Sweet Surrender
Part 5/?
By Elisabeth James
liz221@ameritech.net
Well I realize that this took me a long time to get
out but there's been a lot of stuff going on in my life that
has kept me from me from writing. I do plan on working
on this a lot more now that I have time. Please send
feedback on this! Any e-mail is very appreciated!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailormoon, BUT Mehg
is my own creation. So don't use her without my
permission!
~*Chapter Five- Giving In*~
Shadows danced across the ceiling and walls of
Serena's darkened room. The waxing moon hung low in
the sky. The world was asleep, awaiting the first rays of
the morning sun to show themselves over the horizon.
Serena turned over in her bed again, unable to
succumb to slumber. Her mind was racing, filled with
thoughts of the scene that had happened in the parking lot
hours ago. He had been ready to pledge himself to her.
He wanted to be with her. The thought sent shivers of
pleasure up her spine. Who would have thought that
Darien Harrison could have fallen for the gardener's
daughter?
She certainly hadn't and she was having problems
coming to grips with that fact. She had pushed him
away, unwilling and unable to take the next step. No
matter how great Darien was, underneath that exterior of
kindness he was still male.
And she didn't trust men.
She let out a deep sigh and listened as a car drove
past the apartment building. Her nerves were frazzled
and she was sick of thinking. She buried her face in her
pillow hoping for sleep or suffocation, which ever came
first.
"Did you sleep well?" Mrs. Bancroft watched her
sleepy-eyed daughter stumble across the kitchen and
collapse into a chair.
"Not really..." Serena mumbled in reply, looking
down at the plate in front of her. Her mother had made
her breakfast but the thought of food made her feel sick
to her stomach. "Mom I'm sorry but I'm not really
hungry this morning."
Mrs. Bancroft nodded, "Did you have something
on your mind last night? You only have trouble sleeping
when something is bothering you." she pulled out a chair
and joined her daughter at the table.
Serena took a sip of her juice, the only thing she
didn't think would make her ill, "I was just thinking
about Roz and how her stupid painting won."
"Ahh, I thought it might have been about that
little scene I witnessed last night in the parking lot
between you and Darien." the glass slipped from Serena's
hand and tumbled to the table.
Serena jumped up as orange juice spilled into her
lap, "I'm sorry!" she grabbed a near by dish towel and
started sopping up the mess.
Mrs. Bancroft was silent as she watched her
daughter clean up the table. "All men aren't like your
father Serena. Some of them don't run away from
responsibility, I think Darien might be one of them."
Serena looked up at her mother, puzzlement
skewed her delicate features, "Last night you told me to
guard my heart from him."
"You can't guard your heart from someone who
already holds it. I know you feel something for him
Serena and there's nothing wrong with that. Love
involves taking risks, sometimes they pay off." she
sighed, "And sometimes they don't. The point is that if
you don't take a risk and trust him, you'll never know
what might have been."
The words sunk in as Serena soaked up the last
juice puddle from the table. "Do you have more planting
to do over there today?"
Her mother nodded slowly, "Do you feel like
helping me out?"
"Yeah just let me get dressed." Serena tossed the
wet rag into the laundry basket and ran up stairs to get
ready.
Serena shoved another plant mercilessly into the
flower bed. Sweat beaded along her hairline as the sun
beat down on her and her mother. She had come here in
hopes of seeing and speaking to Darien, but hadn't seen
him since she first arrived at the house. He had given her
a quick wave and then disappeared back into the
mansion.
Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of him
deliberately ignoring her. Maybe after last night his
feelings had changed because he thought she didn't feel
the same way. Maybe he didn't want to wait for her to
grow up and stop acting like a small child. What ifs
filled her head, choking her common sense.
"I need something to drink." she mumbled to her
mother while rising to her feet. She ran across the yard
and let herself into the kitchen. She reached into the
cupboard for a glass when she heard footfalls behind her.
"Are you feeling alright?" a baritone voice
interrupted her thoughts and she answered without
turning around.
"I'm fine Darien." her voice was flat as she
placed the glass under the faucet head and turned on the
water.
"Listen about last night..." Darien nervously ran a
hand through his thick black hair, "I-" Serena cut him off
as she spun around to finally face him.
