Believe: The Complete Channie Series (25 page)

“You’re wrong. It’s not your shield that makes me want you.
You
make me want you. Your shield just makes it harder for me to resist.”

“Why do you want to resist?”

“I’ve always been taught that good girls wait until they’re married.”

“You don’t have any problem breaking the rest of your parents’ rules.”

Channie’s muscles involuntarily stiffened. Josh kissed the top of her head and said, “I’m not trying to talk you into anything, I just want to understand what’s holding you back.”

“Momma says that...s.e.x. is something that women have to put up with to get and keep a husband, and to have babies. Daddy says that adolescent boys only want one thing from a girl and once she gives it to them, they don’t want her anymore.”

“Is that what you believe?”

“I used to.” Channie leaned back and twisted around to gaze into Josh’s eyes. “But, I don’t think I do anymore.”

“What changed your mind?”

“You.”

“Channie.” Josh breathed her name like a prayer. “I love you so much.”

He pulled her back onto his lap and said, “Is this okay?”

She nodded and said, “As long as it doesn’t make things too hard for you.”

Josh chuckled and kissed the top of Channie’s head. “You are so naive. You have no idea what you just said, do you.”

“All I said was that I didn’t want to tempt you.”

“Ah, but you do tempt me. There’s no help for it. You’re so beautiful.” Josh ran his hand down Channie’s arm. “When you said that I changed your mind about sex, what did you mean...exactly?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s dirty anymore or that it should be used like bait to catch a husband.”

“So...does that mean that if you fixed my shield so we could touch, that maybe...we could take our relationship to the next level?”

“What next level?” Channie was pretty sure she knew what Josh meant.

He wrapped his arms around her and said, “What’s the matter? Are you cold?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re shaking so much you’re practically vibrating.”

“I’m just a little scared that’s all.”

“Of me?”

“I feel a little...out of control.”

“Channie, look at me.” Josh waited until she met his gaze. “I would love for you to fix my shield so we could at least kiss—and I promise I won’t pressure you for more—but if you feel safer leaving it the way it is, that’s fine too.”

“No. I want to fix your shield.”

“And then?”

“And then I want to kiss you.” Channie buried her face in Josh’s shoulder. “I’m just not sure I want to do much more than that. At least not right away.”

“Okay. I promise, we won’t do anything except kiss—until you’re absolutely sure you’re ready for the next step.”

She said, “I know you were hoping for more, but—”

“Not until you’re ready.”

“But, you’re a boy.”

“That doesn’t mean all I care about is sex.”

“But you do care about it?”

“Well, yeah. It ranks right up there with winning the Olympics. But it doesn’t have to be tonight.”

A high-pitched wail from the trip’s room sent a chill down Channie’s back. Savvy cried out for his momma.

Channie scrambled off Josh’s lap, grabbed his arm and drug him to the window. “You gotta get out of here before Momma and Daddy wake up. They’ll sense your energy field.”

Josh scurried out the window, hung from the porch roof and dropped to the ground instead of climbing down the fake-rock siding. His bike was chained to a bench in plain sight of the house. Channie watched until he disappeared into the shadows, then went into the boys’ room to comfort them.

Momma and Daddy never even opened their door.

Blood, Sweat and Magic

T
HEY
WAITED
UNTIL
S
ATURDAY
TO
work on Josh’s shield. It was after midnight when he texted Channie to let her know he was on his way. When she opened the door, he handed her a bouquet of a dozen red roses and said, “Happy anniversary.”

“Our anniversary was last Thursday and I thought we agreed we weren’t going to exchange gifts every month.”

“Fixing my shield will be the best present anyone has ever given me. Besides, I don’t need an excuse to bring you flowers.” He kissed the top of her head. “I can’t wait to kiss you.”

Channie buried her face in the velvety fragrance of the roses and smiled. “You just did.”

“You know what I mean.”

Channie nearly lost control of Chastity’s energy as she imagined Josh’s mouth on hers. She wasn’t the only one struggling with self-control. She didn’t need magic to feel Josh’s gaze wandering over her body as he followed her into the kitchen.

She pointed to the cabinet over the icebox. “Can you hand me that glass pitcher. I want to take care of these flowers before we go upstairs and get started on your shield.” Channie knew that once the last barrier between them was gone, they wouldn’t be able to think of anything else.

Josh towered over her as he retrieved the pitcher. He was so close she could feel his body heat. His pupils dilated as he stared down at her.

