Enchant Me

by Anne Violet

  Thankfully I didn’t have to try very hard to find a smile as he approached. He looked so boyish as he ran up, his smile almost innocent-- well as innocent as it was for someone as sexy as he was to look.

  “Hey, I can drive you and Cody home, and after I have showered and changed, I will walk over and pick you up around 7:00.”

  My mind kind of got caught on the notion of him showering, water dripping down his body. My thoughts must have been all over my face because a slow sensual smile started to form on his lips. I gave myself a mental slap. Mind out of the gutter, mind out of the gutter. “Sounds good,” I murmured. I kept chanting the refrain, the whole time we packed up my stuff and walked towards his car.

  I tried to ignore the warm weight of his hand at the usual spot on my lower back, and decided the wisest course of action at the moment was to avoid looking at him. I felt ridiculously glad that my arms were full with a wriggling cat, so there was no chance I could jump him like I seriously wanted too. He wasn’t helping though, I could feel his heated gaze on me and his hand started caressing my back, drifting close to my hips and then back up again. Once in the car he rested his hot hand just slightly above my knee and my head jerked to face him. Didn’t he know he was taunting an obviously sex-crazed virgin?

  When my eyes met his I didn’t see the teasing light I expected. Instead his eyes were dark, velvety, and concentrated on my lips. I felt immeasurably better that I wasn’t the only one with their mind in the gutter. Bending towards him, I breathed in his scent before diving in. His breath and cologne were delicious, I couldn’t explain it. It had to be pheromones. After who knows how long, we finally pulled away. Our breathing labored, hearts beating like we had run a marathon. He pulled my hand to rest on top of his while he drove, neither of us spoke till we were in front of my house.

  “Christian, when you come by later you should probably meet my mom.”

  He smiled and his dark eyes had that softness in them that always melted me. “No problem. By the way, I kind of figured your dad doesn’t live here but where does he live?”

  “In New Orleans with my step-mom and younger half sister,” I said, wondering why he wanted to know.

  “Hmm,” was all he said.

  Christian seemed almost old fashioned at times and I wondered if he was considering asking my father for permission to date me--officially I guess. That would be fine although no boyfriend of mine had ever done that before.

  I gave him as innocent a kiss as I could muster and reluctantly got out of his car. “I will see you at 7:00.”

  As I watched his car drive away, I mulled over all that had happened today-- fell in love, had a psychic vision. Just a normal day for me, I laughed internally at myself. Walking towards the house I started to worry about my mom’s reaction to Christian. Would she demand to know his intentions? Fingerprint and blood type him? I cringed, I hope she wasn’t going to go into some obnoxious over protective mode. She was in the shower when I got in the house so I went straight to my room with Cody and started on my homework.

  As the time inched closer to Christian’s arrival she finally walked by my room on the way to the kitchen. I cringed; it looked like she was all ready for bed and she didn’t usually like to have my friends over on a regular basis anyway so it looked like maybe she wouldn’t want to meet Christian tonight after all. “Hey mom?”

  “Yes?” she said, stopping just outside the door to my room.

  “I am going to Saltar’s with Christian for a barbeque tonight and I was going to introduce you to him before we go. Did you want me to wait for another time?”

  I watched as she considered the options, probably deciding if it was worth meeting her daughter’s boyfriend tonight or if she would rather wait until she was dressed with her hair and makeup done. Eventually her mothering instincts won out over her vanity. “I will go get dressed and I take it you will be home at a decent hour since you have school tomorrow?”

  I nodded my head. “Yep, homework is already done too.”

  When she shuffled off, it occurred to me that I should probably change too. It was getting a little cooler and I wanted to be comfortable, especially if we sat down on the hard gravel beach at some point. I quickly chose a cute little black and white track suit and tennis shoes. Giving Cody’s sleeping form a little pat, I went out to the living room to wait for my dark Irish, Italian painter. When the knock on the door finally came, my Christian grin was already in force. I tried to temper it but it was hopeless. As I let him in I realized that my uncontrollable full teeth grin made him seriously happy. So keeping to my vow, if it made him happy… I guess I would just have to keep smiling like an idiot since I couldn’t seem to do anything else. Just then mom walked up in her version of night club wear. A little over the top to meet my boyfriend, and I did my best at restraining an eye roll.

