by Raye Wagner
She stared, too long, at words that wrapped around his tapered waist to a dusting of dark hair that led from his belly button to the waistband of his shorts. He sucked in a deep breath, and she blushed as her gaze went to his face.
His brow furrowed, and he sucked in his lower lip as his eyes smoldered with intensity. In that moment, Aricela was certain the attraction wasn’t one-sided. But it didn’t matter. Attraction was nothing more than pheromones and chemicals, and Aricela didn’t have time to be distracted. She broke eye contact and turned to her friend.
Nysse was smirking. Standing next to her was a woman who looked exactly like her, only older, her eyebrows raised in interest. The two women had the same dark hair, the same slender build, and the same olive complexion. The only thing missing were the pink streaks in Mrs. Cipriano’s hair, but her aura was like a physical blow. Aricela could feel the power radiating from the woman, and she knew this wasn’t a mere Mortal.
“Nysse?” Mrs. Cipriano said, with her gaze still fixed on Aricela. “Did you make a new friend?”
Aricela’s skin crawled. She reached for her artavus, and then thought better of it.
“This is her, Mom. The girl I was telling you about yesterday,” Kai said. His voice had lost some of his enthusiasm, but he was still smiling. “She’s in classes with all of us, and totally new to the area.”
Aricela nodded, her throat too dry to speak. Even a Valkyrie could feel overwhelmed, and all the runes on her body weren’t enough to make her comfortable right now.
“Bree Cipriano,” the woman said by way of introduction and extended her hand.
Almost on their own volition, Aricela’s eyes sought out Chase.
His gaze was still fixed on her, and when their eyes locked, he offered the ghost of a smile.
She was acting ridiculous, and she turned her attention to the Witch. “Aricela Topaz,” she replied, shaking the other woman’s hand. “Mucho gusto.”
“Mucho gusto en conocerle,” Bree replied.
“Holy shi—” Kai blushed when his mom smacked him upside the head. “—zzle. You never speak Spanish, Mom.”
Bree glared at her son, but there was no bite to the look. “Just because I don’t speak it here at home, doesn’t mean I don’t speak it.” She waved dismissively. “Now, grab a plate for our guest, Chase, and tell me how fútbol practice went.”
But Chase turned and went to a black duffle on the floor by the door.
Kai groaned, stopping with a spoonful of rice midair. “It’s not football, Mom—”
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Nysse asked in a forced deep voice that was a terrible imitation of her brother. “It’s soccer.”
Mrs. Cipriano shook her head. “Fine. How was soccer?”
She turned her attention to Chase, who was pulling on a shirt.
Nysse tapped Aricela with a paper plate and pointed at the food.
Everyone else was dishing up glistening stir-fry or saucy fried food from white Styrofoam take-out containers, and Aricela waited her turn.
“Brian is out,” Chase said. “Torn ACL.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Mrs. Cipriano said, helping herself to fried rice. “He was your best midfielder, right? I know you really respected him, too.”
Kai rocked back on his heels. “He was the winger and playmaker, Mom. He was the yin to Chase’s yang. Without him, we’re doomed. We’ll never make it out of regionals, let alone get to state.”
Chase looked up at the ceiling and blew out a long breath. “I don’t know. We’ll have to rotate someone in from the bench, and maybe I’ll pull Lonergan upfield. He usually plays box-to-box, so I know he has stamina.”
“Do you play 4-3-3, the Christmas tree, or 4-2-3-1?”
All four sets of eyes shifted to her.
Chase leaned toward her. “You know soccer?”
Aricela raised her eyebrows. Her question was enough of an answer already.
“How?” His gaze bored into her, demanding answers.
Aricela shrugged. “I used to play with my brother and his friends a lot. There isn’t much else to do in a small town.”
“You play?” Kai’s mouth stayed unhinged after he finished his question.
“What position?” Nysse asked with a gleam in her eye. She still held her fork in her hands, but the food was forgotten, and the coated noodles slowly slid from the prongs to her plate.
