“Come on, tough guy. She’s got you whipped already? I didn’t take you for the submissive type,” Rydan provoked Mycah, taunting him.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mycah responded as he intertwined his fingers with mine. My heart stuttered then raced with abnormal speed at his touch.
“Enlighten me,” Rydan replied with attitude, like he was bored with this conversation already.
“Oh, I would, mate, but I’m afraid your head might explode.” Mycah smiled sarcastically.
“I hate to interrupt again, guys, but it’s now dark, I’m freezing, and I’m going inside.” I rolled my eyes and stalked through the front door of the B&B, already missing Mycah’s hand.
Once I was inside, I had nowhere else to go since I wasn’t given a room yet, so I had to just stand there and wait.
Rydan came through the door a few seconds later and moved behind the front desk to start typing in the computer.
“He is completely ridiculous. I have no idea what you see in him, Nari,” he said to me without taking his eyes off the screen. I bristled at his accusation, offended.
“That’s because you refuse to see it. If you’d only give him a chance, Rydan. Why do you hate him so much? Your reservations are completely unfounded and you know it,” I defended Mycah and myself, although I wasn’t exactly sure why. We were only friends. Right? And Rydan was being just as ridiculous and just as guilty with the immature fighting.
“Whatever. Here’s your room key. You’re upstairs in the Duck Room.”
“The Duck Room?” I repeated, finding it endearing. I smiled at the cutest tiny yellow duck dangling from the key. He rolled his eyes at me.
“Yes, I’m sure you can figure it out. I have to go. I was supposed to be home five minutes ago. By the way, Marie is out doing the shopping for tomorrow so text me if you have questions. I’ll let her know you’re here, though.” He walked over to leave, but I stopped him.
“Thank you so much for this.” I stretched up to give him a kiss on the cheek, hoping he’d forgive me for going against his instincts about Mycah.
Mycah came in just then, tensing up once he saw us.
“See you tomorrow. Be ready immediately after school. We’ll pick you up there, okay? But bring a dress to change into,” Rydan instructed me in a low voice, ignoring the company.
“I’ll be ready. Careful going home,” I answered as he rushed past Mycah and out the door.
“What’s going on tomorrow?” Mycah asked lightly, feigning disinterest.
“I’m going with Rydan to Portland. He’s a brilliant pianist and will be performing on stage. It’s really awesome! I love when I get to go with. I’m so excited!” I clasped my hands together and bobbed up and down.
Mycah smiled, eyes twinkling as he watched me. “Brilliant.” He nodded as his smile dropped slightly. “So why is it you have to stay here now? Not that I’m complaining.” He winked, signature smirk returning to his face. His hands were in his pockets, and even though I was becoming more familiar with him, his demeanor still screamed foreign.
“Ray kicked me out. Well, technically, I have until my birthday, but I hate him so much. I can’t stand the idea of going back there. Rydan said I could stay here for a while,” I explained.
Mycah looked away, clenching his jaw and fists, fuming. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Mycah, no! Don’t be silly. I couldn’t be happier at the idea of finally being able to get away. Trust me. This is a good thing.” I nodded enthusiastically, agreeing with myself. He turned back to me, searching for any truth to my words in my eyes. He must have found it, because he smiled after a moment.
“Oh, and you’ll never believe what happened. I don’t understand it at all. It’s super weird,” I lured him into my story, distracting him from feeling angry. “Apparently that bookie Ray owed a ton of money to was magically paid off, and not a penny of it was from Ray. He full on interrogated me today thinking I did it,” I scoffed dramatically.
“Huh. Imagine that,” Mycah responded as he walked past me, looking down at me through his eyelashes.
I spun around after him, realization hitting me in the face.
“You did it!” I breathed, barely believing it. “Why would you do that?”
“Don’t be absurd,” he snickered, not looking back as he continued to walk to his room. I followed him.
“Please, tell me why you did it,” I begged, grabbing onto the bottom of his shirt to prevent him from going in. He stopped at the door and dropped his head, sighing. He slowly turned around, matching my gaze and looking defeated.
“For you. I did it for you,” he confessed as he reached up to caress my cheekbone with his thumb.
“For me?” I asked, confused. I didn’t understand. It was helping Ray, not me.
“I didn’t like the idea of strange men putting their grubby hands on you because of Ray’s stupidity. And if he didn’t have the money, then who knows what would have happened to you. Either he could have taken his anger out on you himself, or you could have gotten caught up in the mess again and ended up really hurt by the other guys. I couldn’t take that chance. Not when it comes to you.” His voice was so earnest and sweet; it brought tears to my eyes.
“Don’t cry, love.” He half-smiled, noticing my emotion, and moved his thumb to my bottom lip. “You’re so beautiful,” he breathed as he moved his gaze from my lips back to my eyes, making my heart jump. I stared up at him, dazed and in awe at this creature before me, wondering if this was just my imagination.
“So are you,” I replied, feeling out of breath. He chuckled, looking down at the floor then back up to me, stretching his fingers behind my ear while keeping his thumb to my lips.
