knowing smile and I watch her head retreat as she makes her way to the ‘kitchen’ area. My stomach sinks. Maeve won’t let this go, and I don’t have an answer for what happened with Tavis.
“So?” She flicks an eyebrow at me, dumping a full bucket at my feet.
“I need to talk to Tavis first. When I know, you will…” It’s the only thing I can think to say, and she seems to accept it.
I kneel by the bucket and hold my hands over it, focusing on making it as cold as possible. I think back to the fire mishap I had with the hot poker, and pull back on my power. I don’t want to freeze the water completely. I caress my power, and push it through my hand. My fingertips turn blue and numb, and slowly, the water starts to get a thin layer of ice topping it, and it’s time to stop.
“There, if that’s not enough to wake him up, we might as well bury him under the bank.” I say, only slightly joking. “Here, help me lift it…”
Maeve takes one side while I get the other. We lift it over Mendez’s head, and pour.
His body sputters to life with a gigantic intake of breath and a hiss. I jump back, and look to Maeve. She shrugs as Mendez coughs and squirms.
“What the hell?” He demands.
Again I look to Maeve, and again she shrugs.
Feeling a pair of eyes on me, I find Tavis at the top of the staircase focused in our direction.
“Have you got this?” I ask Maeve. “I just have to take care of something and then I’ll be back, okay? Just talk to him…”
She nods, her eyes not leaving Mendez. “I’m about to reservoir dogs this bitch…”
“Maeve, no violence,” Tavis yells over the top and her face drops.
I snort and head off in his direction. He waits for me at the top of the stairs, and together we walk silently into the training room.
“So, is this ‘the talk’ or something?” I ask.
“I guess it is,” he answers with a sigh. “Look, Theo… about what happened –”
“You’re a really great kisser.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“Yeah, so are you…” He smiles, biting his bottom lip. I can’t keep my eyes off them, which makes it really easy to understand him when he says, “but it can’t happen again…”
“Right.” My mouth gawps for a second before I catch myself. “…Right, no, yeah, I was just about to say the same thing. Knox and I are kind of – “
“I figured.” He smiles. “It’s good we’re on the same page then and neither of us will get hurt. I know that I don’t want to lose you as a friend. Besides, I already have Amalie mooning over me and if I get too much attention, my head will get bigger. I can’t have that… It would mess with my overall proportions.”
There’s an edge of humour to his words, but the overall context makes me want to punch him.
“Don’t worry,” I say with a forced grin. “Nobody in this room is mooning over you.”
“Well I don’t know about that, I happen to find myself quite attractive.”
I push out a laugh and stick out my hand towards him. He takes it and it’s all I can do to stop myself from jumping back. His skin is so warm and inviting, I have to resist the urge to bring his hand to my mouth and lay a kiss on it.
“Well,” I say, pulling my hand away. “I better get back down there before Maeve beats the cop up… or worse.”
“Right.” He tucks his hands in his jean pockets. “Well, good luck.”
“You too,” I say on reflex and then squeeze my eyes closed in embarrassment. “I mean – “
“I got it.” He laughs.
“Bye.” I lift my hand in a wave.
“See ya.”
I turn my back and practically run from the training room. Knox is on the other end, with his fist raised and ready to knock on the door.
“Hey,” he says with a small smile. His eyes move past me and a fire burns in them when he sees Tavis standing there.
“Hey,” I reply, and before he can say anything else, I wrap my arms around him and pull him in for a long, soft hug. Pulling back, I look into his smiling face and blush. “I’ve never asked someone out on a date before, but that seemed like a good start, right?”
“It was a very good start,” he says. “Go ahead…”
“Well I just did it.” I laugh, pushing my hair behind my ears. “Was that not obvious?”
He flexes his muscles beneath his shirt and ruffles his hair. “Well, I don’t know… I think you can do better than that, maybe something like saying the words...”
“Gosh, you guys are so needy, huh?” I grin. “Okay, fine! So, Knox… Oh my god, I don’t know your last name.”
“Anderson,” he tells me. “Rocky start, but keep going…”
“Right…” I laugh. “Well, Knox Anderson, will you go on a second date with me?”
***
I skip my way back to the main room. Knox and I have a second date and Tavis and I are friends again! We’ve even scheduled a training session for later in the day, after Zhavia’s class.
As much as his rejection stung, I am glad for it! I really like Knox, and I can’t deal with angst-filled love triangles. We have enough to deal with without my life becoming a teen drama.
“Has he said anything?” I ask a bored looking Maeve as I make my way down the stairs.
“Nope…” She pops the ‘p’ and rolls her eyes. “Truthfully, I don’t think he knows anything…”
“The collective idea is to wipe his memory with a spell and send him on his way.”
“A spell?” His voice echoes off the walls. “What’re you guys? Witches?”
I laugh. “Are you crazy? Witches aren’t real, detective...”
A book flies from the stack on the table and hits him in the side of the leg. He winces and groans.
“What the hell?”
“That was weird, right? Maybe there’s a breeze in here or something…” I shrug.
Maeve snorts. “Careful, Sabrina… He’s not as dumb as he looks.”
“Whatever, Z’s class starts in ten, are you coming?”
“Nah, I think I’ll stay here and watch Mendez squirm for a while…”
“He’s magically-bound to the chair,” I say and my eyebrow rises slightly. “He’s not going anywhere…”
“I know, but it’s kind of fun to watch him so freaked out…” She smiles. “He’s like, ‘Oh my God! Magic! Witches! Flying books! Ah!’ and on top of that, I don’t think he remembers my name, so I’m going to mentally torture him until he does, because I find that very rude.”
I roll my eyes. “Ok, have fun.”
“You too. Kick some ass for me!”
I make my way to one of the many rooms in the bank where Zhavia’s lesson has been moved to on account of our hostage.
“Okay, let the torture begin,” I hear Maeve say in an excited voice as I go.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Maeve.
“Jess… Jasmine… Jenna?” He asks with a sigh. “Oh come on, I know it starts with a ‘J’ is that not good enough?”
“No! I remembered your name,” I spit. “How could you forget my name? It’s unique, and hot, like me.”
I don’t feel uncomfortable saying that because a.) It’s true! And b.) He isn’t going to remember it anyway.
“You don’t even know my first name!”
“Um, yes I do… “ I fold my arms across my chest. “It’s detective.”
He scoffs. “It is so not detective!”
“You know something, detective, you’re being really calm for a guy who can’t get up from a chair he’s not tied to,” I tease.
“Well maybe I did a little bit of research,” he counters. “Maybe I know a lot about this rag-tag group of kids right here. Maybe I know a lot about you, Maeve.”
“So do you know my name?” My confidence diminishes and I fidget on the spot. “What do you know?”
“I know that your friends are magic. I know that you’re not. I know you grew up with your dad right here in Denver, and I know that he still lives less than fifteen miles out. I know your friends probably don’t know about that…”
SACRIFICIUM (THE UNDERGROUND Book 1) Page 21