First Magic by Raven Steele (ebook reader screen txt) 📖

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He looked me in the eyes. “I promise I’ll tell you but not now. Is that all right?”

I guess it didn’t matter. I had worse things to stress about. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal.”

“No, it is. And I promise to tell you when the time is right.”

We didn’t stay in town like I expected. Instead, Christian drove into a canyon and up and over the mountain. The light from the setting sun blanketed the valley changing the autumn leaves into golden ribbons of yellows, reds, and oranges.

“This is amazing,” I said. “I’ve never come through here at sunset before.”

“I thought you’d like it. I love coming up here this time of day. It’s so peaceful—just what I think you need.”

“Can we pull over?” I had a crazy urge to touch the golden leaves to see if they were real.

“We will. There’s a pull-off just up ahead.”

I was expecting it to be more of a rest stop, but it was exactly as he said. There was barely enough room for his car to park alongside the shoulder. When I stepped out of the car, I practically tripped over a concrete barrier. On the other side, the ground dropped off sharply and led to a small stream. It reminded me of my babbling brook back home.

Christian rounded the car and joined me. “Get on my back. I’ll carry you down.”

“That’s okay. I can make it,” I lied as I imagined myself rolling end-over-end until I belly flopped into the water. Even though I felt better, I didn’t feel steep-hill good.

“Whatever. Get on my back.” He turned around. Reluctantly, I wrapped my arms around his neck and jumped up; my legs hooked around his waist.

He groaned.

“Am I hurting you?” I cried. I tried to get off, but he clung to my legs, laughing.

“I’m just kidding. I can barely feel you.”

I stared down the steep incline. “You sure you can do this?”

“Have you ever seen The Man from Snowy River?”

“No.”

“Huh. Well, this is going to seem a lot less impressive then. Hang on!”

He leapt over the concrete barrier and practically ran down. With every step, his foot slid, and I thought for sure we were going to eat it, but somehow he maintained his balance. I placed my chin on his shoulder to keep my head from bouncing all over. My cheeks flushed when I felt the heat from his neck warm my skin.

Before I knew it, we were at the bottom. He let go of my legs, dropping me to the ground. “This way.”

I followed behind him alongside the creek. The further upstream we walked, the brighter the light became and the more magnificent the colors. I couldn’t stop commenting on its beauty.

After a short distance, he stopped at a rock wall where a miniature waterfall spilled from a rocky ledge spraying the trees around it. The sun on the wet leaves transformed them into thousands of jewels: rubies, topaz, and garnets. The only word I could come up with to describe the luminescent trees was “celestial.” I stared, mouth open.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Christian whispered.

All I could do was nod my head.

And then something strange happened. Light jumped inside me, giving me a huge adrenaline rush. It seemed to push away the anxiety still lingering inside me from the previous night. I gasped for air and staggered to the side.

Christian caught me. “What’s wrong?”

“I … I don’t know,” I stuttered. My insides vibrated like a tuning fork. I inhaled several deep breaths until, very slowly, Light retreated back to wherever it went when the moon was small.

“Do you need to sit down?”

I shook my head. “I think I’m okay now. That was weird.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have brought you here,” Christian mumbled.

“What? No. I’m so glad you did.” I looked him in the eyes. “Thank you.”

His eyes darted to my lips, and his mouth parted open. I reached for his hand and twisted my fingers into his. The same longing I’d experienced the night before, roared awake inside me again.

He lowered his gaze and frowned as his whole body tensed. Something was bothering him. Maybe we were moving too fast for his liking.

To ease the tension, I asked, “How much longer do you think the trees will look like this?”

“Turn around.”

I spun back around. The sun had already shifted positions; its light no longer transformed the leaves.

“It’s only like this for a few minutes,” he said.

“Thank you for showing it to me. It was awesome.”

“You act like this is the end of our date.”

“Isn’t it?”

A smile teased the corners of his mouth. “Not quite. We still have a long night ahead of us.”

Chapter 18

Back at the car, Christian stopped me just as I was about to get into the passenger seat. “There’s one rule. You have to wear this.” From behind his back he produced a black bandana.

“Why?”

“It’s a surprise. I don’t want you to see where we’re going.”

“Can’t I just keep my eyes closed?”

“No, you’ll be tempted to peek. Now turn around so I can put this on you.”

I eyed him suspiciously, but then smiled and did what he asked. He tied the bandana around my eyes and helped me into the car. After he joined me, I expected to hear the sound of the car’s engine, but after a minute of silence, I finally asked, “Christian? What are you doing?”

“Right. Sorry. I just like looking at you too much. I think it’s going to be my downfall.”

I laughed. “Careful. That comment’s borderline creepy.”

“True.” He started the car. “My bad.”

I laughed again but then had to swallow the fullness growing in my throat. I was not prepared for this. I thought this was going to be more of a friend date, but the sexual tension between us was undeniable. I know he felt it too, but at the same time, he seemed to be fighting it.

We drove in silence, but not long after, he began to whistle and took hold of my hand. His warm palm felt good against mine, which was inexplicably cold, as was the rest of me. I uncoupled my seatbelt and slid over next to him to rest my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me and lazily dragged his fingers across the skin on my upper arm. The motion, the scent of him, practically undid me.

I lowered my hand to his upper thigh and raked my fingers in deliberate circles. A small moan escaped his lips, and he shifted his weight. I liked knowing my touch gave him pleasure. I wish I could see his expression.

Christian turned onto what felt like a dirt road. I could tell by the way we bounced around as if we were riding in a horse-drawn carriage. “Where are we?”

“Still in the mountains. It’s not far now.”

Several minutes later he stopped the car. “We’ll have to hike the rest of the way.”

I cringed. “How far?”

“It’s close. Don’t worry. I’ll help you if you need it.”

I know he said he’d help me, but he probably wasn’t counting on me being so clumsy. He practically had to carry me the entire way as I kept tripping over the smallest things. Without my eyesight, I was ten times worse. I wished it was a full moon, or even a half moon. He probably thought I was the weakest girl he’d ever met.

Christian stopped and let go of me. A moment later I heard a zipping sound.

“Duck your head and step up,” he told me.

“I’ll try.” I did what he said, but still tripped and fell onto canvas-like material.

“You can take the blindfold off now,” Christian said.

I ripped off the bandana and about fainted when I saw what he had done.

We were inside a tent that looked like it was meant for eight people. It had been filled with pillows on one side and on the opposite end was a big screen TV. A pizza box and a six-pack of soda lay in the middle.

I laughed. “This is awesome. How did you get electricity out here?”

He flashed me a you’ll-never-know smile. “Hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Help yourself. I’ll start the movie.”

I moved to the other side of the tent, still in shock that he was able to pull something like this off, but I was also incredibly flattered. No one had ever done anything this thoughtful for