Mesmerized (8 page)

"Really? No guy has ever wanted to know anything about me. They're just attracted to me sexually." 

"Believe me. I'm attracted to you sexually. I've never wanted anyone so bad in my life. And I've been around for a long time." He gave her a crooked grin. 

They stayed up for hours talking. Lily had never felt so accepted by anyone. When she was with Jake, she actually felt strangely normal. 

Chapter Nine

In the morning, Lily took a shower. The long day of traveling made her feel gross. Jake pretended to be asleep, but he was peeking at her. She walked out and dropped her towel. Jake gasped. 

She quickly grabbed the towel and covered herself. "I'm sorry. I thought you were sleeping."

"Lily, you are perfection." He could picture making love to her and chastised himself for stopping her the night before.

Her body flushed under his stare. She grabbed her clothes and ran to the bathroom slamming the door shut. Lily laid her head against the door and touched her necklace. Even that wasn't calming her down. Maybe she should leave him. She wasn't going to be able to control herself around him, and it was scaring the hell out of her. When she looked at him, all she thought about was making love to him. Her hormones were in overdrive. 

Unfortunately, she couldn't stay in the bathroom forever. Taking a deep breath, she finally walked out, and told him to take a shower so they could get out of there. Lily walked around the room. The walls felt like they were closing in. She peeked outside. The sky was dark grey and overcast, like an impending storm was coming.

     They decided to get another car. Lily was concerned about how easy it was getting for her to use the compulsion. "I think we should call my mom and check in."

     “Okay, let’s stop at a store and get a throw away phone. We should have enough money for a cheap one. Once we get to my cabin we'll have plenty of money."

     "You have a cabin?" Lily snapped her head in his direction. 

      "Yes, we should make it there today if we don't stop too much." Jake laughed. "You look surprised. I've got a few properties spread around the world. I can't stay anywhere for too long or people will notice I don't age."

     "I guess that makes sense." Lily realized there was a lot about Jake she didn't know either. 

     At the store, Jake grabbed a few things for the trip while Lily ran to the restroom. When he was getting ready to pay, he noticed protection on the counter and threw it in with the supplies. He knew there was no way he could keep denying her.

     Lily asked to drive. She was hoping it would keep her mind off wanting to tear Jake’s clothes off.  She glanced over and smiled. He was trying to get the phone out of the package. "Thank you for coming with me."

     "There is no where else I would rather be. Maybe your mother will have some good news."

     "I doubt it, but I'm sure my parents are worried." Lily hesitated and then added. "It must be hard for you, not having any family?"

     Jake shrugged. "I've gotten used to it. It does get lonely at times."

     "Well, you have me now." Lily gave him one of her dazzling smiles that stopped his heart. 

     Jake gave her directions, and she drove for a while. They passed fields, farms, and soon got to a more mountainous region. There was a dusting of snow on the grass as the elevation grew. 

Lily’s stomach rumbled as lunch time approached. They pulled into a fast food restaurant and ordered off the dollar menu. When she was done eating, Lily called home. 

“Lily? Are you okay?” her mom answered. 

“I’m fine.”

“Where are you?”

“Probably better that you don’t know right now.”

“What are you going to do?” Her mother sounded panicked. 

“Just stay in hiding for a while. Do you know what’s going on there?”

Her mom hesitated. “We’re in touch with the lawyer. He thinks we should go up there. It might be the best idea. I can help them forget they were even looking for you.”

“Do you know how Ben is?”

“The same.”

“Lily, we should go,” Jake said a little too loudly.

“Who was that?” her mother demanded. 

“Nobody, Mom.”

“Lily Anderson! I heard a male’s voice. Who’s with you?”

“I gotta go, Mom. I’ll call you soon. I love you and Dad,” she said quickly and hung up the phone. Turning to Jake, she said, “My mom heard you!”

“Sorry, I wasn't thinking.” 

“I have to call Hannah real quick.”

“Lily!” 

