Traveler (18 page)

Reluctantly he forced himself to climb off the bed, mumbling an apology before quickly leaving her behind in his bedroom, alone and sprawled across his bed.  No...bad thoughts!  He couldn’t be thinking that way.  She was his roommate, his charge, and most importantly, his student in the magical arts.  He could not betray her trust in such a way.

Aislin had closed her eyes and puckered her lips, fully expecting the kiss...that never came.  His finger on her jaw had felt so nice, and it had been so long since she had been touched like that...and then he was gone.  Vanished.  Leaving her sprawled out, alone, on his bed, apologizing to her as if he hadn’t wanted it as badly as she did.  Well then, two could play at that game.  If he didn’t want her...she’d find someone who did.  They had been through so much, the two of them, in the past four days...had he expected it to not happen?  Tonight at the club, she’d forget about it, and she’d find someone else who actually wanted to be with her.  

Hastily, she straightened her clothing, getting off the bed and walking to the door, hesitating for a moment before walking outside, her eyes warily looking around for him.  They finally caught him, sitting in the living room, his head in his hands.  She debated going over to talk to him, but decided against it quickly.  Instead, she walked into her room, barefoot, and slammed the door behind her a little harder than she had intended to.  
Stupid, stupid man
, she thought to herself.  
I’ll just stay in here until tonight.

The sound of the door slamming made him flinch visibly before slouching lower in the seat.  
Well...looks like she’s mad at me.  Guess I went too far
, he thought for a moment before sighing.  He was such a fool, going so far with someone who was depending on him to help them.  He ran a hand through his hair, glancing towards her closed door.  He would have to make it up to her somehow...and he wasn’t quite sure how to do it.

Aislin threw herself on her bed, burying her face in her pillow before glancing towards the top drawer of her dresser.  
To hell with him.  If he doesn’t want me...well then, I’ll just finish myself off
.  A smug look on her face, she walked over to her dresser and pulled out the rubber electric blue toy that lived in the top drawer.  Taking off her clothing, Aislin lay back beneath her blankets, reaching down to find herself ready and willing.  Alexander had seen to that when he was sitting on top of her, and Aislin had been robbed of knowing how that completion would feel.  With a satisfied sigh, she turned on the toy, the vibrations meeting tender flesh.  She tried to be as quiet as possible, keeping her whimpers and murmurs as quiet as she could, then decided against it.  If he didn’t want her, then she’d show him what he was missing.  With that decision made, Aislin let her cries of pleasure, her moans and her whimpers, run freely from her mouth, not trying to muffle them in the slightest, the vibrations taking care of the ache that raged within her.  Stupid man.

The man had just gotten to his feet with the intention of apologizing and explaining himself to her in the hopes that she might forgive him even just a little, and then he heard her.  The sounds of pleasure echoed through his home, making him shudder in growing arousal.  Light, she was going to kill him...making all those...sounds...  He closed his eyes, struggling with the urge to go right into her room and show her what a real man could do, but he couldn’t do that.  It went against every code of honor he was taught.  No matter how much he wanted to go in there, no matter how difficult it was, he had to be strong and stay away.

Chapter 12

Aislin had drifted off to sleep after she had taken her enjoyment, taking a restful nap for a few hours until she had to get ready for the club.  The sun had already set when she awoke, stretching like a satisfied cat.  At least there was one thing that had given her pleasure today.  She felt slightly guilty at that; maybe she should have given Alexander a chance to explain himself, instead of jumping.  She got up from her bed, and went to go take another shower, bringing her dress, heels and makeup with her in there, not looking at Alexander when she went into the living room.  If he didn’t want to interact with her, she’d play that game too..but she also couldn’t look at him for the shame that was beginning to well within her.  