They thought she was going to somehow miraculously replace their player? The idea was ridiculous. “I’m not offering to play. I was curious. That’s all.”
Chase studied her, but this was a look of incredulity, not appreciation of her physical appearance.
“How long did you play?” Kai asked.
“Listen,” she said with a huff. “I played a lot. But not professionally. Our school team was good, but . . .” There was no way to continue without telling too much, so she changed the direction. “I can’t help you, Kai, so don’t look at me like that. A winger and striker have to play together a long time to have a good bond. They have to be able to read each other. Think like each other. In a match, they become one.”
She could feel it though, even as she was protesting. Chase’s energy radiated to her, and Kai was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
There was no way for them to know if she was any good or not at this point, so why were they looking at her like they knew?
Chase set his plate of food down. “Come on,” he said, waving her to him. “You’ve got too much knowledge to not have some skills.” He looked to Mrs. Cipriano and asked, “Is that okay, Mama Bree? We’ll be back in ten minutes.”
Mrs. Cipriano had also set her fork down. Her lips were pursed as if trying to puzzle out a difficult problem, but she nodded. “Take as long as you need, hun.”
Kai whooped and stood, but Mrs. Cipriano put her hand out.
“You don’t need to be there, Kai. Chase will be able to assess Aricela’s skills. After all, she’ll be working primarily with him, not you.” Mrs. Cipriano spoke the last phrase with absolute certainty.
Chapter 5
Aricela had thought the butterflies couldn’t get worse, but she’d been wrong. As she and Chase stepped outside onto the lush lawn of the Cipriano’s backyard, the butterflies multiplied.
Chase started juggling the ball in a game of keepie uppie, bouncing it off his knees, thighs, head, chest, and insoles. “Do you want to play?”
Aricela watched him. The thumping of the ball sounded like home, and she realized she did want to play. Without saying anything, she stepped in front of him, closing the distance, and when the ball came down, she knew he was going to let her have it.
The synthetic leather bounced off her thighs, and she felt a tightness in her chest unfurl as she juggled the ball. She let it drop to the ground, and she dribbled it out onto the lawn.
She could sense him behind her, following her, feeling where he was going, more so than actually seeing. The air shifted as he drew closer, and just before he stepped forward to take control of the ball, she killed it, scooped it up on her instep, and bounced it back up into the air to juggle it.
She bounced it back to him, and they played together, moving in tandem, bouncing the ball back and forth. As both focused on the ball and their mutual purpose to keep it in the air, the tension between them disappeared. They drew closer together, occasionally brushing against each other as they bounced the ball back and forth.
Something about his touch sent warm tendrils of desire through her, and the brushing touches became more frequent, then longer, then softer and more deliberate.
The door closed, breaking the silent spell, and Aricela’s bounce went wide. Chase lunged to catch it, and she laughed, a warm carefree sound from years long-gone.
Chase froze, and the ball bounced away on the grass. He straightened slowly, his eyes wide as he looked at her with questions radiating in the blue fathomless depths.
“Well, at least she can stay under the ball,” Kai said with a grin.
<
br /> Aricela’s T-shirt was clinging to her back, and her dark hair stuck to her face and neck. She was sweaty and hot, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this good.
Chase’s eyes dimmed, and he muttered, “Run her through the kicking drills, Kai. I’m going to eat.”
Without even looking at her, he stepped through the door back into the house.
It felt as if he’d punched her.
Her mood shifted in the seconds it took the door to close. From elation, to shock, to anger. “What the—?”
“Let him be,” Kai said, in a voice filled with sadness. “He’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Aricela turned her anger to the only target available. “Are you kidding me? He tells me I’m rude and then pulls that?” The pain was raw, and it reinforced all her reasons for not connecting with anyone. But telling herself she didn’t care didn’t change the ache blossoming in her chest. She needed to leave before she lost it. “Forget it. I’m out of here.”
