Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2) (5 page)

“Paige’s connection to the Incubus will be the easiest way to find him,” Joe explained. Even though he talked in a hushed voice, I worried someone nearby would overhear him and think we were all crazy. “Let us know if you feel his presence, Paige.”

“Okay, I guess. If I feel anything unusual, I’ll let you know.”

The breeze wafted a wonderful smell in our direction.

“Mmm. Italian food,” Alec said. I swear I could hear his mouth watering. “Uhh, Joe? Do you think we could maybe eat there? Maybe that beautiful waitress with the short dress and long legs could tell us where we might find Paige’s friend.”

“How do you know what the waitress looks like? We’re outside. And, if you call that Demon my friend again I’ll make your lips swell to the size of a basketball.”

“Sorry, sorry! The waitress is standing outside by the entrance. They have an outside seating area. So, Joe, whadya say? Italian?”

Joe inhaled slowly. “It does smell delicious, doesn’t it? And, it isn’t a bad idea to question some beautiful women about our
enemy
. If anyone has encountered him, it would be one of them.”

“So… is that a ‘yes’?” Seth asked hopefully.

“Yes. We’ll eat at…” he paused, “Pasta Jays. It does smell delicious.”

Johnathan held my hand as the hostess led us to our table out on the patio. The breeze had a little bite to it, but the sun shone just enough to keep the edge off. It felt like a beautiful day.

Johnathan pulled my chair out for me and helped me sit. He sat on one side of me and Halli on the other. I oriented myself to the layout of the table. My fingers found the linen napkin folded in front of me. I placed it on my lap and felt for the silverware on my right. Johnathan leaned over and whispered, “There’s an empty water glass just back and to the left of your silverware.”

Our waitress arrived and introduced herself. “I’m Mariah. I’ll be your waitress today. Can I start you off with some drinks?”

We all opted for water and she quickly returned to fill our glasses. “Our special today is pasta with white clam sauce. Do you need a few more minutes to decide?”

“Yes, please,” Joe answered.

Jonathan read the lunch menu to me. I really wanted spaghetti and meatballs, but I worried it would be too hard to eat. I tried to choose something that would require as little assistance as possible from Johnathan. I wanted him to be able to enjoy this rare treat without having to babysit the blind girl. I settled for the rigatoni, hoping I could spoon it up easily, without making a mess or a fool of myself.

I forgot about the melted cheese aspect. I was having an annoyingly difficult time. I kept getting strings of cheese down my chin, neck, and probably all over my shirt. Finally, I dropped my spoon and pushed the bowl away in frustration. “
Italian
. Great idea Alec.”

“What? We all have cheese and sauce all over us. Not as much as you… your shirt looks like a cheese and spaghetti sauce tie-dye experiment gone terribly wrong. But you wear it well, Paige.” Alec’s teasing didn’t help with my already darkening mood.

I grabbed the first thing my hand touched, which happened to be a fork, and threw it in the direction of his voice.

“Nice catch, Alec,” Seth said.

It’s a good thing I had my sonar spell turned on. Something roughly the size of a large meatball spun toward my face. Instinct kicked in and I deflected the flying object with a spell. If it had been a hard object, it would have flown back at Alec. But it was, indeed, a meatball. It basically exploded on impact with my spell and instead of just Alec getting blasted with a food bomb, all of us got blasted with bits of meat shrapnel. All of us—including the hot waitress who had apparently just stopped by to refill our water.

“What the… how… what just happened?” she sputtered.

Silence ensued.

Alec spoke first, unfortunately. “Spontaneous combustion. Because of your nuclear hotness. To prevent further unfortunate incidents such as this one, might I suggest that you stay away from meatballs while you’re wearing that dress?” He was such a player.

Seth and Johnathan both groaned. Halli laughed. I sat there, wishing I could see the expression on the waitress’s face.

A chair across the table from me scraped against the cement of the patio as it was scooted out. Alec opened his mouth again. “Mariah, let me help you get some of that mess wiped off your dress.”

In unison, Joe, Johnathan and Seth said, “No, Alec!”

Halli’s increased laughter was contagious. I started laughing and then the waitress, Mariah, joined in. “Thanks, but I think I’d better just go change,” she said.

