Enchanter (11 page)

God, this sounds like I’m a horrible person.

“Yes,” I whispered. “Now that you’ve made a point in
humiliating me, tell me what the purpose of those questions are.”

“It wasn’t my intention to humiliate you,” he replied, his
eyes never leaving me. “What I wanted to get across to you is that even when
all minds are different, some may choose to think like others. When high social
groups or, in this case, the popular crowd, decide that they dislike someone,
the others might start to believe the same thing even if there is no reason for
that to be the case.”

“I don’t think—”

 “Then how is it that you believed what others said about
me?”

“I didn’t believe it, I chose to believe it.”

“Exactly.”

I flinched at the certainty in his voice.

“By choosing to believe what others thought about me, wasn’t
your brain in the same setting as theirs was?”

“No. I never believed what they said.” I turned my head
away, angry by our conversation. “I’ve been the sole owner of my thoughts. No
one has ever done the thinking for me.”

“But you stayed away because your friends didn’t like me.”

“I was young and stupid and I didn’t want to get caught up
in between the kids with the most influence and the one kid they picked on.” I
turned teary eyes to him. “What do you want? Do you want me to admit that I
made a mistake? Because I did. I know I did, Brandon, and I’m sorry.” Horrified
by how true his words were, I moved away from him.

When did he become so damn smart?

“Leah—”

“Dammit, Brandon!” I glared at him. “I was perfectly fine
believing that I wasn’t a horrible person and now that you’ve made a point in
making sure I understand that my beliefs are wrong, I feel like a complete
idiot that can’t even think for herself.” I shoved my belongings into my purse
and turned toward him. “Thank you for that, by the way.”

When I tried to rise, Brandon grabbed my wrists and pulled
me to him. So fast were his movements that I had no time to react until I was
resting fully against his chest. Every cell in my body became highly aware of
the fact that I was straddling his solid thighs, with my palms resting on top
of his pectorals and his huge hands firmly planted on my lower back. Our faces
two uncomfortable inches away, I could do nothing but stare at them as they
gazed back at me with a fire that made my insides tighten.

The only thing that kept us from toppling to the floor was
the fact that Brandon’s back was firmly planted against the couch behind him .

“Don’t rush out yet,” he whispered. “You can’t take our
discussion too seriously, Leah, because I was only setting it as an example.”

It became incredibly hard to remember that I was angry with
him when his intense gaze did interesting things to my pulse.

“You used
me
as an example,” I corrected him.

“Okay, maybe I did, but I didn’t mean to upset you in any
way.”

“Then why did you—”

“I thought we covered that ground already.”

“Yes, we did.”

His lips were so tantalizingly close to mine that all I had
to do was move in, tilt my head a little, and they would meet. I had, after
all, a curiosity to satisfy. “My opinion of you is rapidly changing, though.”

“I’m curious to know whether that’s good or bad.”

“Good, I think.”

“Clarify that for me before I make a fool of myself.”

His hands moved up my spine and my entire body hummed with
anticipation.

“I like you, very much,” I finally admitted, more to myself
than to him. “I always have.” What was the point of denying it when he could
probably see it in my eyes anyway?

“Is that right?” His voice was low and hoarse.

“Yes. I thought you should know that I’m having a hard time
trying to pull away right now.” I was sure to be embarrassed by the confession
later on, but as the intensity behind his gaze increased, I came short of
giving a damn.

“No one is rushing you off.” One of his hands reached up to
caress the right side of my face, gently massaging its way up to my bandage-covered
forehead. “And you’re definitely not bothering me at all.”

“Does this mean we can be friends again?” I blurted, wanting
to change the subject before things got a little too serious. I was worried about
crossing uncharted territories. “Because I’d really like that.”

He rewarded me with a smile. “That’s not really a problem
unless, come Monday morning, you decide that you want to continue disliking me
again.”

Come on, Leah, kiss him before the magic spell breaks and
he pulls away, again.

“Now, why would I ruin things between us a second time?” I
said right before I traveled the short distance that brought our lips together.