"Don't say it, even if you didn't mean one word
you said don't tell me that. Just let me keep on
believing." she told him softly. She could feel the tears
welling up in her eyes. There was just something about
how Darien made her feel, so vulnerable, that she
couldn't contain her emotions around him.
Darien stared at the blond in front of him for a
few moment before placing his hands on her shoulders,
"That's not what I was going to say at all. I was going to
tell you I meant every word I said in that parking lot. I'll
wait until you feel ready, I don't want to force you into
anything." Serena's eyes met his, a mixture of emotions
floating in their depths.
"I couldn't sleep last night, I couldn't stop
thinking about you." her hand reached out and gently
touched his arm. "You make me feel something inside
that I have never felt before, and it scared me." her eyes
fell to the floor, avoiding his gaze. "But I can't keep
running away to avoid getting hurt." the atmosphere in
the kitchen changed, it was thick with something
indescribable.
Darien brought a hand up to her cheek and she
closed her eyes, surrendering to the rampant feelings
coursing through her body. Her lips parted slightly,
begging him to kiss her. She could feel his warm breath
on her face as he moved closer, his other arms wrapped
gently around her waist. He was so close, he clouded her
mind as his lips brushed softly against hers.
The kitchen door opened, "Serena is everything
okay?" her mother's voice echoed throughout the gigantic
kitchen, killing the moment effectively. Darien backed
away from Serena, giving her room to breath.
"Everything's fine mom, I just needed to cool off
for a few minutes." Mrs. Bancroft stepped inside the
house and spotted Darien next to her daughter.
"Hello Darien." her mother said in her normal
soft tone. There was no reprimand in her voice.
"Hello Mrs. Bancroft, I was just discussing
something with Serena. She's all yours again." his face
flushed crimson, and he didn't meet Mrs. Bancroft's
eyes.
"It's okay Darien, don't worry about it. Serena, I
need your help moving that tree across the yard." Serena
nodded and started toward the door.
"I need some help taking down my paintings at
the college today Darien, I would really appreciate your
help." her voice was carefully neutral and she shot a look
over her shoulder at him as she walked out the door.
"I would love to help you Serena, just let me
know when you're ready to go." a grin lit up his face.
Serena beamed back and stepped outside.
"What do you mean nothing happened?" Mehg
exclaimed as she grilled Serena about the night before.
"He didn't try to kiss you or anything?" Serena held back
a giggle at the dismayed expression on her best friend's
face.
"He was a perfect gentleman Mehg, he was
wonderful." Mehg threw her arms up in the air, disgusted
with her older brother for not taking matters into his own
hands. Did she have to do everything for the two of
them? She sat down next to Serena on the bed and took
her friend's dirty hand in hers. Serena had just finished
working in the garden 15 minutes before Mehg pulled her
upstairs for a clandestine discussion.
"You can tell me Serena, I can keep a secret. I
promise not to tell him you told me about anything!"
Mehg's eyes shone with anticipation of some big news.
Serena sighed softly, "In the parking lot..."
"HA! I knew it! I just knew it! He kissed you!"
Mehg jumped off the bed and started doing a little dance
around the room, "I am the queen of matchmakers!"
Serena laughed at her friend's antics, "He didn't
kiss me Mehg, we just talked." Mehg stopped in
mid-skip and turned back to her friend. "What!?"
"In the parking lot, we just talked. But the things
he said were more powerful than any kiss. He said he
would wait for me, that he wanted to be with me. But
he's not going to rush me into anything." She paused as
Mehg started grinning, "Then he drove me home."
"Well obviously you're done with keeping him
waiting! After that scene in the kitch-" She clasped a
hand over her mouth and watched Serena turn crimson.
"You were spying on us again! Mehg, I can't
believe you!" Serena got off the bed, "I would have told
you everything sooner or later." she stalked toward the
door, intent on finding Darien and going to the college.
"Serena don't be angry, please. I couldn't help
it." Serena's hand stilled on the doorknob. She turned
back to the other girl, "Next time please try."
Mehg nodded miserably and watched Serena
leave the room.
She ran into a warm wall as she walked out into
the hallway. She felt herself started to tumble backwards
when a pair of warm arms wrapped around her waist.
"Careful there." Serena looked up, startled to find
Darien's warm blue eyes looking back into hers.
"I wasn't expecting you to be right outside the
door." she told him sheepishly, slowly trying to release
his arms from her waist.