“Well, okay. I can help with that, too, if you want,” Alec yelled after her as her footsteps disappeared into the restaurant.

I felt Johnathan start to stand, but he sat again as Seth said, “Don’t get up Johnathan, let me do it.”

I heard a smack as Seth hit Alec upside the head. “Ow! What’d I do? Don’t be haters just because you guys don’t know how to talk to the ladies.”

“Um, yeah. You’re lucky she didn’t slap you,” Joe said. “And I can’t believe you threw a meatball at Paige.”

“What? She threw a
fork
at me. She could have taken my eye out!”

Johnathan stood, scooting his chair back quite a ways from the sound of it. “You aren’t very funny, Alec.”

I reached for him and caught the edge of his shirt. “Johnathan, its fine. Just sit down and finish eating. I think we’ve made enough of a spectacle of ourselves already, don’t you?” I pulled on his shirt.

“What’d I do?” Alec questioned. “Oh, wait. I didn’t mean anything by it Paige. It’s just an expression, you know? I wasn’t even thinking about… you know… your eyes, or anything. By the way, nice shot with the deflection. You were wicked fast with that.”

Johnathan sat back down and laced his fingers with mine, resting our hands on his bouncing leg.

“Let me help you with your lunch. I’m finished with mine,” Johnathan said quietly.

I shook my head. “I’m not hungry. You can have the rest of it.”

“You hardly ate anything. Just let me help you.”

“No. I’m really not hungry. If I get hungry later I’ll just lick the left-overs off my shirt.”

Alec was the only one to laugh at my lame joke.

The waitress returned to our table and teasingly said, “I hope you were planning on leaving a big tip, because my boss told me I can’t work in my jeans and T-shirt, so she’s sending me home. I still had three hours left of my shift.”

“I’m really sorry,” Alec said. “Let me make it up to you. Is there anything fun going on tonight? I could show you a good time, take your mind off your lost wages.”

“Hmm. There really isn’t a lot to do around here this time of year. There’s a Family Fun Center close by. They have mini-golf and laser tag and stuff. If you’re serious, I would like to hear a little more about the meatball explosion. Of course, the rest of you should come, too. I don’t know if I dare to be alone with your friend here.”

“Of course I’m serious,” Alec said. “And, why wouldn’t you want to be alone with me? I’m as harmless as a kitten.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“No, really. Harmless. Unless you throw a fork at me or something.”

“Well, I’ll go get your bill and you can tell me what you decide when I get back. Do you need any to-go boxes?”

“No, thank you,” Joe answered.

As her footsteps faded away from our table, Johnathan whispered, “Alec, did you forget why we came into town? It wasn’t so you could weasel a date out of an unsuspecting girl. We have work to do.”

“I know. I figured we could ask her about Paige’s fr… uh… attacker. It’s just an added bonus that she’s gorgeous and obviously finds me irresistible. Besides, we could all use a little fun.”

Joe sighed. “I guess we could go play one game of mini golf or something. Get some of your energy and aggression out.”

“I will kick your butt at mini golf, Alec.” The enthusiasm in Johnathan’s voice faded as he added, “But, you probably can’t play, Paige. You and I can go do something else if you want.”

I really hated that his excitement was dampened by my blindness. I also hated that I couldn’t join in. I was a killer putt-putt golfer. “No, John. I’ll just go cheer you all on. I would like for you to show Alec a thing or two about mini golf.”

He squeezed my hand. “What about you two? Halli and Seth, are you up for some friendly competition?”

“Heck yeah!” Seth pumped a fist in the air.

“I don’t remember ever mini-golfing before,” Halli said. “But I’m sure I’ll kick all your butts.”

Mariah brought the check, Joe paid and we all followed her to the Fun Center. Johnathan stayed close to my side, holding my hand in his the entire way.

I found a bench to sit on just outside the mini golf course. I smiled as my friends laughed and gave each other a hard time.

After about ten minutes Johnathan returned to my side. “Paige, the next few holes are where we won’t be able to see you for a few minutes. Do you want to come with us?”

“No, thanks. I’ll just stay here.”

“Okay…” he hesitated. “No, I don’t like the idea of you sitting here by yourself.” He sat next to me on the bench.

