Magnificent Ruin (Everlasting Series Book 2) by Alison Foster Page B
Authors: Alison Foster
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“Careful not to wake the beast.”
“You feel it, too,” I manage to say.
“All I do is feel things. Too many things. Messed up things. Pure things. I don’t intend to mix them all together. You’re more important to me than my feelings. It’s my intention to keep you unscarred.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
He stares into my eyes, holding my hand against the back of his neck. I feel it in my blood that he wants to kiss me and he should know that I wouldn’t object.
The moment gets swept away by a loud bell that announces the commencement of the festivities.
“Okay,” Tomas says. “Let’s see how good you are when faced with fire.”
As soon as we find ourselves in a line of people waiting to leap over the row of bonfires, I realize that Tomas and I are the only ones with our jeans still on. Everybody else is in shorts or their swimming suits.
“Jeans were not a good idea,” I tell him as I bend over to roll mine up.
He shrugs with an infuriating smile on his face.
I try as hard as I can to roll my white jeans up to no avail; you can’t exactly cuff skinny jeans and the fact that I’m terribly nervous doesn’t help.
“Do you see now why you should have told me where we were going?” I tell Tomas as I slap his right arm.
“Stop whining and take your pants off,” he says as he removes his own jeans to reveal his swimming trunks and his tanned, powerfully built calves. “I told you to wear a bikini, didn’t I?”
Stop whining . He’s said this very same thing to me before. When was it? Oh, that’s right, in my erotic dream. Fuck! I’m so screwed. Ah, figuratively.
Protesting is pointless. I get out of line to get rid of my jeans as I don’t want to strip in front of everyone.
Tomas follows me, a little bit more amused than I would like him to be. “Should we take them back to the car?” I ask, getting more restless by the second.
“Nah, just leave them on the bench. If they’re stolen, it was meant to be.”
I do as he says even though I’m certain I’ll live to regret it. My own pessimism upsets me. What the hell has happened to me? Have I lost all ability to live in the moment?
One by one, the folks around the bonfires jump over the flames laughing and shouting out Greek words I don’t understand. When our turn comes, Tomas urges me to go first.
“It’s a symbol of life,” he whispers in my ear.
I sprint the few feet between me and the first flames, jumping over fire after fire. Exhilaration takes over my heart and mind and I find I can’t stop laughing.
Once I’m over the last fire, I turn back to watch Tomas. His wonderfully coordinated body reaches heights I would not have thought possible as he leaps like a jaguar over the consuming flames.
He lands in front of me, taking me in his arms. We’re so close to each other, I can feel his fast heartbeat underneath his shirt.
“Everything is on fire,” I say, excitedly, not entirely sure what I mean.
A middle aged woman takes me by the hand. I’m flabbergasted by her impudence but Tomas nods to me that I should follow her.
The woman shows me a big clay jar that’s filled with water. As I lean over the top, I see various personal items swimming in the water like rings, bracelets and earrings.
A group of young girls stand around the pot smiling at me.
“What is this?” I ask.
“Put something in the pot,” one of the young women tells me. “The stars do some magic tonight and you will dream of the man you marry.”
“Oh,” I say. “If I knew it’d be that easy, I’d have visited sooner.”
Tomas puts his arms around me from behind. “Do it,” he says. “Remember? You can’t insult tradition.”
Still unsure about it, I take off one of my earrings and throw it into the clay jar. “That’s one lost earring,” I say, as we walk away. “What now?”
“Now we swim,” he says. “But not here.”
***
We walk barefoot on the soft sand side by side, holding our shoes in our hands. The
“You feel it, too,” I manage to say.
“All I do is feel things. Too many things. Messed up things. Pure things. I don’t intend to mix them all together. You’re more important to me than my feelings. It’s my intention to keep you unscarred.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
He stares into my eyes, holding my hand against the back of his neck. I feel it in my blood that he wants to kiss me and he should know that I wouldn’t object.
The moment gets swept away by a loud bell that announces the commencement of the festivities.
“Okay,” Tomas says. “Let’s see how good you are when faced with fire.”
As soon as we find ourselves in a line of people waiting to leap over the row of bonfires, I realize that Tomas and I are the only ones with our jeans still on. Everybody else is in shorts or their swimming suits.
“Jeans were not a good idea,” I tell him as I bend over to roll mine up.
He shrugs with an infuriating smile on his face.
I try as hard as I can to roll my white jeans up to no avail; you can’t exactly cuff skinny jeans and the fact that I’m terribly nervous doesn’t help.
“Do you see now why you should have told me where we were going?” I tell Tomas as I slap his right arm.
“Stop whining and take your pants off,” he says as he removes his own jeans to reveal his swimming trunks and his tanned, powerfully built calves. “I told you to wear a bikini, didn’t I?”
Stop whining . He’s said this very same thing to me before. When was it? Oh, that’s right, in my erotic dream. Fuck! I’m so screwed. Ah, figuratively.
Protesting is pointless. I get out of line to get rid of my jeans as I don’t want to strip in front of everyone.
Tomas follows me, a little bit more amused than I would like him to be. “Should we take them back to the car?” I ask, getting more restless by the second.
“Nah, just leave them on the bench. If they’re stolen, it was meant to be.”
I do as he says even though I’m certain I’ll live to regret it. My own pessimism upsets me. What the hell has happened to me? Have I lost all ability to live in the moment?
One by one, the folks around the bonfires jump over the flames laughing and shouting out Greek words I don’t understand. When our turn comes, Tomas urges me to go first.
“It’s a symbol of life,” he whispers in my ear.
I sprint the few feet between me and the first flames, jumping over fire after fire. Exhilaration takes over my heart and mind and I find I can’t stop laughing.
Once I’m over the last fire, I turn back to watch Tomas. His wonderfully coordinated body reaches heights I would not have thought possible as he leaps like a jaguar over the consuming flames.
He lands in front of me, taking me in his arms. We’re so close to each other, I can feel his fast heartbeat underneath his shirt.
“Everything is on fire,” I say, excitedly, not entirely sure what I mean.
A middle aged woman takes me by the hand. I’m flabbergasted by her impudence but Tomas nods to me that I should follow her.
The woman shows me a big clay jar that’s filled with water. As I lean over the top, I see various personal items swimming in the water like rings, bracelets and earrings.
A group of young girls stand around the pot smiling at me.
“What is this?” I ask.
“Put something in the pot,” one of the young women tells me. “The stars do some magic tonight and you will dream of the man you marry.”
“Oh,” I say. “If I knew it’d be that easy, I’d have visited sooner.”
Tomas puts his arms around me from behind. “Do it,” he says. “Remember? You can’t insult tradition.”
Still unsure about it, I take off one of my earrings and throw it into the clay jar. “That’s one lost earring,” I say, as we walk away. “What now?”
“Now we swim,” he says. “But not here.”
***
We walk barefoot on the soft sand side by side, holding our shoes in our hands. The
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