Chapter Five – Sparks
1538 Words
Marina POV
With the bright moonlight streaming in through the gaps in the foliage, the forest looked ethereal now that I had company. The stranger rode in silence when suddenly he applied the brakes. It was so abrupt; I crashed against his hard back. Warmth flooded my veins and so did the telltale electric current I felt earlier. I shouldn’t have straddled the motorcycle!
“Hold on!” Butterflies fluttered in my stomach at hearing his raspy voice! I was sure I had heard it before, but couldn’t recall where. Maybe I could if he took off his helmet.
Before I could steady myself and scoot back a little, another jerk had me plastered to his back. I could feel the contours of every fiery muscle rippling against me! It made my body react like it never had before! I wrapped my arms around his torso and clung to him.
My heartbeats thumped wildly, and goosebumps erupted on my skin. Unaware of the turbulence going on inside me, he picked up speed.
It only made me tighten my hold on him. Who wanted to fall off a speeding motorcycle?
He scooted a little backward, leaving no space between us, as if knowing my unstable condition. I felt dizzy as the trees whizzed past me.
“Can’t you slow down this thing?” I yelled so that he could hear me through his helmet. He heard me, yet he didn’t slow down, and I helplessly clung to the stranger for dear life. Within minutes, we crossed the forested patch and followed the meandering path along the Clarion River. He slowed down, and I relaxed my hold on him. I was bursting with questions by now.
Who was he? Did he live in the mansion? Why was he being so nice to me? Why did he give me a lift? How did he know where I lived? I stared at his haughty back, but couldn’t utter a single word. For the first time in my life, I was rendered dumbfounded by a man. He was no ordinary man. He was the only one to whom my body reacted. It was strange indeed. He was a stranger to me, yet I was acutely aware of his body against mine. If his body was so drooling hot, I wondered how he looked!
‘Don’t even go into that, Marina!’ chided my inner mind. He could be a murderer or a criminal for all I knew. I would be thankful if I reached my house safely.
I released him and scooted backward, placing some distance between us. I just wanted to reach home and end this torture. Anyway, I wouldn’t need to interact with him again. Therefore, it was better I didn’t know his identity.
The motorcycle screeched to a halt, and I was back at square one! Again, the same hard muscles against my body, the flutter in my stomach, and the same electric current coursing through my body! How was I the only one affected by him? Didn’t he feel a thing when his body touched mine? The way he just rode on without a care in the world, it seemed the fire was a one-sided affair. Thus, I burned and ached, feeling his muscular thighs brush against mine. No, this was wrong. I shouldn’t feel this way about a stranger. I had to stop!
“You can drop me here. I’ll walk down.” He grunted with displeasure and rode on, picking up speed. I clung to him, closing my eyes to stop feeling dizzy. This would be the first and last time I rode a motorcycle. Soon we crossed Hemlock Village, speeding along the familiar roads now.
I opened my eyes and looked around the place. It was a fifteen minutes walk from here to my house. I could do this! “Drop me here then.” No answer!
My eyes widened when he took the forest trail at the edge of Cherryville. At the end of it was my house, but how did he know? “How do you know where I live?” Again, no answer! A shudder went down my spine and all I wanted was to get off his motorcycle and run. Was he for real? The thought spooked me and I released him immediately, scooting backward.
He stopped at the clearing and switched off the ignition. I could see my house right ahead silhouetted against the moonlit sky. “Thank you for the lift.” I alighted and ran towards my house without a backward look. I didn’t have the courage to see him. What if he wasn’t human?
‘Don’t be silly!’ scoffed my inner mind, but I hardly paid any heed to it. Anything was possible at night in such a secluded place! I took out my keys from my handbag and fumbled with the lock. Somehow, I had the uncanny feeling of being watched. Was the stranger still there? Was he waiting for an opportunity to pounce on me? I didn’t want to turn and check. I unlocked the door and rushed in to turn on the lights.
With the lights on, I felt a little better and turned around to close the main door. I could see him still there, sitting on his motorcycle and watching me. Then he took off his helmet, and I gasped with shock at seeing his golden orbs flashing at me. This was the second time he saved me! I wanted to run to him and ask him his identity, but he pulled on the helmet, the tinted glass covering his face well. Was it a figment of my imagination, or was he really my golden-eyed savior?
In a minute, he sped away, back the way he had brought me. I slowly closed the door, more confused than ever before. Who was he? How did he know where I lived?
I trudged on towards my room to freshen up. Despite the warm shower, I couldn’t erase him from my mind. I made dinner absent-mindedly since all I could think of was my golden-eyed savior. Why did my body react this way to him? It was true he was the hottest male specimen on earth, but so was Arian Freling. How did I not feel a thing for him? The sparks I felt for the golden-eyed stranger were real. I hadn’t imagined them at all.
After a quick dinner, I wrapped the household chores and went up to my bedroom. The whole day’s events played in my mind, leaving me disturbed. I took out the diamond earrings I planned to sell to pay off the rent. My heart constricted with pain even at the thought of selling off the last memories of my mom and granny. These had more emotional value attached to them. They belonged to my granny. She gave them to my mom, who left them for me. I couldn’t part with them for anything in the world!
Tears crept into my eyes at the thought of selling them.
No, I had to think of an alternative. I felt helpless and tearful at the thought of losing my granny’s business. What would Mr. Feyrer do if I couldn’t pay the rent in a month? I didn’t want to think about it now. I had a month to think of. Yet I lay awake on my bed thinking of an alternative. There were none!
The only thing I had was this house, but it had so many memories. I couldn’t even think of selling it. I hadn’t unlocked my mom’s room yet after my granny’s death. All my life, I had been driven away from my home. My parents were a taboo subject and my granny always reacted violently. I stopped asking her anything related to them. Since the day I was born, I have never stepped inside my mother’s room. In fact, I didn’t know where Granny hid the keys!
On returning to this house, I had been too busy reviving the business and getting a grip on myself. It took me a mammoth effort to get adjusted to my new identity. I was an orphan now with no one to call my own. I have been struggling ever since. Although now granny was no more, I didn’t look for the keys to my mom’s room. With so many unearthed secrets abounding here, I couldn’t sell this place.
Again, the tears of helplessness slipped out of my eyes. I felt claustrophobic! Getting up, I opened the window and sucked the fresh air into my system.
A soul-wrenching howl of a wolf echoed around in the still forest. It was so near me I could feel its pain! Realization struck me and I looked around with fear. I didn’t want to be a wolf’s dinner! A shudder went down my spine, but I saw no one.
I quickly closed the window and lay on my bed, pulling the blanket over me. Another howl followed, and it seemed nearer to my window now. Would the beast break it open and eat me up like in Little Red Riding Hood?
Maybe I would have to sell this house and move into a studio apartment in the marketplace.
- Writer
