His whole body tensed; he started to shake. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes.
I continued to babble on. “I wish I could look like her in real life. She’s gorgeous. I mean, like, supermodel gorgeous.”
“This isn’t good. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you. I never should’ve agreed to this. Damn it, Zanj. He knew all along. They all knew.” Whispering to himself, he started rapidly mumbling. It was so quick and low I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I’m sure it wasn’t in a language I recognized, and he yelled a few choice curse words here and there.
“I am going to let you get some rest. For reasons, you may or may not comprehend right now; I am going to have to lock you in this room. It’s for your own good.”
“I doubt that.” I glared him straight into his grey-almost-clear eyes.
His features were soft, offering an expression filled with sympathy. “I know this all seems a bit confusing. I realize that this moment I am conducting myself in a manner of an abusive, controlling boyfriend, but,” he paused and took a deep breath. “I’d rather you not die.”
His words provoked rage within me. “Oh, so you start to strangle me, change your mind about that, and then decide that you don’t want me to die after all? It seems to me that if I stay in this room I may very well die since, you know, you tried to kill me earlier, just sayin’.” My tone was patronizing and offensive. I probably should have kept quiet, but my mouth rarely stayed shut in tense situations.
“You have no idea what has been unleashed?”
My eyes rolled as the key turned in the lock. I lay back on the bed and mulled over my situation. I had always had trust issues for a reason. I would add this to the list. I exhaled. What now, I thought. My eyes felt heavy as I succumbed to the back of my eyelids.
Twenty-One
“I’m sorry… for… well, back there,” Demien offered.
“What was that?” I wearily asked.
His eyes softened. His tone was warm and supple. “I wish I could tell you.” He exhaled. He held out one hand, beckoning me. A seemingly uncontrollable force easily glided my body toward him.
I accepted his stretched out embrace, and he pulled me in close, supporting the small of my back with his ridiculously strong arm, holding my other arm in a dance stance. It felt right. I knew I had found what I had been looking for my entire life. I wanted to stay in his embrace forever. All my questions, all my fears, had melted away in that instant.
“Kiss me,” he whispered. I was looking at him as he spoke, but his lips never moved and he wasn’t at my ear. I didn’t bother ruining the moment by asking him how he did that, but I was aching to know.
Demien touched my throbbing neck. The pain deepened from the inside out or was it--the other way around. I couldn’t tell. It just hurt a lot. He pulled me up to his face with one arm around my waist, the other arm wrapped around my shoulders, and our lips met. He was full of love and admiration. His lips were soft; his kiss was respectful and passionate. He was still tense though.
He released my arm and placed it around his neck to meet my other arm that had already found its resting place there.
The pain in my throat was gone. My neck no longer was tender. I felt us slowly twirling.
“Don’t open your eyes. Just take everything in through your other senses,” he whispered.
I could feel the cool breeze on my face, smell rain in the atmosphere. His skin was warm despite the chill that encircled our bodies. The bouquet of spicy cinnamon, sweet honey and rich earth radiated from Demien. I could catch a hint of another scent, but couldn’t quite decide what it was. The fragrance was rich and airy. The closest thing I could compare it to was a stormy, humid night. Whatever it was, I was in love with it. I was hopelessly in love with this man.
I had a sensation of floating sideways and upwards, gently twirling and fluttering, like in my dreams. I could hear soft, whispered flapping. I wondered if birds were near.
Then, all too soon, his lips left mine. The ground seemed much too hard under my feet.
He brushed my hair out of my face. Gently kissing my neck, he said with a strained voice, “You can open your eyes now.”
I slowly opened my eyes, catching my breath, to see his beautiful face full of angst. “What’s wrong?”
Looking around, I noticed we were standing beside his vehicle, parked in a place I didn’t recognize. Due to the grim of the night, I couldn’t see many details of our surroundings. The moon was covered by clouds, giving the appearance of a pitch-black night. I felt the coarseness of gravel under my slip-on sandal. One foot was standing on top of a gravel road and the other foot stood on softer ground, grass, I’d assumed.
