Still sitting in the backseat, trying to keep my distance and keep my lust at bay—not really working—I replied, “Start looking for a gas station. You’re running low.”
She was silent on the matter and started searching for a place to pull off the highway. As the sun came up over the horizon directly in front of us, there was a split second where I clearly saw óolal in the reflection of the rearview mirror. Her long black hair, her wide cheekbones, her full lips. It was only a moment, but it flooded my mind with feelings I’d buried long ago. I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to let them in. I couldn’t do this. Not again.
~~~
TEDDI
When I stopped along the road to get gas and grab a few supplies—water, snacks, and caffeine—I made every attempt to sneak a peek at the man in my backseat, who sadly had his face tilted down and eyes closed.
Seriously? He’d dozed off. I was about to wake him under the guise of needing directions, but really, I just wanted to see his face in broad daylight and gaze into those eyes. What would happen?
Anyway, I stomped down my gnawing curiosity and allowed the man to grab a few minutes of shut-eye, not bothering to wake him until we were back on the highway.
Afterwards, he told me to take a small road north, and we stayed on that for what seemed like forever. Then the green faded. No more trees or grass. Just desert and hills. My best guess was that we were somewhere northeast of Palm Springs and a few hours south of the Mohave Desert.
Mack had me turn down a lonely dirt road that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. No fresh tire tracks. No grooves from wear. Just a long flat stretch of golden dirt that disappeared between two hills up ahead.
Just a few meters in, I took my foot off the gas, feeling extremely uneasy. This couldn’t be a good idea. Then it hit me again. I felt that door inside my head swing open. Colors began seeping up from the ground. Reds, blacks, and blues swirling together.
Unable to breathe, I stopped the car completely. Then the wave of nausea hit. I put the car into park and bolted out the door, diving to my hands and knees, dry heaving. Nothing came out, but my stomach didn’t care.
“Try to relax, Theodora. You’re fighting it.” I felt a strong, soothing hand on my back.
Mack might as well have been stroking my breasts or inner thighs or kissing my lips. His touch felt intimate, tender and sensual.
Okay. Feeling better now. In fact, I felt the urge to jump to my feet and kiss him like a long-lost lover I missed with all my heart.
I shook my head from side to side, gathering up my crumbling wits. Oh look. I’m in the doggy position on the ground with my tongue hanging out. Nice.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and Mack gripped my arm to help me to my feet.
This is it, I realized. I was going to turn around and look him straight in the eyes. I already knew how beautiful he was, but the last time we’d locked eyes, it changed me.
His firm grip gently squeezing my upper arm, I slowly turned and gasped. Then my breath stuck in my lungs. Blue, so blue. I’d never seen such a stunning set of eyes on a man. And those lips and angular jaw covered in light brown stubble, and the shaggy dirty blond hair falling over his forehead and…
He’s so beautiful.
The morning sunlight bathed every masculine feature of his handsome face with soft golden light. I was speechless as he stared down at me.
“What?” he said dryly. “Never seen a three-thousand-year-old man before?” He cracked a sweet smile, and it nearly stopped my heart. Dimples puckered. His eyes lit up. His lips looked like they’d been created for the joy of sex and for laughter and for eating romantic dinners and whispering in my ear while making love and—
Hold the hell on there, Ted. I was not going to sleep with this man. Yeah, but you want to. And for someone like me to want someone as badly as I wanted him was complete insanity.
Welp. At least now you can relate to your patients.
I cleared my throat. “I think I’d like to know your beauty regimen,” I finally replied to his little wisecrack about his age. Of course. I didn’t believe he was that old.
But then, how do I explain all this? I asked myself.
You’re a freaking psychologist, Ted. And a woman with a strong brain. That was right. I had to fall back on that. There was a scientific and medical explanation for what was happening here. I was merely getting sucked into these people’s occult-like delusions, a victim of my emotions, which were all so new to me.