“I thought you were immortal?”
“Immortal until Deus decides you are no longer. It is He who bequeaths the final judgment.”
He held the back of his hand to his mouth muffling his laughter as he heard me gasp.
“Worry, not,” he said, “I do not believe things will reach that extent.”
“You laugh?!” I was flabbergasted. “Your life is at stake!”
“I have nothing to fear. I have done nothing wrong.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Besides, as I said, there is no one else that is aware of this situation.”
His eyes sparkled brightly as he gazed at me and I at him. How could this perfect boy be so old? And why was he looking at me that way? My eyes could not resist his looks. They were intoxicating.
“What are you thinking?” He interrupted my wide-open gape.
“Oh, n-n-nothing,” I said. “It’s just that you’re looking at me like…”
“Like what?” he asked, very interested in what I was about to say.
“Forget about it. I think we should leave.” I quickly changed the subject. “My mother will probably drop by the city library to check up on me during her lunch hour.”
“Yes,” he said, wiping his neck. “It is quite warm here, isn’t it?”
“Wow, you used a contraction. I’m thoroughly impressed.” I raised my brows.
“I strive to please,” he grinned.
“So am I still captive?” I asked, placing my fist under my chin.
“You never were. You were under the effects of my personal anesthetic. It made things simpler for both of us.”
“I’m going to let you in on a little something you might not have learned under all your genius teachers: when you take someone against their will, that counts as abduction.” My mouth pulled down at one corner.
“At no instance do I recall you voicing the words ‘I don’t want to go’, so technically…”
I was annoyed that he beat my defense, because, to be honest, I didn’t remember if I had or hadn’t complained when he was carrying me off to his car. Everything that happened after that kiss was a blur.
“Do you always win debates?” I said in a bothered voice.
“Yes.” His smirk was cocky.
I rolled my eyes and stood up. “I need to get to the library before my mother does, and since you say you didn’t kidnap me, I’d appreciate a ride.”
“As you wish,” he said, rising to his feet.
In the car, I couldn’t help but to stare. His clothes were obviously expensive. I started biting my nail as I admired him. His lips pressed together and I could see him restraining a smile but the dimples on his cheeks gave him away. He swiveled his head and looked out the window to hide the curl on his lip.
I knew exactly what he was thinking—that I was checking him out. I quickly turned my head away as I realized I was blushing.
“You look a little flushed,” he expressed in a pompous tone. I couldn’t believe he called me on it. “Do you need me to pull over?”
What a pretentious ass! He knew exactly why I was red in the face. I was from embarrassment. I clenched my jaw trying to keep my composure.
“I’m fine,” I said coldly staring at the visor in front of me.
As we cruised by the only intersection in Los Fresnos, I kept an eye out for Claire’s car in the courthouse parking area. Luckily, it was still there, which meant my mother hadn’t gone looking for me—yet.
David pulled up to the city library and turned the engine off. I tried to open the door to get out but it was locked.
“Uh, I thought you said I wasn’t a captive?”
I sighed, seeing as he didn’t move to unlock the car.
“May I join you?” he asked in a calm voice.
“Do I have a choice?” I spewed sarcasm in my tone.
“Yes, you do. I would just like you to know that today I would very much like to serve as your chaperone.” He ran his finger along the edge of the dashboard as he spoke.
“I don’t need a chaperone,” I said, trying to open the door again.
“Please,
allow
me
,” he said, opening his door.
He pulled the passenger door open and helped me out of the vehicle.
“Thanks,” I said as we reached the library door. “I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”
“You could try being a bit more hospitable. I’m new in town and I don’t have any friends, remember?” He leaned on the library wall, I imagine, expecting me to invite him in.
His use of contractions was getting better.
“That might have worked out better for you if you hadn’t dragged me off fearing for my life,” I stated loudly.
“Shhh…” he hushed me with a wrinkled brow. “Say you forgive me and I will take my leave. I promise I will pester you no more… for about the next hour… or for as long it is that you will be in this library.”
“You’re not kidding. You’re not going to leave me alone are you?”
“No. I am truly sorry, but I need to know I have gained your trust and that you have gained mine before I can let you be.”
I understood that I would probably feel the same way if I told someone a secret that could cause my demise. He was doubtful that I would not speak of this to anyone else.
“You think I’m going to say something to someone about you? Believe me, I’m not. I don’t want to be locked away in a white padded room.” I opened the door to the library, but he pulled my arm away letting it slam shut.
“Give me your word,” he demanded, looking past me.
“Isis?” My mother’s voice startled me.
“Mom… hi.” I made a face at David and then turned to view her. “What are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you that. I thought you fainted at school?”
“I didn’t faint. I just felt dizzy, is all. The nurse exaggerated.”
David tapped my shoulder prompting an introduction. Claire gave me a confused look when she noticed I wasn’t alone.
“Mom, this is David. He’s new in town.”
David took two steps forward and took my mother’s hand. “A pleasure, Mrs. Martin.”
“A pleasure as well, David, and welcome to our small town.” My mom gave me a huge smile as she shook his hand. “Are you attending high school?” My mother started the question game.
“Yes, ma’am, I enrolled today, as a matter of fact, but will not attend classes until Monday. There was a scheduling conflict, so I was sent home.” David was a good liar. He had promised he would never lie to me, but I wondered if he had. He was very convincing.
I casually turned my head to sniff him. The scent of sandalwood was alive on his skin.
“What is your last name, dear?” My mother continued questioning David.
“Chios.” David smiled charmingly.