"I heard my sister yelling and a lot of pounding. I
thought something might be wrong, so I came up here to
check." he tightened his arms around her when he noticed
she was trying to get loose. A coy smile spread across
her face when she felt what he was doing.
"Everything's fine, Mehg was just a little excited
about something. You know how she can get." Darien
laughed at Serena's pointed look and dropped his hands
from her hips. "Are you ready to go?" She asked him
cautiously.
"Whenever you are my dear." she blushed a little
at the endearment and followed him downstairs.
The parking lot was almost vacant when Serena
and Darien pulled up in her beat up old station wagon.
The engine sputtered as Serena put the car into park and
pulled her keys out of the ignition.
"Serena, that didn't sound good." Darien told her
as they got out of the car. He gingerly shut the door,
praying it wouldn't fall off it's hinges. Serena shot him a
sarcastic look.
"Really, I thought cars were supposed to sound
like that. Silly me." she walked around to her trunk and
unlocked it. The hatchback creaked as she pushed it
open. She pushed a few things out of the way and Darien
headed inside to get Serena's paintings down.
She watched his back as he walked away, lights
from the parking lot lights illuminated his tall form
before he disappeared inside the lit up building. She
lingered by the trunk, waiting for him to reappear with
her art work.
Thoughts ran through her mind, telling her to just
kiss him and get that first awkward moment over with. It
seemed to Darien forever to act on his feelings, this
morning in the kitchen had to be a fluke. A shiver
traveled down her spine at the thought of his lips softly
brushing against hers like they did earlier.
She spotted his form coming toward her and she
held the trunk open for him as he carefully set a few of
the painting inside. He looked at her as his head came
back up out of the trunk, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, do you need any help getting the last
couple paintings?" Darien quickly shook his head, and
gave her one last look before turning back toward the
building again.
Serena drew in a deep breath, cursing herself
silently for letting herself get taken over by her emotions.
But something inside wouldn't let her just push what she
was feeling to the side, something inside her kept telling
her that whatever she was feeling at this moment was
important and not to discount it.
It wasn't until she watched his lean, tall frame
struggle through the door with the last of her artwork, did
she realize what she couldn't let her feelings go. It had
been years since she had felt anything this remotely
strong. Ever since her father had left a couple of years
ago, she had forced herself to remain empty, feeling
nothing stronger than a tepid happiness or slight
annoyance. Within days he had busted her defenses to
rubble and left her susceptible to all the emotions she had
carefully guarded herself against.
Darien slammed the trunk door as softly as he
could, trying not to scare Serena, who looked to be deep
in thought with an indescribable look upon her face. He
walked over to her and placed his hands gently on her
shoulders. Her eyes widened in surprise but she didn't
pull away, "Sorry, I was lost in thought there for a
moment." she gave him a sheepish grin that was meant to
deter him from asking questions. He registered the look
and let his hands fall from her shoulders. He pulled open
the car door for her and held it open as she got in.
Serena's hand trembled as she put the key into the
ignition, she watched full of apprehension as Darien slid
into the seat next to her. She turned the key and listened
as the car struggled to start before dying. She turned to
key again and let her head hit the steering wheel when
nothing happened. "Crap, crap, CRAP!"
She could feel the tears well up in her eyes at the
situations that God kept placing her in, it seemed like the
cosmos was laughing at her misfortunes. "Serena, it's
okay. I have my cell phone with me, we can just call for
a tow truck."
Serena kept her head against the warm plastic and
nodded slightly. She could feel the right side of the car
get lighter as Darien got out. She listened as his voice
carried through the still air, she kept telling herself to
keep breathing. With a strength she didn't know she
possessed she opened her own car door and got out.
Darien hung up with the towing company and
turned to her as she walked around the back of the car to
come to him. "They'll be here in 45 minutes." she
nodded again and leaned up against the car, only inches
from him.
"That's good, because I need to talk to you." she
was proud that her voice only wavered a little as she drew
in her breath. "I'm terrified Darien, I'm terrified of
what's been going on between us these last few days.
There's all these things going on in my head, everything
that seemed so right only a week ago is now completely
mixed up. You're like a tidal wave and I'm the poor soul
who's drowning in your wake." She glanced up at his
face, his expression blank as he waited for her to
continue.
