Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (29 page)

“I know what happened on Sunday.  You
felt
the same sparks I did.  You acted without thinking first – probably for the first time in your life.  You’ve been beating yourself up about it ever since.”

“You haven’t?”

“Sure, until
a couple
minutes ago.  Things happen for a reason, Camille.”  Drake reached across the table and took both my hands in his.  His hands were calloused and weathered, strong
,
yet his thumbs caressed the top of my hands as light as a feather.  I could feel my frozen sensibility thawing   “As much as you hate that you lost control for a few amazing seconds,
maybe
it was supposed to happen.”
 

We sat there watching each other.  I’d noticed his eyes before
;
it was impossible not to
: 
the light blue pierced
me,
my resolve
e
bbing away
.  I had always had a thing for guys with long hair
: 
Drake’s was short,
definitely
too short
for my liking
.  I’d do nearly anything in the world for a big smile with dimples
:
Drake wasn’t even giving me a grin.  It creeped me out when men stared at me
,
but Drake wouldn’t drop my gaze.  With all this
,
I should have heard warning bells, an internal siren
telling
me to hightail it out of there, but I didn’t.  I knew that my face mirrored the same irrational longing that he had for me.

I remembered my conversation with Daniel from Sunday night
, my confession of
everything and his warning that no man only cheats once. 
“So what happens if you’re sitting next to another woman and you get the urge to kiss her?  Losing control is okay as long as it’s supposed to happen?”

Drake was still holding my hands,
still
caressing the top of them with his thumb
s
.  He pulled both of them across the table
toward him
, closed his eyes
,
as his soft lips grazed my knuckles.  When his eyes opened, he still held
my hands to
his lips
. 
I waited for him to deny it, to tell me that he’d never be unfaithful
, that he was a decent guy.
  Instead, he pushed an image of
the two of
us to me without words. 

We were again on the yacht, no one with us
. 
I was wrapped in a towel staring out into the ocean
. 
Drake came up behind me,
circled
his arms around me
and pressed his body to mine.  H
is lips swept my neck
,
our skin only separated by the towel
covering
me.  His strong arms glistened in the sun
,
and I heard hi
m
whisper in my ear, “I want you, Camille.”
I pulled my hands away from him
,
and the fantasy evaporated instantly.

I tried to shoot him a fiery response, but I couldn’t
do it
.  The best I could do was, “That wasn’t an answer.”

“Anyone can tell you what you want to hear.  I thought you’d rather see how I felt.”

“It still wasn’t an answer.”

Drake shook his head and confessed,
“You’re the only person I’ve ever lost control with.  You’re the only person who I’ve dreamt about while I was awake.  I can’t get you out of my head,
and
if I could, I wouldn’t want you out.” 
 

So he wasn’t a poet, but
my
willpower
wasn’t as strong as it had been
. 
His back was to the approaching Bianca and Gage.  I knew she had let
Gage
in on her little plan, too
-
they were both all smiles
.  Gage, Drake, and Bianca seemed nearly giddy with
the idea
.  I
still
wasn’t convinced. 
When the two sat down to join us, I moved to the seat to the right of Drake. 
We ate
our
pizza chatt
ing
about
everything but Bianca’s plan. 

I couldn’t get the image Drake had pushed to me out of my head
.  I
t was as if it w
ere
on a continuous loop in my mind
,
and I had trouble keeping up with the conversation.  I figured out that Drake was purposely touching his knee to mine
.  E
very time
our knees touched
, the fantasy he shared with me went a little further.  When the
“F
antasy Drake
”
whispered in my ear, “You’re beautiful, Camille.
  Tell me you want me
, too
,
” I abruptly pulled my knee away from him. 
The three talked about football, the beach, Bruce’s wedding
,
and I don’t know how many subjects I couldn’t pay attention to.  Every few minutes Drake would touch his knee to mine
,
and I’d be back on the yacht, alone in his arms. 
I figured
with all the talking going on at the table, eventually someone would bring up
Bianca’s plan
-
not a word.

I felt Drake’s hand under the table.  He dis
creetly
wove
his fingers with mine
,
and just
as
before, lightly caressed my hand with his thumb
.  This time the image
he pushed had changed.
 