“Ah, Chios… yes. Your family bought out the Ebony Estate, am I right?” Leave it to Claire to be nosey about documentation that goes through the county office. I wondered what the Ebony Estate was as they conversed.
“Yes, that’s correct,” David nodded. “We moved here from Greece.”
“Greece? That’s very interesting. You don’t have a Greek accent.”
“We’ve lived in various places around the globe—one accent doesn’t seem to stick,” he laughed.
“Oh,” my mother’s mouth arced as she raised her brows. “That’s very, very interesting. What did you say your father did for a living?” She wrinkled her brow.
“Mom!” I interrupted. “Aren’t you going to eat anything for lunch?”
“Yes, hon, my lunch is at the office. She raised her arm with her car keys in hand and pointed east toward the county courthouse. “What about you two?”
“Actually, I was asking Isis if she wanted to have lunch just as you arrived. Would that be alright with you, Mrs. Martin?” David asked Claire for approval.
“I have no problem if Isis wants to go grab a bite.” She elbowed me as if David wouldn’t notice. “I have to get back to the office anyway. I’ll see you kids later.”
David laid on his godly charm before my mother left telling her how it was a pleasure to have met her and that he hoped to see her again. My mother tried to recommence her questioning.
“How in the world did your parents get the owners to sell the estate? They swore they would never part with it if their life depended on it.”
“My mother has savvy negotiation skills,” David responded.
Claire opened her mouth again to ask another question, but I cut her off reminding her she only had an hour for lunch. She announced her parting one more time and walked to her car. She made a sharp “U” turn as she drove off in her little Toyota Echo.
My stomach was starting to speak to me in strange gurgling tongues. It was definitely lunchtime.
David reached for his mobile and dialed. He placed the phone on speaker, and I heard a female voice answer. He spoke in another language, which sounded to me like Latin, but I could’ve been mistaken. I didn’t understand one word of what he said. He pulled the phone the slightest bit away from his mouth.
“My mother would like to extend an invitation to have lunch with us at our home. We would be honored to have you as our guest. What shall I tell her?”
David was putting me on the spot. He knew that with his mother on the phone he had a better chance of getting me to go with him. He had already told me he wasn’t letting me out of his sight, but this would have to end sometime. The only way to ease his fear of me leaking any information about him would be to show him that I was trustworthy. I took the invitation-if I was
his
personal project, then he would be mine.
We didn’t even set foot in the library. David immediately headed for the Maserati and opened the passenger door for me. I had to admit that he was chivalrous. There aren’t a lot of those guys around anymore.
Nearing the freeway, on Highway 100, he slowed the speed and turned onto a wooded path.
“Wait a minute! Stop the car!” I panicked. “This is a nature preserve. Why are we going in?” I imagined a guy in a hockey mask with a chainsaw, holding up one of my bloody limbs.
David tittered at my expression. “I live here.”
“You live
here
?” I was astounded. “The Ebony Preserve is the Ebony Estate?”
David nodded and set the car in motion again. As the path curved, I saw a grand brick house with white pillars along the front. A few yards from the front door there lay a medium sized lake surrounded by wild flowers and trees.
“Is that a peacock?!” I sounded like a five year-old at the zoo for the first time.
“They are my mother’s pets,” David nonchalantly answered.
He parked the car under an ebony tree on the driveway. I started getting butterflies in my stomach as he stared at me with a wide grin. I was always nervous about meeting parents.
“Ready?” he asked, killing the engine.
“Yeah.” I pretended not to be bothered by my nerves.
For some reason the passenger door would not open from the inside and that was getting to me.
“Just a moment, I’ll get that for you,” David said as he exited.
I took a deep breath and set one foot on the cement. David offered his hand to aid me out of the car. I slowly rose from my seat and looked around.
“It’s beautiful,” I gasped.
“Yes, I do have good taste, don’t I?” He half grinned.
“Whatever,” I mumbled.
David suggested we take a small tour of the front “yard”, as he modestly called it. We started walking toward the lake to view the ducks and a few swans swimming about. The sun pounded hard on my head today and I had to squint to observe the rest of the estate. Nature always gave me a sense of wellbeing. I loved it.
“Can I ask you a question and be honest about your answer?” David asked.
“Sure.” I held my hair up in ponytail with my hand and fanned myself with the other.
“Do you find me attractive?” he queried.
It was an awkward question, and I felt ashamed to answer because the answer was so obvious. I wasn’t blind for goodness sake!
“Are all gods as conceited as you?”
“Only the good ones.” He winked.
I didn’t answer the question because I was embarrassed to admit that he was drop dead gorgeous. What was wrong with him anyway—asking this question? His self-esteem obviously was not suffering any.
“You’re not going to give me an answer are you?”
I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips.
“Let us go inside to meet my mother then,” he said with a disappointed look on his face.
We walked up to the southern style home and walked through the door.
“Mother?” David called out.
We stood in the foyer awaiting an answer. David set his car keys on a wall table.
“Where are you?” A female voice came from another room.
“The anteroom, mother.” David said taking me by the hand and walking into a large living room.
A petite, slender woman appeared in the living area. Her hair was black as night and held back in a ponytail. Beautiful glossy winding curls fell down her back and to her waist. She wore a knee length chic white dress. A golden rope chain belt intertwined three times around her waist and hips over the dress. She turned to acknowledge us with a smile. Her skin was as smooth as a porcelain doll’s. Two silver and black curls fell slightly over the right side of her face. Her eyes were lined with lush black lashes, projecting her piercing blue eyes—just like David’s eyes. Her beauty was—to no other description—that of a goddess.