“Is that right?” he teased, grinning. I nodded slowly as he caressed my bottom lip again. What was he doing to me? I felt mesmerized, like I was in a trance. “Listen, darling. It’s getting late, and I don’t want to keep you up any longer. School and all that jazz.” His accent…Oh god his accent…Each word he spoke sounded so dang sexy, I didn’t even care what he was saying.
“Right,” I forced myself to say, since I hadn’t spoken in a while.
“Um, where are all your things?” he questioned with his eyebrows pulled together and looking around me like maybe he had missed something. He was so incredibly hot it hurt. It was so not fair!
“Oh…I forgot. I don’t have anything. Shoot.” Hello! I felt so dumb…What was I thinking?
“Don’t fret. I can take you over to the house in the morning after Ray leaves.”
“Really? Thank you so much.” I felt guilty for having to depend on other people so much. I wished I could just take care of myself.
“Would you like me to walk you to your room?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’m just upstairs in the ‘Duck Room.’” I held up my key, letting the little duck on the end jiggle. “Oh, wait a second.” That reminded me…“Please stop provoking Rydan. It’s not helping anything. I need him to like you, and all you’re doing is making things worse,” I tried to explain seriously but couldn’t stop the blush I felt creeping on my neck and cheeks.
“And why’s that exactly?” he asked seductively, leaning in closer. I stood there gazing up at him, mentally waving goodbye to any proper thought.
“Um, what?” I shook my head. “Why’s what exactly?” I asked again in a small voice, wanting to clarify my question. Was he asking why I thought he was making things worse…?
“Why do you need him to like me?” His voice was just above a whisper, making my skin tingle.
Oh. That.
He leaned in closer still, if that were possible, and now that he was just inches from me, my heart completely stopped beating. I could feel electricity running between us, begging me to close the tiny gap that had unforgivably been left open.
“He’s my best friend,” I choked out, struggling to swallow.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” he breathed. He stared into my eye
s, and I could feel myself getting lost in the ocean depths that resembled the Pacific. I tried to focus, not understanding his statement. I felt like my answer had been perfectly adequate.
“It doesn’t?” I asked, puzzled.
“No, it doesn’t,” he practically moaned. And then before I could realize what was going on, his mouth was on mine and his hands were tangled in my hair.
Stars, planets, galaxies, all exploded around me. Around us.
I surrendered to him immediately, opening my mouth to his fervent hunger. His hands left a burning trail of flames as they slid down my back to my waist.
He kissed me, long and hard, but it wasn’t enough. I could never possibly get enough.
He moved his lips to my neck, letting me breathe, just as he splayed his fingers across the small of my back and pulled me against his body. I ran my own hands along his broad shoulders and up his neck, clinging to him with all my might, trying to steady myself. I felt dizzy as soon as he ran his tongue along my collarbone and then planted kisses all along the same line as he moved back over it. He returned to my mouth—
“Ahem!”
I jumped back away from Mycah as far as I could, hitting the wall behind me at the sound of someone dramatically clearing their throat. Mycah was left reaching for me and staring with wild eyes, completely consumed with passion and desire just for me. He wasn’t bothered or embarrassed in the slightest by the sudden interruption.
I turned to look at Marie, the culprit who abruptly cut us off, and felt the color in my face deepen further with the way she was eying me in that motherly way.
You know, the "caught you red-handed, tsk tsk" look that only concerned parents who were disappointed in your behavior gave.
“Good night, Nari,” Marie pointedly reprimanded me through her tone, instructing me to leave and go to bed with those three little words.
“Good night,” I mumbled, not able to takes my eyes off the floor. I felt Mycah staring at me, not even removing his eyes from my face for a second, watching me as I walked away toward the stairs that led to the "Duck Room."
Chapter Forty-One
~Naminé~
My eyes were closed. I took a deep breath to inhale his scent that surrounded me. I could hear his heart beating loudly in his chest. I didn’t want to open my eyes for fear that I would lose him if I did. I was concentrating so hard on just keeping us here.
Suddenly, I felt a soft, warm touch on my face. I slowly opened my eyes and stared in wonder at the miracle before me.
He stood right in front of me with his hand on my cheek, wiping away the tears I didn’t know were there. To finally touch and caress his soft warm skin sent shivers down my spine as I carefully reached my arm up and placed my hand over his.
At my touch, he inhaled sharply and our eyes locked together. A smile pulled at my lips. His skin felt exactly like I imagined.
He brought his other arm up slightly, reaching to grab mine that hung at my side. His fingers met mine, and as they interlocked together, I suddenly remembered to breathe.
He smiled at me. I saw hope, joy, and happiness in his eyes. Warm, wet tears streamed down my face, and as he moved his thumb to wipe them away, I realized something dreadfully important.
I was not supposed to fall in love with him.
I was here to help him come home.
Chapter Forty-Two
~Nari~
I watched the room gradually lighten with the rising sun. I could now clearly make out the ducks illustrated in the few paintings that hung around the walls.
I had expected to walk into a nursery made for adults once I saw the cute duck keychain. I had thought for sure there would be matching rubber ducky wallpaper, curtains, and comforter set. And I especially had expected the walls to at least be bright yellow.