"I've lived the last few years in a coma of
emotional detachment. When my father walked on my
mom four years ago, I watched her fall to pieces. She
tired so hard to hide it from me but I could always hear
her crying herself to sleep in the next room. She stopped
eating, stopped sleeping, stopped talking to all of her
friends. After all the things I watched her face, I made a
promise to myself never to fall in love. I promised never
to let anyone get so close to me that they could hurt me
like that.
"Up until now, I've been successful. And I've
semi- happy living in my state of nothing. I'm not going
to lie to you and say that I like these new emotions but
even as everything seems to be crashing down around me
underneath all the feelings of fear, doubt and
apprehension, there's this yearning. This yearning to just
give in to you and everything you make me feel. Because
I'm almost positive that I'm falling in love with you."
She watched his eyes darken and he stepped in
front of her, his arms snaked around her waist pulling her
against his hard chest, "You're only 'almost positive' that
you're falling in love with me?" he teased softly, his
warm breath tickling her ear.
She smiled at him, "Well, I've never been in love
before. This is an entirely new feeling that I'm dealing
with. I don't want to get your hopes up, only to have this
thing turn out to be a meaningless fling on my part."
Darien let out a soft chuckle and lowered his lips
only inches from hers, "Well Serena Bancroft, I AM
positive that I'm falling in love with you and if this is a
'meaningless fling' I will have to try to convince you
with my powers of persuasion that this is the real deal."
His lips seized hers with an urgent hunger, but his touch
was gentle. She slowly started to respond to his electric
touch, parting her lips so that he could taste her deeper.
Her hands slid up his chest and wrapped around his
sinewy shoulders.
Somewhere in the back to Serena's mind a small
warning light was blinking in silent alarm. But Darien's
scorching kisses were shutting down the power supply to
her brain and short-circuiting her senses. All tension left
her body as she leaned to him, returning his passion with
her own.
After all, she was almost in love. What did she
have to lose?
~* To be continued... *~
All done for this chapter!
A special thanks to:
Mehg for her continued "support" of me and my
writing attempts, she's the only reason this is finished
because I kept telling her that I would get it done and
never would.
Until next time!
Liz
Part 5/?
By Elisabeth James
liz221@ameritech.net
Well I realize that this took me a long time to get
out but there's been a lot of stuff going on in my life that
has kept me from me from writing. I do plan on working
on this a lot more now that I have time. Please send
feedback on this! Any e-mail is very appreciated!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailormoon, BUT Mehg
is my own creation. So don't use her without my
permission!
~*Chapter Five- Giving In*~
Shadows danced across the ceiling and walls of
Serena's darkened room. The waxing moon hung low in
the sky. The world was asleep, awaiting the first rays of
the morning sun to show themselves over the horizon.
Serena turned over in her bed again, unable to
succumb to slumber. Her mind was racing, filled with
thoughts of the scene that had happened in the parking lot
hours ago. He had been ready to pledge himself to her.
He wanted to be with her. The thought sent shivers of
pleasure up her spine. Who would have thought that
Darien Harrison could have fallen for the gardener's
daughter?
She certainly hadn't and she was having problems
coming to grips with that fact. She had pushed him
away, unwilling and unable to take the next step. No
matter how great Darien was, underneath that exterior of
kindness he was still male.
And she didn't trust men.
She let out a deep sigh and listened as a car drove
past the apartment building. Her nerves were frazzled
and she was sick of thinking. She buried her face in her
pillow hoping for sleep or suffocation, which ever came
first.
"Did you sleep well?" Mrs. Bancroft watched her
sleepy-eyed daughter stumble across the kitchen and
collapse into a chair.
"Not really..." Serena mumbled in reply, looking
down at the plate in front of her. Her mother had made
her breakfast but the thought of food made her feel sick
to her stomach. "Mom I'm sorry but I'm not really
hungry this morning."
Mrs. Bancroft nodded, "Did you have something
on your mind last night? You only have trouble sleeping
when something is bothering you." she pulled out a chair
and joined her daughter at the table.
Serena took a sip of her juice, the only thing she
didn't think would make her ill, "I was just thinking
about Roz and how her stupid painting won."
"Ahh, I thought it might have been about that
little scene I witnessed last night in the parking lot
between you and Darien." the glass slipped from Serena's
hand and tumbled to the table.
