Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) (34 page)

At last, the cookies were finished and
the kitchen was spotless once again. I caught a glimpse of my
reflection in the hallway mirror and had to double back to take a
second look. The tan that I’d worked so hard on during softball
season, the first in my life, had begun to fade. After sitting for
two weeks in a semi-darkened room doing nothing but staring at a
computer, my skin looked pale and sickly.

Determined not to frighten Bryce when
he saw me, I quickly donned my bikini and gathered the necessary
supplies for a day in the sun. A tan wasn’t the only benefit of
playing softball. Between training with Abe and playing ball, I’d
finally lost the ten pounds that had plagued my thighs for years.
My mother purchased a lime-green bikini to celebrate my weight
loss. Not that I would ever wear it out in public. It would be
forever confined to my backyard.

Armed with a towel, suntan lotion, and
my I-pod, I headed outside, draped my towel across my favorite
lounge chair, and prepared to bake in the hot afternoon sun. I set
the alarm on my I-pod so I’d have plenty of time to take a shower
before seeing Bryce. I popped the earbuds into my ears and kicked
up the volume, promising myself I’d remember to turn every thirty
minutes or so in order to bake evenly. My back would probably burn
since it wasn’t properly basted with the recommended SPF, but it
couldn’t be helped. Baking in the sun wasn’t my favorite activity,
but it was better than sitting in front of my quiet
computer.

When I turned over and checked the
time, I was appalled to discover I’d only been outside for about
twenty minutes. After what seemed like a million years, I turned
over yet again only to discover another thirty minutes had slowly
passed. I flipped over on my stomach and drifted off to sleep for a
while. After an hour, I woke up and felt a stinging stiffness in my
back as I turned over to allow the front of me to get a shot at the
sun. My face burned and it was impossible to go back to sleep. I
passed the time by cranking the volume on my I-pod a little louder
and singing along at random, making up my own lyrics when
necessary.

“Rock,” I bellowed, shouting out one
of the few words I knew. I loved this song. No way could I fall
asleep to this one. “Rock,” I shouted out again, fist-pumping and
feeling at one with the music. I heard something then—something
that was not part of the song. Opening one eye and squinting
against the bright sun, I pulled the earbuds from my
ears.

Bryce stood over me, shaking with
laughter. He was home early and I was embarrassed beyond belief. I
jumped to my feet, covering myself with the towel as quickly as I
could.

“What are you doing here?” I
blurted.

“It’s good to see you too, Alisa,”
Bryce said, still laughing. “I was able to take an earlier flight.
I tried to call you several times, but you didn’t
answer.”

“I guess I didn’t hear it,” I said,
mortified.

“No wonder,” he said, gesturing toward
my I-pod. “So, I decided to come over. I couldn’t wait another
minute to see you. I knocked on your front door and had almost
decided you weren’t home until I heard a strange sound coming from
the backyard.” He started laughing again. It wasn’t my fault I
couldn’t carry a tune.

“Sorry, I…” I didn’t know what to say.
I had expected to meet Bryce at his house. It was rather
disconcerting to see him here, hours ahead of schedule, standing in
my backyard. The fact that I was half-naked didn’t ease my sense of
discomfort. So much for the cute outfit I’d carefully chosen and
the hours I planned to devote to looking my best before I saw him.
I clutched the towel more tightly around me.

“Why are you so nervous, Alisa?” He
took a step toward me. His voice was deep and smooth, sending
shivers across my sunburned skin. He looked bigger than the last
time I saw him—more muscular and…well, big. I blushed and took a
step back.

“God, I’ve missed you,” he said,
reaching one hand out to me. That was my undoing. Gone were all my
reasons for being nervous, and in their place was pure joy and
relief at being near him at last. I stepped into his embrace. We
stood there for a long time, my head against his chest, his heart
beating against my ear. He stroked my hair and whispered, “I’ve
missed you so much.”

After an eternity, we pulled apart. I
couldn’t quite look Bryce in the eye. My shyness was back in full
force. “Um, I should go change,” I stammered.

