Beyond (32 page)

Chapter
1
9

Going back to Island of Eden was a
piece of cake, but retrieving a forbidden apple was almost impossible , especially since Claudia didn ’
t know if she could part the tall grass.
Even if she could, how would she get through it without feeling lightheaded like the last time ?
She guess ed she would have to try to trick Austin into getting h er one. First she had to worry about how Austin would react when he saw her. Would he be upset , or would he welcome her back with open arms?

Under normal circumstance
s , Island of Eden was so quiet that the sound of the waves crashing along the shore was all that could be heard. The weather was always perfect as the day or night illuminated it s beauty upon the land. Dur ing the day, the heavenly sky would bless the living, providing warmth and giving feeling s of tranquility. During the evening, no matter what phase of the moon orbited, it glisten ed across the ocean with a gentle reflection th at dazzled like diamonds . But this time when she arrived, music blasted through the house .

Claudia entered her room. Everything looked neat and intact the way she ’d left it.
Ignoring the noise, s he quickly showered and changed into black skinny jeans, a black T
-shirt and a pair of black boots she ’d bought when shopping with her friends.
Since t he music continu ed to explode accompanied by sounds of laughter , she tiptoed out of her room, h e ading to Austin ’
s room. With one hand barely pressed on the door , she thought about what she should do , open or walk away?

As these thoughts ran through her mind, the door opened as if Holly knew she was there, and she pulled her in.
“
Just in time for some fun, ”
she bellowed over the music .
“
Hey…we bought that together. Looks nice.
”

Austin looked comfortable sitting on the edge of his bed while Delilah and Gracie sat on each side of him. He glanced sharply at Claudia for a split second and turned away without a care. Not even a smile or a hello departed from his lips. The only emotion spread across his face was a luring smile to the girls sitting adjacent to him.

Holly tugged Claudia to where Michelle was swaying to the music by herself, tossing her hair and having the time of her life. Michelle picked up an apple that was inside a crystal bowl and she move d seductively toward Austin.

“The forbidden fruit,” Michelle said.
After she took a bit e , she offered it to him and he graciously took one.
If anyone could make eating an apple sexy, it was Austin.

Claudia felt uncomfortable by the display
s of affection that she had never seen before and f ocused her eyes elsewhere. She couldn ’
t help the sudden jealousy and sadness that ripped through her heart. She would have at least expected him to run to her and express his happiness that she was home and safe, but he didn ’
t even acknowledge her presence. In fact, he was flirting heavily , and perhaps even more so when Claudia gazed toward them.

“
Hey, where ’
ve you been?
”
Holly asked, bumping into Claudia, giggling.
“
We should go out. You know…do the girls ’
night out thing.
”

Claudia
faked a smile.
“
Yeah…sure.
”
At least Holly was happy to see her.

Holly stopped,
looking around as if she was looking for something or someone.
“
Hey, where ’
s Avalon? She was here a minute ago .”
When no one replied or seemed to care, Holly continued.
“
I love this song. Come on and move a little, girl.
”

Claudia
ignored Holly. Her eyes were focu s ed on the for bidden apples . She wondered if she was doing the right thing, but the more she saw Austin ’
s flirtatious side and the more he continued to ignore her, the more she wanted to leave.

How dare all of them pretend not to know that her memories were taken? It suddenly felt hot , and if steam could have rise n out of her head, they would have seen it. She didn ’
t want to be rude, but she felt she had no choice.
No t knowing what to do and too afraid of what she would do, she grabbed an apple and ran out the door.

T
ears stream ed down her face as she raced to her room. Confused and frustrated, she plop ped down on her bed , bawling her eyes out. They didn ’
t even know she was gone. Austin didn ’
t warn them. He didn ’
t care enough to let them know she could ’
ve possibl y be en in danger. Perhaps Callum was no t h reat at all. Who knew what the truth was ?
A ll she knew now was that her life was not her own.

Focusing on why she was
t here in the first place, she wiped her tears and stood up with the apple in her hand. When she turned, she jerked back , startled to see Austin standing right in front of her.

His eyes were locked on hers
, but no words were exchanged. When he saw her teary eyes, the hurt and sadness eating away in her soul, the wall he ’d built around himself crumbled. It crumbled so fast that all he wanted was to pull her in to his arm s as feeling s of relief coursed through him from knowing she was safe and sound. All that time he ’d thought of her and wondered if she was in danger. All those seconds his heart ached, knowing she didn ’
t trust him enough to come back with him , and had cho sen a complete stranger over him , was too much to b ear . It was easier not to care …
at least it wouldn ’
t hurt so much.

“
Claudia, ”
he said, reaching out for her hand .

Claudia backed away
, but t here was no room. She fell on her back.

