Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring? What…?
What’s that … ringing sound?
Where did the fire go?
Why is the room so dark?
Abruptly, I was torn from my dream. Slowly getting my bearings, I sat up, realized the phone that had awoken me at the worst possible moment ― and in some ways just in time ― was still ringing, and reached out toward my night stand, groping for and finally hitting the switch on my bedside lamp before picking up the phone.
“Hello?” I inquired, my voice still layered with sleep.
“Honey, were you already in bed? It’s only nine o’clock! Classes must be really exhausting for you to have gone to bed already, hmm? How are the classes? And the professors are they nice? Did you make any friends yet?”, my mom trilled into the phone, keeping up a steady monologue of questions without giving me the chance to actually answer any of them, and making my ears ring and my head hurt in under a minute.
That’s got to be a personal best, I thought.
“It’s all fine, mom! No need to worry and grill me about everything, okay?”
“Oh sweetie, come on. Don’t be like that. I just want to know what you’re up to. It’s got to be so exciting, going to college and meeting all sorts of different people! I’m your mom, I’ve a right to know how you’re doing, you know,” she ended her sentence on a sulking note.
Grrrr, I thought, of all the moments you could have chosen to call me! I so don’t have the patience to deal with a million questions right now!!!
“Okay, fine. Don’t be mad, I just don’t have a lot to tell yet. I’ve only been here two days, remember?”
“So you didn’t make any friends yet? This is so typical of you!”
“Sure I did, that is, I met this girl in class this morning. She’s really nice and fun to hang out with,” I lied through my teeth, hating the necessity of having to lie to her, but knowing beyond a doubt that I would never hear the end of it if I didn’t produce a friend to make my mom happy. And judging by the way my past attempts at friendship had gone, I would have to make do with a lie.
“Really? Oh, I’m so happy for you, baby! That’s great! What’s her name? Where’s she from? Is she blonde, or brunette?”
That’s what you get for making up a friend, I thought, sighing inwardly and making a mental note to write down all of the characteristics of my ‘friend’ so that my mom ― who had an amazing memory when it suited her ― wouldn’t get suspicious.
“Um, her name’s … Candy. She’s tall, thin and has long blond hair and long legs.”
Great, stick her in a cheerleader outfit and find her a running back- boyfriend named Brad!
“As for where she’s from, I just met her, and it hasn’t come up yet, so why don’t you just give me a couple of weeks to settle in here, get to know Candy better, and I’ll give you a call then and fill you in on the blanks, okay?”
“Are you blowing me off?” my mom persisted on the other end of the line.
“Yeah … I’m sorry, but it’s just a really bad time right now. I haven’t eaten yet, and I’m really exhausted. We’ll talk in a little while, alright?”
“Okay, honey. Take care, and don’t forget to call me! Love you!”
“Love you, too, mom! Say hi to dad for me. Bye.”
“Bye, bye.”
After my mom hung up, I put the phone back on its cradle and let out the frustrated breath I’d been holding.
Finally some peace and quiet, I thought, relaxing into the pillows behind my back.
With no other thoughts to occupy my mind now that my mother was no longer on the phone, my thoughts wandered back to the images and sensations of my dream, and I almost wished I hadn’t cut the phone call short.
I didn’t want to think about the dream, but the pictures came rushing back at me, the emotions so vivid they made my head spin with weakness and desire. I could feel the heat of the fire on my body, taste his lips on mine, even though the dream had been interrupted before he had managed to kiss me.
I got up, opened the refrigerator, and got out the sandwich I had bought earlier. The sandwich looked delicious, but I put it back after one short glance at it, suddenly no longer hungry.
An ache that had nothing to do with hunger in the usual sense ― this hunger was of a different nature ― was slowly taking hold of my body and mind. I was becoming restless, walking around the room aimlessly not knowing what to do.
I didn’t want to go back to sleep. I wasn’t sleepy anymore after having slept for nearly seven hours. Nor did I welcome the prospect of having another extremely vivid dream.
But staying in my room, where I had nothing to do but pace in small circles, was out of the question. I would go mad if I didn’t get out, I thought, grabbing my thick warm coat against the evening chill and heading for the door.
Outside, the crisp atmosphere had a revitalizing effect on me, clearing my mind as I inhaled great lungs full of cold fresh air. It was a beautiful night. The sky was clear, with brilliantly shining stars strewn across the black horizon.
I took a stroll around the small park I had detected from my balcony the other day. As it wasn’t very large, I had nearly walked once around it in twenty minutes.
Deciding to stay outside so that I could enjoy the star-lit sky a bit longer, I headed toward the old oak at the center of the park. The shadows were so dense in that part of the park that I only noticed the dark figure at the base of the tree when I stumbled straight into it.
I could tell at once that it was Aaron Chambers ― I felt it in every fiber of my being. How unlucky that I should happen to run into the very person I was trying more than anything to avoid. At least he seemed equally startled by my appearance.