But, she was already dialing. Hannah picked up. “Hello?”

“It’s me. I can’t talk. Just wanted to tell you I’m okay.”

“Where are you?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll call you again, okay?” Lily hung up.

Jake grabbed the phone out of her hands so she couldn’t call anybody else and smashed it with his foot. “We’ll get another one later.” Taking her by the elbow, he led her to the car. “C’mon!”

“Jake, if you yank me like this, it’ll look like you’re kidnapping me.”

Jake realized she was right. “Sorry.” He let go of her arm. 

He opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in. He slammed it and went around to the other side. “We’re going to have to ditch the car and walk for an hour. I don’t want the car connected to the town the cabin is in.”

“Okay.”

“It’s going to be cold.”

She smiled over at him. “As long as I’m with you, it’ll be fine.” She stared at his perfect face for a few minutes. She never dreamed the day would come when she would be able to love someone, but here it was. She felt it growing in her heart. At least she hoped it was love and not some weird succubi obsession.

“Did you always know what you were?” Jake asked her out of the blue.

She looked out the window at the passing trees. “No. My parents told me when I was thirteen.”

“That must have been hard to take.”

“I was shocked and in denial. Although, the way my mother acts made me believe it.” She played with her necklace. “What about you? Did you always know about the curse?”

"No, it took me awhile to figure it out. All my friends were aging around me and I stayed the same. Once, I got in a fight with some guy and he pushed me off a ledge. I should have died. But, I walked away with barely a scratch. I knew something was going on." Jake paused. "My father was on his death bed because of the plague, and he finally confided in me. He died shortly after." 

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Just think, we would have never met if not for the curse." Jake took his eyes off the road to smile at her. 

"If only Ben had been immortal, we wouldn’t be in this mess." Lily mumbled, and looked back out the window. Another two hours passed before Jake pulled into a resort parking lot. “We’ll walk from here.” He wiped down the steering wheel and door handles like he had in the other car. Taking Lily’s hand, he led her up the mountain.

Twenty minutes later, Lily was huffing and puffing. She was also pretty darn cold. But, she had Jake. So, she focused on him and kept going. 

Jake squeezed her hand. “You’re doing great,” he encouraged her. 

Soon, she saw a log cabin in the distance. “Is that it?” she asked.

“Yup.”

Lily let out a sigh of relief she wasn't sure she could make it much further. The cabin looked so inviting. It was small and cozy-looking. She glanced around and noticed there was a pile of wood on the side of the house. Obviously someone had been here recently. Lily looked at Jake nervously and pointed to the wood.

He laughed. "Don't worry. I have a caretaker that looks after the place for me. We can trust him. He's been with me for a long time."

Jake reached under the doormat and took out a key. 

“Original hiding spot you got there,” Lily joked.

“Not a lot of people come out here and if they did, they wouldn’t be able to find anything of importance.” He unlocked the door and walked in.

The wood scent tickled Lily’s nose. It smelled just like she would expect a cabin in the woods to smell.  The inside of the cabin was spacious and open, with a steep staircase leading up to a loft.  It was decorated sparsely—there were a couple of throw rugs and a rocking chair in front of the fireplace. Lily liked it immediately. She sank into the worn leather couch and groaned. "Don't make me move." She groaned. 

“I’ll start a fire,” Jake said and took off outside. He was back in a couple minutes with an armful of wood. He started building a fire and Lily watched him admiring his strong body. 

 “Bathroom work?” she asked.

“Yes.” Jake laughed and lit the fire.

She walked around the cabin. There were no pictures of family. Lily guessed his parents had died long before photos were taken.

She wandered into the kitchen and peeked in the cabinets. They were stocked full of canned food. At least they’d have something to eat.

Lily freshened up in the bathroom and came out to find Jake making some canned stew.

“Hope this is okay.”

“It’s perfect.” Lily wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back.

They snuggled in front of the fire after they ate. Lily had trouble keeping her mind off the things she wanted to do with Jake. She leaned against him and he stroked her arm. “What kind of movies do you like?” Jake asked.