  “Mom this is Christian, Christian my mom Cindy.”

  Christian, being ever the gentleman, presented my mom with a lovely mixed flower bouquet and shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you,” he said and wrapped an arm around my waist while handing me a single pure white rose.

  I smiled up at him; the boy was smart getting me a rose in a non-traditional color. We both glanced back at my mom as she spoke. “Thank you, and you too: Alexis mentioned you live not too far from here. How long have you lived in Steilacoom?”

  “I came to live here two years ago with my paternal grandparents when my parents died,” he flashed me a look like he was surprised I hadn’t already told my mother this much already.

  “It’s strange with you living so close by we’ve never seen you.”

  Oh lord--here we go. She was staring Christian down like he was a felon and her arms were crossed over her chest in an aggressive sort of way. I belatedly realized mom’s distrust towards men was now being directed at my man. I felt my temper start to rise; Christian didn’t deserve to be interrogated and she definitely didn’t need to know Christian had been in rehab. I knew she wouldn’t understand. I was about to shake Christian’s arm off so I could have us both storm out of the house but he tightened it around me holding me in place. “My grandparents and I travel a lot to see family; many of our relatives are old and sick so we try to see them as much as possible.”

  “Oh, I am sorry to hear that,” she said stiltedly.

  I turned my head to hide my smile, without being rude or unnecessarily truthful he had gotten my mom to back off.

  Grabbing Christian’s arm I headed to the door, “Mom, I’ll be home at 10:00.”

  “Have a good time,” she mumbled as she headed back to her room.

  Once outside, we both breathed a sigh of relief, and holding hands headed to the beach. I could feel him glancing at me questioningly.

  “What?” I asked, perplexed by the expression on his face.

  His dark eyes almost looked hurt. “I just wondered why your mom didn’t seem to know anything about me.”

  I felt bad that he had taken it that way and hoped that he could see in my eyes all that I felt for him. “God, Christian it isn’t you. My mom and I…we aren’t close.”

  “Why?”

  Taking a deep breath in, I tried to think of the best way to explain. “Ever since I was young, especially after my parents’ divorce, I learned quickly to rely on myself. My mom is slightly… self-involved. I never feel that I come first with her. So I guess in a way I don’t trust her. So no I don’t tell her much. And likewise she doesn’t tell me much.”

  He now looked at me in such a pitying way that it really bothered me. “Don’t worry I talk endlessly about you to Tina and Becca. I have actually had to start paying them to listen.”

  My ploy to change both our moods worked. He smiled and laughed, dropping my hand and wrapping his arm around my waist. He bent down as we walked over the trestle and brushed a warm kiss against my brow. His friends were at the little stone and wooden structure that housed the barbeque pit and by the smell in the air the food was cooking already, loud rock music blaring away,
but I noticed I seemed to still be the only girl here.

  I looked up at Christian questioningly. “Christian, how come there aren’t any other girlfriends here?”

  He looked down at me, his smile gentle, like I was something precious. “I am the only one that actually wanted to hang out with his girlfriend. All the rest, look at this as their excuse to escape.”

  I smiled, feeling a little bashful. “Oh. You know you never told me where you knew these guys from.”

  His glance considered me for a moment before he replied, “I know them from rehab.”

  I glanced up at him, traveling his face with my eyes. “Did you think I would have a problem with that?”

  “No,” he smiled gently, “I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

  As we walked up to the shelter I hugged his side tighter to me, “I’m with you so why would I be uncomfortable?” I murmured before we were in earshot of anyone else.