The shower was two-fold; it made her feel clean, and it helped wash away any remaining frustrations.  She would get a taste of the real thing tonight, she’d see to that.  The shower went too quickly, though, and soon enough she had to get dressed.  Underneath her dress, she wore a silvery-gray pair of lacy panties, thong, and a see-through bra of the same color. The dress she was wearing was a black sequined thing, a present from one of her acquaintances at her 18th birthday.  She never thought she’d have a chance to wear it, never thought she’d care how a man saw her...but this man was driving her up the wall, and so she would do the same.  Aislin shoved the guilt that her conscience was feeling into the back of her mind.  All she was feeling was vindictive, now.  She slipped the minidress on and it fit her like a glove, clinging to every curve and swell of her breasts and ass in all the right places. Hot damn, her friends had been right.  She should have worn it sooner.  

Her hair she tied at the top of her head, letting the ringlets that formed naturally fall down her neck.  Last were her heels and her makeup, just enough to make her face glow.  Her heels were three-inch stilettos, leather, black, and they showed off her already long slender legs.  She looked like a bombshell.  She smiled at her reflection in the mirror.  “God damn,” she murmured.  She opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out, her heels clicking on the tile as she walked, the dress barely stopping below her ass.

Alexander had not wasted the last few hours in the least.  When he had finally managed to pick his jaw up from the floor, he had gone into the basement to bring up the materials he needed to create the beacon for the pendant he had promised to give his student.  He was determined to get this done as quickly as possible, and hopefully would be able to give it to her, along with the lengthy apology and explanation that he had worked on.  

He had never been so open with anyone else, not even his own teacher. And if he was honest with himself, it frightened him more than he cared to admit.  But Aislin deserved nothing less than the truth.  Murmuring his speech under his breath, he didn’t notice when she left her room and went to the bathroom, not until he heard the water turn on in the shower.  There was a brief flare of terror and anxiety before he ruthlessly pushed it down, reminding himself that this wasn’t about his feelings at all.

When he heard heels clicking on the tiles, he knew it was time to face the music.  Carefully he set down the pendant, the silver phoenix glittering in the lamp light.  He took a deep breath before lifting his head to look at her.  His eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, it felt like he couldn’t breathe.  Light help him, she was...there were no words in his vocabulary to truly describe what she looked like.  And honestly...he was beginning to act worse than the honorless curs that worked for Silvertongue.

Perhaps if he kept his gaze away...but then again, it was common courtesy to look someone in the eye while speaking to them.  Curling his fingers to fists at his sides to hide the way they shook, he met her eyes, making certain not to look anywhere else.  “Aislin...might I have a moment of your time before you leave for your party?”

She tried not to smile smugly at his reaction.  It was everything that she had hoped for in a reaction.  
Eat your heart out
.  He didn’t look at her, didn’t say how beautiful she looked...he just stared at her eyes.  “Of course, Alexander,” she said coolly, walking into the living room and sitting in the chair next to him, crossing her long legs.  “What do you need?”

Fuck...
There was no way he could answer that the way he really wished he could.  He took a deep, cleansing breath through his nose before speaking calmly, trying to remember the speech he had rehearsed.  “About...earlier...I am truly sorry for the way I acted.  I should not have pushed you so far...should not have taken things so far.  I betrayed your faith and trust in me, and in doing so, in giving into such carnal desires, I have put a slight upon my honor and yours.  I treated you as little more than a harlot for hire and that is...it is not how I view you at all.  You are my student...my charge.  It is my duty and my honor to bear your trust and faith.”  He let out a breath before finishing.  “I will understand if you wish for me to find you another teacher.  I hope that you can forgive my impulsiveness and allow me to make amends for my actions.”

Aislin straightened her back.  He saw her as a student...nothing more.  It was becoming increasingly obvious to her that a student was all she’d be to him.  “Thank you for telling me,” she said softly.  “I don’t want another teacher.  You have done so much, been there through so much already with me...no, another teacher is not an option.”  She stood, looking down at him.  “I understand that you hold honor and the right thing above all else...and I can respect that.  I am...sorry about flaunting everything before you...earlier.  It was petty, and unnecessary.  I was just frustrated, and I had no other way to take it out.  I didn’t force you to try to kiss me, Alex...but I can understand why you don’t want to again.  You can begin to make amends tomorrow, okay?” she smiled a little at him, crouching down next to him and taking his hands in hers briefly.  “Thank you for being honest with me.”

