Darkly Divine: A Paranormal Enemies to Lovers Romance

by C L Walker

  He knew she was a drunk and that she yelled sometimes and about the bills she had started making me help with as soon as I was old enough to work. But beyond that he thought I was relatively safe, and I suppose I was depending on the day.

  I couldn’t afford to show him everything, I was almost out of there and I wanted to leave it all behind and have a clean slate with only myself knowing the past. I wanted to pretend all the bad things had never happened, that I was worthy of a different kind of life and live it. I didn’t think I could do that if anyone knew, I’d see the worry in their eyes, and even worse, the pity.

  But there was a problem and that was that Micah possibly knew. It had been eight years ago though, so I was hopeful that he had forgotten all about me.

  I swung by the bathroom to pee and as I was washing my hands, I looked my face over in the mirror and died a little more inside. During my speed run on my burrito, I had gotten a line of lipstick on my chin.

  Micah must have thought I was a disgusting human being.

  Wow, this is fantastic!

  An hour later, I walked into fifth period as the bell rang to find the class nearly full. There were exactly two seats open, and they were both in the back on opposite sides of the room.

  I looked to the one closest to the door and saw that it was to the right of Micah.

  Nope! Not today.

  I quickly looked to the one on the other side of the class and took one step in that direction before Betty blazed past me towards that very seat. She winked at me when she sat down, then directed her attention out the window to watch people running around the track. I had no doubt as to what her goal had been, she was notoriously boy crazy and probably wanted to watch them sweat.

  Shameless woman!

  I reluctantly took my seat by Micah, but I remained determined to be oblivious to his presence beside me. And by that, I mean I sat there acutely aware of him as I tried my best to catch the words that were floating out of my teachers face with no sound.

  My mind had apparently lost its ability to process basic information and all it took was one boy’s presence to turn me into a mindless idiot.

  Class was almost over when Mr. Burks told us to read the first chapter in our world history books and take it home to finish up if we didn’t have enough time left in class.

  I whipped open my book and mentally congratulated myself for not looking at Micah for the entire first half hour of class even if I had missed an entire lesson at the same time.

  I could handle being in his presence, and clearly, I could pretend he was nothing but a stranger to me. Though, it was easy to feel like he wasn’t one because I had spent eight years dreaming about him off and on. But it was true that I didn’t know anything about him, so stranger it is.

  Twenty minutes later his voice pulled me out of my trance, and I immediately wished I had never heard it.

  “Hey, pick that up for me, little piggy,” he said, his voice deep and soft.

  Little Piggy! AH! Why?!

  I closed my eyes briefly, pictured myself with stuffed cheeks and lipstick on my chin and considered what a truly awful image it was.

  “Come on, it’s under your desk,” he encouraged when I didn’t so much as move a muscle.

  Despite his rudeness, I still got chills down my spine and my heart began to beat faster.

  His voice seemed to glide across my skin with a silken touch that could not be ignored.

  I had never felt so nervous around a boy in my entire life, so why it had to be then, and him, was an answer I desperately wanted.

  When I finally got my act together, I glanced up at him and thought it unfair that he was attractive beyond what was acceptable to me.

  He was something to behold at a distance so suffice it to say, up close when we were both still and I had time to take him in, he was devastating.

  His mouth was full and a lovely shade of pink, he had killer cheekbones and a small straight nose. But the most striking thing about him were those eyes of his, as they were meant to seduce, I was sure of it. They were bourbon colored, intense, and wise, with a hint of darkness that called out to me and tugged at the shadowy corners of my soul.

  If I had to guess I would have said that those eyes saw more than what lie on the surface and that made me even more nervous because I had so much to hide.

  He ran a hand through his long dark brown hair that went exceedingly well with his lovely skin tone and striking eyes. I followed his fingers through it and belatedly noticed the growing frustration on his face.

  “Are you in there, woman?” he asked when I showed no sign of intelligence.

  I sighed as I looked away and under my desk for whatever he was missing, and there I found a pen next to my feet.

  I grabbed it but I didn’t hand it to him right away since he didn’t ask for it nicely.

  I held it in my hands, turned it every which way and examined it carefully. It was a heavy sapphire colored pen that looked like it belonged in the pocket of a white-collar worker.

  “I’ll give it to you if you ask nicely,” I said without looking at him, as I was trying to gain back some of my pride by playing it cool.

  “Please.” There was no sincerity evident in his tone.

  When I looked over at him, he was texting on his phone and it irritated me that he wasn’t even paying attention to me, so I stuffed his pen in the front pocket of my jeans.

  A minute later when I was reapplying my lipstick in my pocket mirror, he decided to be present again and noticed that I didn’t have his pen any longer.

  “Where the hell is my pen?”

  When the bell rang, he stood up, grabbed his backpack, and put it on as he walked to my desk.

  I stepped back from my chair and into the wall behind me on accident when he moved in closer than I expected him to.