I deemed it weird that I had felt neither a pull nor any other strange sensation. For, I was now absolutely certain that all the crazy stuff that had happened to me emanated from him.
From the moment I had felt the odd connection ― the bond ― between us as he was standing opposite me in the doorway of the auditorium, everything had started to click into place.
I hadn’t really consciously gone through every incident. It was more like a feeling I got, deep down, when I found myself in his presence. I rather felt than knew that he was at the root of everything that had happened to me of late.
I would bet anything that he was the figure I had seen leaning against the trunk of this old oak the day before when I had to grab onto the railing of my balcony for dear life.
Had it been his nearness that had caused the occurrence? I could still feel his presence very strongly, but there was no pull now, no fire spreading through my body, or anything else that I would have classified as ‘strange’.
Maybe it’s fading, this … whatever it is…
Mere seconds had passed since I had stumbled upon him. All of these thoughts ran through my mind in quick succession, until they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of his deep voice.
“Who are you?” he asked, reaching for me, his hand closing around my wrist in a tight powerful grip, his fingers painfully digging into my soft delicate flesh.
His voice had a dark menacing quality to it, an icy edge that made my blood run cold. Here I was, alone with a complete and possibly dangerous stranger, in the center of the deserted park, enveloped by pitch-dark shadows, with no one to help me and no one to find me in the first place.
Well done, Persephone, that’s probably the stupidest thing you’ve ever done! And possibly the last! I thought, terrified, trying to come up with some way of getting out of this mess, and only succeeding in talking to myself ― again.
Getting no answer out of me ― I was scared out of my wits and couldn’t form a coherent thought ― Aaron Chambers asked me the same question again, his voice more dangerous than before, as he shook my body violently.
The shaking and the increasingly painful hold on my wrist tore me out of my terrified frozen state and had me calling out in pain and fear.
Apparently not having expected
this kind of a reaction from me and having heard the fear in my voice, Professor Chambers stopped shaking me and immediately let go of my wrist.
“I won’t have to hurt you if you tell me what I need to know,” he said in a gentler voice that still held a menacing undercurrent ― apart from the more obvious threat of his words.
“Who sent you?” he pried on, looking at me intently through narrowed eyes.
Having finally calmed down enough to find my voice again, I spit out the first thing on my mind.
“Are you insane?”
That, however, seemed to have been the wrong response to his question, as he grabbed me again and pressed me hard up against the trunk of the old oak, the ragged edges of the bark slightly scraping the skin on my back even through my clothing.
“Ouch, what is wrong with you?” I screamed, my voice getting higher and higher as my terror rose. Not wanting any attention drawn to us, he pinned me against the oak with the weight of his body and clamped his hand over my mouth.
“If you bite my hand you’ll be sorry,” he said in a low voice, looking at me intently, obviously waiting for a nod of the head indicating that I understood.
I nodded slowly and pressed my lips together tightly underneath his palm, so as not to be tempted into biting him after all. The temptation was, indeed, incredibly strong.
“So, let’s try this again. Who are you, and why are you here?” he asked, lifting his hand away from my mouth a few inches, giving me the opportunity to answer his questions.
I swallowed hard. My mouth had gone dry, and I had difficulty finding my voice. After clearing my throat, I gave the only answer I could give ― the truth.
“My name is Persephone Jones … and I’m a student in my first year of college. I came here to study, that’s all.”
Professor Chambers’ eyes hardened as his body moved closer to mine, giving me a look that clearly stated that he didn’t believe a word I was saying.
“Now cut the crap, and tell me the truth!” he spat, apparently infuriated that I had dared to feed him such an obvious lie.
I was very aware of his body pressing up against mine. Even though this man frightened me, the part of me that had felt attracted to him the moment I had laid eyes on him, and the part of me that remembered the images and sensations from my dream, felt aroused by the pressure of his body against mine.
Once again I pictured his lips on mine, pictured his strong hands slowly and confidently moving over my body. I could feel my cheeks turn hot. My body started to tremble with the desire I felt.
Yes, I yearned for this man, this stranger who had violently pinned me against a tree and was threatening and hurting me. It was insanity, but I couldn’t help the way I felt.
There was no cure for it. I wanted him. This revelation and the violence of my emotions caught me by surprise, and I gasped.
The surprised intake of breath that escaped the redheaded girl caught Aaron’s attention. His gaze swept over her carefully, trying to decipher her reaction by reading the expression on her face. In the darkness in which they were standing, it was difficult to make out much.
Even though he was unable to see her eyes, he had learned enough about body language in thirty years of living to know what was going on with her. He had plenty of experience with the opposite sex.
He could feel her body trembling, could feel the way it leaned slightly into him instead of cringing away in fear; her head was tilted upward toward his, her lips somewhat parted.
She was not trembling out of fear.
She was trembling with desire.
He felt it, too. A longing so intense, it made every inch of his body ache. A longing that had sprung up out of nowhere. There was no foundation for it. There was no explanation for it.
