Page 12 of Brave Spirit (Bound Spirit #6)
Callie
I slowly creep into one of the senior lot’s parking spaces, and thankfully, I don’t hit the cars in the adjacent spots or stall the engine.
Yay, progress! With Nolan’s lessons around the Campbell’s property, I’ve managed to drive, start, and stop my new car relatively effectively, but parking is still the bane of my existence.
While I shut off the engine, I release an anxiety fueled breath, ignoring the angry honk and engine roar from the person who was stuck behind me as they speed off to find their own spot.
Patience is clearly not one of their virtues.
After grabbing my backpack full of new school supplies from the back seat, I head toward the front of the school where the guys and I agreed to meet up to compare schedules.
As I walk over the grass lawn, there’s a sweet sense of déjà vu of my first day at Twin Cedar Pass High School—the day when I met all the guys, learned that the supernatural was real, and made my first true friends. That day changed my life forever.
My warm, fuzzy bubble of memories pops when a creepy sense of being watched washes over me.
I look around, trying to trace the source of my eerie feeling, as an array of goosebumps prickle down my arms. A feeling of ill will sweeps over me, causing my heart to hammer wildly in my chest. I don’t understand this new sense I’ve suddenly developed, but I do my best to follow it.
Unfortunately, it becomes lost in the noise of all the other students funneling into school.
I scan the crowds, my eyes bouncing from person to person, but no one seems to be interested in me—all of them far too busy with their own first day jitters.
Spinning in place, I move on to the perimeter of the school grounds, every part of me screaming that danger is near.
Finally, under one of the big leaf maple trees, I find Gina glaring death lasers at me—figurative ones, obviously.
I’ve been the only one, thus far, who’s literally done that.
The weird feeling doesn’t go away, but I assume she has to be the source. Who else hates me that much?
Flipping her the bird in a one finger salute, I turn around and head toward the crowd of individuals who are actually happy to see me.
It pisses me off that I saved her life twice, and instead of taking accountability for all the fucked up things she did with her magic, she focuses all her rage on me because she finally had to face consequences.
Before I fully understood what I was, I warned her not to fuck with me, but she didn’t listen.
She doubled down by assaulting Nolan in the bathroom, using her minion illusioned with my face.
Remembering all the awful things she’s done makes my blood boil, and I’m forced to use my breathing exercises to calm down when I notice the once gentle breeze starting to rattle the trees.
Trying to untie my magic’s response to my extreme emotions is still very much a work in progress.
It makes me long for the oasis of the goddess’s creation where I was safe to feel without causing an immense amount of property damage.
I still can’t wrap my head around the fact I met the goddess.
The literal mother of all life has sent me on a holy mission to bring back the lost line of high priestess spirit witches.
The guys are going to lose their shit when they find out about this.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I startle when Nolan appears next to me and sweeps me into his arms. With one arm around my waist, he cradles the back of my head, his lean fingers woven into my hair.
Bending down, he places a deep and thorough kiss on my lips.
My thoughts scatter like paper on the wind, lost in the sweet taste of his mouth and the feeling of his warmth surrounding me.
He kisses me like we’re the only two people in the world and our sole purpose is to be bound this way.
When we finally come up for air, I release a shuddered breath, my eyes glazed from the intensity of our kiss. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”
His arctic blue eyes light up with love and tenderness. “I had a feeling you were upset and could use a distraction.”
“Consider me distracted.” I rock up on the tips of my toes to give him another kiss—this one a sweet, quick peck.
He chases my lips with his, laughing when he catches my brow instead.
Leaning into his warmth, I wrap my arms around his waist and press my ear against his chest. The scent of his spicy cologne and the steady thump of his heart soothes any lingering bitter emotions. He’s safe, alive, and healthy. I can’t help but be overjoyed.
He returns my hug and kisses the top of my head. “Feeling better?”
“Immensely.” I snuggle for a bit longer before letting go so we can continue our journey toward the front of the school. As we hold hands, our fingers woven together, I ask, “How are you doing? Any new developments or side effects of the spell?”