  I hadn’t realized that the wall was so near or that he was so tall because I had been so focused on everything else. My head barely passed his wide shoulders, and I wasn’t short, so he had to be a few inches over six foot.

  “My pen?” he asked.

  I dug my nails into my palms when his warm breath hit my face. I almost lost all my nerve because he cut such an intimidating figure. I had to swallow hard and remind myself that he was nothing to fear and that I didn’t need to be pushed around by anyone else.

  “You called me a little piggy, demanded your pen back rather unkindly and then you couldn’t even be bothered to say please with an ounce of sincerity.”

  “And your point is?” He stood his ground as he peered down at me.

  “My point is, screw you, you can’t have it back.”

  I was shocked when I tried to step away because he grabbed my shoulder, prevented me from moving and took a step closer which forced me against the wall entirely.

  He held me in place with one hand as his other slipped into my front pocket and grabbed his pen. He pulled it out slowly as he applied unnecessary pressure with three of his fingertips across the top of my thigh that I felt down to my core.

  “Nice try, sweetheart, but word of advice, you’ll never win,” he whispered.

  I know I won’t… I never do…

  I stood frozen in place as I watched him leave and even after everything was said and done, I still couldn’t help but acknowledge how attractive he was from every angle.

  Things are not going well.

  Three

  Micah

  Please stay calm. Reel it in, Micah!

  Words cannot begin to describe how utterly moved I felt being in the presence of Skylar Bodin.

  With the way my body hummed with awareness you’d think she’d hung the moon and breathed life into the very stars that had guided man since the dawn of time.

  It had come on so suddenly, so many overwhelming emotions at the sight of a single girl. One who looked to be normal, so there was no reason for how I felt. There was no reason for me to feel physically pulled to someone I didn’t even know much about.

  I left the clas
sroom as quickly as possible before I did something else that I would regret.

  Getting physically close to her was already a huge mistake and it was made worse by the fact that I had touched her. But I didn’t know it would feel like that, so perfectly tempting.

  I had known on that night eight years ago that something about the way I felt around her was strange, but it was different from how it felt now. Back then it hadn’t felt so overwhelming, and it certainly hadn’t urged me to scoop her up and run away with her.

  Because that makes sense, to just run away into the sunset with some random girl, idiot.

  Not a single female supernatural or otherwise had ever rocked me so hard.

  I knew as soon as I had set foot in the hallway that morning that something wasn’t right, the hair had stood up on the back of my neck and my body tensed as I felt her before I saw her.

  I naturally had a hyperawareness of anything that went on around me, I always knew who was in a room with me and could manage even in a crowded hallway, but she momentarily cancelled everyone else out.

  She was all I could see.

  She was all I could smell.

  She was all that I wanted to taste.

  The moment my eyes found the source, the energy, the sheer fucking blinding white light that had slowed time and shifted my entire being I knew I was in trouble.

  She was delicious, but not in the I want to suck her blood, oh its snack time kind of delicious. No, she was delicious in the sort of way that made me want to kiss her rosy lips and tangle my hands in her silky blonde hair.

  I fiddled with the lock on my locker, but it wouldn’t open. “Damn it!”

  I punched it as if that were going to help. And truth be told if I had been able to use all my strength the door would have fallen right off. But of course, I would never do something like that because public displays of supernatural strength were bound to garner unwanted attention.

  I had never given myself away before, and I wouldn’t do so now even though I felt like one tiny thing could send me into a fit of rage.

  I shouldn’t feel like this!

  I froze with my hand against the locker, and as I leaned on it for support with my head down, she passed behind me.

  Look at him being all angry and over an inanimate object of all things. What an asshole.

  I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth in an effort not to show that not only was I aware of her presence, but I could hear her thoughts as well. Seeing as how she was the first person that I had ever heard the thoughts of, I was unpracticed in defining the difference between them and her words. Suffice it to say I was not having a good time.

  Once she was gone, I took a deep breath and regretted it because I was hit all over again by her scent. It was tempting and sweet, and it did little to encourage me to remain in control of my anger.

  I don’t want to be enchanted by her!

  I tried the lock again and that time I put the code in correctly and it opened so I could switch my books.

  I slammed it shut again and went to my sixth period and I spent my time doing the same thing I had in every other class all day, worry.

  Not that I couldn’t handle her, whatever she was, because I could, but it was a matter of not wanting to.

  As soon as sixth period was over, I was out of there. I didn’t want to see her again until I had time to prepare myself, because something about her threatened to push me over an edge that I had long since stepped away from.

  I had learned to control myself from an early age, my anger, my strength, and my bloodlust were so easily managed I didn’t even have to think about it. Well, until today.

  My ancestors would be ashamed.

  I didn’t work so hard to have control over every aspect of my being just to throw it all away over some girl. Some breathtaking girl…

  No, it didn’t matter. Nobody was worth losing control over.

  And yet, here you are…

  I walked swiftly down the hallway, but I was stopped by a girl that had lived in my neighborhood when I was a kid. I barely managed to hold back an eye roll because I was not in the mood to talk to anyone.