But it somehow felt so familiar. As if he had felt something similar before. Suddenly it hit him: he had sensed it before.
Just the other day, he had been sitting underneath the same tree they were standing under now. He had felt … something. He had looked around, trying to discern if there was someone he knew who was looking his way. It would have explained the feeling of being watched. But he hadn’t been able to detect anyone.
And then he had suddenly experienced a powerful force compelling him forward that had completely overwhelmed him. He had been on his hands and knees, clawing at the ground in order to stop his body from darting off in pursuit of something his mind couldn’t make sense of.
And today, before he had reached the door of the auditorium in time for his lesson, he had once again sensed the same presence and some sort of … connection … and had spent one and a half hours pretending to be oblivious to it while searching the room and trying desperately to concentrate on the lesson and the other students.
And then he had seen her … standing in the auditorium all alone, staring at him with wide terrified eyes, like a deer caught in the headlights.
Both times he had fought hard to restrain himself. His body had felt wildly out of control, yearning for … something … or someone … her.
The desire he felt now had the same kind of feel to it. It felt raw and violent … and tasted of despair.
He didn’t like the way this felt. It felt wrong. It felt as if there would be no coming back from the depth of this plunge once he leaped.
The mere awareness that she was making him think in such melodramatic terms, made him feel sick to his stomach. He wasn’t accustomed to thinking like this. He was never overly dramatic. He always played it cool.
He didn’t know what this excessive reaction to her meant or how it had come about. And he didn’t give a damn!
What he knew for sure was that she had done this to him! One more thing he knew for sure: he was going to fight it with everything he had!
He would not be enslaved!
Gathering every last ounce of willpower, Aaron tried to let go of her and walk away. But despite his enormous efforts, pulling away from her proved to require more strength than he possessed.
He tried with all his might to suppress the urge he felt, but the sensation was too strong, too easy to give into.
It seeped into every molecule and completely took him over. What was more, a part of him wanted to give into it. A part of him wanted to forget who he was and lose himself in the heat of the moment.
Well, if he had no free will, no choice but to succumb to her, he thought, than at least he would make her beg.
I held my breath, as Aaron Chambers’ hand suddenly cupped my chin, his thumb gently stroking over my temple, sending shivers down my body. His other hand moved around to the small of my back, leisurely pulling me into his embrace.
I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to find mine. I could feel his breath on my face, could sense him closing in. His lips brushed against mine, teasingly, pulling back again after the lightest of touches, making me ache for more while denying me the pleasure of it.
He was playing with me.
I didn’t have any experience with men, as I had never been interested in anybody before now. But I had always been able to read people fairly well.
I knew he was goading me, knew he meant to taunt me, though I couldn’t imagine why. However, I was beyond caring. I was also beyond waiting for him to make the next move.
Desperate for the feel of him, and lit with an inner fire that threatened to consume me, I reached out and pulled him closer, my fingers curling in his incredibly soft hair and pulling his face toward mine.
I covered his lips with my own and felt his surprise at my seizing control. I turned his own device around on him, brushing over his lips in slow tantalizing motions, goading him as he had goaded me. Finally, it seemed, he couldn’t take anymore.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer force of his reaction, as he pushed me up against the trunk of the oak with his body, both my wrists pinned over my head by his strong hand, his mouth moving on mine with a ferocity that nearly made my knees buckle.
His tongue entered my mouth, finding mine and movi
ng against it in a way that made my blood boil. His other hand was moving up and down my body, finally reaching under my sweater, clawing at the bare skin of my back.
This was not how I had envisioned my first experiences with the opposite sex, I thought, desperately trying to get a grip on the situation.
My first kiss should have been nice and sensitive, and safe. I should have been kissed by a gentleman, at the end of our third or fourth date, after having gone to the movies or for dinner. This was not a gentleman, and there was nothing safe about this kiss.
Within minutes of running into him, I was being pinned to a tree by this strong and violent man many years my senior, his hands groping at my flesh with utter abandon, the situation spinning wildly and dangerously out of control.
Desire the likes of which I had never known and never thought possible was consuming my body and mind, spreading like a wildfire, destroying everything in its path.
I could feel electric charges running up and down my body. The air around us felt charged and heavy, a humming sound flowed about us, followed by the ominous rumbling of an oncoming storm.
How can there be a storm? a remote part of my mind, the only part not void of reason, wondered. The sky had been clear only minutes ago. It seemed impossible that the weather could change that fast. Especially since I could recall no mention of a storm at all.
Aaron Chambers seemed not to have noticed anything, his kisses growing more urgent and heated by the second.
I was slowly falling apart. I was so week in the knees I could not hold myself up any longer. My head was spinning in a whirlwind of emotions, and I was slowly blacking out.
At the same time I began to slip into unconsciousness, a gleaming white light struck me down, sending my brightly illuminated body crashing to the ground at Aaron Chambers’ feet.
Chapter 3 * Rejection
Souls of Fire Page 4