“
Are you trying to seduce me ?”
he joked, but Claudia was not in the mood for his playfulness ; in fact, she was heavily irritated , thinking he flirted with every girl he laid eyes on. Well…she had n ’
t notice d it before, but she could only conclude that from what she ’d s een in his room. She pulled herself up, with the apple still in her hand.

“
What are you going to do with that apple, ”
he asked, furrowing his brows in curiosity.

“
I ’
m…nothing…it ’
s none of your business. And what do you care?
”
Her tone was sassy and rude, very unlike her , and it took Austin by surprise.

“
Everything you do is my business. Don ’
t you know that by now?
”
Austin closed the gap between them to lay his hand gentl y on her cheek.

As if his touch would burn her, she jerked back before he could.
“
Obviously, everyone is your business. Why don ’
t you go back to your friends and let me be ?”

“
Claudia, t hey are your friends too. They —”

“
No , they ’
re not !
I barely know them. You think I ’
m stupid? I know Patty was my friend from my past. I have proof.
”

“
What proof?
”

“
It doesn ’
t matter. You th ought I would never find out. Who did this to me?
”
Her tone suddenly got louder and angrier.
She couldn’t control t he rage inside, and it suddenly erupted. By the force of her will and unknown strength , she summoned the double doors to burst open. The breeze that was blocked behind the door s released tremendous force as it rush ed in, tumbling her hair and everything inside.
Startled by what she had done, she looked at Austin as her eyes showed terror and disbelief.

“
Claudia, calm down.
”
Austin rested his hands on her shoulders, slowly m a ssaging in a circular motion down her arms.
“
Hey, it ’
s okay to be angry. Don ’
t you know how much you m ean to us…to me?
”
he said softly , with eyes so tender she could almost believe him. Austin ’
s word s befuddled her . She couldn’t think clearly . She didn ’
t like the way she was feeling. It was messing with her mind, making her confused , and making her think twice about whether she should take the forbidden apple to Callum.

“
I ’
ve never in my angelic life cared about anyone as much as I care about you. You make me laugh, you make me smile, and you make me go crazy sometimes. I don ’
t understand why you make me feel the way you do, but one thing you must know —I do care about you in more ways than you know , and that frightens me. But it’s too bad for me…I can ’
t have you.
”
His hands cupped her cheek s and as he spoke, he drew her closer and closer , s o close that his lips were just a breath away.

Claudia took all of his words in. For as long as she could remember, she ’d kn own she felt something for him, but didn ’
t know what it was. Was it his friendship that she loved , or did she truly care about him more than she should? Or was it simply that he was her guardian angel , and knowing that he would always be there for her brought about these feelings? As Austin moved closer, she didn ’
t know what to do.

It
was too late to think about it. His lips softly matched hers. Tenderly and slowly they moved , caressing her lips. With his lips parted, he gently tasted her sweetness and the salt from her tears. From what she could remember, it was their first kiss. She liked the way his lips felt on hers as he moved in deeper with his tongue. His arms pulled her in, feeling every inch of her body against his own. As their heart s thump ed faster in unison from the heat of passion, he kissed her madly.

Wildly his arms
moved , feeling every inch of her small back that his hands could reach. His kisses intensified with wanting her for so long that the return of her kiss drove him insane. Without her permission, he lay them both on the bed. As passion grew even stronger, they rolled several times to the foot of the bed. The warm breeze shot through and Claudia looked toward the open door , thinking she saw something white, like wings. She thought she felt a presence, but she wasn ’
t sure. Too wrap ped up in th e moment of ecstasy , she was confused and couldn ’
t think straight.

Focusing back to Austin, Claudia didn
’
t realize he was shirtless until her hands lay on his firm masculine chest , t he kind of chest you s aw on guys i n fitness magazine s . Noting the tight curves on his abs as her hands ran over them, she blushed with the sudden desire of wanting more, but something within her told her to stop. Suddenly, all she could do was think of the guy she call ed Michael , and his face flashed in her mind.

Austin continued
, and as his kisses trail ed down her neck and lower to the curve of her breast, she arched her back in pleasure. Panting and out of breath, she tried to pull away because now Austin was no longer in th e room with her …
she was seeing Michael. In her mind , Michael took over and was kissing her. She tried to break her thoughts away from him, but it was overpowering.

Feeling Claudia slowing down,
Austin knew he needed to as well .
It was too good to be true to hold her this way , he thought. He rolled away and was now laying next to her.

“
Sorry. I got too carried away. It won ’
t happen again…unless you want it to.
”

Claudia didn
’
t know what to say. What could she say? She ’d enjoyed it too until thoughts of Michael consumed her mind. Who was he , a nd what did he mean to her? She had to find out if there was a chance for Austin and her. Even though their relationship would be forbidden, she knew Austin could make it happen. Either way, it didn ’
t matter right now. All she cared about was getting her memories back and finding out who she really was .