Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes #1)(17)

“I totally won! I made it to them first!” Logan shouted at his brother who was latched onto my backpack.

“No, I totally won! Lemon drop, who got to them first?” Landon shouted over his shoulder to the girl they hadn’t stopped talking about since they met on Saturday. She walked the rest of the way to us shaking her head looking exasperated at their antics, though the small smile on her face revealed that she actually enjoyed their playfulness.

“Nuh uh, nope, not getting in the middle of that one, you crazy kids, I’ve seen how siblings fight,” she stopped just outside the front door to the building “So, I guess I’ll catch you two later?” She tucked a stray lock of her light blonde hair behind her ear and tightened her ponytail. Her eyes glancing between the twins, but avoided looking at Cam or myself.

“Oh no you don’t, you’ve met Hudson,” Logan started, hearing Landon mutter an “unfortunately” from behind me. “You, my love, now have to meet these two as well. This nerd here is Camden. That’s Dante, he’s the captain of the Kohl team.”

“Hey, you work in the library, right?” Cam questioned. He struggled to turn in Logan’s arms before they both finally let go, Cam’s hand reaching out for her to shake. Pink bloomed on her cheeks, creeping down her neck, as she slipped her hand into Cam’s slowly. Her eyes darted to his, which held a mischievous gleam. He had a matching blush on his cheeks, but I didn’t think his was from embarrassment. Is there something going on there? I raised an eyebrow at him noticing that the twins were eying Cam with the same question blatant on their faces.

“Uh, yup,” she squeaked, clearing her throat quickly before continuing, “yeah, that’s me.” A strained smile followed her statement, and she pulled her hand back. The casual comfort she had when she came up with the twins was nowhere to be seen, nervousness rolling off her in waves.

“Well, it’s nice to officially meet you,” Cam gave her a small smile before she turned to me, my hand hovering between us for her to shake. Her delicate fingers were dwarfed by my calloused ones. The contrast was stark between her smooth, pale skin and my caramel coloring.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lucie. These two have literally not shut up about you since Saturday,” I chuckled at the promise of retaliation etched into the twins faces. Lucie’s blush darkened another few shades.

“Right,” her eyes shifted sideways to Logan and Landon. “Well, on that note, I’m going to go. It was nice to meet you both.” Landon moved from my side, running to wrap his arms around her waist before she could leave.

“No,” Landon whined, “don’t go! Come hang out with us. I promise we aren’t as creepy as this asshole makes us seem.” Pouting his bottom lip out, he rested his chin on her shoulder. While she wasn’t very short, he still had over half a foot on her requiring him to hunch over to lean against her shoulder. Instead of responding, her eyes were squeezed shut, jaw clenched, and a small whimper sounded from the back of her throat. “Lemon drop? What’s wrong, did I hurt you?” Landon immediately let go of her waist and slid around to stand in front of her. Her breathing was slow and shallow, her right arm crossed over her stomach to cradle her rib cage. When she opened her eyes, they glistened with unshed tears.

“I’m good, don’t worry,” she tried to play it off with a smile that ended up looking more like a grimace.

“I think “I’m good” is Lucie speak for ‘I’m not actually good, but I don’t want to talk about it’,” Logan whispered, raising an eyebrow at her. Returning to his normal volume, he addressed Lucie, “you’re clearly not alright. Come on, let’s get inside and stop blocking the door.” She slowly nodded her head and made her way passed us into the building’s common room. Heading towards the stairs since our elevator was undergoing some maintenance, we made our way up to the third floor.

“Why don’t we head to my room, I’ve got some first aid stuff in there,” Cam called out from the back of the group. His normal quiet timbre elevated to be heard. When we turned down the right side of the hallway, Cam walked around the group and unlocked the front door to his and Nik’s room. As he entered he hollered out, “I’m back, and I found some strays.” Grigori, Nik’s familiar, came fluttering into the common room from his bedroom.

“Ah yes, these mangey creatures,” Nik gruffly teased from his room. When he finally stepped out of his room, he was pulling on a white shirt.

Lucienne





Holy… what do they put in the water around here? The guy who just stepped out of his room was tall, and his abdomen was sculpted, showing off a six pack and that eye-catching V guys have on their hips descending into his tight black jeans. He had a tattoo running up his right side, swirls of smoke and shading that seemed to start beneath his waistband and spanned up to his ribcage. There was a symbol in the midst of all the shadows, but it was kind of hard to make out, it looked almost like a spoked wheel. He stood barefoot, chiseled chest now covered in a white shirt. Chocolate brown hair was cut short on the sides, the top was longer and gelled back into a smooth style. His jaw and cheekbones looked sharp enough to cut glass, but what caught my attention the most, was the clouded covering on his eyes. He’s blind, the realization hit me like a freight train.

Oh, this is just ridiculous. First, the twins and their wicked smirks mixed with playful banter, then Hudson’s flirting and tight, well-filled out shirt. Followed by Cam with his cute-as-hell glasses and subdued sensuality, Dante’s broad shoulders and gorgeous smile. Then finally this guy, all intriguing ink and mesmerizing eyes. I felt my heart sputter in my chest and I clenched my thighs, momentarily distracted from the low throbbing in my side.