Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (21 page)

The four of us
made small talk for about thirty minutes.  Then Bianca said, “So Camille, how are you holding up?  This is all new for you.”

Camille answered,
“I love it here.  I’m a little in awe of everything.  A week ago I thought I was all alone in the world.  I’m still a little surprised every morning that I wake up to find out I really do have a family, I’m living on the east coast
,
and
. . .
the other stuff.”

“The other stuff, you mean – being a magical, mythical being?”  Bianca, Brent and I could
n’t
help but laugh
,
and Camille looked flustered.  I felt bad for her
.  T
his was a pretty astronomical shock, but she seemed to be taking it all in stride.

“Yeah, something like that.”  Camille readjusted on her deck chair.  When she did
,
she stretched her long tanned legs out
,
pointed her toes
,
rest
ed
her head on her palms
,
soaking up every bit of the sun’s rays.  In my mind I started fantasizing all sorts of things that were grossly inappropriate
,
and forced myself to look adoringly at Bianca.  Although
Bianca was
absolutely beautiful
with
her
pale
blue eyes and blonde hair
-
my eyes continued to wander to Camille
.  I was ashamed of myself
. 
I was acting like a hormone
-
filled teenager – not the way an engaged Centaur should behave. 

“Hey, Brent,” Bianca asked, “Do you have any video games on this thing?”

“There’s an
Xbox
K
inect in one of the staterooms.”

“Oh, I love those.  I need to get out of the sun for a little while
.  C
ould we go play?”

Brent looked at me as if it were my responsibility to object
. 
I agreed
.  “We should all go.”

“Don’t be silly!  You stay up here and keep Camille company.  She’s got the complexion of a Mayan Goddess
.  I
t’s good for her to keep working on her tan – she’s still got a man to find.”

Brent stammered, “Bianca, I don’t think it’s such a great idea for us to be alone in a stateroom.”

“Oh, do you have feelings for me
,
Brent?”
s
he asked sarcastically.

“No! I mean . . . it would
n’t
be appropriate
. 
I mean, I don’t think Drake would. . .” Brent was stammering and looked like he needed a life preserver.

Bianca’s angelic voice
asked
, “Drake, you don’t mind if Brent and I play the
X
box for a little while, do you?”

“Uh, no, that’s okay
with me
.”
  I should have objected.  I should have insisted we all go below deck together, but I didn’t. 

She squealed and leapt from her deck chair, “Great! Okay
,
here, keep Camille company,”
she
motion
ed
for me to take the seat she had just vacated. 
Before I even had a chance to protest
,
she was through the cabin door
with
Brent reluctantly following her down the stairs.

I was so nervous I thought I was going to get sea sick
. 
I couldn’t think of anything clever to say
,
and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Camille.  She must have sensed my vibes because she didn’t seem comfortable making eye contact with me either.  I knew I need
ed
to say something before she realized how
I ached
for her.

“So, do you miss California?”

“I do, but not as bad as I thought I would.  Gretchen and Will are pretty amazing
.  I
t’s a little like every day
’
s a vacation.”

“I know it isn’t any of my business, but
are you a
full-blooded
Centaur
?”
  I knew from what Bianca had told me
that
she was, but I had to keep myself distracted.
  It was possible for a Centaur and human to marry and have a family, but
those children were shunned from our community.  Will would have never had Camille at Bruce’s wedding if she weren’t pureblood.

“Yeah,” she answered with a chuckle, “but I think I’m a defective one.”

“Defective?”

“I’m told I’m supposed to be able to communicate with spirits
. 
I can see my mom sometimes
,
but I can’t hear her.  I’m supposed to be able to see the future, but I can’t even tell if that cloud over there is going to produce rain.  I definitely can’t read minds either.  Too bad I didn’t come with a
receipt;
Will might want to return me.”

“I doubt that
. 
I think all that just takes practice.”

“I hope so.”

“It’s all still new.  Bianca told me you only found out about everything a week ago.”

“Not even a week ago.  I called Will Tuesday night and was on a plane a few hours later.” 

Her eyes were so kind and full of life.  I envied her for not having grown up like the rest of us.  From the time I was a toddler
,
I knew what I was, knew that I had to hide my strength and speed from humans, deny who I was.  I longed to touch her skin, feel the warmth of her flesh; I shook off my
irrational
desires and tried to stay on subject.  “But you didn’t know you were a Centaur?”

“Uh, no.  I thought I’d found my long lost father.  I wasn’t expecting any of this.”

