Fated (Enchanted Gods Book 2) Read online

  His want deepens, and he pulls me closer he’s wrapped me with a strong hold, firm but careful. I push against him, but my strength is depleted. My breaths are so shallow, it takes every bit of effort to refill my lungs. Then my knees begin to buckle enough to alert me that something is really wrong. Johnny is right there to catch me.

  “Kat, are you okay?” Johnny’s worried voice echoes through my mind, but I’m too numb to think straight or move. It’s like I’ve lost control over my body and all its senses.

  “Outside. Need… outside.” My words are broken, but Johnny understands.

  He places his arms under my legs and lifts me effortlessly. He carries me to the back patio, and I immediately feel better under the moonlight. Its energy pours into me. I inhale deeply and turn to Johnny, embarrassment washing over me. He sets me down but doesn’t let me go.

  “I’m better. Thank you.” I can’t bear to look at him.

  “I’ve never had that effect on anyone before.” He’s serious, but I can see his lip twitching in the corner of my eye like he might smile. I take a deep breath and open my eyes to find him above me, staring down at me, entrancing me with those beautiful eyes that I’ll never get enough of.

  “I’m sorry…” I stumble to find my words. “I-I didn’t eat much today.” Although this is the truth, I know it’s not why I almost fainted.

  “I can make you something. What are you in the mood for?”

  I shake my head. “I should get home. I’ll eat there.”

  “Okay.” He looks inside the restaurant. “I just need to lock the back door, and we’ll go. I’ll be right back.”

  As soon as he’s gone, I look up at the moon and laugh. I guess I’m not surprised that Johnny makes me faint—literally. Kissing Johnny took everything from me. I need to find out why that happened, but I’m not ready to ask Rose something like that.

  A few minutes later, Johnny is walking toward me, wearing a white undershirt and light jeans. He is agonizingly gorgeous, but somehow, I find the strength to pull my eyes off him long enough to take my apron off and redo my ponytail.

  Johnny eyes are burning into me. “How are you feeling?”

  As I peer up at him, I see concern flooding his face. “Never better.”

  “Really?” He looks doubtful.

  I take his hand and interlace my fingers with his. “Yes, really.”

  He lets out a breath, and I swear he’s relieved. “Good, because I want to take you somewhere tomorrow.”

  I don’t hesitate for a single beat. “We have carnival prep in the morning, so after that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” I jump a little onto my tiptoes, unable to keep the grin off my face.

  “Okay.” He brings our hands to his mouth and kisses mine. “Let’s get out of here.”

  We’re silent on most of the ride home, but it’s not a bad sort of silence, though I do wonder if he’ll ever kiss me again after I nearly fainted back there. I’ll just have to find a way to convince him to.

  He walks me to the entrance of Summer Manor, and we turn to each other with smiles. He reaches for my hands, pulls me into his arms, then snakes them around my waist, looking deep into my eyes. “Good night.”

  I could crumble under his gaze. I practically do.

  He leans in, and I’m so sure he’s going to kiss me again that my lids are already fluttering closed. But his lips miss mine completely and instead graze my cheek. My nerve endings alight from the simple touch, and I breathe in his scent, which reminds me of a powerful sea breeze. I exhale softly, never wanting him to let me go.

  “Sweet dreams,” he whispers then retreats down the steps two at a time. When he pauses at the end of the landing and turns to glance at me over his shoulder, my breath catches in my throat.

  Johnny likes me… and I am totally and utterly breathless for him.

  The next afternoon, I search the food booths until I find Johnny on the far side of the island. He’s already stocking cabinets and shelves with napkins and plasticware. He does a double take when he spots me approaching. When his face breaks into a smile, my heart completely melts.

  “Hey, Kat.” My name slipping off his tongue might just be the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard. Well, second to him calling me Katrina in front of Rose.

  “Hey, Johnny.” I try to keep it casual, like our kiss wasn’t on repeat in my mind all night long. I lift myself onto the counter instead of walking around and peer into the booth. Empty boxes and plastic containers cover the floor as if they’ve been flung in all directions. “You like doing this? Running all these events?”