She put her palms on his chest and pushed him away from her. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“You are positively glowing with lust. It makes it hard to control Chastity’s energy.”

“Sorry.”

Channie shoved the roses into the pitcher and pricked her finger on a thorn. She popped it into her mouth and sucked to ease the sting.

Josh licked his lips and hit her with another blast of lust.

“Josh! I’m serious. If even the tiniest bit of Chastity’s magic gets into your shield it will contaminate the whole thing.”

Josh blushed and started reciting his litany of disgusting thoughts as he followed her upstairs and into her room.

Channie pointed at her bed. “Sit down and cool off while I go put a be-calm spell on the trips. The last thing we need is for one of them to wake up and catch you in my bedroom.”

Josh was still muttering about maggots and fried liver when Channie got back, but at least he wasn’t generating any lust. She said, “I need you to be quiet so I can concentrate.”

His lips twitched occasionally, but he didn't utter another sound.

Enchantment’s magic stirred to life and spread its warmth throughout her body as Channie gazed at Josh, but Chastity’s energy buzzed, just below the surface. She focused on how much she loved him to conquer her baser instincts.

She poured Enchantment’s energy into Josh’s shield and marveled at it’s beauty as it grew stronger, brighter, more powerful.

When she finished, Josh ran his hands over his chest, across his belly …

Chastity’s magic erupted out of Channie’s power-well and slammed into Josh’s shield with so much raw power it should have knocked him flat on his back. It didn’t.

“Channie, are you okay?”

She swayed on her feet as the room spun. Josh sprang off the bed and grabbed her arms, steadying her. Her fingers floated towards his face as if in a dream. His cheek was clean-shaved and baby-soft.

They could touch.

He smiled and lifted his own hand, inch by inch, and cupped her cheek with his palm.

His touch released a monster inside Channie’s body—a fire-breathing dragon that devoured her will-power, her morals and all her inhibitions. Her pulse thundered in her ears. Even with Josh’s support she could barely stand up. But she didn’t want to stand up. She wanted to lie down. With Josh. On the bed.

She skimmed her hands over his washboard belly and kissed a trail across his chest, inhaling his intoxicating sandalwood and lemon scent through the barrier of his turtleneck sweater. She ran her fingertips along the waist of his jeans from the center of his back to his hip bones.

Josh grabbed her wrists and stepped sideways away from the bed. “What are you doing?” His voice was rough as pine bark.

“I want to make love with you.”

“You said all you wanted to do was kiss.”

“I was scared when I said that. I’m not scared now.” Channie tried to wiggle her wrists out of his vice-like grip. She needed her hands on his body the way she needed air to breathe. But he refused to let her touch him.

He was generating every bit as much lust as she was. Why was he fighting her?

He said, “Let’s just cuddle...okay?” and loosened his grip enough for her to slide her hands up his forearms.

Cuddle first. Get him on the bed. Then rip his clothes off.
“Okay.”

Channie took a backwards step towards her bed.

Josh followed. His chest rose and fell faster with each shallow breath.

Channie’s heart skipped a beat. She tightened her grip on his arms and took another step back.

He froze.

She tugged a little more insistently—then a lot more insistently. He was as immovable as a mountain. Fine. If he wouldn’t come to her, she would go to him. 

He grabbed her shoulders and held her at arms length. “Channie. Slow down.”

Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes. “I thought you loved me.”

“I do. That’s why I’m stopping this.” Josh was still generating plenty of lust, but now it was tempered by compassion. He pulled Channie against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?”

Guilt twisted Channie’s stomach, but her need for Josh overpowered it. Besides, he needed her too. He was only resisting out of some misguided sense of duty to her.

Josh ran his hands lightly over the back of her sweatshirt. She knew he was only trying to comfort her, but his touch left behind a trail of fire. Chastity’s magic pulsed from Channie’s body like blood from a severed artery. Josh’s shield soaked it up and glowed red, converting Chastity’s energy into his own seductive magic.

Fever-hot and suffocating, Channie arched her back and lifted her chin to get a breath of air.

Josh’s lust resurfaced—more intense than ever.

His breath, hot and sweet on her cheek, sent a delicious tingle over Channie’s skin. She felt his agony as he teetered on a razor’s edge of indecision. 

All he needed was a little push. Channie wiggled out of his arms and grabbed the hem of her sweatshirt, but before she could peel it off over her head, Josh grabbed her wrists again. Damn it to hell and back, this was getting old.

“What are you doing?”

“I already told you. I want you to make love to me.”

