Page 78 of Haunted

“Jules?” Luca’s concerned voice has me opening my eyes. He’s standing in front of me, bent at the knees so we’re eye level, his beautiful blue eyes watching me worriedly. “Are you okay?”

I swallow, my mouth suddenly feeling like I swallowed cotton balls. “Yes.” My voice comes out scratchy. “A wave of dizziness just hit me.”

His expression turns troubled. “Come on. You need to sit.”

When he grabs my hand to lead me to one of the couches, an electrical wave zaps me. I feel his hesitation, so I know he felt it too. Just as we’re walking out from behind the counter, I pull him to a stop.

“Wait,” I tell him, and he turns to me. “I’m fine now.”

His eyes search mine. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I want to snatch his hand back in mine when he releases me, but I refrain from doing so. He steps to the side, but I still feel his eyes on me as I look around the room. I move to the left and look inside the glass cases.

“You do piercings as well?” I ask as I look at all the different kinds of jewelry.

“I don’t, but Ella does.”

“Oh.”

I move along the counter until I reach the end, then start looking at the frames on the wall. Some of the pictures are ones of actual tattoos and some are drawings. I knew Luca had to be good because of his profession, but I didn’t realize just how good.

I come to a stop when a strong sense of déjà vu hits me. It takes me a minute to catch my breath because the feeling is so strong.

“I feel like I’ve been here before,” I murmur with a frown. I turn back to the counter, still expecting to see Luca behind it, but I’m surprised to see him standing only a few feet from me, staring at me watchfully. “I’ve been here before.” Somehow, I know it’s the truth.

“Yes.”

My brows drop further. “But how doyouknow?”

He shoves his hands in his pockets, his own frown forming between his eyes.

“I didn’t until last night. I had a dream of you coming in the shop, but I wasn’t sure if it was real or my imagination. With you saying you felt like you’ve been here, along with my dream, I’d say it’s probably true.”

I nod, agreeing with him. “And you don’t remember?”

“No.” I can tell he wants to say more. “You were with a girl named Nicole. You both came in to get a tattoo. It was a graduation present to yourselves. It was only your friend that ended up getting one. Or I assume so. I woke from my dream too soon to know for sure. It had to have been before you met Theo because you didn’t recognize me, and we looked more alike back then than we do now. But itcouldn’t have been too soon before because I only lost six weeks.”

At his mention of Nicole, an image of a short blonde girl from school comes to mind. We had hung out a few times, but not often. She had more of a wild streak, and I was shy. I briefly remember us talking about tattoos once. When I mentioned to her that I had always wanted to get one, she was surprised, saying I must have an inner wild child inside me wanting to break free.

The tattoo on my side prickles. I purse my lips, a possibility coming to mind. Luca’s eyes never leave mine as I turn to the side and lift my shirt to just below my breasts. Heat creeps up my cheeks, but I determinedly don’t let it stop me.

“Does this look familiar?”

I feel a tingle of awareness as his eyes drift down me, as if in a soft caress. When his gaze lands on my tattoo, they narrow. I’m surprised when he drops to his knees at my side, then suck in a sharp breath when the tips of his fingers graze the skin. His eyes briefly flicker to mine before moving back to the tattoo.

“It’s beautiful work,” he comments. Goose bumps appear when he doesn’t move his fingers away and instead continues to examine the heart. He’s so close that I feel the heat from his breath. “I don’t know if it’s mine or not, but I’ve seen it before.” When he lifts his gaze back to me, there’s a crease in his brow “I’ve had visions of it. The full image didn’t come to me until a couple nights ago.”

“I don’t understand. What could all this mean? Theo said I got it to signify our love.”

His jaw tics at that revelation. I don’t know if he realizes what he’s doing, but his thumb is rubbing back and forth right above the tattoo. Shivers race up my spine when he looks back at it and his eyes darken. Feelings I’ve never felt before assail me, and I don’t know what to do with them. Years ago, beforemy coma, I had been only mildly curious about sex, focusing more on school than looking for any type of sexual relationship. I had kissed guys before and one even made it to second base, but I had never been tempted to go all the way.

Now though, with Luca kneeling beside me, just his hands on my sides, I’m feeling more than I ever had before. I want his hands on me. I want his hands to wander and explore more of me.

All too soon, he takes the shirt from my hand and pulls it back down. I immediately miss his warmth. The disappointment fades when he stands close. Now it’s his scent that surrounds me. His stunning blue eyes stare down at me, and I know I could get lost in them so easily.

“I don’t know what it means,” he says softly. “But something tells me there’s more going on than what we both think.”

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