“You gotta be kidding.”
He pointed to the glass of water again.
“And I just wished for water,” I said quietly.
He nodded, obviously over his surprise and now trying not to laugh.
I slugged him. “It’s not funny.”
“Yeah it is, don’t you see? Because for you to get what you really want, I’ll get what I really, really want.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, that explains why you didn’t tell me,” I groused.
He chuckled again and pledged his innocence. “Maggie, honest. I’m just so used to how things are...I wasn’t even thinking that you didn’t know...and you talked like you did. I never tried to mislead you, I promise.”
“This explains a lot,” I said.
Darrios cocked his head. I laughed.
“I thought you were some kind of jerk. Taking advantage of my situation just to get laid. Ha, you probably thought I was some kind of sex maniac, throwing myself at you when I kept bugging you to take me to Avascon.”
“I admit I was a little surprised at how...forward you were being. You seemed pretty determined.”
“No wonder you looked at me so strangely when I first brought it up.”
I covered my face and laughed. Darrios pulled my hands away from my face.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Maggie. It was just a misunderstanding. And it
is
funny.”
After taking a sip of my water, I asked, “Are there any other limits or conditions on this little perk I should know about?”
“You can’t get there by...doing it yourself. It has to be done with somebody else. And it has to be through the actual act of making love. You can’t get there...like with foreplay. I mean, you can have an orgasm that way, but to actually get to Avascon, you have to go
all
the way.”
“Penetration, I get it.”
He looked relieved he didn’t have to further explain that concept.
“You can’t get there more than once a day. And your wish has to involve you. You have to be a part of it. You can’t wish something to happen to someone else. I think that’s it.”
I flopped back down onto the bed on my back. He lay down next to me, splaying his hand over my stomach. I turned to face him. “I feel really stupid.”
He stroked my face. “You shouldn’t. This place is completely foreign to you. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we’ll try again...and then you can go home.”
I took his hand and examined it. It was hard to believe that these rough hands, thick with calluses, were the same hands that had touched me so softly just a short while ago. Suddenly, I found myself wanting a little more time with him.
“Yeah...I was thinking. How about you show me around tomorrow?” I suggested.
Darrios’ eyes lit up then narrowed. “What about your family, and
Gregg
?”
“We have to wait until this time tomorrow anyway. And when am I ever going to get another chance to see Celio with such a handsome tour guide?”
“
That is true,” he agreed playfully.
I put my hand on his chest He covered it with his hand and sighed. I snuggled up closer to him so our faces were only inches apart. “I’m serious. I’d really like to spend the day with you,” I whispered.
“Then tomorrow night...” He lightly kissed my lips. Then without pulling away, he continued in a low seductive voice, “We can have an intimate little supper here and afterward, I’ll make love to you so you’ll never forget me.”
I shuddered, visibly. He wrapped me in his arms. I remember thinking, as I drifted off to sleep, how nice it felt to be held by him after we’d shared such an intimate experience.
Gregg never even put an arm around me after sex. As soon as he finished he’d always jump up and run for the shower. It made me self-conscious in the beginning, but he claimed it was just something he’d always done. I was starting to realize just how many things I’d been missing.
Chapter Four
I woke up with Darrios spooning me. I smiled to myself. It felt much too good inside his arms. Hearing him sigh, I shifted a little, not wanting to give the moment up yet, when he pulled me closer.
My eyes popped open when I felt his rock-hard erection up against me. I stayed still for a moment then I pushed back into him a little. He didn’t move. I moved back a little more and I felt him stir. He pulled away, getting up rather suddenly. He padded off into the bathroom without a word. I sighed, a little disappointed.
He came back a few minutes later, washed up and dressed. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he had shaved. He smiled when he saw I was awake. Crawling onto the bed toward me on his hands and knees, he kissed me.
“Rise and shine, beautiful,” he said cheerfully.
I threw my arm up over my face. “Ugh, I can just imagine how beautiful I look right now,” I replied.
He gave me a cockeyed look. “You do. What’s the matter, Gregg doesn’t like the pillow-mussed look?”
