Mesmerized: Spellbound (Book One) (4 page)

I couldn’t bare going back to the beach flat. My hair was bedraggled, and my eye makeup had smeared. I knew what the girls were thinking. Well, not really, but I was sure they were thinking something judgey about hanging out with a local all alone.

I walked out to the beach to be
by myself and made a painting of the sunset colors on the water. The beach was mostly deserted except for a few old men fishing and a couple of young lovers holding hands as they walked. I imagined holding hands on the beach with Alexi. It just didn’t strike me as an Alexi thing to do. I wished he’d come pick me up on his motorcycle and show me the city at night, show me dangerous places and forbidden pleasures. But he only came to me in the morning.

I
wandered back to the flat, but I couldn’t eat the dinner that Misha had cooked. It wasn’t that it was bad; I just wasn’t hungry. I laid on my cot and didn’t even dream of him that night. When I awoke I had the distinct feeling of missing him. There was a terrible feeling of loss and longing, as if my best friend, and lover, and the father of my children had died and left me utterly alone. What was happening to me?

I knew it was him that I longed for, but why? I hadn
’t known him that long, we’d had some sexual encounters, and some strange conversations about economics and business, but not much more. And I’d just seen him yesterday. I laid in bed all morning. We hadn’t made plans to go out that day, so I didn’t get up and didn’t get dressed until after noon.

When I finally did get up,
I showered, I put my hair in a ponytail and put on my swimsuit. I was just going to go to the beach, get some sun, swim, maybe do some painting. I walked down the path to the beach alone. Everyone else had already gone. I found them sitting under the big sun umbrella drinking shots of vodka.

“
Opa,” said Misha as Collin spilled vodka down his chin. They were all already pretty drunk.

“
Did I miss anything?” I asked.

“
Not really,” said Kat, “Just that we have to leave in two days.”

“
Sorry Julia, I know you wanted to stay longer. But we’re all running low on money. We’ve just got to head home now.”

“
I thought you were staying all summer?”

“
That was when we thought my uncle would let us stay,” said Misha, “We can’t afford the flat any longer. The landlord is raising the rent for the rest of the summer.”

“
What the fuck?” I said, incensed, “That isn’t fair.”

“
Of course it is. It’s his flat,” said Collin, “We don’t have a lease, and we only rented it for a week.”

“
Fuck! What am I going to do now?”

“
You should go home, Julia,” said Sarah.

“
God, I don’t think I can face my parents if I go home.”

I took a few sho
ts of vodka and laid back on my beach towel and peeked at the sharp blue sky. I didn’t want to go home, but what choice did I have? I really didn’t have the money to travel any further, and I didn’t have the money to rent the flat myself. If I traveled back to Budapest with my friends, I could take the train and fly out of Venice without having to ask my parents for more cash. That would be a small victory anyway.

Then I thought about Ale
xi. What was he talking about— “special plans?" He was always so cryptic. If he weren’t so damn sexy, it would be unforgivable. I rolled over on my stomach and leaned down into my folded arms. The air was warm, and a breeze kissed my skin. I almost fell asleep there, but was woken from my slumber by Kat saying, “Julia. It's your boyfriend.” I shot up. What boyfriend? I hadn’t had a boyfriend in a year. Then I saw bright blue eyes beaming down at me through a mass of black curls. His lips were parted in a smile around his teeth.

“
Julia, Darling, come with me,” he said offering me his hand.

This time Kat and Sarah were to
o consumed with their own problems to say anything to me. I wrapped a slip dress over my swimsuit and followed him back to my flat where his motorcycle was parked. He straddled the motorcycle, and the motor rumbled to life. I was wearing only a swimsuit with a thin cover and flip-flops, but I jumped on the back of his motorcycle anyway. His closeness filled me with a sense of safety and belonging.

The feelings of loss and loneliness I
’d experienced that morning made the warmth of his body feel so much more poignant. I held him close to me. We raced out of the parking lot and onto the street. Holding him in my arms, close and warm, the smell of him made me want to cry. I’d felt I’d lost him that morning. I’d felt like my whole world was ending. Why? Why did I feel that way? And now? Now that he was near, I didn’t want to ever leave him, I didn’t ever want to feel that way again.