Serena jumped up as orange juice spilled into her
lap, "I'm sorry!" she grabbed a near by dish towel and
started sopping up the mess.
Mrs. Bancroft was silent as she watched her
daughter clean up the table. "All men aren't like your
father Serena. Some of them don't run away from
responsibility, I think Darien might be one of them."
Serena looked up at her mother, puzzlement
skewed her delicate features, "Last night you told me to
guard my heart from him."
"You can't guard your heart from someone who
already holds it. I know you feel something for him
Serena and there's nothing wrong with that. Love
involves taking risks, sometimes they pay off." she
sighed, "And sometimes they don't. The point is that if
you don't take a risk and trust him, you'll never know
what might have been."
The words sunk in as Serena soaked up the last
juice puddle from the table. "Do you have more planting
to do over there today?"
Her mother nodded slowly, "Do you feel like
helping me out?"
"Yeah just let me get dressed." Serena tossed the
wet rag into the laundry basket and ran up stairs to get
ready.
Serena shoved another plant mercilessly into the
flower bed. Sweat beaded along her hairline as the sun
beat down on her and her mother. She had come here in
hopes of seeing and speaking to Darien, but hadn't seen
him since she first arrived at the house. He had given her
a quick wave and then disappeared back into the
mansion.
Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of him
deliberately ignoring her. Maybe after last night his
feelings had changed because he thought she didn't feel
the same way. Maybe he didn't want to wait for her to
grow up and stop acting like a small child. What ifs
filled her head, choking her common sense.
"I need something to drink." she mumbled to her
mother while rising to her feet. She ran across the yard
and let herself into the kitchen. She reached into the
cupboard for a glass when she heard footfalls behind her.
"Are you feeling alright?" a baritone voice
interrupted her thoughts and she answered without
turning around.
"I'm fine Darien." her voice was flat as she
placed the glass under the faucet head and turned on the
water.
"Listen about last night..." Darien nervously ran a
hand through his thick black hair, "I-" Serena cut him off
as she spun around to finally face him.
"Don't say it, even if you didn't mean one word
you said don't tell me that. Just let me keep on
believing." she told him softly. She could feel the tears
welling up in her eyes. There was just something about
how Darien made her feel, so vulnerable, that she
couldn't contain her emotions around him.
Darien stared at the blond in front of him for a
few moment before placing his hands on her shoulders,
"That's not what I was going to say at all. I was going to
tell you I meant every word I said in that parking lot. I'll
wait until you feel ready, I don't want to force you into
anything." Serena's eyes met his, a mixture of emotions
floating in their depths.
"I couldn't sleep last night, I couldn't stop
thinking about you." her hand reached out and gently
touched his arm. "You make me feel something inside
that I have never felt before, and it scared me." her eyes
fell to the floor, avoiding his gaze. "But I can't keep
running away to avoid getting hurt." the atmosphere in
the kitchen changed, it was thick with something
indescribable.
Darien brought a hand up to her cheek and she
closed her eyes, surrendering to the rampant feelings
coursing through her body. Her lips parted slightly,
begging him to kiss her. She could feel his warm breath
on her face as he moved closer, his other arms wrapped
gently around her waist. He was so close, he clouded her
mind as his lips brushed softly against hers.
The kitchen door opened, "Serena is everything
okay?" her mother's voice echoed throughout the gigantic
kitchen, killing the moment effectively. Darien backed
away from Serena, giving her room to breath.
"Everything's fine mom, I just needed to cool off
for a few minutes." Mrs. Bancroft stepped inside the
house and spotted Darien next to her daughter.
"Hello Darien." her mother said in her normal
soft tone. There was no reprimand in her voice.
"Hello Mrs. Bancroft, I was just discussing
something with Serena. She's all yours again." his face
flushed crimson, and he didn't meet Mrs. Bancroft's
eyes.
"It's okay Darien, don't worry about it. Serena, I
need your help moving that tree across the yard." Serena
nodded and started toward the door.
"I need some help taking down my paintings at
the college today Darien, I would really appreciate your
help." her voice was carefully neutral and she shot a look
over her shoulder at him as she walked out the door.
"I would love to help you Serena, just let me
know when you're ready to go." a grin lit up his face.
Serena beamed back and stepped outside.