But I had been surprised to find that the room looked nothing like I had imagined. It was simple, elegant, with an antique cream bedspread and soft grey walls. The only thing that told me it was the "Duck Room" was the duck-shaped knocker on the front of the door and the three small duck paintings that made up the décor.
Even though I’d been to the B&B with Rydan many times, I’d never actually stayed here or been in any of the rooms. This was my first time ever as a guest, and it was very exciting. I’ve always wanted to travel and stay in hotels and have adventures away from my "home." Sure, I was still in Kennebunkport, but I was still excited nonetheless.
The sun now streamed in through the slits of the beige blinds but wasn’t yet strong enough to warm my skin.
I didn’t sleep a wink all night. My lips had ached for Mycah’s again hour after hour, and as hard as I tried, I could not stop feeling his hands on my skin and in my hair. Combined with that was the fact that he was only some feet away from me, sleeping right below and only seconds from being able to wrap myself up in his strong arms.
It was extremely unsettling. I had been on edge the entire time, tossing and turning, and it took everything I had to keep from running out my door and barging into his room. Eventually I had calmed down, sort of, at least enough to stay lying still. But it had not been enough to allow me sleep.
I sat up in the squeaky bed and stretched my arms above my head, yawning. This was going to be a long day. I needed coffee, big time.
I put yesterday’s clothes back on, since I didn’t have anything else, and made my way to the shared bathroom down the hall that all the upstairs guests used. Only Mycah’s room had an on-suite bathroom attached, since it technically was the "Master-suite" of the large house turned into a B&B.
After rinsing my mouth out and splashing some water on my face, I went downstairs hoping Mycah was ready to take me to my, I mean—Ray’s—house, so I could officially get ready for the day.
I quietly stepped down the stairs, not wanting to disturb other guests, if there were any, this early in the morning. I was suddenly anxious, excited even, at the prospect of laying eyes on Mycah again. On being enveloped in his woodsy scent. The way my soul felt complete and whole again that only his presence alone could accomplish. Were we really just friends?
And then there he was.
As I took the last stair, his eyes found mine from the "Greeting Room" he quietly sat in, drinking from an antique teacup.
He watched me carefully as he slowly put the cup to his alluring lips and took a sip. My heart danced wildly in my chest with every step I took, drawing closer and closer.
I waved at him, not able to speak just yet.
“Morning, beautiful,” he whispered. His English accent made the words sound musical. Or maybe it was his silky voice that did it. Or it could have been the combination of the two, I really didn’t know. Either way, my stomach did a flip.
And then I thought it must have been the way he was looking at me, not even trying to hide the desire that flooded his aqua eyes as soon as they locked onto mine.
The sun played with his eyes, bringing out the unique colors and making them more vivid. Even though the streaming sun that shone brightly through the large bay window illuminated him, he never looked more dangerous.
And he never looked more sexy.
Well, that could be debatable.
I mean, if you wanted to count the time he was dripping wet and practically naked, well then, one really couldn’t say.
But this moment was definitely a top contender for first place.
He stood up, keeping perfect posture and foreign demeanor exquisitely intact, and came over to me.
“You alright?” he asked, lips pulling up in a side smile. I nodded, half hating the spell he always put me under, half totally loving it.
He reached out and slowly slid his hand into mine and intertwined our fingers together, pulling me toward the front door. He chuckled and slightly shook his head at the ground.
As we walked to his car, I couldn’t focus on anything else but the way his thumb sweetly caressed my hand. It was so charming; it made whatever these feelings I had for him grow deeper, and I couldn’t wipe t
he smile from my face even if I wanted to.
I had kept my eyes on the ground, so was surprised when he stopped walking and looked up to find us at his car already. He opened the passenger door for me, as usual, so I tucked my hair behind my ear and got in, working very hard to behave like normal.
We pulled up to Port High just as the first bell sounded. We had gone to Ray’s house first so I could shower, get my books, and pack some things, but now I was running late.
“I hope you have a lovely evening,” he offered politely without a smile, referring to my trip to Portland with Rydan. His eyes were dark as they searched for something I couldn’t define in mine.
“Mycah!” Sabrina Holloway called from outside, tapping on his window. He lowered it, looking confused. “Hey, handsome. You coming inside? I’ve missed you,” she crooned, sticking out her bottom lip. She reached in the car and caressed his shoulder.
It took all my strength not to vomit.
I jumped out of the car, unable to stand another second as she flipped her perfect golden blonde hair over her shoulder and leaned down in front of his window, displaying her perfect cleavage.
Double barf.
I walked as fast as I could into the school, not bothering to look back. It was pointless trying to compete with that. Mycah could kiss me all he wanted, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t move on to better things. By better things, I meant better-looking girls resembling Barbie, as long as they continuously flaunted themselves in front of him.
And I couldn’t blame him. He was a guy, and guys were weak against anything with boobs and a heartbeat. And this was my exact reason for swearing off men from the beginning. They couldn’t be trusted. Not a single one of them. And even if he wasn’t into her, it didn’t matter. I didn’t know anything about him really. Who knew how much he was actually keeping from me. It could be a huge dark secret that would devastate me if I found out. So until he said otherwise, I refused to get any closer to him.
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