We rode for about an hour until he stopped along the highway were
a private drive was barred with an iron gate. He parked the motorcycle and unlocked the gate. Then he took a picnic basket out from the saddle compartment in the bike and beckoned me to follow him down the private road. It was an overgrown dirt road that led out onto a very secluded, very private beach. The white sand stretched out in both directions, and I couldn’t see a single house for miles.

“
What is this place?”

“
Just some land I acquired. I wanted to show it to you.”

We walked down the
beach, and he took my hand in his. I wasn’t expecting that. Our encounters had been so carnal, until today. Now I felt a sense of deep closeness, and unspoken connection that spanned millennia. Where the feeling came from, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I felt it. I felt tied to him— bound by some invisible force stronger than lust, deeper than love, more overwhelming than desire.

I held his hand and let him lead me to the shore where he unfolded a blanket and sat down. The sun was deepening in the western sk
y behind us as we gazed out on the eastern sea. It was cooling toward dusk and the light was pink and blue. He took packaged delicacies out from the basket. We fed on soup, stuffed pastries, tangy-sweet beef shish kebabs, and drank dark-red wine. It was the best meal I’d had in weeks.

I leaned back on my elbow enjoying my full stomach as I sipped my wine. Alexi leaned over and placed a honey dipped, little pastry into my mouth. It melted sweet
on my tongue and down my throat. Then he was there, next to me, his hand on my chin, pulling my mouth up to his. I put down my wine and put my arm around him as I sank down into the blanket over the sand. He rolled on top of me, and I could feel him hard between my legs.

His kisses were ceaseless and
passionate. I could barely breath as he lifted my arms above my head and held them there. I wrapped my legs around him— hoping this time, this time he would give me what I needed. But he stood. I thought he would walk away from me again, but instead, he stripped nude and pulled me toward the sea. Twilight settled, and the crescent moon rose bright over the beach.

We ran toward the water
, and I flung off my cover and followed him in. “Now it is time,” he said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me in until we were chest deep in the buoyant salt sea. He held me close and moonlight played on his face. Mystery lived behind his eyes, and I wanted to learn all his dark secrets. He untied my bikini bottom and it drifted away. Then he lifted me up, my legs around his hips. I was weightless in water. I felt his cock hard under my ass and between my legs.

What
I wanted most was to get closer to his heart. I felt it beating close to mine under the black and red symbols tattooed on his chest. He tore my bikini top down to reveal my breasts and then squeezed hard as he bit down into my neck. I almost felt his sharp teeth puncture, but then he licked and sucked at the wounded spot. His hands had fistfuls of my ass, ready to pull me into his hard, waiting cock.

I tilted my head back
as he trust into me. I moaned. Water sloshed between us. With one hand, he gripped my hair and pulled me into a deep kiss, with the other, he held my ass as he worked his cock inside of me.
Oh God.
He let go of my head, so he had more control of my ass, and I tilted back toward the moon as I clung to his shoulders. My hair dipped behind me in the water. The crescent moon glowed down on us, illuminating the rippling sea.

His strength held me
, pumped me hard on his body. The water slightly slowed the rhythmic pumping of his arms and hips, moisture accentuating my desire. I could feel the surge coming. I wanted to feel his hot and steaming cum inside me. But it was me that howled at the moon. I growled as I came hard on his cock. My pussy gripped and pulsed around him. I clung to him, breathless, waiting for the next wave.

Then he turned me around and entered me. I was still pulsing from orgasm and the shock of fullness from behind sent another wave of
climax through my body. He held my hips, pounding into my pussy harder with each pump— driving salt water deep inside me, mixing with my juices, lubricating my already sopping wet, pulsing hole.

I was bent down, my face nearly in the water.
I thought I might drown in ecstasy, but he jerked me up and held me by my throat squeezing just enough to push me over the edge. Wave after wave of orgasm rocked me in the waveless sea.