  Johnny shrugs. “Roy appreciates it, and that’s enough for me.” He raises his eyebrows at me before his gaze slips down the length of my frame now propped in the booth’s window. I’m just wearing a pair of white jean shorts and a yellow ribbed midriff, but by the lust in his gaze, I might as well be naked. His eyes latch back on to mine. “You going to help or just sit there asking questions?”

  I grin. “I’m here on volunteer business. You can’t boss me around today.”

  He laughs lightly. “I don’t boss you around ever.”

  I lift my eyebrows. Is he serious? Does he not remember the many times he’s told me what to do—or rather, what not to do? “I happen to recall a few demands.” I am very pointedly referring to last night, when he instructed me to turn around so that he could kiss me. I’m not complaining, but the reminder serves its purpose.

  Johnny stops unwrapping the paper casing from the napkins he’s holding and steps forward to stand between my legs. His hands move to my hips, and his mouth scrapes past my cheek, to reach my ear. “I think we both know who’s in charge here.”

  I press my cheek against his, my desire running warm through my body, wishing I had faith that his words were true. I’ve done a good job learning to harness my power and control my emotions, but not with Johnny. It’s like my powers are completely desensitized when I’m around him. “In that case, you should probably kiss me again. You know, to make up for that one time I almost fainted.”

  He chuckles lightly, his breath skimming my cheeks like the bay breeze. “That’s a tall order, considering I’m terrified it’s going to happen again.” His eyes lock on mine. “Trust me, the next time I kiss you, you’ll be well-fed first.”

  I laugh, but my insides are beating their fists against the walls of my chest in disappointment. “I guess it’s a good thing we’re working at the food booths.” I look around in search of anything to shove down my throat really quickly. “Where’s the food?”

  Johnny rolls his eyes, grips my waist, and pulls me off the counter in one effortless move. “Don’t volunteers help? We have work to do before we can get out of here. I want to take you somewhere after this.”

  “Okay, fine. What should I do?” I glanced around. “Clean up your mess?”

  “No, smartass.” Johnny kicks a box at his foot without looking at it. “Help me with this sign.” He unrolls a large banner that says Island Dogs.

  I walk around to the front of the booth and climb onto the ladder without hesitation. It rocks a little, and Johnny runs over to me, slamming his hand on a rung of the ladder. “Go slow,” he snaps. “You’re going to break your neck.”

  I grin at his command. “I’ll be fine.” I hammer one side of the banner then do the same to the other side.

  As I’m jumping down, Johnny catches me by my waist. I place my hands on his forearms for leverage, then he pulls me the rest of the way down.

  I peer up at him with a teasing smile and slide my hands up, hooking them around his neck. “Thanks.”

  The corner of his mouth tips up in amusement while he leans in closer. “You’re welcome.”

  His lips barely brush mine, teasing, and I know he’s about to pull. A force rushes through me, compelling me to press my mouth hard against his before he can hesitate again, so I do. A tiny growl rumbles through him, but he makes no move to push me away. Instead, he’s tightening his hold around my wa
ist and deepening the kiss like he’s ravenous for it. And I am for him.

  Even with the sun above our heads, my mind starts to spin and my heart flutters wildly in my chest like the happiest butterfly, never wanting to leave her cage. I never want to leave this moment. But it’s nothing like it was last night when I felt my energy slipping from me rapidly. Still, my knees weaken. I know Johnny feels it because he grips me harder like he’s afraid I’ll fall then rips his mouth from mine.

  I gasp in a breath as he stares at me wide-eyed, like he’s terrified. “Kat, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  My breathing is quickly returning to normal, but I’m so embarrassed. My cheeks blossom with heat and now it’s me who’s terrified. What if he never wants to kiss me again? “I’m fine. I just—”

  I stop myself before I say something cheesy, like how I was just weak in the knees from his kiss. Even if that’s true, I can’t mutter those words aloud.

