I walked a little ways, trying to keep my house in view, when I heard a soft laugh. I spun around. “You.” It was the beautiful boy from the forest, leaning against a stump rolling a coin through his fingers. My heart skipped in my chest at the sight of him.
“Hello again.”
When he smiled I noticed dimples. Lord, help me.
“What are you doing in my forest?” I asked in surprise.
His eyes widened. “Your forest? The last I checked this forest belonged to my brother.”
“Your brother? Who is your brother, and how can he own an entire forest?”
“Wow, a lot of questions. What if I don’t want to answer?” He stepped closer, causing me instant nervousness.
“Please,” I pleaded, making myself bat my eyes flirtatiously.
He laughed. “How could I deny you now? Well, my family has owned this forest from the beginning. My brother is the oldest, and it’s in his name now.”
“Where are your parents? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking, of course.”
“I don’t mind. They’re here too. Actually, I have two sets of parents. I was adopted, but have recently reconnected with my birth parents.”
Well, he is certainly more verbal today. “That must be nice.”
“Yes. It’s very nice. Would you like to take a walk with me?” He motioned deeper into the forest.
I instantly felt clammy. “Um, you mean go in there? I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. It could be dangerous in there.”
He stepped closer, taking my hand in his and peering down into my eyes. “I’ll protect you. I’m scarier than anything in there.”
“I-I”
“Oh, come on.”
He continued to hold my hand as we walked. He was amused at my hesitation. “I promise you’re safe with me. Why are you so afraid?”
I closed my eyes and focused on how wonderful it felt with my hand engulfed in his. I opened my eyes and glanced up at him. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you’ll tell me your name—your whole name, I’ll answer your question.”
He stared at me as if he was considering my offer. “Fine,” he finally said, “My name is Eli Nathaniel Drake. Now you.”
A very nice name, I thought to myself. “Hmm, okay. Well, I’ve been having nightmares about this forest.”
His eyes widened. “Nightmares? What kind of nightmares?”
“Well, something hairy and scary grabs me and carries me off every time I step into this forest.”
“Let me guess. You pass out from fear and wake up in your bed. Well, nothing’s carried you off this time.”
“That’s still debatable.”
“I assure you nothing will grab you in this forest except me.” He smiled down at me and my stomach instantly knotted.
“Where do you go to school?”
“I’m almost nineteen. I graduated at my school in Atlanta.”
“Oh, well why are you walking around in the forest anyway?” I asked curiously, peering up at him. What I really wanted to ask him was, why did it seem like he was stalking me?
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I guess I’m trying to overcome my fear—that or prove to myself that they were actually dreams and not reality.”
He stopped walking, peering down at me seriously. “You think it’s possible they really happened?”
“I’m starting to think so,” I admitted, although I wasn’t sure why I did. “The last dream I had I ripped my nightgown, and when I woke, my nightgown was really ripped.”
“Hmm, sounds interesting. What did your nightgown look like? Was it white and tight?”
I slapped his arm. “Stop.”
He laughed and ducked away, running deeper into the forest. “Come on!”
I lost sight of him, but could still hear him laughing.
“I’m not coming!” I yelled back. My feet were frozen in place. I was terrified to keep moving, but for some reason I wasn’t scared when Eli was with me.
Suddenly, I squealed as he ran up and grabbed me from behind. “I told you nothing would grab you except me.”
“Don’t do that!” I shrieked. “You scared me!”
“Oh please.” He waved his hand dismissively, as if he thought I was overreacting.
“You’re a little too bold for your own good I think.”
He laughed. “Yeah, that’s what my sister-in-law tells me.”
“Your brother is married then?”
“Yes. She’s a pain in my butt, but I love her. She’s the reason for this red streak in my hair. My brother and I are twins, and she keeps getting us mixed up.” He laughed at some hidden memory, and I was instantly curious, but before I could ask he interrupted.
“What do you think grabbed you in your dreams anyway?” His eyes widened, waiting for my reply.
“I’m not sure, but it was big and furry with snarling teeth.” I said, shuddering at the memory.
His eyes narrowed. “It sounds like a werewolf to me.”
“A werewolf?” I thought about that for a moment. “Yes, yes, now that I think about it, it was a werewolf.”
He looked at me skeptically. At least that’s what I thought he looked like. Maybe I was just paranoid. “And you think there are real werewolves running around?”
I shrugged. “Do you?” I was suddenly afraid to admit it. Would he think I was crazy?
He shrugged. “Hey, anything’s possible.”
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
“Of course, that’s why I like you—and I believe you.”
My eyes widened. “Really?”
He began to walk toward me, taking one baby step after another. “Really.”
“You don’t think I’m a freak?”
His eyebrows arched. “Why would I think that?”
He had me backed totally against the tree now, his face just inches from mine.
“Because my eyes are different.”
“I happen to like your eyes. It’s the first thing I noticed about you, even in the dark I could make them out clearly. I think you have beautiful eyes. As a matter of fact, I think everything about you is beautiful.” His mouth came down on mine then, and I was powerless to refuse him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew him closer. His mouth ravaged mine, over and over.