thank you so much for the fb, sorry this took so long to post... I've been sick, damn allergies! I'll be posting more quickly now
Chapter three
Violet stood silent before him trapped, snared by the mystery that danced in those striking enigmatic eyes.
It was as if he had just appeared through the storm out of the cold mist of the crashing waves like a character from one of her novels.
She could no longer hear the ominous thunder over head or the relentless strumming of the rain against the glass of the tall narrow windows surrounding them.
There was just him, this wet beautifully strange man standing before her out of no where.
His uneven breath was all that could be heard as she blatantly watched water droplets skim softy sensually down his alabaster skin onto parted full lips before falling from his chin.
His raspy dark intense voice echoed inside her head evoking feelings she had never felt before, awaking places inside her that were private and well hidden.
She had never in her life heard her name spoken with such beauty.
'Violet'
There was at least three feet between them but the gravity of his stare, the intense intimacy of the way he held her there was immeasurable.
It made her feel bare, all of her exposed to him, all of her secrets there for him to delve into.
Violet's tough exterior that only let people see what she wanted them to see was useless in this moment as he bore right through to her damaged soul.
It was all too much and not nearly enough all at the same time.
Breaking his stare she backed away before turning to walk towards the couch to search for her phone.
She wanted to know exactly how many people, Nancy, the realtor revealed her arrival to as she tried to figure out how he knew her name.
Thinking back to the day before, she realized that she didn't even tell the rude cabbie that drove her from the airport.
Riffling through her bag she tried to ignore the sensation of him silently moving closer, her effort failing miserably when her hands began to tremble giving her away.
His scent drifted around her pulling her mind from its task, a mixture of ash from fire and salt from the sea wrapped around her body like warm hands caressing her skin.
And there it was again, that voice whispering hotly against her ear, disarming the very stubborn, clever girl that was always able to hold her ground.
That was until now.
"You're wondering how I know you… don't be afraid."
Turning swiftly to face him Violet hardened her voice in an attempt to hide just how much his presence was affecting her.
"Who says I'm afraid? I'm tired, jet lagged and to be perfectly honest a little irritated at my realtor at the moment but I'm not afraid."
A quick smirk raced across his handsome face as he witnessed her struggling to sidestep the obvious attraction that sparked between them.
The rush of exhilaration that pulsed through his veins was impossible to keep hidden, not that he tried as he held her curious hazel eyes.
He had waited so long… years, days; hours endless and forever dragging into one another in an empty lonely chain of vast time … but that was over now.
"My name is Tate… Tate Langdon."
His low voice hung in the air, sweet and sensual with an edge of something else …something darker which managed to charm her even more.
Several seconds passed as she scrutinized the beautiful paradox looking down at her.
Wide eyed innocence mixed dangerously with a glint of wicked intent struck her hard keeping her off balance and guessing, which was exactly what he wanted.
His smile danced mischievously along a soft full mouth that she couldn't help but imagine brushing across the inside of her thigh.
Startled by thoughts that had only brought her misery in the past she immediately attempted to remember Daniel and the reason she was there in the first place.
Still it was inescapable; the images kept coming, this stranger, this beautiful man doing unimaginable things to her body, it was like nothing she had ever experienced.
Her cheeks flushed red as she tried to block it out, her knuckles turned white inside her fisted hands.
As if reading her thoughts he exhaled a shaky breath slipping his tongue out to lick at a fallen droplet of water that had been hovering there.
He made her nervous but not for her safety, for how he was making her feel, how just the air between them seem to change becoming heavy and charged.
With an almost angelic golden halo of blonde damp curls falling across whiskey tinted eyes he held a wirldwind of emotions too dark and complex for her to read.
Could he be an angel or the devil himself, for a split second she didn't know what she'd prefer in that moment.
It was then that the name finally struck a familiar cord.
Her wide eyes flickered up to the front door remembering the worn letters etched in the faded blue wood before rising back up to meet him again.
Embarrassed she tapped the tips of her fingers along the flush pink skin of her cleavage bringing his attention immediately to the heat building there.
"This is your house, I didn't realize. I'm sorry – "
Lifting his hand in the air he waved her apology away as his eyes unabashedly stilled upon the rosy color blooming across the swell of her breasts.
"My mother's... not mine actually. In fact I know we just met but I'm hoping I can ask a favor of you."
Reluctantly he broke his inappropriate gaze to scan the room around them.
"You see I've been … staying here. The thing is no one is aware of this and if it's all the same to you I'd like to keep it that way. "
It hit her all at once, the burnt wood in the fireplace, the green blanket she found draped over her, the missing pictures from the mantel.
"You were here last night, while I was sleeping – "
Tracing the colorful stain glass image of the dragonfly on the Tiffany lamp beside her with his fingertip he nodded slowly.
"It wasn't intentional, the place has been empty for years, and my mother and I aren't exactly on speaking terms… so you see I had no way of knowing you would be here."
"So now you know." She breathed out shakily while all attempts at having the upper hand flew out the window.
