Page 7 of Jacob Michaels is Trouble

“Do you want me to show you something amazing?” Lucas grinned.

I wanted to frown—getting frisky seemed inappropriate, all things from our night considered—but a smile crept to my face instead. Anything amazing that Lucas wanted to show me, I wanted to see it. Of course, I had seen everything on Lucas—and it was all amazing—but he seemed to be implying that he had something amazing hidden away for a special occasion. What better time to pull a trick out of the bag than when I needed cheering up?

“What?” I asked, my voice huskier than usual. “What is it?”

“Give me your hand.”

My smile widened, and I lifted my hand once more. Lucas laid his palm against the back of my hand and pulled the palm of my hand against the bite wounds on his chest once more.

“Before they have time to heal,” Lucas said.

“Okay…”

“This might feel weird.” Lucas turned his eyes to mine.

“Huh?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.” I frowned. “I trust you with everything I have, Lucas.”

A smile bloomed on his face a mere fraction of a second before it felt like someone was tugging my skin on my arm. Instinctively, I started to jerk back, but Lucas kept my hand held to his chest. My eyes grew wide as I stared into his. He wasn’t pulling at my hand or my arm, and nothing was trying to pull the skin off of me. Something was being sapped from me.

My magic.

I didn’t know how I knew that was what was happening. Something inside of me, something ancient and primal told me instinctively.

Lucas stared into my eyes, trying to wordlessly comfort me as dull green light leeched out around the seal our hands created on his chest. Bit by bit, the light seemed to glow brighter and brighter, filling the shower, then the bathroom, growing brighter until all I could see was that green light. I couldn’t even see Lucas inches in front of me, but I could feel his hand holding mine tightly to his chest.

Lucas was drawing magic out of me and into his wound.

A gasp escaped my mouth, but I couldn’t see Lucas. I was blinded by the green light that was so bright that I finally had to shut my eyes or risk going blind. Wincing, I didn’t fight Lucas holding my hand against his chest as my magic leeched out of me and into the wound. I didn’t know if him drawing magic from me was just a matter of “borrowing” or “taking.” Would the thing he was doing steal my magic from me, or was he just…using it?

What the fuck?

Lucas knows how to use magic?

Why didn’t I remember this?

I had my memories, too.

When it no longer felt like my skin was being tugged at, I let my eyes open to slits. The green light was slowly fading, and Lucas’ form was coming back into view, the falling water starting to become visible as well. Slowly, I let my eyes open at a pace with the light fading away, creeping back to hide away beneath our hands against Lucas’ chest. My eyes went to my boyfriend’s—and for the briefest of moments, they were not green. They were brown. Lucas stared back as the light slid back under our hands, then he slid his hand off of the top of mine.

He blinked.

His eyes were green once more.

They hadn’t changed to brown and back to green for real. It was a vision. Like my boyfriend, sometimes I just knew things.

I just stared at Lucas, my hand still held against his chest, neither of us saying a word. Finally, I let my hand slide from his wet skin as the water continued to cascade down around us.

“Your eyes,” I said.

“They weren’t always green,” Lucas said.

I nodded as though that was the most rational thing I had ever heard in my entire life and turned my attention to his chest. There was absolutely no evidence that he had been bitten. His skin was intact. Perfect. Just as it had been before. I didn’t bother staring since I knew I wasn’t seeing an illusion, nor was I confused or crazy.

“You know magic.”