chapter FOURTEEN
“No!” I cried out.
Vittorio turned. “What is it?”
My whole body ached. Some amorphous thing tried to tear its way out of my body. “Please, don’t go,” I whispered in a weak voice, clinging to the bed.
“I am sorry, Elena, I must.” He turned again.
As he took a step, that thing tore out of me and rushed for him. It hurt so badly, I was surprised it had no form.
He stopped, then collapsed to the floor. “Sarah!” he shouted.
She appeared in the doorway a moment later.
“Call Samuel. Tell him to get over here now.”
The whites of Sarah’s eyes showed as she wrung her hands.
“Now!” he bellowed.
She ran off, presumably to call Samuel. He was the last person I wanted to see just then. Whatever it was that was reaching for Vittorio agreed, and subsided just a little.
“I apologize, Elena, but he is the only one who can help us right now.” Sweat poured down his face. He gripped the door frame in what I assumed was an attempt to keep himself from coming closer to me.
“What’s going on?” Tears streamed down my face. My whole body shook.
“Your power seems to be reacting a little more strongly than I expected. It does not want me to leave. Do you feel as if something is tearing out of you?”
I nodded.
“That is your power. It is trying to bring us together.”
My power flared again, reaching for him, an invisible hand pulling him toward me. I realized I was physically reaching for him. My body ached for him.
Vittorio walked to the bed, moaned wordlessly, and fell to the ground. “I do not want to hurt you. My power is responding too strongly to you. I cannot control it. I want you too badly, Elena, and while you may feel as if you want me as well, I am almost certain you will regret it once your power has subsided. Samuel must help us. I only hope I can hold out until he gets here.”
“How long will that take?”
“He lives twenty minutes away. I hope he is home.”
I sobbed wordlessly.
“Go into the bathroom. Lock the door.”
I stood, but found myself walking toward Vittorio, not the bathroom. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around him. His body burned beneath my hands, hotter than any human should be. I pulled his face down to mine, kissing him passionately.
He held my face in his hands and returned the kiss. My hands explored his body, the hard muscle beneath his clothes. I pressed myself against him even more firmly, gasped when I felt how much he wanted me. I wanted him naked with me in that bed.
“Vittorio?” Sarah had returned.
Vittorio forced his face from mine and turned to look at Sarah. “Pull Elena into the bathroom. Quickly, please.”
I grasped him more tightly, against my will.
He pried my hands off him and Sarah pulled me toward the bathroom. “It hurts!” she cried out.
My power tried to push her away, violently fighting the person keeping it from what it wanted - Vittorio.
“Please Sarah, we need your help. I promise you will not be harmed, even if it hurts now. It is all in your mind; it is not real,” Vittorio said.
She continued to drag me to the bathroom. I fought her the entire way. She pushed me in, hard, and slammed the door.
I huddled in the farthest corner on the cold tile floor, hugging my knees to my chest, crying and trying to fight the invisible thing although I didn’t know how. Desperate need for Vittorio threatened my sanity. I hoped Samuel would get there soon.
Ages later, the bathroom door burst open. I thought it was Vittorio and flung myself at him, wrapping my arms and legs around his body. I was chagrined to find it was Samuel to whom I clung. My power immediately receded, disappointed.
He carried me to the bed, where I collapsed, exhausted.
I was relieved and disappointed not to see Vittorio in the room.
I resented the fact that Samuel seemed to be all I had for help. He already thought poorly of me; I didn’t want him to see me so weak, so out of control. I didn’t want anyone to see me like that. “What’s happening to me?” He held me and stroked my hair like a child.
“Didn’t Vittorio explain it to you?”
“He did, but I’ve never experienced magic, never knew it was real. I don’t really understand what’s going on. I mean, I’ve seen movies and stuff, but this is real. Samuel, it’s real. It’s happening to me. I don’t understand.” I hated the fact that he held me while I cried and pulled away.
“I’m sorry I’m the one here.”
Was he sorry for me, or sorry for himself that he had to help Vittorio’s “latest arm candy?”
“I did not understand what you were, but now I understand what Vittorio sees in you.”
Was that his way of apologizing again for the way he treated me earlier? It didn’t matter. “Just help me, please.”
“I will do everything I can. You have my word.”
I didn’t believe his word was as good as Vittorio’s, but I had little choice other than to accept it.
“You can sleep here tonight. Vittorio is going to stay at my house,” Samuel said.
“Is that necessary?” I wanted comfort. I was in no state to be alone with my newfound power, and the next best thing to my own bed was Vittorio lying next to me.
“We’re not sure, but don’t want to take any chances. I will stay here tonight. In the morning, I will begin training you. If you want to be with Vittorio, we can’t waste any time.”
“Thank you, Samuel.”
He stood.
“Will you sit with me until I fall asleep?”
He sat back down on the edge of the bed as I pulled the blanket up to my chin.
“I feel so silly. I feel like a child hiding from the monster under the bed.”
“Don’t feel silly, Elena. This is a dangerous thing you’re dealing with. I was scared too when I discovered my power. Vittorio won’t let anything happen to you though.”
How the hell could I work this case when I had some crazy, magical ability I knew nothing about? How could I be objective enough when my whole body ached for this man I barely knew? I needed to get this situation - and my life - back under control as soon as I possibly could.