His Unbearable Desire 2 (4 page)

“Oh yes, I’m fine. I thought you would have left here by now.”

“No, soon though. It’s a work in progress. Colton, this is Evan…and Holly.”

Evan held out his hand. Colton stared at it and looked Evan up and down, then grunted and wrapped his arm around Ana’s curves.

“Well, it was nice to see you. Is everything well?” he asked.

They made pleasant small talk but it was incredibly awkward and they soon moved away.

“That’s so weird. We only broke up a couple of months ago but whenever I see him now it’s so weird. I don’t get how we could have been so close and now it’s like we’re strangers. I was planning a life with him but now we’re just…nothing.”

“What was your life together going to be like?”

“I don’t know,” Ana sighed, “Just the usual I suppose, the whole marriage and kids thing. It didn’t happen as quickly as he wanted because I have my business so it’s not something that’s a priority for me. It’d be nice one day though. Do you have any plans for the future?”

“I try not to think about the future. Having hopes and dreams only leads to disappointment and I don’t want life to let me down. But some day it would be good to give someone a better childhood than I had. And I’d rather my child inherited the family’s legacy than one of the spoiled brats from Glenn’s branch that don’t enjoy it. But I worry that the same thing would happen to my child as to me. I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I did. Losing my parents was like losing my whole world. I’ve been lost ever since that.”

“How did they die?” she asked, almost afraid to ask the question.

“It was an accident. They had gone through the forest for a walk and some folk had come up for the weekend to hunt, not realizing that the ground they were on was private. They saw movement and thought it was animals and they shot. The screams came too late. My aunt and uncle sued them but they didn’t have much, and they went to prison for manslaughter. One of them sent me a letter and said how sorry he was but it didn’t mean anything to me. Nothing meant anything after that.”

His voice was hollow and his eyes glazed over as he revealed a source of all his pain. Ana felt so close to him in that moment, and she squeezed his hand tenderly as a show of her affection.

“I can’t imagine going through what you’ve been through, and I see now why you shut yourself away. But the world isn’t always like that. There is some good, you just have to know where to look.” As she said this Colton looked down at her and smiled.

“Shall we go in here?” she asked, as they reached the mystical tent of Madame Webb.

Colton shrugged, and they walked in to find an old woman sitting at a round table with a large crystal ball in front of her. Spindly fingers spun around the crystal ball. As Ana gazed into it a swirling mist seemed to form in the clear glass. Madame Webb was wearing a black scarf, but when she looked up her green eyes bore through their souls.

“Come in,” a haggard voice said, “sit down at this table and join me as we break the rules of the universe.  Give me your secrets and hear your destiny pass through my lips.”

“Maybe this is a bad idea,” Colton said in a low voice, but Ana urged him on and the two of them sat down.

The old woman looked at each of them in turn, and as she sat down Ana had a better view of Madame Webb’s face. It was wrinkled and creased, and she looked about a hundred years old.

“Mm yes, the new lovers come to hear their destiny. Will you be together forever? Is this going to end in tears? I can tell you all. Just look into my crystal ball and the mysteries will be revealed.” Colton rolled his eyes but Ana looked intently, and it was she who Madame Webb focused on first.

“Ah yes, the inquisitive young woman, seeking to push the boundaries of her understanding. But will the secrets be something she wants to hear or will it only lead to more pain?”

She moved her hands around the crystal ball and as she did the mist inside moved too. Ana stared, trying to figure out how exactly she was doing that for it seemed unearthly and unnatural.

“You are trying to discover the science behind my magic as so many do but you will fail for there are none who can know the meaning behind my gift. But what you seek you will find. Push yourself and those around you and you will lift them up to even greater heights. Everything you want is within your grasp but you must know the right time to take it, and when faced with two options you must think hard and look deep inside yourself, because only the right one will make you happy. Your endeavors shall be fruitful as long as you keep an open mind. But as I look deeper…ah yes…you have something of the gift of the sight about you as well. Not in the same quantities as me, but I do feel that you are attuned to the spiritual thread running through the world. If you look in the right places you will be able to see the true nature of everything around you.” She explained.

Ana was intrigued, and leaned forward to hear more, but Colton rolled his eyes again and scoffed.

Ana noticed how uncomfortable he was, and had never seen him so flustered. It was a rare sight to behold. Madame Webb quickly turned her attention to him.

“Ah, the disbeliever. Yes, I can see you too and I see your pain. But I see what you are hiding from those around you too. You think you are the only one that has a link that goes back centuries but you are not. You and your brethren are not as unique as you think. I know your kind and I know what you have done but be warned, harm the innocent and their blood will tarnish your legacy. Your secrets will be your undoing…unless you’d like me to reveal them now?”

The color drained from Colton’s face and he rose instantly. “That’s enough, I’ve had it.”

Ana protested but Colton dragged her up and hauled her out as the cackling laughter of the old woman echoed behind them.

“What was that about? It was only a bit of fun. She’s harmless really.”

