Visions of Magic Read Online Free Page A

Couldn’t risk it. Though her body clamored for his, though her hands itched to reach out and touch him, she refused. She was forced to fight her own attraction to the man just to keep her mind straight.
    â€œI’m just supposed to trust you?” She had gone from seriously deep trouble at the school to being in way over her head here. “I don’t even know where you’ve taken me.”
    â€œWe’re not strangers,” he said, each word tight with banked emotions. “Your soul knows me. As you will. Your memories will begin to return now as your power grows.”
    â€œRight. Memories.” She bit down hard on her bottom lip, trying to convince herself she was dreaming. But the pain that stabbed her mouth was proof enough that this was all real.
    Her skin was buzzing at his nearness, as if she were reacting to an electrical charge. The color of his eyes seemed to swirl like gray clouds in a high wind. His mouth was firm and full and fixed in a grim slash that told her he wasn’t feeling much happier than she was.
    â€œThis is not a dream,” he told her as if he knew exactly what she’d been thinking.
    â€œNightmare, then?”
    â€œAsk yourself why you’re not afraid of me.”
    â€œWho says I’m not?” She lifted her chin, daring him to contradict her.
    â€œI do. It’s not fear I feel coming from you, but arousal.”
    She wouldn’t even respond to that.
    â€œI look familiar to you, yes?” he asked, and took her upper arms in a firm grip.
    His touch opened up something inside her. She felt the barest flicker of recognition from deep within. That sense of familiarity was back and she knew, deep in her soul, that he was telling her the truth. There was a connection between them. Maybe she would remember him, eventually. But the question was, what exactly would she recall? Was he to be trusted, as he said? Or would her memories tell her to stay as far away from the sexually powerful man as possible?
    â€œNo,” she said softly, meeting that strange gray stare. “I don’t know you. I don’t want to know you. I just want to leave.”
    â€œAnd go where?” He slid his hands up her body until he was cupping her cheeks in his big palms. She felt the overwhelming rush of heat slicing from his body into hers and she nearly trembled at the force of it.
    But she wasn’t going to give in to something that made zero sense to her. This was all some sort of bizarre mind game. And he was the puppet master. In the years since witchcraft had been revealed to the world, the crazies had really come out of the closet. “That’s none of your business.”
    â€œEverything about you is my business, Shea.”
    When she sucked in a gulp of air, the fear she tasted was dark and bitter. “What do you want from me?”
    â€œEverything,” he admitted, “and I will accept nothing less.”
    â€œWho the hell are you?”
    â€œI’m the one who saved your very fine ass from that mob.”
    â€œFunny,” she said softly, “I don’t feel ‘saved.’ I feel trapped.” She pulled free of his grip, though her body instantly missed his touch. Quickly, she moved to one side so he wouldn’t reach out and grab her again. “And how did you do that fire thing without burning us both to a crisp?”
    Frowning, he lifted both arms and fire danced across his skin. Snapping, hissing flames flashed over his body, wrapping him in a blanket of living fire.
    â€œOh, my God . . .” She swallowed hard and backed away until she once again slammed into the railing.
    â€œI am the fire, Shea Jameson.” The flames on his body winked out of existence, leaving his skin unmarked, untouched. Magic shimmered in the air between them. “Just as I am your other half.”
    She stared up at him as the moonlight shone on his features, giving him a shadowy, evil look that sent her heart