"What do you mean nothing happened?" Mehg
exclaimed as she grilled Serena about the night before.
"He didn't try to kiss you or anything?" Serena held back
a giggle at the dismayed expression on her best friend's
face.
"He was a perfect gentleman Mehg, he was
wonderful." Mehg threw her arms up in the air, disgusted
with her older brother for not taking matters into his own
hands. Did she have to do everything for the two of
them? She sat down next to Serena on the bed and took
her friend's dirty hand in hers. Serena had just finished
working in the garden 15 minutes before Mehg pulled her
upstairs for a clandestine discussion.
"You can tell me Serena, I can keep a secret. I
promise not to tell him you told me about anything!"
Mehg's eyes shone with anticipation of some big news.
Serena sighed softly, "In the parking lot..."
"HA! I knew it! I just knew it! He kissed you!"
Mehg jumped off the bed and started doing a little dance
around the room, "I am the queen of matchmakers!"
Serena laughed at her friend's antics, "He didn't
kiss me Mehg, we just talked." Mehg stopped in
mid-skip and turned back to her friend. "What!?"
"In the parking lot, we just talked. But the things
he said were more powerful than any kiss. He said he
would wait for me, that he wanted to be with me. But
he's not going to rush me into anything." She paused as
Mehg started grinning, "Then he drove me home."
"Well obviously you're done with keeping him
waiting! After that scene in the kitch-" She clasped a
hand over her mouth and watched Serena turn crimson.
"You were spying on us again! Mehg, I can't
believe you!" Serena got off the bed, "I would have told
you everything sooner or later." she stalked toward the
door, intent on finding Darien and going to the college.
"Serena don't be angry, please. I couldn't help
it." Serena's hand stilled on the doorknob. She turned
back to the other girl, "Next time please try."
Mehg nodded miserably and watched Serena
leave the room.
She ran into a warm wall as she walked out into
the hallway. She felt herself started to tumble backwards
when a pair of warm arms wrapped around her waist.
"Careful there." Serena looked up, startled to find
Darien's warm blue eyes looking back into hers.
"I wasn't expecting you to be right outside the
door." she told him sheepishly, slowly trying to release
his arms from her waist.
"I heard my sister yelling and a lot of pounding. I
thought something might be wrong, so I came up here to
check." he tightened his arms around her when he noticed
she was trying to get loose. A coy smile spread across
her face when she felt what he was doing.
"Everything's fine, Mehg was just a little excited
about something. You know how she can get." Darien
laughed at Serena's pointed look and dropped his hands
from her hips. "Are you ready to go?" She asked him
cautiously.
"Whenever you are my dear." she blushed a little
at the endearment and followed him downstairs.
The parking lot was almost vacant when Serena
and Darien pulled up in her beat up old station wagon.
The engine sputtered as Serena put the car into park and
pulled her keys out of the ignition.
"Serena, that didn't sound good." Darien told her
as they got out of the car. He gingerly shut the door,
praying it wouldn't fall off it's hinges. Serena shot him a
sarcastic look.
"Really, I thought cars were supposed to sound
like that. Silly me." she walked around to her trunk and
unlocked it. The hatchback creaked as she pushed it
open. She pushed a few things out of the way and Darien
headed inside to get Serena's paintings down.
She watched his back as he walked away, lights
from the parking lot lights illuminated his tall form
before he disappeared inside the lit up building. She
lingered by the trunk, waiting for him to reappear with
her art work.
Thoughts ran through her mind, telling her to just
kiss him and get that first awkward moment over with. It
seemed to Darien forever to act on his feelings, this
morning in the kitchen had to be a fluke. A shiver
traveled down her spine at the thought of his lips softly
brushing against hers like they did earlier.
She spotted his form coming toward her and she
held the trunk open for him as he carefully set a few of
the painting inside. He looked at her as his head came
back up out of the trunk, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, do you need any help getting the last
couple paintings?" Darien quickly shook his head, and
gave her one last look before turning back toward the
building again.
Serena drew in a deep breath, cursing herself
silently for letting herself get taken over by her emotions.
But something inside wouldn't let her just push what she
was feeling to the side, something inside her kept telling
her that whatever she was feeling at this moment was
important and not to discount it.
