Souls of Fire (7 page)

This group, also known to a precious few by their true name ‘Haven’, was
not
made up of a mass of people running around clothed in black from head to foot, wearing gothic make-up and jewelry, hanging out at graveyards or shopping at so-called magic shops for new age spell books, black candles, tarot cards, incense, love potions and the like.

This society was old, dated back to the middle ages, the dark ages. The knowledge it held was apparently handed down from generation to generation to a minority of chosen men and women who early on in life showed signs of being special.

The society’s secrets were carefully confined within the so-called different covens that made up the Haven, never to be leaked out into the open, lest they should fall into the hands of outsiders. No outsider had ever been nor would ever be welcomed into its fold.

As it stood, few outsiders even knew of its existence, since the members of the clandestine covens didn’t parade their true identities. They wore normal clothes when out in the open and behaved like everyone else.

The only reason Aaron knew about this group, was that Adam Wright, his former professor, mentor, and more importantly the father figure who had taken him in at an early age and had taught Aaron everything he knew, had confided his knowledge in him.

He had made a big deal about it, telling Aaron, under no circumstances was he ever supposed to tell anything of what he had been told to another soul. He had told him that his life might be in danger, and that he wanted to tell Aaron what he knew in case anything happened to him.

Of course, Aaron, though putting on a show of taking every word seriously out of respect for his mentor, had not believed a word of it. Had it been anyone other than Adam Wright, he would have told that person straight to his face to get professional help. But he couldn’t do that to his mentor.

He hadn’t seen Adam since this disclosure three months ago, and he sincerely hoped he was okay.

Though Aaron didn’t allude to the secret society in his classes, and even though he still thought the old man to be deluded, a small part of him had almost believed him today.

A small part of him had wondered if it could indeed be true, and if they had sent the redheaded witch to ensnare him, having found out somehow that he knew, and fearing he would talk.

However, he didn’t believe in witches or in the occult, it was too absurd! And, although he couldn’t deny that something strange was happening to him, he just didn’t believe it had anything to do with this weird ‘cult’ or that the girl was anything but a ‘little girl’ who happened to be very attractive.

After all, what kind of a powerful witch, sent to seduce him, would faint from the mere touch of his lips? Well, there had been a bit more involved than just lips, he thought, but even so.

Carefully, Aaron touched his fingers to the girl’s neck, checking for a pulse. Nothing weird happened. There was no second episode of flashing white light or anything of the sort.

Feeling her slow but steady pulse, he let out a quiet, resigned sigh and picked her up off the ground, cradling her in his arms and heading for his own boarding room on campus.

There was nothing for it. He was responsible for her. He had been with her when she lost consciousness, and there was nobody else who could take care of her now and see to it that she got indoors safely.

And nobody who wouldn’t ask a thousand questions about how it came to be that a thirty year old college professor had been hanging out with an eighteen year old student in the dark deserted park late at night.

Even though it wasn’t forbidden for a professor to see a college student, it wasn’t looked upon with a friendly eye, and if there was one thing he could do without at the moment, it was gossip!

Carefully avoiding any areas he knew to be frequented by students or professors at this time of night, he slowly navigated toward his room.

Though he would never wish her dead ― he wasn’t a monster after all ― he couldn’t help but feel that his life would have been less complicated if she hadn’t merely been unconscious.

M
y eyes were closed, but I was slowly regaining consciousness. I could feel my body being rocked gently up and down and wondered dimly if I was on a boat, when the rest of my senses kicked in.

I could make out the faint scent I had picked up earlier in Aaron Chambers’ embrace. I also felt his strong arms cradling me and realized why my body was moving up and down. He was carrying me.

Even though I was fully awake now, I left my eyes closed, not wanting to forfeit the wonderful sensation of being held this way the moment he realized I didn’t need to be carried any longer.

I reveled in the feel of his soft, warm skin, where my forehead cradled against his neck while he carried me, and drank in the sensation of his powerful muscles moving against my body as he supported my weight.

Idly I wondered where he was taking me. Since I didn’t believe he knew my room number, I assumed he must be taking me to the on-campus hospital wing, so that I could receive medical attention. I very much doubted there would be anyone there at this hour, but maybe there was an emergency bell.

Keeping my eyes tightly shut, I resisted the urge I felt every now and then to open them and see where we were heading. I felt him shift his weight, pull open the entrance door to a building, and climb up a flight of steps.

When he halted a couple of footsteps down the hall, adjusted his position, obviously fumbling around for something in the pocket of his jeans, I realized with a plummeting sensation in my stomach, that he must have brought me to his own room.

I hadn’t even entertained the thought that he would be boarding at college. Most professors lived nearby or at least close enough to drive to work every morning.

A few moments ago I hadn’t wanted to forgo the feeling of him carrying me, but now things had changed in the space of a heartbeat. I was terrified at the thought of being alone with him in his room. Not only because I had difficulty dealing with the physical entanglement that had started between us, but because I was so intimidated by him.

He had a mature, self-assured, and sensual way about him that made me feel cowed in his presence. I felt like an insecure little girl next to him and didn’t know how to act or how to say anything that didn’t sound completely stupid or infantile.