“She’s a con artist and she shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that.”

“You’re scared of her, aren’t you?” Ana teased, “Did what she say hit too close to home? She got your love of secrets down pat, but I guess when you’ve been doing it for as long as she has you’re bound to pick up some instincts about people.”

“All she says is what people want to hear. There’s no science or magic there at all, and I don’t want any part of it,” he said curtly, and promptly walked off in the opposite direction.

Ana shook her head and scampered after him, grabbing his arm playfully. She didn’t want things to turn into a big argument so she let it go. Even if she did think that it was an overreaction on his part. She’d never put much stock in mediums or psychics and she wasn’t about to start now, but it was amusing to listen to what she said.

“Let’s go in here,” she said, pulling Colton through the hall of mirrors.

They lost themselves in the reflective maze and laughed a lot as Colton kept bashing into false paths. At the end there was a row of different shaped mirrors that changed their appearance, and they teased each other as they transformed.

“Can you imagine changing shape like this? It must be so weird, to have your body but know that it’s not really your body.”

Colton looked at her sharply but she was too preoccupied to notice. From there they went through the haunted house, although it wasn’t particularly scary. Ana jumped a few times but Colton remained impassive, as if nothing could scare him. Darkness cloaked the fairground and as they walked arm-in-arm they felt together, like a couple.

Ana was losing hold of her emotions and she couldn’t reign in her feelings for him but she didn’t care any longer. She wanted to be with him properly. All thoughts of Glenn had been driven from her mind and she was focused solely on Colton. What he had told her about his parents made her heart go out to him and attraction swelled within her. She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with love, and she could have stared at him all night.

They went to get a burger and as they ate some ketchup squirted out of the bun and a dollop fell on Glenn’s shirt. He cursed, and Ana laughed at his misfortune once more.

“You really have a problem with food, don’t you?”

She asked as she pulled a napkin from the holder and wiped away the red liquid. As she rubbed she felt the outlines of his muscles and was floored by the sensations that ran through her. She bit her lip in anticipation of the night. She hadn’t intended things to go any farther than a date, but being in his presence made her want him more than anything.

He held her hand and looked down at her. He leaned in for a kiss, and Ana parted her lips, ready to taste the burning sweetness of his lips, when she heard a cough. This time it was Angelica who was interrupting them.

“Sorry, I just thought I’d say hi,” she said.

Ana ran up and hugged her while Colton nodded, still working to try and clean the stain left on his shirt.

“Are you enjoying the fair?”

“Yeah, it’s fun,” Angelica said, and then repeated the question, glancing at Colton.

“I’m having a ball,” Ana replied with a sly smile, “Where are your parents?”

“Currently they’re debating whether to go home and break down in tears because I just won them a toy turtle. After that I told them that I was going to be leaving as soon as possible. So I couldn’t take seeing them about to cry and I went for a wander, and I found you.”

“Well I’m glad you finally told them but please don’t back down this time.”

“I won’t, I won’t,” she said, and then moved in closer so that Ana could hear when she spoke in a whisper.

“And how is the date going?” she asked. Ana smiled and squealed a little.

“It’s amazing, I feel so comfortable with him, and he’s been open with me so far. I feel like we’re really connecting. He told me a lot about his childhood and what made him the way he is. It’s pretty sad really, I just want to give him a hug.”

“Can you be sure he’s telling the truth?”

Ana glanced back at Colton who was brooding by himself. She watched women pass by checking him out, but he didn’t pay them any attention because he was there with her.

“I am. He could have anyone he wants but he chose me and that means something. I believe him and I trust what he told me. I’ve decided that I can’t go through life and never trust anyone because of what Glenn did, and while Colton hasn’t behaved perfectly he explained why he acted the way he did, and as long as he sticks to that and doesn’t make the same mistake again things will be fine.”

“Okay then, well, I will leave you to your date,” she said, “Oh, and since it’s going so well I think I’m going to stay at my parent’s tonight. I think they’d appreciate that after what I told them.”

Ana said a silent thank you and appreciated the gesture as she went back to Colton.

“Ready?” she asked. He glanced down at his stained top and sighed.

“I guess. Who was she?” he said, looking at Angelica as she walked away.

Ana explained that it was her best friend and roommate, and told him of their plan to move to Newtown. Colton nodded and then placed his arm around Ana’s shoulder as they went to the Ferris wheel. The line was long so they had to wait for a while before they reached the front. The large circular wheel rose high above their heads, and it was most likely the most impressive thing that had ever been in Trinity Falls.

The moon was a crescent but the stars shone brightly, although a chilled breeze became present. Ana slipped her cardigan on and wrapped her arms around herself. Colton noticed and took off his leather jacket, placing it around her shoulders without any hesitation. The gesture made her smile and it warmed her up. She placed her nose against the leather and inhaled deeply. It smelled like him, and all she wanted to do was wrap it around her naked body and drown in his masculine scent.

“You’re going to miss nights like these,” he said.

“What do you mean?”