She heard Kai calling after her, but she didn’t care. She was not going to stay and play games. No. Way.
Aricela rounded the corner of the house and opened the gate. Two steps later, she remembered her keys were inside, still up in Nysse’s room. But it didn’t matter. She’d come back later and get them. After everyone was asleep.
There was a window on the neighbor’s house that had been coated with reflective film, making it more mirror than pane, which would do well enough.
Aricela took out her artavus and, not heeding the tears stinging her eyes, she drew a rune on the glass.
“What are you doing?”
Aricela yelped at the sound of his voice, a slow burn that made her want again. It was cruel to add this to her already desperate situation, and she cursed the Norns. Then she realized her arm was halfway through the window, and she snatched it back.
His voice was a low growl, “What was that?”
She put her artavus in its sheath at the waistband of her jeans and turned to face him. “What do you want, Chase?”
His face was pale and drawn with uncertainty, and she knew he was trying to make sense of something that made no sense. He swallowed, and his eyes met hers. “What are you?”
Aricela shook her head as she walled-up her feelings. She should’ve never let him in, not even a little. Because want and need only led to pain, and she couldn’t do that. Never again would she love someone. “Nothing. I’m nothing. Now, go away.”
But he didn’t. He stepped forward, closer, until he was blocking her, hemming her in between him and the window. He reached out and touched the glass, his fingers stopping as they met resistance. Then he looked down. On her.
Confusion lined his eyes, and his jaw was hard, but his body was only a breath away from hers. His breath caught, and he brought his other hand up, his fingertips hovering by her cheek. He closed his eyes, as if trying to contain a war within.
Aricela inched toward the side, the urge to flee becoming a desperate need. Fear clawed at her, because she knew her desire would only lead to heartache.
But without opening his eyes, he extended his arm between her and her escape. He closed the distance, pushing his body into hers and her back to the wall. He dipped his head, his nose tracing the curve of her jaw and groaned. “Please, Ari. Tell me you feel this? Please tell me I’m not going crazy.”
He opened his eyes, and his desire was shockingly bare in the deep pools.
She gasped. Her fear and desire no longer on the same path, and she allowed herself a moment to just look.
His dark hair fell forward, and she itched to push it back. His stormy eyes held so much emotion, too much, and it couldn’t be contained.
She should push him away, and run, and never come back, but she hadn’t forgotten the Norns’ visit either, so leaving Kayville wasn’t an option. Her hands came up. She would make him back off. But as soon as she touched his chest, he pushed forward, and her hands slid up to his neck.
“Please?” he whispered.
Desire thudded in her chest, making her breath catch. Hot coils of longing drove her closer, and he pushed a knee between her legs. She sucked in a deep breath as she moved into him.
The tugging sensation she’d felt the very first time she’d met him urged her closer, and he responded until their bodies were flush. Her hands played with the hair at the nape of his neck, stroking his smooth skin.
He brushed his lips back and forth, leaving a trail of fire along her jaw and neck. His tongue tasted her, and he begged, “Please.”
He brought his hands to her waist, stroking and caressing, as he inched her shirt up to touch her skin, pulling her into him. “Please.”
She wanted to say yes. That whatever he was asking for, she wanted it to. She could feel him, all angles and hardness and heat, and she wanted to drown in it.
“Please,” he begged. “Please tell me to stop.”
“Stop?” The word came out in clouded confusion. Why would he want her to say that? Why would she want to?
He pulled back, his gaze hooded and filled with passion.
Her arms fell to her sides as cool air rushed between them.
“You don’t want me?” she asked. Shame heated her cheeks as she thought about how she’d responded to him. Had it all been a game? Had he just wanted to see how far he could get before—?
He ran his hand through his hair, the ends in the front falling forward as soon as he released them. “I’ve wanted to touch you ever since I saw you park your bike the first day you showed up at school. But . . .”
She swallowed as her senses returned. He knew almost nothing about her, or she about him. “You don’t even know me.”