“John, I’ll be fine. Go finish your game.”

He reached for my hand and held it in his lap. “I’m staying with Paige,” he yelled to the others. “Just mark my score as all hole-in-ones, that’s what I’d get anyway.”

“Yeah, right, Johnny,” Alec chided. “Good idea to bow out now, before I make my comeback and kick your butt.”

Johnathan laughed.

“You should really go with them.” I mostly meant it, but a part of me really wanted him to stay with me. And that part made me feel guilty and selfish. “Or, I’ll just come with you so you can finish your game.”

He raised my hand to his lips. The kiss he pressed to my wrist sent tendrils of warmth up my arm and set the butterflies to fluttering in my stomach. His warm breath brushed against my ear as he leaned over to whisper, “I want to stay here with you.”

I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. He released my hand and I rested it on his thigh as he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer next to him.

The sound of our friends’ chatter and laughter faded a little as they continued around the course, but I could still hear them. I closed my eyes, exhausted, but afraid to sleep. The exhaustion and the warmth and safety of Johnathan’s arm around me won over and I drifted off. I’m not sure how long I slept before the Incubus found me.

His hot breath blew on my face right before his mouth closed over mine. And, once again, I was lost to his power. My mind was overcome as my body responded to the kiss. His lips moved over mine, gentle and slow.
Mmm. His lips are so soft and warm.
That thought flooded my mind, pushing all others away. The light touch was torture. I wanted more.

“
Come to me, Paige. I’m waiting just outside. Come.”

Heart pounding, I stood, only partially conscious of what I was doing. I hesitated and turned back toward the bench and Johnathan.

“
Come to me, Paige.”

His power over my mind won out and I turned away from Johnathan. The Incubus led me, in this dream state, through a door. I was bumped and jostled by the people inside. My mind faintly registered the clanging and noise of video games. I was led through another door, my hands outstretched to push it open even though I couldn’t see that it was there. My hand trailed along the cinderblock wall as the unseen force steered me around a corner of the building. My feet crunched on gravel where the blacktop ended. I instantly knew when the dream state terminated and the real Incubus took my hand. As strong and real as he had felt before, the feelings were a hundred times stronger now. Warmth emanated from him like a bonfire.

“Isn’t this so much better? You’re even more beautiful in the daylight. And, now you can see me better, too.”

That statement brought me back to reality. “I can’t see you. I’m blind.” My heart leapt as my slowly-clearing mind finally realized the danger this encounter bore. I turned to flee, but he held fast to my arm.

He pushed my back up against the wall of the building, his hands firmly gripping my shoulders. He leaned his body against me and placed his hands on the wall above and to either side of my head, close enough that his thumbs brushed against my temples. His lips came down hard, crushing mine. In a
wonderful
way. All thoughts of fleeing left as my lips responded to his.

He pulled away and I moved my head forward in an attempt to keep my lips in contact with his. I felt his warm breath next to my ear. “Paige, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. That may explain your unique ability to deny me what I know we both want. My exquisite looks are what draw most women to me.”

I couldn’t really concentrate on his words with his lips pressed against my ear.

“We can get past this little roadblock, though. I feel you caving in. Give in to your desires, Paige. Give in.” His lips brushed against mine, teasing. He trailed his fingers down the sides of my face, down my shoulders, resting on my upper arms for a brief moment as his thumbs brushed against the sides of my chest. I shivered at the touch, my heart beat fast and hard in response. His hands continued their slow caress, leaving my arms and finally coming to rest around my waist. His hands were large enough that his fingers touched at the small of my back.

I could still feel the warmth from the trail his fingers had followed down to my waist. Any and all thoughts of resistance were gone. I put my uninjured arm around his neck and searched for his lips with mine. I was lost, confused, as something tickled at the edges of my conscience. As his lips pressed to mine, even that tickling ceased. He was all I knew—all I had ever known. All I wanted.

I pressed against him, tried to become a part of him. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me impossibly tighter against him. His mouth moved to my neck, one hand tangled in my hair, pulling my head back for better access. Chills cascaded down my body like an icy waterfall.

I gave in. In that moment, I would have let him do anything he wanted to me—with me. My mind was mush and my body was in his control.