Just by the shocked look on my face, I’d revealed to Darrios that he was exactly right. Damn it!
“You gotta be kidding,” he said, disgusted.
“He has a thing about his hair...and mine, in the morning. He likes a fresh start...you know, get up, brush our teeth, get rid of the morning breath, wash...”
“Yeah, I know,” Darrios said quietly, moving closer to me. “I think he’s a fool. And he’s missing out.”
Taking my face in his hands, he kissed me deeply, lingering right there near my face. “I think you are
incredibly
sexy in the morning...morning breath and all.”
I laughed, nervously, not knowing what to say. I definitely was not used to all these compliments. Stupidly, I said so. Darrios leaned back and said, “Well I think that’s a damn shame.”
“Can we please talk about something else? I don’t want to spend my last day here talking about Gregg,” I said a little too loudly.
Darrios gave me a puzzled look but didn’t say anything.
I lowered my voice. “Last night you said it had been a long time since you'd been with a woman.”
He nodded.
“How long? What, a month, two months?”
“More like three years,” he admitted.
“Why? I mean...you seemed to enjoy yourself, and God knows everything you did, you did very, very well. I don’t understand.”
He sighed, a sad expression passing over his face. “It’s a long story, Maggie.” He smiled, then, and said, “Let’s just say you fixed me. Boy did you fix me!”
I laughed a little and let it go. Whatever it was, it was obviously a painful memory.
Darrios suggested we go get some breakfast. I smiled and got up. By the time I came out of the bathroom, he’d draped a fresh T-shirt, a new pair of underwear, and even a bra over the back of the chair for me. I smiled to myself. He came walking back into the bedroom and leaned against the doorjamb.
“They fit perfectly,” he said, pleased.
“How did you know what size bra I wear?”
He smiled wickedly, cupping my breasts in his hands. “I took pretty good measurements last night,” he whispered. He leaned down and kissed me. I rolled my eyes.
****
Darrios was anxious to get going. He claimed we had far too much to see and not enough time to see it in. I reminded him that time passed by more slowly here. Surprisingly, he took my hands in his, kissed my knuckles, and said, “It doesn’t matter how much time we have...I still want more.”
My breath hitched in my throat. It was almost annoying how just his words and a simple look from him could affect me so totally, overcoming my entire body with a heavy, molten heat.
He took my hand as we headed out. We walked down Rosewood Lane to Main Street then turned and headed in the direction of the mountains. The weather was perfect, warm with a gentle breeze. I glanced around as we walked, trying to take it all in, the clear skies, the floral fragrance the air held from all the different flowers, the beauty of the mountains in the distance. I wanted to remember every detail from this incredible place.
Darrios pointed to a small building on the left. He told me that’s where we’d be having breakfast. I followed him inside to discover we’d entered a cute little café. It was simply decorated with pale yellow walls and a wood floor. Six tables sat in the center of the room and three wooden booths lined the wall. The ceiling was made of glass, or something like it, so natural light filled the place.
Darrios explained that it was the only real restaurant in town, but the food was delicious. Since there was no electricity, they had to cook everything on a wood stove or bake it in a wood-fueled oven. I looked around, eager to try a Celio breakfast.
The place seemed busy, but not overly crowded. We sat in one of the booths and a waitress came right over. She didn’t give us menus, but instead, she rattled off a list of entrees. None of them was anything I’d ever heard of, so I deferred to Darrios to order for me.
I noticed everyone in the place was staring at us. To avoid the intrusive gazes, I looked at Darrios and then out the window. Darrios waited until the waitress walked away then he took my hand. I motioned with my eyes for him to look around.
He nodded. “I know,” he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “They haven’t seen me with a woman in a very long time. It’s a small town. You’re a big deal.”
I shook my head and whispered, “I don’t want to be a big deal.”
Darrios chuckled. “It’s not something you can help. Look at yourself.”
I immediately pulled away and put both hands over my cheeks, self-consciously. My eyes dropped to the floor.
