Malvina
Tonight, I was a mess. I had no business staring into that man's soul while thinking of ways about how his lips would feel like on mine. I guess abstinence does this to one's mind. I really need to get my mind cleanse.
"Ah! This is so unholy. Stop thinking about him." I snap shut the book in my hand, its useless anyways because I cannot focus whats's written in it. I rub my fingers, feeling the sticky sap left behind by the flower.
I close my eyes and started humming an old, familiar song. A long forgotten piano tune, the lyrics are a blur, but the tune, it's engraved in my mind somehow.
A pair of hands, combing through a small child's hair. A gentle touch "My little rose…" A soft whisper. " You are my most precious treasure." A blurred reflection of a woman. A small tug on the hair. "I will always protect you. Always." Who is she? That voice, that touch. My eyes open suddenly. I place a hand on my chest, panting. What was that?
"Why do you keep torturing me like that?" Having these visions are nothing new. I am used to having them all the time, but suddenly it started to feel too real. It was a distant memory at first but now they feel as if they happened to me before.
My past is a blur. I am aware of the fact that, I don't remember half of my life events. It has never been a problem before, I have no particular desire to remember my past, for all I know, I maybe better off without them. Besides it's best to look forward to a life with my brother than to wallow in the past. But these darn, persistent memories do not seem to leave me alone.
"Just leave me alone, please." I whisper to the empty air. I close my eyes again, an old, strange memory from the ocean of unsolved ones. It invades my mind even if I didn't want it to.
A soft touch, silent whispers. Warm eyes, a muffled giggle, 'Take this, it took me a long time to make it... don't lose it...Rosa...I will give you something that…keep it forever…Remember me.' A chill spreads through my body. This is new. I never had this one before. What is this memory? Who was I talking to?
It doesn't even matter what it was, whatever it was, it's gone and I don't ever want to go back there again. Ever. What is even the point if I do remember? It's not like I am going to meet them again. It's just a lost thought, nothing else. I stop my train of thoughts all at one.
I will graduate and leave this town with Ronan for good. If I manage to settle in a big city like London, maybe I will finally be able to get rid of these baseless memories that makes no sense to me at all.
I am about to turn around, ready to jump down the swing and depart for Rosewood Manor, just then I feel a pair of eyes on me. The memory of that creep from the other evening crosses my mind.
I gather my courage and turn my head to look at the person behind me. My fear turns into surprise, then confusion, then something else.
The same pair of deep brown eyes from earlier this evening, meets my hazel ones. I inhale sharply, feeling the close proximity till my bones.
He-the breathtaking man- stands there with his hands tucked into his pocket, covering the entire exit with his large presence. He stands there looking at me with a strange intensity which soon turns sombre when he finds my eyes on him.
"Hello love." His voice. It sends shivers down my spine, not from fear but a different feeling.
"I thought you would be here." His husky voice sends tingles through every fibre in my body. For some reason, that's exactly how I imagined his voice to be. The perfect companion to his dark eyes.
"You." I breath.
The flower falls from between my fingers, hitting the ground below me. I jump down from the swing at once, completely forgetting about my injured leg.
It all happens at once, like some movie scene. The book follows the flower, my ankle twists, followed by an embarrassing squeal.
One moment I am thinking about the additional injuries I will sustain, the next moment I am pressed against a hard chest with a complimentary pair of strong arms, wrapped around my waist.
All I feel right now is a warm, hard chest, a strong arm gripping me tightly and pleasant fragrance, warm, woody, engulfing me. I breathe in the sweet smell, my hands gripping a pair of wide shoulders.
I find myself leaning into his warm embrace. I should get away from it, what am I even doing and why does this feel so…nice? Years of touch starvation does that. Shut up.
I slowly pulled away from him, but the arm that encircles my waist is still there. My face is burning, it must be bright red by now, this is so embarrassing.
"Careful love." He whispers in my ear.
I clear my throat and try to pull away, this time he let go. I cannot help but look into his eyes. Big mistake. His eyes are already on me. A calm mask over his face. But those eyes…how do they look so beautiful yet intimidating.
A strange longing lingers along with a sense of relief. Why is he looking at me like that?
His frame shadows over me, hiding whatever was behind him, making himself my only view. I lower my eyes from his face and meet with the view of his chest in front of me.
He bends down to retrieve the book on the ground near my feet. Then he does something that makes my stomach do a flip, from his crouched position, he turns up his head and looks at me. For some reason, I find it extremely tempting. For someone you met for the first time, its bad manners to think this way. I gulp.
He smirks. He smirks? He rises to his feet with the book in his hands. To save my sanity, I decide to avert my eyes.
"Thank you." I say, reaching out for my book from his hands. Instead of giving it back, he raises it out of my reach. I look at him confused. "Um, my book." I say and focus on my book in his hand. Focus on the book. Not the way his shirt stretches across his chest due to his movements.
"Look at me." Authority. His deep voice made me look at him in an instant. A satisfied look makes its way to his face. Without breaking the intense eye contact, he places the book on the swing behind me.
"Good." Before I could say anything, he picks me up and places me made me on the swing and crouches in front of me on one knee.
A gasp leaves my mouth as he picks my injured leg and places it on his thigh. I shiver from the sudden skin contact, goosebumps spread all over my body like fire as his rough hands carasses my leg.
"Sir, what are y- you doing? " I stammer. Way to fullfil my quota of embarrassment for one day..
" It must be hurting." He whispers to himself. He glances up at me through his lashes and my breathing halts for a moment.
I, in my twenty-five years of life, have never seen someone so beautiful in such a devilish way. Let alone have them kneeling in front of me with my leg over their things. He drops my leg gently and rises to his feet.
"May I?" He points at the spot besides me on the swing. I nod hesitantly and he occupies the space. A comfortable distance between us. I pull the book on my lap and look at him.
"Do you want something..sir?" I fiddle with the book cover.
He remains quiet for a while, so I assume he won't answer. Does he want to spend some alone time here and I am bothering him?
"Do you know me?" He questions suddenly.
Do I know him? To be honest I do. I nod. Something flashes in his eyes which soon disappears. He raises an eyebrow, so I explain further.
"The day, in front of this place, I bumped into you right?" I avoid his eyes, "I kind of remember the way you…smelled. I mean your perfume." Embarrassment flares on my face.
He chuckles. The sound travels through my whole body and settles like a warm ball inside my stomach. " Good to know that I left a lasting impression on you." His eyes softens, "Adrian Reed. Nice to meet you."
"Malvina Ashford. Nice to meet you too." I whisper softly and offer a small smile. A dark look passes over his face and my smile drops.
I involuntarily tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, which he notices and the expression on his face changes back to the previous one.
"Do you remember me, Malvina?"