Then he took me back to shore and laid me down in the blanket. There
he gently parted my legs and slid inside, holding me close, so close, as I held him. I was moaning, senseless. Falling in love with his darkness and mystery. I couldn’t help it. I'd never known this kind of pleasure. I’d never known danger could fill me with such passion. He held my hands up over my head, pinned them down hard. I could feel him growing harder, and deeper inside me. I wanted to scream with pleasure, but he covered my mouth with an overwhelming kiss, and he came inside me as I shuttered into the pleasure of his darkness.

The next morning the British kids were busy packing their backpacks. They planned to drive the van back to Budapest first think in the morning, and take the train to Berlin were they would fly back to London. The summer had been a wash, and they admitted it. But I couldn’t admit it. There was still so much I wanted to explore.

Last night, when Alexi drove me home, he
’d told me again that he had plans for me. Whatever those plans were, I wished he would tell me because time was running out. I was going to have to travel back to Budapest with the British kids if I liked it or not. Unless, Alexi came up with some alternative. The worst part of it was, I felt like I was falling in love with him. As stupid as that sounds. There was just something about him that held me captivated. I needed him. I needed more and more of him every day.

I got ready and waited for him to show up
, but he didn't. At 3pm, I finally started packing. I had to admit to myself that it was all just a game to him. I was just some American girl he enjoyed toying with, and he wouldn’t care if I left. Last night has been so tender, so passionate. I didn’t know how anyone could share that kind of experience without having some kind of feeling about it.

Who
knew with Alexi. He never said more than he had to, and most of the time what he said made no sense at all. It was almost like he didn’t even speak English. I shoved my bikini top into my backpack, getting pissed that I’d lost the bottoms. I liked that suit. Damn Alexi, ruining everything. Then I heard the rumble of a motorcycle in the parking lot outside.

I ran out the door and fell into his embrace. When I hoppe
d on, we tore out of the parking lot. I was so happy to see him, I could barely breath. His spicy sent filled my nose, and I nestled my head into his back. Why had I doubted him? I closed my eyes and let him drive me wherever he wanted to take me. When the I opened my eyes again, I saw we were at the vineyard closing in on the little stone cottage. He stopped the bike and lowered the kickstand. We got off and walked toward the front door.

“
I told you I had plans for you, my Darling. Come inside, I have something to show you.”

When I walked inside, I found the cottage
fully furnished with rustic furniture, tablecloths, hand towels, dishes. It looked like someone actually lived there. (Someone from the olden days.) He took me into the dark living room and sat with me on a old-fashioned couch.

“
It looks nice in here. Are you planning to turn it into a museum?” I asked nervously.

“
I want you to live here, with me.”

“
What?” I was shocked. How was anyone supposed to live in a place with no running water, dim lighting, and a wood burning cook stove.

“
I want you to stay. For the summer. You can paint. And we can be together.”

“
Why not just stay at your flat?” I said crossly.

“
Because, my Darling, I need you to stay here. Be my woman. You will see. You will like it.”

My head was buzzing. This all sounded stupid. But then again. It also sounded kind of kink
y and exciting in a weird kind of way. I didn’t mind the idea play acting with Alexi for a few more months.

“
I don’t know. This is kind of strange."

“
I will pay for all your food, and everything will be taken care of.” He looked at me with those piercing blue eyes. I felt myself go weak, transfixed by his gaze. Maybe I wanted to stay in his little cottage. At least for the summer. At least to know what it was he wanted. What could someone like Alexi want, anyway? Something in me knew that this was the experience I had been looking for— intensely real and otherworldly at the same time.

         
 
***

I waved good-bye to my British friends as they drove away in the van toward Budapest. I knew they thought I was a lunatic. But I had come to Europe for an experience of a lifetime— an experience I knew Alexi could give me. I packed up the rest of my things and waited for the sound of his motorcycle to come rumbling up to the flat.

The day dragged
on, but he did not arrive. Suddenly, I began to feel nervous that it had all been a rouse. But I reminded myself that the last time I’d thought that, he’d shown up. So I waited until I felt hungry. There was no food in the house, so I got up and began to walk toward the market, when a metallic black Porsche pulled up beside me in the road. I looked up at the window as it glided down.

“
Have you made your decision?” Alexi said from the window.

“
Yes. I’m staying.”