Page 42 of Into The Light

What is the purpose of living forever if I’m eternally miserable?

With both their words ringing around in my head, and Isobel’s imagined speech joining them, I got undressed and grabbed the least offensive pair of shorts of the lot and slipped them on. With a whoosh I stood outside in the pool area in front of Emilia and Mark. They both turned and eyeballed me in unison.

“Don’t laugh.” I arched my brows in warning.

Emilia continued staring at my shorts, and her eyes grew wider as she took in the vibrant pattern. “Are those... hot pink crabs all over your shorts?”

“They are,” I said, trying to retain my stoic demeanor while I stood before her wearing pink crustaceans set against a light blue backdrop. “They were the mildest of the selections.”

“The Vineyard Vines crab shorts! Good choice. I love those.” Mark nodded his head in approval.

My eyes left hers and turned to meet his. “Tomorrow. New shorts. No animals. No pink. Got it?”

Mark nodded enthusiastically. He leaned over and kissed Emilia on the cheek. “You kids have fun. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

“Goodnight, Mark,” she said, reaching out and squeezing his hand.

Mark shot me a look and mouthed “have fun” before disappearing into the house. My attention turned back to Emilia. She stood before me in a black one-piece suit. The halter top plunged low between her full breasts. Cutouts on the side showed the soft curves of her waist and pulled my eyes down to the hips that filled out the suit perfectly. She shifted on her long legs and wrapped her arms around her waist when she noticed me drinking her in.

“Hot tub or pool first?” she asked.

“You decide.”

“Hot tub it is. I got a little chilled on our walk back from the ride. We’ll warm up and then cool down. Deal?”

“Deal.” I nodded.

She turned and started toward the hot tub. The already lit fire danced amidst the turquoise blue lights that radiated around it. Her hips swung with each long, deliberate step and induced desires in me that surpassed just wanting her blood... and left their proof in my pink crab shorts. I followed her into the warm water and concealed it beneath the bubbles before it gave me away.

“Well?” she asked, looking over at me where I sat chest deep in the warm liquid.

“I have to admit, it feels pretty incredible.”

“Right? Relaxing! It’s awesome!”

“It’s awesomesauce,” I added. Her face lit up and her laughter filled my ears. It was quickly becoming my favorite sound.

“Just kick back, relax, and enjoy. This is all yours. You should enjoy it.”

The tiny bubbles tickled my skin, creating an interesting sensation not at all unpleasant. My shorts filled up with air and I could feel them floating toward the top. Furrowing my brow, I pushed the air out of them. A large bubble exploded out of the water and splashed me in the face.

Emilia doubled over with laughter as I wiped the water from my eyes. Her contagious laugh consumed me, and I joined her.

“Well I wasn’t expecting that,” I said, my laugh breaking up the words.

“It’s a hot tub hazard.” She chuckled. “How do you have all this?” She gestured to the house and the pool area. “I mean, where do you get all your money, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Not at all. One of the powers I have is mind control. I can ‘persuade’ people to do whatever I ask of them. All I have to do is look into their eyes and they will do whatever I say and never realize it came from me. Let’s just say over the centuries some very wealthy people who didn’t deserve their money simply decided to hand it all over to me.”

“You thief!” She smiled.

I shrugged and matched it. “They weren’t exactly the best people. I have no regrets about leaving them penniless. They had it coming.”

“So, you can just look me in the eyes and make me do anything?”

“Yes.”

“Do it. Try to make me do something.”