“Why? You look great,” he commented,
his eyes traveling the length of my towel-clad body. “I guess you
could lose the towel, though.”

“Funny. I need to take a shower. Can
you give me, like, twenty minutes?” I asked, wondering what I would
do with him while he waited. “Do you mind waiting?”

“If you need some time, I can come
back,” he offered, but the look on his face made it clear he
preferred to stay.

“No, no, no, no,” I insisted, afraid
to let him out of my sight. “I’ll hurry. You’ll have to wait
outside, I think. I’m probably not supposed to have guys in the
house when my parents aren’t home.”

“Probably not?” he asked, one eyebrow
lifting.

“The subject has never
come up. I’ve never had a boyfriend before, so I’m just guessing,”
I said. “My dad would probably go ballistic if he came home and saw
you inside.” I blushed, annoyed with myself for using the
word
boyfriend
.

“Should I be afraid of your father?”
he asked warily.

“He likes to hunt and he has a lot of
guns. You decide.” I shrugged and walked toward the sliding glass
patio door.

“I’ll wait here,” he said. “Take your
time.”

Wise choice.

I showered at the speed of light.
Ultra-aware of the passage of time, I had an irrational fear Bryce
would leave the second my twenty minutes were up. After running a
brush through my tangled, damp hair, dressing, and brushing my
teeth, I flew downstairs. I grabbed the Tupperware container filled
with the cookies I’d baked and rushed to the back door.

As promised, Bryce was still waiting.
He’d stolen my lounge chair, though, and looked like he was half
asleep. Hovering in the doorway, I stared open-mouthed at his long,
muscled, jean-clad legs. The sleeves of his blue t-shirt stretched
tight over his bulging biceps. The spot where his shirt had come
untucked revealed a stretch of taut, ebony skin on his abdomen. I
blinked to clear the fog of desire from my brain and shut the
sliding glass door.

“Hey, you’re tan enough, show-off,” I
said. He sat up and looked at me, again giving my appearance a
once-over. I hoped he didn’t find me lacking.

“What took you so long?” He smiled and
stood up, stretching. Spotting the container of cookies, he asked,
“Is that what I think it is?”

“Maybe. Are you ready to go?” I was
getting anxious to leave before one of my parents got home. I
didn’t think I could endure the painful introductions that would
lead to the inevitable questions later about what I was doing
hanging out with a grown man. In reality, our age difference was
only a little more than two years, but Bryce looked…well, old. Not
like an old man, but he didn’t look like a teenager
either.

Bryce could not keep his hands off me.
Not in a sleazy way, or anything. He just kept touching me. He
hugged me before we left my backyard. He held my hand on the way to
his truck and again after he backed out of the driveway. He
actually paid more attention to me than the cookies, which was both
impressive and unexpected.

“Look, I want to spend time with you
just the two of us, but not today. I barely saw my mom before I
ditched her to come get you. I haven’t seen my dad or Jace yet. Is
it okay if we hang out at my house today and then go off together
tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yes, definitely. Your mom and dad
have missed you so much. I didn’t mean for you to leave them and
come get me. I could have borrowed my dad’s truck when he got
home,” I apologized, hoping Jerica didn’t think I’d stolen her son
away.

“Why are you apologizing? I couldn’t
have waited another second to see you. I’ve never been so desperate
to see someone in my life. So, is my little brother used to the
idea of us as a couple?” He didn’t look very worried about how Jace
would react. I think he rather liked the idea of causing a
stir.

“I guess we’ll find out,” I replied,
my stomach churning.

He grabbed my hand again the second we
got out of his truck. I tried to pull my hand away when we went
inside, but he wouldn’t allow it. My stomach was in knots at the
thought of Jerica’s reaction to her son’s display of affection.
Sure, she knew the two of us had developed a close relationship,
but I didn’t know exactly what she expected. It would kill me if I
saw even a hint of disapproval on Jerica’s face. I’d hoped Bryce
and I would kind of play it cool over the summer and let everyone
get used to the idea of us as friends before we tried to shove
hand-holding and hugs down their throats.