It was evening, the stars were out, not a single cloud blocked the night’s sky.  The grass was cool and wet
;
we lay on a blanket
overlooking
a pond.  A single candle’s light glowed beside us, a bottle of wine chilled off to our side.  “Fantasy Drake” combed his fingers through my hair, his lips skimmed my neck, his breath was warm in my ear as he whispered, “Give me a chance, Camille.”  I let his hand go, and
once
again
I found myself back to reality, seated at
Andolini’s
with
Bianca, Gage and Drake.  I was embarrassed
,
wondering if the other two could see what he’d been doing
,
but they were still chatting about nothing I was interested in. 
My eyes met Drake’s in disbelief
.  H
e
returned a shy grin
before turning his attention back to Gage,
who was still
talking about a baseball game. 
 
 
 

As
the waitress cleared the table
, Drake leaned over and quietly whispered directly into my ear, “Can you meet me tonight?”

I caught myself starting to feel the same excitement that it looked like the others were feeling.
  I should have said
n
o
. 
I should have told him I needed to think about it
, but the desire I felt for him wouldn’t let me
.
 
“Where?”

“The pond, just to the south of your parent’s estate.  Meet me at ten.”

I nodded my silent consent
, wondering if his image had been pushed to me to ensure I
’d say
yes.
  Despite the logical part of my brain screaming that I needed to get to know him better, the illogical
,
hormone-infested part began pumping adrenaline steadily through my body.  I need
ed
the gentle kick
under the table
from Bianca to remind me to block my thoughts
!
  When lunch was over
,
it was clear that Bianca and Gage were ready to rekindle the romance that neither wanted to
give up on a month ago
.  I was sure public displays while dating w
ere
way over the line, but Bianca left with Gage
,
and Drake followed me to my car. 

I sat in my car’s driver’s seat
. 
Drake
stood outside my door and motioned for me to roll the window down. 
A
s the window rolled into the door
,
I saw Drake look from left to right
through the parking lot
.  He was satisfied that no eyes were watching, at least none he was
concerned with.  He reached his left hand through the window and gently pulled my
face
toward his.  I thought his lips would seek mine out,
but
instead he move
d
his lips to my ear
.  I
n a heavy whisper, “Don’t be late tonight.  If I don’t see you soon
,
I may combust.”  His lips kissed my ear lobe gently
before he pulled away
.  Tingles
ripped through
my whole body
as I watched him walk to his car
. 

I hated it when my girlfriend
s got overly infatuated with guys they hardly knew.  I didn’t believe in, nor was I ever someone who wanted to hear about love-at-first-sight
: 
the whole idea was a crock of crap.  There was something different about Drake, seriously different from anyone I’d dated, or for that matter – ever met before.  The way he could push a fantasy to my consciousness and it be so vivid made my toes curl.  I couldn’t imagine what would happen with the two of us alone
, experimenting with
this particular skill.  I shook my head at myself as I looked in the rear view mirror
;
I knew I couldn’t wait to find out.

I was s
till new to the area
. 
I was on a street that was
vaguely
familiar
,
but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I would find Will and Gretchen’s house immediately.  Normally Brent drove when we went anywhere
.  W
hen
Bianca and I left for
the restaurant
,
she
had been navigating
. 
I felt
like
I was in the general vicinity of the estate
,
but I was
equally
certain I had
taken the long way back
.
I told myself it didn’t matter
: 
the long way back would g
i
ve me a chance to think through everything – in reality it just got me more excited for tonight.

Chapter
23

I turned a corner and saw a classic Bentley along the side of the road.  It looked like a 1970-something, beautifully polished, all black,
with
flared fenders. 
As I approached
,
I saw a metal jack hooked to the rear of the car
,
the trunk p
r
opped open
,
and an older woman waving for help
. 
The
woman was standing behind
the car
, her hair
white and
flowing
with what little
breeze
the day offer
ed
.  I slowed down and saw
the sweat drenching her
long
floral print
dress.  This wasn’t a well
-
traveled road
;
i
f I didn’t help her
,
she
’d have
a heat stroke
soon
. 

I pulled up behind her car, leaving a couple
of
car lengths between us.  Her relief spread wide on her face a
s
she started walking toward me.  “Car trouble?”  I
called through the window
.

She gave me an exhausted smile,
“My tire is flat.”  I reached in my purse
to fish out my cell phone when I realized I hadn’t
brought
it with me.  It was still at the house. 
It felt like an oven outside
, so
I
considered driving
her
to Will and Gretchen’s
house so she could call someone to change her tire. 
Just as I was about to offer, it hit me – I’d only seen Centaurs at their house.  What would they think of me coming back with a sweaty old woman?