  “You just what?”

  I shake my head. “It was nothing like last night. I promise.”

  He eyes me like he’s deciding if he should trust me. “It sure felt like it did last night. Why does that keep happening?”

  I swallow, knowing I better talk to someone about why I’m feeling this way. Maybe Charlotte can help. I open my mouth to feed him another line, about not eating very much this morning, when we hear our names.

  “Hey, Kat. Hey, Johnny.”

  I unclasp my fingers from around Johnny’s neck and turn to find Trisha standing there with Brett beside her, both of them appearing fully aware of how close Johnny and I just were.

  “You should join us. We’re making the environmental-awareness signs for the city today.” Brett points to the large gazebo area set up with picnic tables for everyone. “Your idea’s coming to life, Kat.”

  I look at Johnny, and he shrugs. Turning back to my friends, I nod. “Okay, we’ll be over in a sec’.”

  “This was one of your ideas?” Johnny asks as we walk toward the gazebo.

  “Yup. I thought it would be a good activity to start spreading awareness. Recycle, pick up loose trash, carpool… the stuff everyone already knows but maybe needs to be reminded of. We set up a hotline at the School of Gaia for people to report anonymously if they see anyone doing anything they’re not supposed to.”

  He’s gazing at me like I’ve just shocked the hell out of him. “You mentioned you were into all that stuff, but this is pretty cool.”

  I shrug, knowing that I need to be careful with what I say. “Well, it’s important. If we want to keep our city and water clean, everyone needs to be part of the solution.”

  Johnny’s eyes linger on mine. “How can I help?”

  I slip my hand into his. “Come with me.”

  We walk side-by-side the rest of the way to the gazebo, where a dozen people are designing poster boards by hand.

  Truth be told, I’m an awful artist. I can’t even pretend, and I’m certain my magic isn’t strong enough to make me any better. I do my best, though. I take a blue marker and a poster board and begin. When I’m done, I giggle at the hideous piece of art I’ve put together.

  Johnny smiles. “How’d you do?”

  I make a face and shake my head. “Not great.”

  “Show me.” He laughs, knowing I have something to hide.

  I panic with embarrassment. “No, that’s okay. I think I’ll start over.”

  “And waste poster board?”

  Throwing my head back, I laugh. “Ugh, fine, but you first.”

  He turns his poster board around. I’m expecting something similar to mine, but no. He drew a cartoon figure of a brown-haired girl with silver eyes riding the back of a manatee beneath bubble-letter words that read “They protect the environment. Do you?” written in blue and green paint. It’s a masterpiece compared to mine.

  A wild flock of butterflies awakens in my chest. I glance from Johnny to the poster and bite down on the inside of my lip. “Is that me?”

  He grins. “It’s art. That’s up for interpretation.”

  I stare at the illustration again and laugh. The head is bigger than the rest of the body, the cheeks are exaggerated, and the eyes are wide and appear to be sparkling, but it’s definitely me.

  “You’re an artist, Johnny Pierce.”

  Johnny makes a face. “No, I’m not. I just like to draw.”

  “Can I keep it?”

  He snatches the poster away from me. “Nope. This is for the environment.” With a smirk, he places his poster down and takes mine off the table. He examines it, scrunches up his face, then raises his brows. “This is great.”

  My jaw drops at his lie. “Great?”

  His expression morphs into a cringe. “Okay, it’s hideous, but it’s the thought that counts. Right?”

  I laugh then take our posters to the table where all the others are drying. When I walk back over to him, he’s already standing. “Ready to get out of here?”

  My heart skips, and I hope that whatever he has planned involves grabbing a meal somewhere. I don’t think I can bear waiting any longer to kiss him again. Not after the tease of our last one. “Where are you taking me?”

  “I need to run by the energy plant to help someone, but there’s something I want to show you there.”

  I’m not sure what he could possibly want to show me at the energy plant, but I follow him anyway, my curiosity too strong to deny.