Bryce clearly had other ideas. Still
grasping my hand in his and dragging me along for the ride, he went
in search of his mother. We found her in the kitchen, which was
convenient, because much like his younger brother, Bryce’s eventual
destination was always food.

“Hi, Mom. Alisa made cookies. Do you
want some?” He finally released my hand and pulled milk out of the
refrigerator and cups from a cabinet.

“No. I’m making dinner. Save the
cookies for dessert,” she scolded. “Hi, Alisa. It’s good to see
you, sweetie. Abe, Jace, and Rachel should be here in a while.
We’ll have a welcome home party.” Her back was turned to me as she
said this, the knife in her hand moving at warp speed as she
chopped vegetables.

Bryce completely ignored his mother’s
instructions to lay off the cookies. I declined his offer to join
his eating frenzy, and watched while he ate a cookie in one bite
and washed it down with an entire cup of milk. Abe and Jerica’s
grocery bill was about to increase substantially.

“Do you need any help?” I asked
Jerica.

“No. I’ve got it covered. Why don’t
you get my son out of the kitchen before he eats everything in
sight and spoils his dinner?” Jerica suggested, turning around and
waving the knife menacingly toward her son.

Bryce, taking the hint, put the lid on
the cookie container, stowed away the milk, and put his cup in the
sink. He made a hasty retreat from the kitchen and I
followed.

“Do you want to head downstairs and go
a few rounds in Dad’s studio?” he asked, a wicked gleam in his
eyes.

Remembering the last time we’d
sparred, I blushed at the memory of me lying flat on my back with
Bryce on top of me. Judging from the huge smile spreading across
his face, he was thinking along those same lines.

“Um, maybe some other time,” I
stammered.

“Okay let’s just go downstairs and
hang out,” he suggested, leading the way. He grabbed the remote for
the TV and sat down on the sofa. I sat at the other end.

“Come sit by me,” he said. I moved a
little closer, not looking at him. “Alisa, look at me. Why are you
so nervous around me? Did I do or say something to upset you? Have
you changed your mind about us? Just tell me and I’ll back
off.”

The idea of him backing off sent waves
of pain and panic right through me. “No. You didn’t do anything and
I definitely didn’t change my mind. You know I’m not good around
people,” I tried to explain. “I just don’t know how to act around
you. And I’m not sure how this is going to work between us. You’re
so…perfect. You’re older and more experienced and magically
gifted.”

I began to tear up just thinking about
Mordecai’s insistence that the male Spellbringer was drawn to the
female’s magic. I had none—how could Bryce possibly be attracted to
me?

“Alisa, what you have is better than
magic,” Bryce said, wiping a tear from underneath my eye. “I have
enough magic for both of us. Remember what I told you? You don’t
need magic to be special.”

“
But still, I’m average in
every way possible. I’m short and plain and boring. I can’t even
carry on a normal conversation. I’m just waiting for the moment
you’ll realize you could have so much more than a naïve high school
girl from Hicksville.” I was on a roll now. That was one of my
biggest problems. Once I opened my mouth, everything I thought came
pouring out unhindered by common sense.

Bryce laughed. He moved closer to me
and put his arm around me, pulling me against his chest. “There is
nothing average about you. And you are never, ever boring. You’re
beautiful, breathtaking. As for your height, I’m willing to
overlook that. And I mean that literally. Did you know that if I’m
standing behind you, I can see right over the top of your head?
We’re made for each other. We’re the two most insecure, neurotic
people on the face of the earth. We shouldn’t be set loose on the
streets of Oaktree. It’s not fair to the rest of the population. It
took me three flights to get home, and I worried through all three.
I thought once you saw me again you would remember all the times I
made a total ass out of myself. I’m still worried the excitement
will wear off once I’m around all the time. I’m worried you’ll see
me as an ordinary community college student with a bad
attitude.”