  “Hey, I heard you were back.” She twirled her red hair around her finger and batted her eyelashes at me. “It’s me, Cassidy, I used to live across the street from you.”

  I nodded my head but offered her no words because I couldn’t keep myself in check and manage to adhere to human social norms. Kindness was beyond me in that moment, but I’d feel bad about it later.

  “Do you not remember?” she asked as if it were impossible for anyone to forget her, and I hadn’t but not for the reasons she likely wished.

  “Yes, I remember you and I also remember how you used to tug on my hair and tell me that I looked like a girl so if you’ll excuse me.” I turned away without waiting for her response.

  It’s funny how people change their tune once you grow up and grow into yourself. But she was dreaming if she thought I’d give her the time of day after how she had treated me. Well, unless she apologized because I wasn’t heartless, but I still wouldn’t consider dating her and I could tell she wanted it. Not because I thought highly of myself but rather because she had been obvious.

  I pushed the doors open a little too hard and they both slammed against the brick wall of the school and people outside took notice. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

  Apparently, I couldn’t manage my own strength any longer, that’s so cool, what else was she going to take from me before the day was over?

  I’d laugh if it had happened to anyone else, if any of my fellow demon brothers were thrown to the mercy of a woman as I had been. But when it’s you, it sucks.

  I jogged down the stairs and once I reached the bottom I turned to look to the left when I felt her gaze, and she looked away before my eyes could meet hers, but the damage had already been done.

  She was attracted to me, that much was clear because every time she saw me her heart started to beat faster, and her body beckoned to me even while her mind failed to keep up.

  It was beyond logic, the things I knew she felt without her telling me, especially when she didn’t even know what was going on herself.

  She leaned against a tree as she watched the front of the building and I assumed that she was waiting for Sai. He was the only person I had noticed so far that she talked to for more than a few minutes at a time. I wondered how she felt about him even though it shouldn’t have mattered.

  It doesn’t!

  I continued to watch her as I slowly walked down the pathway, which was stupid because I was supposed to be putting distance between us so I could clear my head.

  She was nervous but not worked up enough for the gates to open so I couldn’t hear any of her thoughts. I had figured out quickly that heightened emotion was required for her thoughts and feelings to bleed out for my viewing. It was the spillover effect made worse by the fact that I was a supernatural being, so unlike my human counterparts her feelings could literally be felt by me as if they were my own.

  But I was going to have to look in to why it was happening at all because demons were not usually in possession of such gifts. So, what the hell is so special about her?

  She was just a human so I couldn’t imagine what it could be.

  I had every intention of walking straight to the parking lot; in fact, I had wanted to get away as fast as possible but imagine my surprise when my feet took me towards her.

  Oh… God! Why is he walking towards me?

  That’s a wonderful question, why am I walking towards you as if my actions are led not by my mind but rather by my instinctual need to take from you? And who the hell are you to do this to me?

  I refused to give in to my baser instincts, so I acted like a jerk instead. Which is also what I had done in the classroom because I didn’t know how to act around her. I had been so disappointed when she had walked into the room and even more so when she sat next to me. It would have been best if we didn’t have classes together.<
br />
  Please walk past me…

  I continued to walk towards her as if I meant to approach her, but then I tipped my head up, met her eyes, and looked away immediately as if she was nothing to me before I walked past.

  At least there was enjoyment to be had in screwing with her, so as long as I could get a grip on my own emotions and stop tuning in to her mind all would be well.

  When I got to my car I got inside and peeled out of the parking lot like an asshole, but I was still fighting off the strange feeling that urged me to stay by her side, so I needed to get the hell out of there.

  I gripped the wheel tightly with one hand as I drove down the backroads to my Grandpa’s cabin–well I suppose it’s mine now–nearly twenty miles over the speed limit.

  I couldn’t die from mortal wounds so I had no fear of accidents, it would take a lot more than being crushed inside of a vehicle to take me out.

  There were some things about vampire myths that were true, a good old-fashioned stake to the heart was the only thing that was going to stop me from roaming the earth for a thousand or so years, but only if it was carved by the hands of a witch.

  A stake just like the one that had been found in my Grandpa’s chest because unbeknownst to the family, he had been dating a witch that had a bone to pick with him.

  Witches weren’t a threat to us in any way other than they had the power to create the only weapon capable of murdering us. They were slow and easily out maneuvered and since we were immune to spells the likelihood of them getting close enough with said stake was unlikely.

  But Grandpa made the mistake of trusting one, so he left himself wide open.

  Poor fool.

  That’s why girls weren’t to be trusted period, supernatural or otherwise.

  After I pulled into the driveway I quickly hopped out and I ran inside and headed straight down to my basement and pulled out the key to the lock.

  Beyond the door was a space my Grandpa referred to as ‘The Lair’ but in fact it wasn’t all that dark and majestic. It was a glorified vampy library where he kept lore books about supernatural beings and all the information one might need about spirituality and vampiric abilities.