Nolan shakes his head. “I’m fit as can be.
I’d forgotten what it felt like to be healthy.
The gnawing hunger I experienced all the time is finally gone.
It’s like all this space opened up in my head.
Not only do I physically feel better, but I can think more clearly.
” He squeezes my hand. “I can never thank you enough.”
Looking over at him, I flash a jubilant grin. “Seeing you happy is all the thanks I need.”
His gaze is soft as he glances down at me. “I am happy. I mean, I still have some shit to work through, but overall, I’ve never been happier, especially when I’m with you.”
“Wow, that last part had some cheese on it, Casanova,” I reply with a giggle.
His full lips pull into a wicked smirk. “And you love it.”
Infused with equal parts joy and earnestness, my voice is soft when I tell him, “I really do.”
Nolan stops walking, tugging me close so he can steal another kiss. His breath feathers against my mouth as he whispers, “I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you too.” I nip his bottom lip, and he groans. Before we get lost in each other once more, I pull away and start walking again. “Come on, the others are waiting.”
He makes an over-the-top, dramatic sigh as he lets me tug him along.
When we finally reach the front of the school, Donovan, Kaleb, and Felix are already comparing class schedules. The three of them look up from their phones, and Felix practically bounces over to nab a morning kiss.
“Hi, pretty girl,” he murmurs, brushing his nose against mine, seemingly unperturbed with the fact that I’m still holding Nolan’s hand.
The corners of my lips curl into a goofy smile. “Hi, Casper.”
He kisses me again, this one with a little more intensity. “I’ve missed you.”
“You saw me two days ago,” I remind him with a laugh.
“Too long,” he insists, planting a kiss on my forehead.
Donovan snakes his arm around my waist and quickly extracts me from between Nolan and Felix. “My turn.”
Reaching down to grab the backs of my thighs, he hoists me up so my face is level with his, and I instinctually wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.
“You look so fucking hot today,” he says against my ear.
Heat flushes my cheeks. “Thank you, but I’m not really wearing anything special. Just jeans and a T-shirt.”
His hands slide along my thighs to cradle my butt. “Ripped jeans that hug your very fine ass, and a T-shirt that fits you like a glove. Makes me want to peel them off you so I can get my hands on what’s underneath.”
“Perv,” I tease, lightly tugging on a lock of his black hair that grew shaggy over the summer.
“You have no idea,” he taunts before kissing me like I’m a puddle of gasoline and he’s the match.
I’m dizzy and aroused when he finishes. With a knowing smirk, he puts me down on my now wobbly legs, leaving me hot and bothered.
I can’t tell if I want to kick him in the shin for putting me in this state or drag him to some private corner and rip his clothes off.
The clear war in my head is telegraphed through my frustrated glare, which feeds his smirk into a full grin.
“Hell of a way to say hello,” Nolan comments wryly, as if he didn’t kiss the crap out of me a few minutes ago.
Donovan closes the distance between them, and with his deep, gravelly voice, he asks suggestively, “Want one too?”
Nolan raises a challenging brow. “I wouldn’t say no.”
Needing no other encouragement, Donovan wraps one of his large hands around the back of Nolan’s neck and commences to kiss him with the same, thorough intensity he kissed me.
Felix watches with an expression I can’t quite read—curious but with a hint of something else. When he notices me observing him, his green eyes widen, and a deep pink stains his cheeks. I do my best to send him a nonjudgmental smile before turning away to give him some privacy with his thoughts.
Kaleb stands awkwardly near the wall of the school’s main building, his gaze trained on his phone.
The way his eyes don’t seem to move gives the impression that he isn’t absorbing any of the information on the screen.
I walk over, stopping in front of him, and take his free hand to hold between mine.
Skimming my thumb along the calluses that line his palm, I ask quietly, “Have you changed your mind?”
He tucks his phone into his back pocket and shakes his head. “No, I haven’t. I love you. I want to be with you.” His free hand makes a vague gesture toward the others. “I’ll get used to this.”
I bite my lip as I look down at our joined hands. “I don’t want to cause you pain.”