“Romance.”

He laughed loudly. “I should have known.”

“What about you?”

“Action.”

“Typical man.” She elbowed him. “How do you stay so cool?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re like ancient, right? How do you stay ‘in’?”

“I don’t know. Maybe my brain froze at seventeen too? I’ve never felt old.”

“Never felt stuck? Or out of touch?”

“No. I just keep adapting. It’s kind of neat to watch history being made. I remember what it was like before electricity, television, and Internet.”

Lily laughed. “I can’t imagine.”

“But, I like those inventions. I think cell phones are awesome and iPads are the neatest thing...until the next cool thing comes out. I’m sure as the years pass, you will find yourself feeling the same.”

“Maybe.” She shrugged and turned her head to look up at him. “You certainly don’t look old. You’re going to have to give me first hand history lessons. I’m sure it would be more interesting than our boring text books.”

Jake wrapped his arm around Lily and pulled her close. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m so glad I found you.”

Chapter Ten

They gazed into each other’s eyes. Jake jumped at the chance to make the first move before Lily could. Not holding back, he kissed her passionately. His hands rubbed her back. He wouldn’t let her have the chance to take over; he laid her down and kissed her neck.

She let out the tiniest moan as he breathed in her ear. His lips met hers again. Slowly, she lifted up his shirt and he sat up to take it off. His bare chest made her heart speed up even faster. She wanted him. She needed him. 

He kissed down her neck as her hands played in his hair. Her whole body tingled. “Jake...I won’t be able to stop if we go any further.”

He stopped kissing her and met her eyes with his. “I know.” He pressed his lips against hers again. “I don’t want to stop this time.”

She stroked his face and ran her fingers over his lips. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yes. I have protection too.”

She felt something inside her snap and before she knew it, she was all over him. Kissing him, touching him, loving every inch of him. She had never felt so accepted for who she was until that moment. When they were together, there was nothing else, nobody else in the world. It was just them. When it was finally over, she collapsed next to him on the floor, in front of the fire.

Peeking over at him, she asked, “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

Out of breath, he answered, “I’m fine.” He chuckled. "You are incredible."

They fell asleep right there, curled up on the rug, with a blanket over them.

***

The next morning, Lily turned to face Jake in bed. “So, what do we do now?”

“We wait.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know. I’m still working on that.” He gave her that adorable grin of his. “We’ll be fine here. If anyone comes, we’ll hear them way before they get here.”

“When we...ya know...last night, did it feel weird?”

“No. It felt perfect. Why? Was it weird for you?”

“No, a little uncomfortable at first.” She blushed a little. “I just wondered if you felt anything different at all because of what I am.”

Jake grinned. "If by different you mean the most amazing sex I've ever had in my centuries of life then yes, it felt different." He stared into her eyes. "I'm falling in love with you, Lily. I never thought I would love anyone again."

"I'm falling for you, too. Will you tell me about her? The girl you once loved?"

Jake turned onto his back and grimaced. "I don't like to talk about Laura. It was a long time ago, and I'd rather not think about it."

Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "That's not fair. I told you everything you wanted to know about me."

Jake sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you meet?"

"We met in London. I've traveled a lot over the years. She was selling cloth at a market."

"What did she look like?" Lily was surprised to feel she was jealous of a dead woman.

Jake got a faraway look in his eyes. "She was tiny and had long blond hair and blue eyes. Her smile could light up a room."

Lily pulled on the hem of her shirt and looked at the floor unable to meet his eyes. "You were right. This was a bad idea. I don't really want to know anymore. I'm sorry you lost someone you loved. But, I'm glad you're mine now." 

"Lily, you have nothing to worry about. In all this time, you are the first woman that I've been drawn to. I really feel like we were meant to be together."

"I hope so. I've never felt this connected with anyone before." Lily leaned over and Jake's lips met her halfway. They spent the rest of the day entwined in each other’s arms.