Darrios’ smile faded. He sighed. “You know, I really hate what he’s done to you.” He leaned in and took my hand again. “Look at me, Maggie.”
I slowly raised my eyes to his.
“When I said look at yourself, I meant that you’re gorgeous, the most beautiful woman in this place...and you’re here with me. They’re
going
to stare.”
I smiled weakly at him, again, not sure what to say.
Luckily, our food arrived just then, causing a welcome distraction. I inhaled deeply, filling my nose with the delectable aroma of I had no idea what. It didn’t matter. It could’ve been human flesh and I would have eaten it just because of the way it smelled.
My breakfast tasted every bit as wonderful as its scent had led me to believe it would. I had to consciously tell myself to slow down, it was so good. I told Darrios I wished he could order my food all the time. He looked me right in the eyes and, very seriously, said he did too. I shuddered, swayed again by the way his words and his gaze threw me off balance.
When we were through, Darrios set several strange looking coins on the table, thanked the waitress, and stood up to leave. He held out his hand to me. I glanced around at all the faces, surprised at the hopeful, encouraging looks I was getting. I realized they wanted me to take his hand. They hoped we were together. Placing my hand in his, I stood up, relieved by the public approval, yet eager to get out from under all the scrutiny.
We walked a few streets down then Darrios turned right. I followed his lead and we ended up at a cottage, very similar to his, only slightly larger. Darrios knocked on the door. A very tiny, but very pregnant woman opened the door.
She stood about four and a half feet tall with a freckled, cherub face and flaming red hair, cropped short, just below her ears. She reminded me of a leprechaun, but I had the good sense not to say so.
The woman smiled warmly, opened the door, and reached out, open armed, to Darrios. He hugged her, awkwardly trying to get around her swollen belly.
“Sandra, this is...my friend, Maggie. She’s new in town. Maggie, this is Sandra. She and her husband, Evan, are very good friends of mine, The best, in fact.”
Sandra gave me that same smile and hugged me too. “So good to meet you, Maggie,” she said. “Come in, come in. You know, Darrios, it’s been much too long. Why don’t you visit more often? You know how we miss you. Eva will be so excited to see her Uncle Darry, and so will her daddy.”
As soon as she’d said the words, a tall, blond, curly-haired man walked through the door, carrying a little girl with the same bouncing, blonde curls. I figured her to be about three years old.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Darrios and she started squirming in her father’s arms. As soon as the man set her down, she ran to Darrios, giggling as he scooped her up and kissed her cheek.
Sandra introduced me to her husband, Evan, then invited us to sit down in the living room. He hugged Darrios, slapping him on the back. Sandra poured beverages for all of us and handed them out. I sipped mine, pleasantly surprised to find it tasted very much like lemonade. The only difference was the lavender color. I didn’t ask.
Sandra asked how I came to be here. Darrios eagerly answered.
“She fell in over in the western quad of the Outer Rim. She would have been eaten by a molterg if I hadn’t been there.”
Sandra gasped.
“I pulled her out of the way just in time.”
I stared at Darrios, wide-eyed. “Pulled me out of the way? Don’t you mean brutally tackled me to the ground and then dragged me like a sack of laundry between a couple of rocks? Not that I’m not grateful...”
Evan and Sandra laughed. Sandra lightly slapped my knee. “I know what you mean, honey. It was the two of them that saved me from the moltergs. I looked like I’d lost a boxing match by the time they hauled me to safety. I was black and blue from head to toe. I don’t think either one of them understand the concept of gentle.”
I thought of Darrios’ touch when we’d made love. He definitely knew what the word meant. I smiled at Sandra.
“So I’m guessing that’s how the two of you met,” I said.
Sandra nodded and giggled. “Yup, I fell in over on the east side and they happened to be patrolling. Despite Evan’s rough edges, I was immediately taken with him as soon as I heard his voice, the way he spoke to me. It was as if he spoke right to my heart.” She looked lovingly at her husband, batting her eyes in an exaggerated manner then turned back to me.