He stepped back another pace.
“Not as well as I should,” he said, reaching forward to brush a strand of hair from her face.
There was truth and wisdom in his words. The breeze hit the sweat on her body, giving her a chill that made her shiver. “I’d better go.”
She didn’t wait for his response.
~~~
“Well, that was awkward,” Nysse said, standing at Ari’s locker. “I’ve never seen Chase lose his cool like that. Did you two get in a fight?”
Ari frowned, trying to put together the rest of what Nysse wasn’t saying. She grabbed her Algebra book and snapped the locker closed.
“Kai made some comment about you not playing on the team after all, and Chase almost punched him. I’ve never seen him like that. But I’ve never seen him have any interest in anyone either. Kai wasn’t trying to be insulting. I’m mean, really he was just being protective of Chase, but he might’ve called you a—”
She knew he was there, even before he spoke.
“Ari,” Chase said, his voice touching and pulling on her soul. He then stepped between her and Nysse. “Nysse, you better not be talking about your brother and me.” He turned to Ari, and the air around them charged with intensity. “We have soccer right after school. I think it would be good if you came and tried out with the team.”
Ari nodded. Try out with the team. Where there would be lots of people around. “Of course.”
He turned to Nysse. “Do you mind giving me a minute with Ari?”
Nysse smiled and winked at her friend. “Not at all. If you don’t make it to class, I’ll pick up your homework.”
Chase waited until Nysse was out of earshot. He reached out as if to touch Ari, but withdrew before contact, his eyes wary. “Do you feel it?”
She wanted to protest, but to do so would be a lie, so she nodded.
He stepped closer, almost as if he were unconscious of his movement. His gaze went to her lips, and he put a hand on her waist. The tightness around his eyes relaxed, and he whispered, “What is it?”
She refused to voice her opinion, having nothing more than suspicions. Suspicions Ari wasn’t even sure she wanted to acknowledge as possibilities. But his touch did something to her. It was both exciting and calming, and the strangest contradiction of emotions pu
lsed through her. But she would not get hurt again. She would not.
“Attraction,” she said with a shrug, pushing him back. “Pheromones. You said it yourself; we don’t know each other well enough for it to be anything else.”
Chase flinched. “Right.” He cleared his throat and stood straight. “I’m sure you’re right.” He stepped back, and his gaze clouded. “I’ll see you at practice.”
Ari clenched her teeth. “Right.”
Chapter 6
The receptionist at the school had been wrong. Soccer was no longer an exclusive sport. If you made the team, they didn’t care if you were a boy or girl. You just had to be enrolled at the school.
It was different playing on a team again, but Ari fell back into it as if she’d never been away. It had been the one skill she’d been able to even best her brother in, and now she was playing with ten others on the pitch that knew the sport like she did.
They had one week before their first match when the coach officially added her to the roster, and Chase told the team there would be extra practice on the weekend so they could get used to having her run with them. But it was clear after the first afternoon practice that they would do well with her. By the end of the week, they had completely absorbed her, and her skills, as if she’d always been a part of them.
Whatever connection had been ignited between her and Chase translated well on the pitch. She could sense his intention in the shift of his stance, or the way he waved his hand. There was a reason he wore the number 9; if he was within striking distance, he’d put it between the posts.
The boys were warming up, some running laps on the track, others stretching on the thick grass, when Ari came out of the locker room. She’d braided her hair and tucked it into the back of her jersey.
It had been over three weeks since she’d arrived in Kayville, and there had been no further contact from Larissa or the Norns after that second day. Nothing about this assignment made any sense. Ari had never been in one place this long. She’d heard of other Valkyries spending weeks or months getting to know the people they would have to lead to Valhalla, but she’d always requested shorter collections, not wanting to spend any significant time anywhere or with anyone. But here she was weeks later, and she still didn’t have any names. And worse, she woke each day with trepidation because she didn’t want it to be her last day there, or more accurately, her last day with him.