Kissing Brandon broke through our walls of resistance. It
was as if all the previous tension forcing us apart melted away the second our
lips touched. However painful the memories of the past were, as we kissed, they
were instantly forgotten and that was just fine with me. Life was too short to
dwell on one’s mistakes and I was not about to build another wall to replace
the one I had just bulldozed down.

There had been a reason why I had chosen to befriend Brandon
the first time I saw him. And although it had been lost on me years back, I was
absolutely certain that he was an amazing person. I just had to uncover what
hid underneath layers of dark clothing and those mysterious blue eyes, hopefully
including the meaning of that tattoo.

As I quickly discovered, not only was Brandon sweet,
patient, and good-looking, but he was also an incredible kisser. One simple peck
and the man had me completely entranced and in the palms of his hands. And the
more he kissed me, the more I wanted him to keep going.

If Vanessa could have seen me, I’m sure she would have said,
‘I told you so.’

The second our lips met, a bolt of hot electricity shot
through my entire body, causing my toes to curl up. When his arms wrapped
around my midsection, pulling me tightly against his chest, my heart sped up
immediately. The force of his gentle caresses was nearly overwhelming and I
found myself startled by my reaction to him.

When his tongue slipped in between my lips and he used it to
explore the insides of my mouth, I moaned, reached up, and tangled my fingers
in his long hair. With my eyes squeezed shut, the tsunami of emotions intensified,
and as our tongues clashed in a need to overcome the other, I became painfully
aware of my body.

I moaned loudly and pushed my breasts against his chest when
his hands roamed the length of my back, carefully avoiding other vital areas as
they explored.

This is almost too much!
My brain yelled in an
attempt to be heard over the uncontrolled wildfire spreading inside my system.

Well, I had been very curious to know what a kiss from
Brandon felt like. Now that I knew what that was like, I wanted more. If it was
up to me I would have continued our kissing game forever. But, unfortunately for
us, someone chose that moment to knock on Brandon’s front door.

Startled, we tore our lips apart and stared at each other.

“Are you expecting someone?” I asked, already disappointed
that we had been interrupted.

“No.” His breathing was as harsh as mine was.

Another knock came, this one louder and much more insistent.

“Brandon? Are you here, man? Open up!” a male voice shouted
from the other side of the closed door. “This is important, I swear.”

“A friend of yours?” I whispered in his left ear.

“Unfortunately,” Brandon muttered softly. “Go away!”

His barked order caused me to giggle.

“Come on, man. I need a favor,” the inconvenient person said.

“I don’t think he plans to leave anytime soon.” Much to my
disappointment, we had to break away.

By the looks of him, Brandon was not too happy about the interruption
either.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, caressing my cheek with the tips of
his fingers.

“Don’t be.” I tried hard to collect myself and pretend as if
I was not entirely bummed out that someone had interrupted us, and because my
voice sounded so steady, I knew I had succeeded to some extent. “It’s fine.”

Brandon pulled me in for another heart-stopping kiss before
allowing me to pick my body off of his. He rose and cursed softly, forcing a
smile out of me. With a slight limp in his gait, he slowly sauntered toward the
door and unlocked it.

“This better be important!” he growled as he yanked the door
open.

“Of course it is, I—” The man behind the door stopped his
banter as soon as he marched through the entryway and saw me standing next to
the coffee table. “Oh, man,” he muttered as he stared at me. “Hello.”

The second he broke out in a smile I wanted to burst out
laughing. He had such a comical face. Not in the sense that he was unpleasant
to look at, but he had a way of contorting his features that made him look like
an eight-year-old.

Brandon’s friend was about an inch or two smaller than him,
had dark brown eyes, and short brown hair with streaks of blue and red locks
distributed evenly throughout his head. He was lean, and carried a mischievous air
about him that could easily erase several years of his actual age. Dark
clothing, a tight collar, and skull earrings completed his look.

“Hi,” I greeted him as he came in.

“I didn’t know you had company, Brandon.” The young man
walked around the couch in my direction. When he was within arm’s reach, he
stopped to assess me.