Alexander stared at her for a moment, blue eyes searching her face before he nodded slowly.  “Very well, if that is what you wish.”  He murmured, trying really hard not to stare at her body or to react to the feel of her hands on his.  This was going to test his resolve and will-power, but he would do his damnedest not to make another mistake.  He would regain his honor even if it killed him;  in the end, honor was all that he truly had.  “Honesty is no less than you deserve...and I will do my best to not betray your trust again.”

Aislin squeezed his hands softly, smiling gently at him.  “You know,” she remarked.  “This was so much easier when I thought you were gay...but it’s nice to know that I have someone looking out for me.”  She stood, letting his hands slip from hers if he wanted them to.  “I have to go, though,” she murmured apologetically.  “My ride will be here soon.”

He stood as well, reluctantly letting his hands fall from hers.  “If it makes you feel better, just assume that I am asexual.”  He murmured almost under his breath before speaking up.  “Be careful, and if you need anything, call, alright?”

“I will,” she promised walking away from him and smiling over her shoulder.  “I promise.”  A honking outside the door confirmed that her ride was here, one of the acquaintances from the school she used to go to.  May as well go out with a bang, right?  Aislin opened the door, offering him one more sad smile, then let it close gently behind her.

***

Aislin stepped into the club, stopping for a moment to catch her breath.  It was very busy here, a lot more crowded than she thought it was going to be.  And Aislin was the least provocatively dressed out of all of them, it seemed.  That was a scary thought.  She spent most of the night against the wall, like a wallflower, though she didn’t miss the looks the men in the club sometimes gave her.

The music was infectious, and it began to beat in her blood like a drug, making her hips want to dance and move across the floor, wanted to make her dance with someone.  She caught the eyes of a man, probably in his mid-twenties, tall, with dark eyes and blonde hair and a body most men would kill for.  His eyes were a little too dark, his hair a little too light...body not as chiseled, not as perfect...but he was the closest she could get.  Aislin smiled at him, and he gestured to her from where he sat at a table with his friends.  Aislin walked to him, her eyes dark as she watched him, moving onto the dancefloor with him to dance.  

They moved together like one organism, dancing close, bodies pressed against one another, Aislin’s blood still hot from the events earlier that day.  He had her pressed flush against his body, and when he kissed her, Aislin’s world blew into fragments.  It had been too long since she had been kissed.  

“Let’s get out of here, hmm?” he asked, his voice soft and hot on her ear.  

Aislin nodded, and she led him outside, her hand held in his.  They got into his car, driving to Alexander’s house--her house too, now, she supposed.  “We can’t go inside,” she whispered, looking at the man whose name she still didn’t know.  

“That’s ok,” he answered, looking at his folded down backseat in his SUV.  “ I think we can manage something.”  

Grinning mischievously, Aislin climbed into his back seat, allowing him to follow right behind her.  Once back there, they continued as they had in the club, kissing each other, tongues entwining with each other as their bodies gyrated together.  His hands started at her waist, sliding the minidress up and off her head, her heels already having been abandoned a few minutes before.  Her bra was soon to follow, hooked on one of the man’s buttons on his shirt.  Aislin’s breath came fast and short through her mouth and she reached to completely undo his fly, when her world fractured, again.

With a start, Aislin looked around her, seeing the now all-too-familiar signs of her cabin on the Captain’s ship.  “Mother fucker!” she growled, slamming her fist against the wall.  “Not again!”  Something was digging into her hip.  Her cell phone!  She forgot she had hidden it in her pantie line.  She pulled the phone out, surprised to see...signal?  She called the only person she knew to call.  Alexander.  It was connecting.  Mother of God, it was connecting.  It had just begun to ring, when the phone went completely dead and Aislin slid down the wall, her eyes squeezed shut.
 Shit.