The Moonstone (Enchantment Book 1) (35 page)

"I'm very impressed with your talents! Pax, managing to create an illusion on top of an illusion is unheard of. Flicka, I can see from your file that you’re a healer, and believe me, that will be essential on a team of warriors. Thank you for your time, the rest of the decision is up to Lou."

I go over to my friends to thank them, walking them over to the main entrance.

"So, you like my choices?" I say to Black once my friends have all left the building.

"Sure! And the strategy you created was genius! Ok, we'll ignore the awkward ending," he says, laughing a little.

I walk over to him and punch him hard on the shoulder, as hard as I can, given the size of his arm muscles.

"That's all you've got, little rabbit? It feels as if I've been touched by a feather."

"Oh, don't do that!"

"Don't do what?"

"Don't play the guy who's on top of it all," I say, with a grin on my face.

"I'm not on top of you. If that were the case, you would know it, believe me," he looks at me coyly and it's a look that suits him well.

"Control yourself, Black."

He doesn't answer but continues to stare at me.

"So! What’s the plan for the evening, Mr. Professor?"

"I think we've done enough for today. I’ll send my chauffeur to feed the animals at the stables. I think you’ve earned an evening off. Do you want to go meet your friends?"

"No, I'd rather spend the evening with you."

He seems honestly taken aback by my request, it's as if he finds it amazing that I would choose to spend time with him.

"I would like to have a normal evening, a human evening."

I chew nervously on my lips, uncertain how he’ll take my offer. Will he see it as an insult? I really need an evening like that! After all I've been through the last few weeks, it would be a nice change of pace."

"Sure. I must say, I’m curious to see what a little rabbit like you does with her evenings."

"Great! So send Justin home for the evening, I'm cooking tonight."

"Oh dear, I don't feel like dying of food poisoning."

"Hey, I'm a great cook, I'll have you know!"

"As you wish, Miss. The kitchen is all yours."

"Good, go put on your pajamas because tonight is movie night. Come find me in the kitchen in an hour."

"I sleep naked...are those the pajamas you want me to wear, Miss Mills?"

I’m not sure what to say...best not to picture that!

"I'm sure you'll find something comfortable to wear."

He leaves, winking at me on his way out. If I didn't know better, I would think he was hitting on me.

I need to get ready. It feels as if I'm getting ready for a date, but I know better. The idea to show Black a little more of the world, to forget all the craziness of the enchanter's world and to experience a quiet evening makes me happy. I would so love it if this evening were a real date, a movie night with Black as a human, and me too, for that matter. But mostly I imagine him as an unattached human, a man with nobody waiting for him. Then I could open my heart to him, the one that beats faster every time he makes a move or looks at me,

I realize I've been lying to myself since the beginning. Despite his temperament and his sometimes-abrasive personality, the real Black I've witnessed the past few days is the one I saw that first night, before learning his true identity.

I go to the bathroom to try to present myself in my best light. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but it's stronger than me. I would so love for him to feel for me what I feel for him. If only I could call Flicka over to prepare me a pajama outfit! Sadly that would come with a lot of questions that I'm not ready to answer. I take a violet-scented bubble bath; the scent always gives me courage. Getting out of the water, I slip on a fitted white silk nightgown. But what am I trying to prove here? I'm standing at the starting line of a race of which I'm the only participant. I take a few moments to do my hair and then decide to cut my preparation short. The results would be the same either way. I wrap my hair up into a loose bun and go down into the kitchen.

Black still hasn't arrived, and that's perfect...I'll have time to prepare something. I'm in the mood for a real meal. Although I love sugar, I miss having hot meals. Thankfully there are also savory ingredients in the pantry. I take out a couple of potatoes and a tin of gravy, perfect! I go to see if there is cheese and see that luck is with me tonight. I’m deep into the refrigerator, when I hear a cough behind me. I turn to find Black leaning on the central island, staring at me closely as if he were studying me. He seems to be appreciating my outfit. I put the cheese on the island and freeze for a moment, taking in his outfit. He's wearing a white t-shirt and well-fitting boxers. His messy hair adds to his relaxed style and destabilizes me more. We stand there in mutual admiration without saying a word, and the tension is palpable. I must break it before it breaks me.

"So, do you know how to cook? Or is that too complicated for your little enchanter’s fingers?"

"There’s nothing too complicated for my demi-God fingers, Lou!"

I notice that he corrected my word enchanter, but I find it hard to give him credit for being a God, after all. It would be so much easier for me if he stopped with all these allusions.

"Perfect! Ok, get peeling and cut some of those potatoes, we're making poutine!"

"What?"

"Poutine! It's a dish I discovered in Quebec when I went there with my parents. It's delicious and not complicated."

"And not sweet! I thought you had a sweet tooth?"

"Yes, but I'm just having a bit of nostalgia tonight. Don't worry; we'll have dessert too. I promise!"

I watch him while he carefully cuts the potatoes. It’s almost as if his life depended on it; he’s very methodical in everything he does. I cube the cheese and heat up the sauce while the potatoes fry in the bubbling oil.

"Are you missing your friends?" he asks me, probably to break the silence.

"Well, before meeting Flicka and the others, I was more of a lone wolf."

"Boyfriend?" he says, this time, more carefully, almost in a whisper.

"Nope."

"Have you had a boyfriend, Lou?" he asks the question with his usual self-assurance, staring at me intensely.

"Yes." I don't feel like sharing more than that.

"And you cut it off with him?"

So, he's not going to let that one go...

"Listen, he cheated on me with my best friend and I don't want to talk about it in detail. It happened a long time ago. Any other questions, Sherlock?"

Black runs his fingers through his hair in discomfort.

"I'm really sorry. He was a jerk. He didn't know what he was losing."