“Why didn’t your mom tell you, I mean, before. . .”  I stopped in mid-sentence when I saw Camille was still sensitive about her mother’s death.  Her eyes clouded right there in front of me
,
and she pursed her lips together.  I’d struck a chord I didn’t mean to and wanted to comfort her.
  “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.  I’m not always such a head case.  I just miss her.”  Camille was in so much pain.  I tried to reason that if I only had a single parent and lost
her
,
then was tossed into all the complexities of our society
,
I didn’t think I would handle it as well as she was handling it.
     

In a happier voice, Camille said,
“Let me try to read your mind.”

“Uh, no.  That’s okay.  I keep mine blocked all the time.”
  Panic swept me.  I was able to keep my mind blocked, but I worried about my defenses if I
got too close
to her
.
  I couldn’t let her know how she’d affected me, or how much I wanted her.

Camille laughed,
“Even better, so I can practice without worry of seeing some gross
guy stuff
.”

I froze,
“Uh, Camille, I don’t think that’s such a great idea.”  She ignored me and looked into my eyes
;
mine refused to look away.   I blocked my thoughts with more force than I’d ever used in my life.

She looked a little frustrated with herself
,
and I breathed a sigh of relief.  Camille confessed,
“Huh, nothing
.  L
et me try this.” 
She swung her legs over the side of the deck chair so we were seated facing each other.  Camille
put her hands on either side of my
temples
;
our lips were mere inches apart.  I heard the splashing of the waves, a seagull echoing a warning overhead
,
and breeze whipping the flag at the ship’s stern. 
I continued blocking my thoughts, refusing to let my wall crumble.

Camille repositioned her hands from my temples, sliding them down, cradling my face in her palms.  Her gentle touch threw me off guard
.  I
n
that moment I didn’t care if she read every thought in my head
.  My mind’s wall disintegrated in front of both of us
.  Her eyes widened
when
she saw a glimpse of my desire
for her
.  I knew I could control my impulses no matter how strong they were to take her in my arms and hold her body to mine. 
I had just filled her mind with images of the two of us
,
where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing with her: walking in a tall meadow
,
the sun bearing down
;
on a snowcapped mountain
,
the only heat from our intertwined bodies
;
swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean near a deserted alcove.  I savored each of these fantasies and shamelessly shared them with her, each more erotic than the previous.

What I wasn’t expecting was
her reaction to what was going through my mind.  I expected her to slap me, to leap away and scream, to call me hundreds of names that I deserved – I never expected that
her mouth
would
close the gap with mine
in an instant
.

Her eyes closed
,
and I felt her soft lips press
hard
on
to
mine.  My arms did the unthinkable and pulled her seated body off
her
deck chair and fully onto me.  My veins, that last night felt like ice was coursing through them when I saw her, now had molten lava pumping through my body
,
and I had no recourse but to melt into her.
  Nothing else in
the
world mattered
beyond
the feel of her skin against me
,
the heat that generated between us
,
and her mouth on mine.  We sat wrapped in each other for
a short time
before we both came to our senses and released. 

As I felt her body go tense, I sputtered out,
“I’m so sorry
,
Camille, I didn’t mean for. . .I’m so sorry.”

She shook her head, “I wasn’t expecting
. . .
the images.
”  I could see the turmoil on her face.  “
Drake,” she realized she was still wrapped around me and stood up, distancing herself from me, “we can’t.”

With a heavy heart,
threatening to
slowly break in this moment, “I know.”  I hung my head, unable to look into her brown eyes.

“I mean, we can’t let that happen again, ever.”

“I know.”

“You’re engaged to Bianca.”

“I know.”

“
If she ever finds out. . .”

I looked up, purposely not
making contact with
her eyes, “She won’t.  I’m sorry.  I don’t know what came over me.”

Camille took the towel off of her deck chair
,
wrapped herself up in it
and sat down
.  I
knew I shouldn’t
,
but I
felt a longing for Camille
.  T
he towel could have been made of kryptonite
,
and it wouldn’t have diminished my hunger. 
She stammered,
“I should apologize to you.  You told me not to try
. . . you know
. . .
to read your mind
.”  Her face flushed a deep crimson
,
and
I
wondered if she had
been reacting to my desire
or if she had
a yearning
of her own.

I knelt down beside her and rested my head on her knees, “
I’m an idiot.  I knew I shouldn’t have come
.”  She didn’t make a sound
,
and I didn’t have the courage to look at her.  “
I
swear I
didn’t plan this.”

I felt Camille’s fingers running through my hair.
 
Her words were quiet, “I
think we should steer clear of each other
.”

“
Yeah,”
I wrapped my arms around her shins
,
still not able to l
et go
, “I promise, Camille, I’ll never do something like that again.
  I’ll take it to the grave.
”