“No. You. Don’t.” He released her from his embrace and stepped back. “It’s just magic making you feel this way.”

“You want me, too. I can feel it. Why are you being so stubborn?”

“I promised I wouldn’t take advantage of you.”

“I release you from your promise.”

“No.”

“Please, Josh. I’m begging you. I want you so much it hurts.”

Josh pointed at the bed but it was obvious he had no intention of joining her there. “Just sit down for a second and give us both a chance to cool off. I’ll open the window.”

He pushed the window open with so much force it rattled the glass. The sound of drunken laughter echoed through Heritage Park next door.

Since Channie’s awkward attempts at seduction had failed so miserably, maybe it was time to change tactics. “If you don’t make love to me right now, I’ll go find someone who will.”

Josh spun around. Emotions flickered across his face too quickly to decipher them all. But Channie recognized shock, fear and anger before his features settled into a look of betrayal so poignant it forced her to look away.

“You don’t mean that.” Josh’s voice cracked.

“I’ve never felt this...aroused before.” The thought of anyone but Josh touching her made Channie nauseous, but Josh didn’t know that. If she could make him jealous, maybe he’d give in. “I’ll bet at least one of those boys in the park will give me what I need.”

Josh’s eyes widened then narrowed into slits. His nostrils flared as he clenched his fists. “Those are Eric’s friends. They aren’t rapists, but they are stoned out of their minds. If you come on to them while they’re loaded, they won’t stop.” 

Channie bolted for the window but Josh grabbed her around the waist and drug her across the hall into the bathroom. She writhed in his arms, but she was not trying to escape.

He said, “If I let go of you, are you going to try to run away?”

“No.”

He sat on the edge of the bathtub and let her hands wander while he turned on the shower and removed first her shoes and then his own. She slid her hands under his shirt, lifting it to reveal the glorious sight of smooth skin stretched over sculpted muscle. He didn’t try to stop her from touching him, but he refused to let her remove his shirt.

Josh took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds then let it out with a whoosh. He did it again then picked Channie up and carried her into the shower. The spray chilled her to the very marrow of her bones. She’d never been so cold in her life. The town of Louisville must get its water supply from a glacier.

Josh’s teeth chattered. “Is this better?”

“Yes.” She felt as if she were freezing to death, but at least she would die happy with Josh pressed intimately against her.

He slid his hands between their bodies then grabbed Channie’s hips and pushed her away from him. She struggled to regain the lost contact. But he was too strong.

“Please, Josh, don’t reject me. I can’t stand it.”

“I’m not rejecting—”

Channie lunged forward and grabbed the waistband of Josh’s jeans. He slipped and fell backwards—dreamlike and in slow motion. She tried to catch him, but she was part of the same nightmare, moving at the same torturously slow speed. She watched in horror as his arms windmilled, trying to find purchase on the slick yellow tiles. She cast a suspension spell. It slowed his descent, but it didn’t have time to take full effect. The back of his skull smacked the edge of the bathtub with a horrifying crack.

Fear and shame accomplished what the cold water could not. The last ember of lust expired when Josh’s eyes rolled into the back of his head.

Channie shut off the shower then slid behind him and cradled his bleeding head against her shoulder. She examined his injuries as blood circled the drain.

Her magical scan revealed a mild concussion but no broken bones. Her visual scan revealed a four-inch gash in his scalp. When she turned his head to the side to get a better look, the edges of the wound parted in a grotesque smile.

He continued to bleed profusely but it was his convulsive shaking and the blue tint of his lips and fingernails that worried her the most. Channie knew she needed to get him warm, but she was too weak from casting the suspension spell to move him, much less lift him from the tub.

“Channie?”

“I’m here, Josh.”

“What happened?”

“You slipped and hit your head.” That wasn’t exactly the whole story, but if Josh didn’t remember her trying to tackle him, she didn’t see any reason to remind him...except he deserved to know the truth and she deserved to suffer the consequences. “It was my fault. I got carried away and—”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Why wasn’t he mad at her? Josh had felt just as lusty as she had. It wasn’t just tonight either, Josh felt this way a lot, but he never let it control him. He tested the boundaries every chance he got, but he’d never tried to force her.

Channie vowed to never let magic control her again. “We need to get you warmed up and take care of this cut on the back of your head. Can you sit up?”

“I think so.” Josh gripped the built-in soap-dish with one hand and the side of the bathtub with the other. He struggled to pull himself into a sitting position then probed the cut on the back of his head with trembling fingers.