  Once under the shelter, the guys all ranging in age and nationality came up to greet us. They were just regular guys. Passing them on the street you would never think that they had a drug or alcohol problem. Even though I was the lone female intruding on their all male bonding party, their friendly faces said I was more than welcome and I smiled in response. I noticed Christian still kept a tight arm around my waist, his head tilted toward me as he introduced me to everyone. After most everyone had been introduced he brought me over to a tall, gawky boy. He seemed shy and was probably no older than fourteen.

  “Alexis, this is Alex. You could say he’s like a younger brother from another mother to me,” he said, a smile in his voice.

  I grinned at the sandy haired boy and shook his hand. I was kind of amused by our similar names. “Nice to meet you Alex, do people ever call you Lex?”

  Alex glanced up at Christian a small smile on his face, “no, that is Christian’s nickname for you.”

  I turned to look at Christian just as he leaned closer. “See, I talk about you to my friends too.”

  I leaned against him, watching his lips curl up at the corners, mesmerized as he leaned down and brushed a fleeting kiss across my lips. “I am going to get some food for us, I will be right back.”

  Smiling, I turned back to Alex who had been trying to observe us unobtrusively. His pale face flushed when he realized I had caught him. I tried to think of a way to put him at ease, movies were usually a good topic with guys. “What’s your favorite movie, Alex?

  “Star Wars,” he murmured quietly.

  “Really, that means you have really good taste because it’s my favorite too.” I said, smiling at him.

  He seemed to relax as we discussed our favorite scenes and characters until loud laughing interrupted us. We both looked over to find Christian practically doubled over with laughter at the other end of the shelter, some of the other guys surrounding him. They all seemed to be joking about god knows what. But what caught me, was Christian’s throaty laughter and the happiness on his face.

  “I’ve never seen him so happy-- and relaxed,” Alex whispered next to me.

  I didn’t look away from Christian as I asked softly, “never?”

  “No, he was actually kind of scary when I first met him at rehab.” He ducked his head and looked almost embarrassed now, like he was revealing secrets.

  Finally turning to Alex, I looked at him questioningly. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know how to explain it; he was really intense, sad… and angry too. Once he got cleaned up it was better and now he has you.” He smiled sweetly at me and looked back over to Christian. “I’m glad he’s happy, he’s been like a big brother to me, watching out for me and helping me through some rough times.”

  I looked back over at Christian and realized he was watching Alex and me. I felt that electricity spark between us. He smiled and lifted his brows as if to ask what we were talking about. There was no chance in hell of either of us telling him, so I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. This got him to return pretty quickly with our plates and drinks. Reaching us, he handed me a plate that I wasn’t sure could handle the weight of food he put on it. I looked at it skeptically but dug in; it was a little smoky from the grill but still fantastic. Christian looked amused and suspicious at the same time as he glanced back and forth between Alex and me.

  “What were you two talking about while I was gone?”

  Without missing a beat or having to lie I told him. “Star Wars.”

  “Good choice that is Alex’s favorite movie.”

  “So I heard, it’s mine too.”

  The barbeque was loud and a little crazy but I loved it. I had forgotten what it was like hanging out with a bunch of guys. They begged for duplicates of the pictures I had taken throughout the day on my digital camera and I promised to pass them on through Christian soon. All too quickly it was over and Christian and I waved everyone off promising to do something else soon. The sun had already set and I gave myself a mental pat on the back for being smart enough for changing clothes earlier, it was getting a little chilly. We walked down the beach and luckily the full moon provided enough light to see by. I leaned against his side as we walked arm in arm. I took a couple quick glances up at him as I considered how to broach the subject of his parents. I wanted to solve the mystery of why I was having this vision, if a vision it really was.

  “Christian, could I ask you a question?”

  He peered down at me, his smile easy. “Sure, what do you want to know?”

  I looked down and away. “What happened to your parents?”

  He was staring at me--hard, and he pulled his arm away from my waist. I could feel him withdraw mentally just as much as the physical and it actually hurt. He was vibrating with an odd intensity that I couldn’t figure out.

