What was wrong with him?
That was a question Adam had been asking since he had seen her again. It was like he had no more control of his body and mind. He looked like a mad man possessed, desperate to have her.
He was supposed to hate her because she was a descendant of the man who killed his mother. However, his body only wanted to cradle her in his warmth. It was insane.
"Those witches must have cursed me with their spell." He roared at the trees, spooking the birds, driving them to fly away. It must be a love potion or some kind. That was the only explanation for why he must be obsessing about her.
He struck his bare hands on the tree, which rattled in its place, making the old leaves rain down to the ground. If he had applied more force on it, the old pine might have fallen, uprooting from the soil beneath its massive trunk.
But then again, she had been a part of his dream since he first saw her, even before he met up with the witches, so it could not be it. The spell must be something else.
But what?
He leaned his hands on the impressive body of the old tree, letting its rough edges prick through his skin. But he did not feel any pain as her image consumed most of his thoughts.
Why was he feeling this way about this girl? Rubbing his hands across his face as if that would wipe away his thoughts about her. But it was useless.
He never believed in fate or love at first sight. He could not accept that she was more than a means to an end. He was his mission and nothing more.
She could not be more.
He began collecting the woods, thinking they would need them through the following nights. Even though it was warm during the days in this place, it could suddenly turn chilly when the sunset set in as the moon took its place.
As he returned to the house to bring the woods he collected, he saw a glimpse of her, standing by the door, watching him. He doubted his eyes were deceiving him, but she appeared to look in his direction.
But when he approached closer, passing by the wooden fence, she slowly exited the house, seemingly reluctant at first, but still, she walked forward.
"Hi," Avana greeted him in the middle of the green lawn, stopping just a meter away from him. It was beyond his reach, but the wind still carried her scent in his direction.
"Good morning, Ava." He greeted her, slightly raising his brows, silently questioning what she needed.
"Good morning, too, Adam." She stood before him, looking sweet and friendly, but he remembered her friend telling him she could be as hard as a nail. "What is with all the wood?" Pointing at the heavy load on his shoulders.
"We used up a lot of wood last night. I decided I should replenish the stocks." He explained to her, slightly adjusting the wood to appear as if it was heavy. But he barely felt the load.
He knew he could buy a new supply from the store. That would have been easier, but he needed the morning exercise to exorcise himself of whatever was happening to him.
"Yeah, I guess that is heavy. I should not be standing in your way." She stood aside, giving him space to pass her, as they both stood under the mildly blazing sun.
"What is it?" He finally asked when she kept her gaze anywhere but him, sensing that she might need something from him. Why else would she walk willingly toward him?
She finally looked at him, but he still could feel her hesitation. "I wonder if you could teach me some basic things about surviving in the wild." She finally asked.
"Why do you need to learn that? Are you planning to go on a nature hike?" He could only conclude that she planned to run away again, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
But this time, she might have learned her lesson from her previous experience, surmising that she was preparing for her next journey.
But where was she planning to go since it was clear to him that she had no particular destination?
"Sort of." She answered him vaguely, fidgeting with her hands. "I think we should continue this inside. I will prepare a cold juice for you while you bring those woods..." Pointing to the piece of lumbers on his shoulders. "...wherever you need to put them."
She suddenly turned around, walking confidently before him, but he could see through her facade as her heart was loudly thundering in her chest, and her breathing was more labor than usual. It was evident she was nervous around him.
"Ok. Let me place this in the storage room at the back." Letting her walk back to the house, but not without staring at those hips that seemed to invite him to follow her immediately.
Once in the small dark space, he dumped the pile of woods on the floor and began stocking them on its rack, replacing the woods they had used last night and stocking for future use.
But he knew he just wanted to cool his body down before facing her again. He still could not understand why his body and mind were acting haywire around her.
Granted, he felt a connection with her the first time they met. Still, his reaction now was overly exaggerated. He had never felt this kind of attraction with anyone, not even with the woman he had dated for a long time.
He dusted his hands after putting the last wood on the stand. Then, finally, he walked out of the room, striding to the house where Ava was already waiting for him. He could not keep her waiting for long.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw her standing at the kitchen counter, pouring two glasses of cold orange juice. Then, he saw some of the remaining food he had brought still on the table.
"Come in. Drink some juice." She offered with a friendly smile at him. "I know how exhausting and draining working under the sun could be."
She also took her glass and sat on the other side of the counter while pushing the other glass in his direction. She was smart, always using objects to protect herself from him.
"What kind of help do you need?" He asked without preamble, grabbing the juice on the table as he also sat opposite her. His eyes stared at his glass, avoiding ogling her. He needed her to trust him and not scare her away.
He quickly downed half of the juice in one gulp, feeling parch on his lips and throat, not from being under the sun for a long time but from the tension of being near her.
However, he believed this was his opportunity to get close to her. He could not blow this chance away. He could not keep acting like a young schoolboy with an out-of-control sexual drive.