Focusing on the haunting image on the lamp his husky tone pulled her in as she unwittingly moved closer to him.
"Did you know that when the Indians held this land they used to refer to dragonflies as the devil's darning needles?"
Cocking her eyebrow she skeptically smirked up at him before noticing the seriousness in his hypnotic eyes.
"My mother would tell me stories when I was a boy how dragonflies would come around bedroom windows at night, hovering over tiny sleeping faces."
Moving towards the lamp she focused intensely as he traced the stinger that closely resembled a sharp needle.
"It was believed that they would sneak up on children to check for bad souls, adults would also be judged by the devil's darning needle."
Narrowing her eyes she laughed awkwardly as he seemed lost in the story as if it were some important memory.
Folding her arms in front of her she tilted her head to the side sending the tips of her golden silky hair fanning against his shoulder.
"So what exactly would the dragonflies do to the children, they're so tiny, how much damage could they possibly inflict?"
The sarcasm in her voice soon faltered as he gazed down into her eyes.
Lightly grazing her lips with his fingertips he breathed out watching as she stared back at him shivering from his icy touch unable to move stunned by his bold behavior.
"They'd sew their eyes and mouths shut in their sleep."
Pulling away from his gentle touch Violet crossed her arms in front of her protectively nervously chewing on her lip shocked that she allowed him to touch her that way.
"Twisted… this was your mother's idea a bedtime story?
Glancing over her shoulder he pointed to several paintings and ceramic figurines of dragonflies in every direction all over the house, all of which had gone unnoticed by Violet the night before.
"I guess it was mother's way of keeping us in line, that and the fact that she had a fucked up obsession for them."
Releasing the light he walked around her eyeing her up and down still feeling the warmth of her lips under his skin.
"So what is it that you're hiding from out here, or should I say who."
Moving to look out the window at the turbulent ocean crashing violently against the shore Violet refused to show any emotion.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Joining her he leaned his hand against the window frame staying close to her.
"Well you couldn't be more isolated out here if you tried, in my experience people who look for that are usually running away from something, or like I said someone."
Backing towards the front door giving him a hint that she had enough, Violet coldly spoke pressing each word so there would be no misunderstanding.
"I'm a writer, came here for the quiet, I'm not 'running' from anyone. Now if you don't mind I have a million things to do today."
Nodding Tate made his way to the front door cautiously well aware of the protective walls she kept around her and why.
Violet talked in her sleep and last night was no exception.
He listened closely as tales of Daniel's mistreatment and others alike fell from her lips in broken sentences giving him an intimate insight into the beautiful girl that slept restlessly in his living room tormented by their heartless actions.
"You should sleep in the blue bedroom, its mine; it's the best room in the house. No morning sun to wake you up and the mattress is the best you'll ever sleep on, I promise you that."
Biting her bottom lip she tore the fragile skin from the night before as he brushed by her to reach for the doorknob.
A strong gust of wind swirled around him, thunder once again rocked the ground beneath their feet as he stared now almost wildly at her.
Violet found it hard to find her voice from the fierce way he was looking at her but for some reason it was important to her that he trust her.
"I won't tell anyone you were here, I promise. I know what it's like to want to disappear."
He stood very quiet as the rain pelted his shoulders just wanting a little more time with her.
"I thought you weren't running from anything." He breathed out tautingly.
This time each word was lined with such sexual desire that it made her again pull in her bottom lip breaking the skin wider.
Transfixed on the tiny pool of crimson liquid glistening on her mouth he suddenly wanted very much to know what it would be like to kiss her.
"Are you in some kind of trouble?" she whispered desperate to steer the subject in a different direction.
His breath hitched in his throat imagining his tongue gliding over her sweet mouth and other places south before regaining his focus.
"No, nothing like that, I just need a little distance from my family. I was hoping with the strained relationship you have with your father you would understand."
Furrowing her eyebrows she pulled back digging further into her lip to his delight.
"How did you know about - "
Turning to walk down the front steps he closed his eyes lost in the image of this imaginary kiss.
The combination of the metallic fluid and the sweetness of her lips was enough to leave him painfully hard, the evidence now clear as he pulled his sweater over his pants.
"You talk in your sleep Violet, he's also lighting up your phone as we speak."
Looking down into the pocket of her sweater onto her phone she saw her father's message flicker once before disappearing.
Stop acting like a petulant child, CALL ME
Ignoring the text she raced outside just as he was stepping back out into the driving rain.
"I'm staying at a friend's house a few miles into town; if you want I can come by and check on you from time to time. This house is very old it has a personality all its own, might be nice to have someone around you who can help if something should go wrong… "
Looking back he caught her staring, her timid gaze slipping from his parted lips down the line of his body to his hands that fit snug in his front pockets.
Her guard was up, but he could see right through her, her pain was like a beacon calling out to him.
I hear you sweet Violet
"But it's completely up to you." He rasped softly before disappearing down the edge of the water into the mist of the crashing waves.
I hear you…