The clouds had finally parted their dark wispy curtain to reveal the high afternoon sun. Vibrant autumn colors embellished the branches above us, as we followed a narrow winding stream deeper into the forest. The bright sun glittered on the surface of the flowing water and reflected up beneath the leaves, casting sparkling beams of dancing light upon them.
I carefully rummaged through my basket to rearrange all the goodies that we’d scored so far. There were some birch polypores, painted suillus, and maitake in there now, so I was thinking that we should probably take a break and call it a day soon. The stream eventually led us to a small hilly meadow with a set of short narrow waterfalls cascading over some mossy rocks.
We walked over to a large yellowing willow as its wispy branches mournfully whispered in the breeze. The tree stood peacefully next to the small waterfalls and draped its flowing arms from the top of its lofty rounded crown, all the way down to caress the grassy earth that it shaded below. Ashton surprised me by taking my hand in his and gently led me beneath its weeping veil. We sat down together on the lush green grass, as the small yellow leaves danced like a whimsical curtain around us.
I really hate to admit it, but I actually wasn’t having a terrible time with him. And trust me, I wanted to. I wanted him to reveal his true crazy psycho nature and give me a reason to tell him to fuck right off! ...But he never did. Other than his unsolicited touches, he was pretty much a gentleman to me the whole time. I also found out that he has a pretty amusing sense of humor. He’s downright hilarious actually.
“Don’t even think about it.” Ashton firmly said while eyeing down a soaking wet Belzar, who had just been jumping in the stream, and was now coming over to us to shake himself off.
Belzar seemed to understand him perfectly, dipped his head down with a whine, and pranced back into the water. I giggled and he snickered as he scooted a little closer over towards me.
“He seems like a very well-trained dog.” I mentioned as I watched Belzar playfully jumping up and biting at the water, causing a shimmering sequence of splashes to fall all around him.
“He’s not really trained, he’s just smart.” He replied as he reached into the basket and pulled out the journal. “You brought this with you?” He gave me a smile while raising a brow.
“Yeah, I thought it would be nice to read out here in the peace and quiet.” I shrugged my shoulders and tried to seem indifferent about it.
God, I really hope his ego doesn’t inflate because I brought along the book he gave me.
“I’m glad that you brought it. Have you read anything that peaks your interest?” He asked with a smug smile and proud twinkle in his eyes.
Yep, his ego is inflating like a hot air balloon.
The corners of my mouth drooped down as I considered whether or not I wanted to tell him about my grim connection to it. I didn’t want to sound like a ‘woe is me, my aunt died’ sob story, nor did I want anyone’s pity for my woebegone tale. I looked over at him to see that his curious golden eyes were carefully searching my face as he patiently awaited my answer.
“It seems interesting, although I haven’t gotten to the part about the strange book yet.” I looked down and awkwardly fidgeted with the hem of my dress.
Disappointment flashed across his face for a brief second but was quickly replaced with a cunning smile. “Well, I thought it was interesting that you share the same last name as the woman who wrote it.” My eyes warily widened at him.
What the living fuck? How the hell did Sherlock fucking Holmes over here figure out my last name?
“Wait, How do you know my last name? I nervously inquired with a suspicious glare.
“It was written on the top of your essay.” He shrugged matter of factually.
Well, I guess that did make sense. Although it still weirded me out quite a bit that he’d noticed and remembered that detail. But, what else could I expect from Mr. determined to get to know me?
“Alright.” I said and firmly squished my lips into a straight line for a second. “If you must know, that journal belonged to my aunt.” My words were mumbled as I gazed down at the shady grass beneath me. I wasn’t sure why I had told him the truth instead of pretending that it was just an odd coincidence.
An almost annoyed look quickly flashed across his face. “Well, I suppose you could just ask her about it then. It would seem that interests in human leather-bound books must run in your family.” I felt him shift even closer to me as he spoke, but I didn’t look at him again, my gaze stayed on the grass.
“Well I can’t, actually. She passed away a few years ago.” I began vacantly picking at the little blades of grass and imagined each one screaming in agony as I plucked them from the dirt.
“Oh...I’m sorry for your loss.” His voice was filled with what sounded almost like rehearsed sympathy.
I felt his large warm arm slither around me and his thumb began softly caressing my upper arm. I would have tried to scooch away from him, but I felt rather comforted by his caring gesture.
“It’s all right. I’m not even that bothered by it.” I began putting up my trusty dusty tough guy facade.
He seemed to buy into my lie, but the truth was, I was very bothered by it. My Aunt Elowynn had always been there for me when my deadbeat parents were too busy getting drunk to even remember that they had a daughter. She had been my safety net, I relied on her for so much, and then she was suddenly ripped away from me, leaving behind an empty hole in my heart.
“Perhaps she would have wanted you to have it... and who knows, maybe the journal could even reveal some unfinished business that you could help her attend to.” He tenderly brushed a lock of hair behind my ear, causing me to blush a bit.
“I think that she probably would have wanted me to read it. Besides, reading her journal has been really interesting. I now get a whole new insight into her life. Like for example, I never would have known how obsessive that weird priest guy was with her. He had actually invited me to go talk with him at the church the other day. I didn’t plan on it before, but now I’m defiantly not going.” I lightly laughed and looked over at his face, which had immediately darkened at the mention of Father Adelstein.
“Good, I’m glad. I don’t want you anywhere near that man.” His voice was dark and filled with ascendancy, while his face was stern.
“Um... well, no offense, but you’re not my father.” I was a little freaked out by his sudden controlling demeanor.
He suddenly shifted his position right in front of me, his large firm hands held onto my shoulders and pushed me onto my back, and his towering figure loomed on top of my body. His long hair fell to the ground beside me and curtained the view to my left. We were almost nose to nose, with his stern menacing face just inches away from mine.
Yep, there it is... his crazy psycho side.
“Stay away from him. Do I make myself clear?” He looked dark and malevolent as he made his command.
“Okay, I’ll stay away from him.” I whispered with wide frightened eyes as my hands found their way onto his firm chest to push him away... but I didn’t push. The closeness of his body over mine caused a familiar heat to begin pooling between my legs.
“Do you trust me, Buttercup?” His face softened but his voice held a wicked curiosity.
“Not in the slightest bit...” I nervously bit my lip as looked up at him.
His eyes lustfully flickered down to my lips, and then slowly back up. We stayed like that for a moment, with him laying over me as we gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Yellow leaves fell from the willow and glittered in the sunlight as they peacefully fluttered around our bodies, contrasting the burning tension that was building between us. I watched as he searched my face, and realized that I was equally searching his... For what, I do not know.
His hand gently grabbed the side of my neck, as he slowly closed the short distance between our lips. Heat flushed throughout my body and gathered in my core. The feeling of his tender kiss was so familiar, exactly like how it was in my dreams. His warm soft lips lingered on mine for a moment, then he pulled away and looked into my eyes once more. His face was again searching mine, this time for a sign of sanction to continue.
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