“Ever heard of a phone?” Brandon mumbled as he shut the
door. “If you would’ve called, you would have known I was busy.”

“Well, you never have company over. How was I supposed to
know that I was going to find a beautiful young lady in here?” He grinned and I
smiled. “No wonder you wanted me to go away.”

My cheeks burned as I caught sight of the man’s knowing
look. A quick glance at Brandon and I know he was equally as uncomfortable as I
was.

“My name’s Duke, by the way.” He extended his hand to me.

I shook it briefly before releasing it. “Hi, I’m Leah.” The
second I said my name, Duke immediately scrutinized Brandon’s face, as if
waiting for him to verify something.

Brandon just averted his gaze and said nothing.

“Nice to meet you, Leah.”

“It’s been fun, I’m sure.” Duke said.

Duke laughed.

“Spit it out, man,” Brandon ordered as he hurried to face
the unexpected nuisance.

“Oh, yeah, um, I need a ride to work.” Duke smiled. “I’m
working the graveyard shift tonight and my stupid car won’t start.”

“Something’s wrong at the factory?” Brandon asked.

“No, why you ask?” Duke frowned.

“Because you’re working the graveyard shift and you never do
that.”

“Oh, that’s because I requested Sunday off because of a
basketball game.”

“You play basketball?” The words slipped out of my mouth
before I could stop them.

“Don’t let my looks fool you, I play sports a lot.” He
winked.

“I’ll drop you off at work after I take Leah home.”

“Why take her home at all?” Duke’s mischievous grin was
priceless.

“Before you get the wrong idea, you demented pervert,”
Brandon said, “we were just working on that project I told you about.”

“Yeah, sure.” Duke dropped down on the couch, keeping his
eyes on Brandon as he said, “That was the impression I got when I walked in.”

Brandon and I exchanged brief, but very uncomfortable looks
before he started toward his bedroom. “I’ll be right back.”

“We’ll be right here.” Duke laughed at Brandon’s low growl.

When our host had disappeared through the wooden door of his
bedroom, Duke smiled and patted the cushion next to the one he was sitting on.
Hesitantly, I ambled toward the couch and sat next to him, picked up my purse
from the floor, and held it on my lap as a protective shield.

“So, how long have you known Brandon?”

“Since kindergarten.”

“Oh, wow. And yet, this is the first time I see you.”

“Well, we… um… stopped talking a long time ago.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, though.” “You have?”

“Yep.” He nodded. “And I have to say that Brandon is right, you’re
beautiful.”

He said I am beautiful?

“Oh?” I swallowed hard. “Are you making that up?

“No.” Duke’s tone seemed sincere. “Brandon has spoken a lot about
you over the years.”

“How long have you known him?”

“For about three years, since he started dating my sister.”

I blanched at those words.

“He has a girlfriend?” I was horrified by the thought that I
might have made out with some other girl’s boyfriend.

“No.” Duke laughed at my expression. “Don’t you know that
Brandon is not the heartbreaking type?”

“Apparently not.”

“They dated for a while, but Brandon’s heart wasn’t in the
relationship, so they called it quits soon after.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, it has belonged to someone else for a while now.”

“Who—”

“I’m ready.” Brandon reemerged from his bedroom, dressed in
his usual jeans, black sweatshirt and black boots.

“Let’s go then.” Duke shot off the couch and headed for the
door.

“I’m ready too.” I fumbled with my purse a bit as I caught
Brandon’s brief stare.

I have to find out if he’s interested in anyone else,
because if he is, this can’t happen again.
With that thought, I hurried out
behind Duke.

Within a couple of minutes we were outside, and Brandon had
unlocked his car. Duke opened the passenger door, but stopped from climbing in when
Brandon’s voice boomed from the other side, “It’s the back seat for you.”

“Okay, okay.” Duke shot me a quick look and grinned before
doing as he was told.

As soon as I was inside, I glanced over my shoulder at Duke
and said, “Why do I have a feeling you’re never serious about anything.”