I feel like telling him that he'll never know, either, but I refrain because the evening would take a strange turn for sure.

"Ok, are you ready for a taste explosion?"

"I guess so..."

I offer him a bowl of poutine and serve myself some too. He looks at it as if I've offered him a bowl of mud.

"Believe me, it tastes much better than it looks."

I climb onto the counter of the island and start to eat.

"What are you doing on my counter?"

"Oh, relax a little and let yourself go! A little craziness doesn't hurt. My father and I always did this. It drove my mother crazy, but it was kind of like a tradition. We like to laugh at my mother's expense."

"Your parents sound great, Lou," he says, joining me on the counter, to my great surprise.

"For humans, you mean..."

"Exactly."

It's hard to change in the span of one meal, but some day, some day he'll get there.

"So, is this good enough to serve in your royal palace, Lord Black?"

"Actually, it's excellent! You'll have to give the recipe to Justin so he can perfect it."

"So, mine isn't good enough?" I say, teasing him.

He takes a big bite before continuing.

"You see what he can do with simple waffles, just imagine what he can do with this!"

We finish our meal talking about all and nothing. For dessert, I go back to the refrigerator and easily find all the ingredients I need.

I spread my treasures on the island, all the fixings for a sundae.

"What’s all this?" he asks, curiously.

"We're having a sundae party. I put out all the fixings, at least, everything I can find, and we'll each make the most ridiculous and gigantic sundae possible. But, you have to eat the whole thing."

"What a great idea!" he says, helping me to find more ingredients for the preparation.

In the end, we have marshmallows, candies, jelly beans, whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate syrup, butterscotch syrup, bananas and cookie dough. Just looking at this spread makes me want to dance. But there's one thing missing! Why didn't I think of it sooner?

"We need music! I have a playlist for nights like this. Do you have a wireless speaker?"

He nods and opens a small cupboard.

"Put your cellphone here and it will play through the whole house. You're speaking to a music lover, here, don’t forget."

I do as he says and choose my favorite playlist. The first song is "Do you love me?" by the Contours. It's inevitable, that song gets under my skin and makes me want to dance. I take my bowl and hand one to Black, dancing away as I go. I don't take myself seriously and wouldn't win any contests, but it’s so much fun! For a moment I forget where I find myself, I simply am. Black is there on the other side of the island, rooted to the ground, watching me without moving a muscle.

"Come one, let yourself go, Black! You need to relax a little, you'll see, it’s so much fun! Become a child for a moment, forget everything and do like me. We’re two free spirits and are only living for the moment."

I don't know if something I said reached him, but I want to find out. I grab a serving spoon and some whip cream and toss it in his face. He doesn't react, not a flinch. Oops, I made him mad.

Slowly he takes some of the whipped cream off his face and then whistles. Oh, oh! I'm in trouble now. The dishes on the island all lift off at the same moment and head straight for me. Now that's not fair! I run away as fast as I can, there's no way I can let him catch me! I turn and see that he is following me along with all of the dishes. Running out of the kitchen, I take a detour in the hallway, hoping to be able to lock myself in a bathroom, but he catches up to me just before I get to the room and grabs my wrist.

"Not so fast, little rabbit. You got your strike, now it's my turn."

In a fraction of a second, the contents of all the bowls are dumped. I guess he miscalculated their trajectory because he ends up as covered as I am. I laugh out loud and see that he’s smiling too. He’s so handsome when he laughs, it’s as if he takes some time to forget the darkness of his daily life. I bite my lip, trying to control the overwhelming desire to kiss him. He seems to know what I’m thinking because he stops laughing and looks me deep in the eyes. If only he could forget everything for just one night. I’m ready to take that fraction, that moment in his eternity, and never ask for anything more. I’ll leave with a broken heart, I know that, but I'm already past the point of no return anyway. Black has tattooed himself on my heart from the day I first set eyes on him.

“We need to clean all this up. Follow me,” he says, in such a serious tone that he makes me feel like a child.

He takes me by the hand and leads me to the bathroom.

“We’re going to practice your gift of water, get in the shower.”

He leads me into the huge shower stall and gets in with me. Through the speakers I can hear one of the songs on my list, “Give me love” by Ed Sheeran. No song could better represent the way I feel at this precise moment.

“Create rain, Lou,” he says, in the softest possible whisper.

I do what he asks and create a warm rainfall that takes over the space. Black seems so serious…he’s hard to read. He undoes the bun in my hair and delicately runs his fingers through each of the strands, gently and right to the ends, as if he were afraid to lose contact with me. He exhales slowly. His fingers continue down, now along my neck, then to my arm, and to my hand that he takes in his. He places my hand on his face and caresses his own cheek with the back of my hand, inhaling deeply. I don’t completely understand what’s happening, but I’m hypnotized and don’t want it to end. He caresses my skin with his lips as if it was an extension of his own hands and finally gives it a deep, long kiss. If this is the only thing I ever get from him, I will appreciate every second. He looks up and stares at me, probably his way of asking consent. I chew my lips once more in response to the obvious tension, and he immediately pushes me against the wall, grabbing the small of my back and putting one hand behind my head. Our wet bodies and his shirt that is stuck to his chest release any of the logical capacities my brain would have used to command me to stop this dangerous game.

In one possessive movement, Black’s nose is next to my face, exploring every inch of it. I grab the collar of his shirt to bring him closer to me and keep him where he is. It’s at that moment that I feel his body and his hand push harder on me. We are fully dressed, but I feel as if we could be naked, such is the vulnerability I feel at the touch of his hand. Never has anyone created such a vibration in me. He stops moving and puts his forehead against mine, staring at me more deeply than ever. I’m under the impression I can feel his soul, it’s as if an invisible thread connected us.