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back of my neck sends a shiver through me, and my fluttering heart stops. I turn and his face is just an inch from mine. The silk wisps of his tousled mop brush my forehead and I breathe him in: cinnamon . . . mmm.
    Taylor’s all but losing it. “Holy shit! Where’d you come from?”
    Luc straightens up and refills my cup. “I’ve been around,” he says, gesturing to the crowd at the bonfire. But I was just there—and he wasn’t.
    “Wow . . . okay. This party just got a whole hell of a lot cooler.” She looks from Luc to Gabe and back, then eases out of Marty’s grasp and meanders over to stand next to Luc. She looks at me with raised eyebrows. “So . . . are we sticking around?”
    “Uh . . . well . . .” I look to Riley for backup. “I think we’re leaving?”
    Riley is still staring at Gabe. “Not yet.”
    Luc hands me my beer and glowers at Gabe, who’s moved closer. “Gabriel,” he says, his warm-honey voice suddenly cold enough to freeze Hell.
    “Hello, Lucifer.” And, though his smile doesn’t falter, Gabe’s musical voice just went flat.
    “Wait . . . you
know
each other?” I stand between them, a little wobbly. The air around us seems charged with static electricity, making me tingle all over.
    Gabe quirks a crooked smile and eyes Luc. “You could say that.”
    “Unfortunately,” Luc adds. He’s sort of smiling, but under that calm demeanor he’s anything but calm. Even from a foot away, I can feel the tension in his body, coiled and ready to spring. His jaw clenches and his fists are balled at his side, dying to swing out at something—or someone. As I watch, I swear I see a tiny lick of red lightning flicker over the surface of his hand and disappear between his knuckles.
    I just stand here, speechless, my whole body buzzing with the growing electric charge in the air, and try to figure out when I slipped into the Twilight Zone. ’Cause, as my gaze shifts between Luc and Gabe, I know for sure this can’t be real. And I start to wonder if maybe Jackson spiked my beer or something.
    Angelique, realizing the attention isn’t on her, shoots me a glare before peeling off her jeans jacket to reveal a very low-cut tank top. She wedges in front of me, between Luc and Gabe, and I’m actually relieved to be released from whatever thatbizarre electric pull was. But immediately, Taylor shoulders her out of the way.
    “Where’s Adam?” she asks Angelique in a slimy-sweet voice with a matching fake smile.
    Angelique grinds her heel into Taylor’s foot. “Adam who?”
    I start to feel a little dizzy and realize I’m not breathing. I back away from the group, close my eyes, and take a deep breath, trying to collect myself.
    “So . . .” Luc’s voice, low in my ear, makes me jump. I open my eyes and feel my legs go soft. He quirks half a smile and twists a strand of hair out of my face, looping it behind my ear. “I was hoping you’d let me drive you home.”
    It’s clear from my racing heart that leaving with Luc would be a mistake. I glance at Gabe, who’s still staring at me. A hot flush works its way up my neck into my face as I realize staying might be a bigger mistake.
    I step up next to Riley. “Are you ready? Let’s go.” I sound completely desperate, which I guess I am.
    She glances over at Trevor and smiles. “Sorry, Fee,” she says turning back to me with a shrug.
    I feel Luc’s heat, too close behind me, but I don’t turn to look at him. “I’m ready,” he says.
    Oh, God.
Why can’t I breathe?
    My eyes slide back to Gabe, which turns out to be a mistake ’cause he’s still staring at me, and those blue eyes are doing nothing to help the breathing situation.
    I pull my eyes away and spin with my back to both him and Luc—and see Reefer and the band piling out of his black pickup.
    Crap.
    I turn back to Luc, careful to avoid his eyes. Oxygen deprivation makes thinking a challenge, but I’m able to stammer out, “Um . . . okay. We can go, I