Throw in his hostile behavior toward me,
I thought,
and the intimidation is complete!

I had no idea why Aaron Chambers had behaved toward me in such a violent, ungentlemanly manner. He had acted as if I had done something to him. Maybe he had confused me with somebody else, I guessed wildly.

Or maybe he hadn’t liked the way he had reacted to me. Experience or no experience, I could tell he had been as turned on as I had. He had felt the heat, the desire between us just as strongly. That much I was sure of.

But he had somehow acted as if whatever was happening between us was all my fault! Goading me, and making me nearly desperate enough with need to beg for more!

Well, I didn’t beg!

He could goad me all he wanted, I would
never
beg.

How could he put the blame on me, when he probably knew as little about what the hell was going on as I did? What made this attraction between us exclusively my fault? It was highly unfair that he should dislike me so much without reason!

Unfair, yes, but unfortunately true. I could feel his dislike of me very clearly, and for reasons completely beyond my comprehension and utterly void of sanity, I felt hurt by his hostility!

I shouldn’t feel hurt, I mused, I should run screaming for cover from a man who treated me thus, and hold on to the little shred of self-respect I still had.

All I had to do now, I thought as I felt myself being laid down on a soft mattress, was keep my eyes closed and play unconscious until he left the room, and then make a run for it.

Cowardly behavior? Definitely, but I didn’t believe the shred of self-respect that had me running away from him would be enough for a face to face confrontation.

Well, you can’t have everything in life!

T
he moment she had regained consciousness, Aaron was aware of it. He could tell, not only by the way her breathing had sped up and become irregular, but because he could feel her consciousness flicker back to life.

He thought she would throw a tantrum, kick and scream, and insist that he should let her down at once. However, she didn’t move a muscle, pretending not to be awake.

He had been heading toward his room for all of five minutes when she had started to come to. Hesitating for a moment, he wondered if he should put her down and let her walk to her own room under her own power, now that she was no longer unconscious, when another thought struck him.

Why not play along, if she was so intent on miming the damsel in distress, having him carry her, even though she was well able to walk again herself, he thought.

Evidently, she was hoping he would take her to his room, so that they could finish what they’d started, he thought, amused by her being so naïve as to believe he wouldn’t see through her little charade.

Maybe, he mused, he would play along just enough to make her head spin a little, right before he showed her the door and bid her good night.

He already knew he had no hope of resisting her completely. But he would not spend the night with her. Anything that went beyond a couple of kisses would be taking it too far.

Apart from the obvious reason, the dangerous lack of control he felt when he was with her, there was another reason for not wanting to go too far. She might get attached to him, and he didn’t need an attachment of any sort, not now, and certainly not in the future.

He liked his life, liked that he was free to come and go as he pleased, that he didn’t need to explain himself to anyone. He would not have his life dictated by any woman, especially not by a little girl.

When he reached his room, he laid her down on his king-sized bed, noiselessly locked the door, and turned around to start a fire in the fireplace opposite the bed, taking his coat off and throwing it over the back of the chair in front of his desk, which stood to the right of his bed.

The students’ rooms did not have fireplaces; rooms such as his were an extravagance ― reserved for the few professors that boarded at the college ― and were located in a smaller building that was a little more remote from the students’ dorms and the college.

Aaron’s room was not only fitted out with a fireplace, it also had its own adjoining bathroom, complete with Jacuzzi and shower and a small, but fully equipped kitchen, the entrance to which was to the right of the fireplace.

Currently Aaron was the only professor boarding on campus, so that the rest of the building was conveniently vacant, which had made it very easy for him to carry her there undetected.

Having successfully started a fire in the hearth, he turned toward the bed where she lay ― still pretending to be unconscious ― and started walking toward her with slow, deliberate footsteps, taking off his shirt along the way.

After all ― he thought, amused ― he could goad her just a bit more.

I
tried with all my might not to move a muscle, as I lay exposed on the bed, hearing his tantalizingly purposeful footsteps close in on me, every step emphasized in my agitation. My nerves stretched beyond breaking point, I tried desperately to keep my eyelids from twitching and my body from trembling.

I could feel him lie down beside me on the bed, and my heart skipped several beats. At the same time, my eyelids moved involuntarily, giving me away.

When he spoke to me only seconds later, I knew there was nothing I could do to keep up the ruse; I was sure he had noticed that I was awake.

“Hey there, are you awake?” he asked quietly from my left, reaching out and gently touching his hand to my cheek, turning my head toward him.

I thought I’d better put on a good show of regaining consciousness, and fluttered sluggishly with my eyelids as if waking up from a long night’s sleep, giving him a dazed look for good measure. How embarrassing it would be if he caught on to me being awake all this time, not having said a word.

When I finally opened my eyes and looked at him, I nearly jumped off the bed in alarm, completely unprepared and taken aback by the sight of his bare chest.

I had not been ready to see him like this. A moment ago, I had wanted nothing more than to escape his clutches, to escape a man who would use me and turn his back on me the moment he had enough. And though I knew that he couldn’t care less about me, I was certain he wouldn’t object to having ‘some fun’ with me.