  He leads me around the game booths and rides, and as the carnival starts to take shape around us, I can’t help but notice how different the island looks. Just seeing the dozens of volunteers sprinkled about with smiles on their faces and determination in their eyes would almost make one think there wasn’t a single thing to fear.

  We’re passing by the entrance to the garden maze when I look up to find Ava and Alec working together. Tearing my eyes away, I latch on to Johnny’s hand and peer up at him. “What’s at the energy plant?”

  “When I first moved here, I volunteered at the Manatee Viewing Center. It’s across from the energy plant.”

  I scrunch my nose. “You did?”

  He nods, steering me toward the marina. “When I was nearing town on my trip here to settle down, I noticed an injured manatee. It had been hit by a boat like the one we saw last week. The rescue team came, and they told me about the viewing center and that they could use volunteers like me. I did everything, from giving tours to feeding the baby manatees. I fell in love with the big goofy creatures. They’re gentle, playful, and defenseless against those who injure them.”

  I turn to him, unbelieving. “Why are people so thoughtless?”

  Johnny is silent. He obviously has no words. No explanations for such awful violence. He leads me out onto one of the long docks, and we stop at a small boat with nothing but a steering wheel and white bench seats that wrap the perimeter.

  “We’ll borrow Roy’s boat today.” He winks and holds my arm to help balance me as I step down. He follows me onboard, digs out a key from in the front compartment, and starts up the motor with a quick flick of his wrist.

  I stand beside him as he backs us out of the marina. “Why don’t you volunteer anymore?”

  He smiles. “I still do, but their season doesn’t begin here until November. Manatees that live up north migrate to Apollo Beach closer to winter. They can’t survive in water less than sixty-eight degrees, so this is their home during colder months. The plant takes in cold water from the bay and heats it in large boilers. The steam from the boiling water turns the turbines and condenses before pumping it back out into the bay, so the manatees are able to live here. Starting in November, you’ll see hundreds of manatees migrating to the water around the plant. In December, the number is in the thousands. It’s incredible.”

  Johnny doesn’t mask the awe in his voice. For some reason, it makes him a million times more attractive. “I thought about going up to Crystal River for the summer,” he says. “There are manatees there all year-round because the water is a constant seventy-
two degrees.”

  “Why did you decide to stay?”

  It’s ridiculous that I want to be the reason he stayed. Johnny didn’t even like me at the beginning of the summer.

  “Things came up here,” he says, giving me a long look. “And I like working at the Grille. Roy doesn’t trust many people, and he’s always been there for me. It makes me feel good to return the favor.”

  “Have you heard from your friends that rescued the manatee?”

  Johnny's eyes widen. “Yeah. I meant to tell you. They say he’s doing great. They’re going to keep him another week before releasing him, but he’ll be fine, thanks to you.”

  I shake my head. “No, you’re the one who knew exactly what to do. That manatee was lucky you were there.”

  I allow my eyes to linger on him as he heads toward the large power plant that juts out into the bay. Then he parks at a small dock, ties us up, and helps me over the edge of the boat. We approach the gate to the energy plant. It’s closed and locked, but Johnny is able to get ahold of a tall, heavyset man in a security uniform as he’s walking by.

  “Pierce,” the man says with a jubilant smile on his face. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hey, Frank. The boys needed some help at the turbines, but first, I was going to let my friend here get a glimpse of the manatees.”

  Friend. The word creates a sinking in my chest.

  Frank shrugs. “Sure. Not much going on today. That’s fine.”

  I give the man a bright smile as he unlocks the gate for us, but I’m thrown by the way he regards me with a narrowed, curious look. I avert my eyes in discomfort then turn to Johnny, who looks around.

  We cross the paved road beside a strip of water until we reach another gate.

  Johnny leans up against it and points to a tall bridge on the other side of the water. It appears to be an observatory. “That’s the Manatee Viewing Center. It’s all locked up now, but people come in the thousands from all over the world just to catch a glimpse of the manatees.” He gestures down into the water. “Look.”