It wasn't until she watched his lean, tall frame
struggle through the door with the last of her artwork, did
she realize what she couldn't let her feelings go. It had
been years since she had felt anything this remotely
strong. Ever since her father had left a couple of years
ago, she had forced herself to remain empty, feeling
nothing stronger than a tepid happiness or slight
annoyance. Within days he had busted her defenses to
rubble and left her susceptible to all the emotions she had
carefully guarded herself against.
Darien slammed the trunk door as softly as he
could, trying not to scare Serena, who looked to be deep
in thought with an indescribable look upon her face. He
walked over to her and placed his hands gently on her
shoulders. Her eyes widened in surprise but she didn't
pull away, "Sorry, I was lost in thought there for a
moment." she gave him a sheepish grin that was meant to
deter him from asking questions. He registered the look
and let his hands fall from her shoulders. He pulled open
the car door for her and held it open as she got in.
Serena's hand trembled as she put the key into the
ignition, she watched full of apprehension as Darien slid
into the seat next to her. She turned the key and listened
as the car struggled to start before dying. She turned to
key again and let her head hit the steering wheel when
nothing happened. "Crap, crap, CRAP!"
She could feel the tears well up in her eyes at the
situations that God kept placing her in, it seemed like the
cosmos was laughing at her misfortunes. "Serena, it's
okay. I have my cell phone with me, we can just call for
a tow truck."
Serena kept her head against the warm plastic and
nodded slightly. She could feel the right side of the car
get lighter as Darien got out. She listened as his voice
carried through the still air, she kept telling herself to
keep breathing. With a strength she didn't know she
possessed she opened her own car door and got out.
Darien hung up with the towing company and
turned to her as she walked around the back of the car to
come to him. "They'll be here in 45 minutes." she
nodded again and leaned up against the car, only inches
from him.
"That's good, because I need to talk to you." she
was proud that her voice only wavered a little as she drew
in her breath. "I'm terrified Darien, I'm terrified of
what's been going on between us these last few days.
There's all these things going on in my head, everything
that seemed so right only a week ago is now completely
mixed up. You're like a tidal wave and I'm the poor soul
who's drowning in your wake." She glanced up at his
face, his expression blank as he waited for her to
continue.
"I've lived the last few years in a coma of
emotional detachment. When my father walked on my
mom four years ago, I watched her fall to pieces. She
tired so hard to hide it from me but I could always hear
her crying herself to sleep in the next room. She stopped
eating, stopped sleeping, stopped talking to all of her
friends. After all the things I watched her face, I made a
promise to myself never to fall in love. I promised never
to let anyone get so close to me that they could hurt me
like that.
"Up until now, I've been successful. And I've
semi- happy living in my state of nothing. I'm not going
to lie to you and say that I like these new emotions but
even as everything seems to be crashing down around me
underneath all the feelings of fear, doubt and
apprehension, there's this yearning. This yearning to just
give in to you and everything you make me feel. Because
I'm almost positive that I'm falling in love with you."
She watched his eyes darken and he stepped in
front of her, his arms snaked around her waist pulling her
against his hard chest, "You're only 'almost positive' that
you're falling in love with me?" he teased softly, his
warm breath tickling her ear.
She smiled at him, "Well, I've never been in love
before. This is an entirely new feeling that I'm dealing
with. I don't want to get your hopes up, only to have this
thing turn out to be a meaningless fling on my part."
Darien let out a soft chuckle and lowered his lips
only inches from hers, "Well Serena Bancroft, I AM
positive that I'm falling in love with you and if this is a
'meaningless fling' I will have to try to convince you
with my powers of persuasion that this is the real deal."
His lips seized hers with an urgent hunger, but his touch
was gentle. She slowly started to respond to his electric
touch, parting her lips so that he could taste her deeper.
Her hands slid up his chest and wrapped around his
sinewy shoulders.
Somewhere in the back to Serena's mind a small
warning light was blinking in silent alarm. But Darien's
scorching kisses were shutting down the power supply to
her brain and short-circuiting her senses. All tension left
her body as she leaned to him, returning his passion with
her own.
After all, she was almost in love. What did she
have to lose?
~* To be continued... *~
All done for this chapter!
A special thanks to:
Mehg for her continued "support" of me and my
writing attempts, she's the only reason this is finished
because I kept telling her that I would get it done and
never would.
Until next time!
Liz