“You can borrow one of mine. No biggie.” Becky skipped over to her dresser, took out the top drawer, and tipped it over onto her bed. Bikinis of all different colors were scattered all over.
I picked up a plain black one, tried it on, and the bikini fit perfectly. I just didn't like my flat ass. I wanted it to be plumper.
After dinner,we slipped out of the castle and grabbed our bags that were stashed by the bushes close to the entrance. We picked them up and made a run to Sammy and Becky's sanctuary. It took about fifteen minutes just to get there, but I was glad I didn’t chicken out. I was even happier once we arrived, and I took in the picturesque surrounding.
The tall trees and huge boulders lining the lake and cloaked-in shadows made the place look a bit creepy, but with the stars and the full moon shining on the lake, the place took on a life of its own. The smooth surface of the lake was completely still, and the moon reflecting off the water gave it the appearance of an enormous mirror. It was as if the lake was filled with liquid mercury. As soon as we arrived at the edge, Becky and Sammy yanked off their tops and ran straight into the lake still wearing their shorts.
“Come on, Elena, the water is perfect!” Becky yelled back encouragingly.
Checking the sky, I noticed that the weather was starting to play up. To hell with it. I took off my clothes and joined the girls. The small pebbles hurt my feet as I tiptoed into the lake, but I stopped noticing as soon as I hit the water.
The water felt warm, not quite bathwater, but pretty close. We enjoyed splashing and dunking each other's heads so much that none of us was paying attention to what was happening on shore. All of a sudden, the bushes near where we left our bags started to quiver. We turned into pillars, frozen in the eerie darkness. Flashes of whatever might be lurking in the bushes drove me nuts, as I tried to figure out what was stalking us.
A tall figure with blonde hair emerged from the bushes. A dark-haired boy followed him.
“Lucian!” Becky splashed water in his direction. “You'll give me a freaking heart attack!”
My heart started to beat faster.
“Why are you scared?” he said, chuckling. “You've got Sammy here.”
Hot flushes went through my entire body, and my stomach rolled around as if it was now home to a million trapped butterflies.
Slowly he walked to the edge of the lake and took off his shirt. For the love of blueberries, I was going to faint. His silhouette was all lean muscles and ripped abs shining in the moonlight. The effect made him look like a Da Vinci statue.
I dipped my head under the water to cool off, hoping he hadn’t noticed my stare.
When I came back up for air, his back was turned towards us. Finally able to tear my gaze away, I noticed that the dark-haired boy wasn't bad looking either.
“Hi, Dean. Long time no see,” Sammy said in a flirty way.
“Hi, Sammy,” the dark-haired boy with beautiful legs said in singsong tone. She giggled.
Lucian jumped, cannonball-style, into the deeper part of the lake, with Dean right behind him.
Dean came up first, and I looked anxiously for Lucian. There was no way he could stay that long under water. I shrieked when he emerged right in front of me, sending water flying everywhere.
Lucian laughed as he stood before me, dripping water. “Hello, Elena,” he said in a seductive voice.
I couldn't help but smile, thinking about what Becky and Sammy had said. I would give anything for the girls' rumors to be true.
“Hi, Lucian. What are you doing here? I thought you were one of the spoiled brats that went home over weekends.” It slipped out without me even thinking. I didn't know where I had gotten the guts to say that.
He bit his lower lip, which made me lose my breath.
“I'm not a spoiled brat,” he said in a serious tone, and splashed me. The corner of his mouth twitched, giving his bluff away.
Dean emerged from watery depths, like Rambo, and grabbed Lucian from behind. Reaching an arm around his neck, Dean took him under the water with him. We all laughed at the two playing with each other. Eventually the game dissolved into a big dunking contest.
I tried to swim away and yelled when Lucian caught hold of my foot, yanking me under. When we came up, his arms were around my waist and his face was only inches from mine.
I could feel my heart pounding and wondered if he could feel it too.
He stared at me with those smoldering eyes, searching for something hidden in my gaze, and then gave me one of his million-dollar smiles.
I smiled back like an idiot. He leaned in closer. My body shivered from head to toe as our lips touched.
It felt like a dream, and I decided if it was, I needed to make that kiss last for as long as I possibly could before I woke up. I opened my mouth and started to kiss him back passionately. My hands got tangled up in his wet hair as I leaned in for more. It was the most amazing and perfect first kiss a girl could ask for.
His mouth felt as if it was made to fit mine. There wasn't a nose or chin in the way, and our tongues danced in perfect rhythm. It made me want more.
He pulled away softly. With my chin cupped in his hand, he made a satisfying grunt as if he had just finished his favorite meal.
Heat jolted up to my face. I was glad that he couldn't see me blushing in the dark.
“I’ve wanted to do that since the first day I saw you,” he whispered, and wrapped his arms tighter around me.
My legs curled around his waist. I just wanted to kiss him again, I couldn’t get enough.
“I hope you don't mind.”
“Oh, you would have known if I did,” I said. Our lips found each other again.
Lightning rumbled, making us both break away and look up at the threatening sky.
“I think we should call it a night,” he said.
I complained silently, as I wanted to spend more time with him.
Becky and the others were already busy getting out of the lake as we swam over to them. I felt insecure that I wasn't wearing shorts too, just my bikini bottom.
I made a run for my towel as lightning sliced through a tree nearby. Red sparks shot in all directions from the impact and jumped off the branches.
I shrieked, terrified, and found myself in Lucian's arms once again.
Lucian laughed, but stopped and immediately let go as something caught his attention. He darted towards the clearing behind me.
I turned around and found Becky lying flat on the ground. My hands covered my mouth in horror as electricity danced along her body. She shook violently as if she was having a seizure.
Lucian crouched beside her and started to search for something. He shouted orders to us, but they sounded hollow.
I just stared with huge, unblinking eyes at Becky lying helplessly on the ground.
Sammy reached her at the same time and fell to her knees. Her arm stretched out toward Becky.
“Don't touch her, Sammy!” Lucian smacked her hand away.
“But, Lucian!”
“Touch her and your ass gets fried too,” Lucian said. “Elena, go get Constance and Master Longwei.”
My feet were nailed to the floor as I tried to process the situation playing out before me.
“Elena! Now!” he roared, this time waking me from my stupor.
The fear that had consumed me disappeared and I ran as fast as I could back to the main building.
At about the halfway mark, the trees started to blur around me. I realized my tears were making it difficult to see the path and wiped them away determinedly with the back of my hand.
I found the main building and yanked the door open. Pain crawled up my legs and my lungs burned as I kept running. I heaved like a vacuum cleaner by the time I reached Master Longwei's dorm.
“Master Longwei, come!” I shouted, the fear still evident in my voice.