  When he finally spoke I shivered. “Why are you asking that?” He asked, his voice gravelly and dangerous sounding.

  I drew my jacket tighter around myself now that I had lost his body heat. I had always sensed there was darkness to him but I never thought that it would be directed at me. It didn’t make sense. Why was he so defensive? I stopped next to an outcropping of boulders that blocked some of the light from the street lights on the hill above. Part of me wasn’t surprised when he whirled around and placed himself barely a foot in front of me. He was being deliberately intimidating. I tried to gauge the emotions in his eyes but his face was completely in shadow and I had to remind myself that I truly did trust him.

  “You’ve never said what happened,” I whispered.

  “Maybe because I don’t like to talk about it,” he growled.

  Fighting the urge to step back, I bit my lip in dismay. How to fix this? My heart squeezed painfully even though we were mere inches away. Emotionally it felt like worlds apart. It was definite now, that there was something about his parents’ deaths that needed to be brought out or dealt with, but it was also obvious he wasn’t going to let me in to help. I dropped my head and tried to ignore my pained thudding heart.

  “I’m sorry,” I breathed and started to turn and step away.

  Only to be hauled back and pressed against the large boulder behind me, his arms a cage around me. As he leaned over me I could feel his warm breath against my face and his delicious cologne writhed about me. I looked up to meet his eyes, and even in shadow I could tell they were smoldering.

  He brushed the side of his face along mine, his lips grazing my cheeks, my chin. I almost didn’t catch his whisper. “Why are you asking, Alexis?”

  I shivered with desire instead of fear. What did he want to know? I tried to think of a response that didn’t include--I’m a psychic and I have been having visions of you and your parents. But it was getting really hard to think, he was making me dizzy with lust.

  “Lex?” he murmured, still apparently expecting a response.

  Placing my hands gently on his chest I tried to gently nudge him back but he wasn’t moving. I shook my head; I needed to tell him something…

  “I was just curious,”
I breathed.

  He pressed his hard body against mine while his lips started to cruise down my neck and I couldn’t stop from wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I tilted my head to give him better access and suddenly felt his hands skim down my body, grip my thighs and lift me up and press me against the rock. While one hand still gripped my thigh supporting me, his other hand clasped my chin and I felt his teeth slightly graze my neck before he suddenly nipped at me, slightly sucking at the spot, marking me. I gasped, “Christian.”

  He pulled a couple inches away, pinned me with his dark eyes. “I don’t ever want to talk about this again, ok?”

  I thought I nodded my head but I couldn’t be sure. Then his lips crashed down upon mine, hungry and intense. I could feel the darkness that cloaked him, and I embraced I, returning every angry, desperate kiss he gave me. Running my hands through his hair, I lightly grasped the strands and pulled his head away from mine. I breathed deeply of the scent at his neck just before I nipped him, and left a little mark of my own at the spot between his neck and shoulder. Even with his hard body shuddering he gently let my legs ease down until I was standing of my own volition. Our breathing was loud and harsh. If we didn’t leave now we wouldn’t be leaving at all. He took a small step back and by unspoken agreement we kept a safe distance between us as we walked back up the beach and to my house, the crunching of gravel the only sound in the night.

  CHAPTER 6

  Monday was almost a relief after the intensity of the weekend. Christian had seemed to relax, the darkness receded. He still insisted on walking me to all my classes and had lunch with me and the girls, which had lived up to the complete embarrassment I had anticipated. Tina was able to be somewhat circumspect but Becca, awed by Christian’s good looks, had a fit of giggles the entire time. I gave her a couple hard glares hinting for her to pull it together but that only made it worse. He actually ended up leaving early, probably so I wouldn’t have to strangle one of my best friends. I really wanted to talk to Tina alone, so after school I had to reluctantly turn Christian down for having dinner tonight. He assured me he would be fine; his grandparents were back and he wanted to spend some time with them. Tina met me at my house, excited to show off the little used Honda her mom had just bought for her in reward for her disgustingly amazing grades.