Page 10

Chapter nine

Lightning Strikes

Josh

I slip my hand into his. “Maybe I could be the King of Passion, with a little help.”

Holy crap! Did I really just say that? Who am I kidding—I’m just a science nerd! As if Karma would want to hold hands with…

Wait.

I glance down at our intertwined fingers. He squeezes my hand and I squeeze his back. A spark ignites, racing up my arm, setting off fireworks in my brain.

Oh my god, I’m holding hands with Karma Wilson! How did that even happen? One minute I was telling him about my grandmother’s vision, and the next minute he’s looking at me with stars in his eyes. Me —Josh Malik!

My last minute makeover must be the reason. Whatever Ruby and Simon did, it seems to be working. This could be my chance. Tonight may be the night I get my first real kiss, but how do I go from A) holding hands with Karma to B) kissing him?

I’m good at equations. I can figure this out.

“I’ve never held hands with a guy before,” I admit, scooting a little closer. “It feels nice, doesn’t it?”

Moonlight creates a golden halo around Karma. “I could hold hands with you all night,” he says.

OK, that’s good—but not good enough. I scoot an inch closer.

“What would this feel like?” I raise my other hand in the air, fingers spread wide.

He presses the tips of his fingers against mine, then we slowly push our palms together.

“Wow,” I say in a whisper.

“Yeah.” His voice is rough.

The night air sizzles with energy, a low hum vibrating in the space between us, an electric current running through our connected hands.

“I didn’t know touching could feel so good.” I press my leg against his. From knee to hip, every nerve ending comes alive.

“Nature is all about touching.” Karma leans toward me. “The poet Shelley called it a divine law.”

I sneak a peek at his lips. “A law?”

“Mm-hmm.” He lifts my hand to his mouth, brushing a kiss across the back of my fingers. “In Love’s Philosophy , Shelley says that everything in nature is connected.”

A thrill runs up my spine at the touch of his lips. “What does the poem say?”

“Do you really want to hear it?” he murmurs, his eyes on my mouth.

“Yes,” I say, leaning closer.

Karma licks his lips and swallows thickly. “Um, OK. It goes like this…

The fountains mingle with the river,

And the rivers with the ocean;

The winds of heaven mix forever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

All things by a law divine

In one another’s being mingle-

Why not I with thine?”

Karma leans forward and whispers in my ear, “Would you like to hear the rest?”

The rest of what? How can I think straight when his mouth is so close to mine? All I want is to keep hearing the sound of his voice, to keep feeling the touch of his breath. “Keep going,” I say.

He kisses my jaw, then continues.

“See, the mountains kiss high heaven,

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister flower could be forgiven

If it disdained its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea”

Tipping up my chin with one finger, he gazes into my eyes.

“What are all these kissings worth,

If thou kiss not me?”

If there was ever a moment to make a move, now would be the time. I tilt my head and part my lips, my heart pounding in my chest. Karma bends down slowly, hesitating with our mouths just a breath apart. I lean up, closing the gap, pressing our lips together.

Lightning rips the sky in half. It strikes the park bench where Karma and I sit and I’m electrified from the inside out. A bolt of desire slams into my chest. One kiss, and I’m knocked off my feet.

I crawl into Karma’s lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. Nothing exists but the touch of his mouth, the feel of his lips and the heat of his breath. Our kiss is the sum of the entire universe and every atom within it. Our kiss is everything .

When I part my lips and our tongues connect, I lose all training of thought. Sensation consumes me, overpowering my mind as my body’s instinct takes over. I slide my tongue against Karma’s, threading my fingers in his hair, pressing our hips together.

Long minutes later, he pulls away with a gasp. “God, Moonbeam—you feel so good.”

“Moonbeam?” I ask as I pull him back in, my body on fire with need.

Karma kisses the underside of my jaw while his hands roam over my back. “Is it OK if I call you that?”

I press his face against my throat. “Yes, just keep touching me.”

He bites my neck, and my hips buck. When he kisses the sting away, I moan. A burst of light explodes behind my eyelids as he nips my earlobe with his teeth. “If you’re the King of Passion, Josh, does that mean I can be your prince?”

“Kiss me,” I groan, “and you can be anything you want.”

Karma presses our mouths back together and my body bursts into flames. I mold myself against him. Too close isn’t close enough.

Everything? No, our kiss is the reason for everything. The meaning of everything . The answer to every question.

Every question… except for one.

If kissing Karma feels this incredible, how amazing would sex with him be? To have him kiss every inch of my body. To feel the heat of his naked skin. To pull him so close that our bodies merge, two beings mingling into one.

I’ve got to know. I need to know. I’ll do whatever it takes. If I have to spend the entire summer learning how to seduce him, then that’s what I’m going to do. I will get Karma into my bed.

Nothing is going to stop me.