Zola Flash (The Zola Flash Series Book 1) by T. Marie Alexander Page A

that.
    Smiling, Trevor removes his hand from mine, and drives off.
    We arrive shortly at a white mansion, which is almost as big as the shopping mall. Three fountains stand proud out front, and trees surround the entire house.
    After retrieving my bags from the trunk, we head inside the house, where I pause to stare. The ceiling has angels painted on it, and a maroon carpet covers the staircase. I have never seen a house so beautiful— it’s astonishing. Almost as astonishing as the palace—my palace I guess—back home.
    “You like it?” Trevor asks.
    Turning to him, I nod. “Your house is beautiful.”
    “This old house? My other three look better.”
    “So . . . where do I change?”
    Trevor takes the bags from my hand and guides me up the grand staircase. We enter a blue room that has a huge chandelier. My eyes move toward the bed, which looks to be as pale as the white ground of Victian during the cold season, and I walk towards it, flop down backwards. The bed feels like air against my back, soft and warm, unlike the bed I sleep on now, which is warm but not as soft as this.
    Trevor comes over to me and set the bags down before climbing onto the bed beside me. He place his weight across me so I can’t move.
    Feeling immediately trapped, I shove against him. “Trevor, I am supposed to be changing.”
    “Sorry.” He rolls away and stands before pointing to across the room. “The bathroom is through that door.” 
    I pick up the bag with the swimsuit Trevor chose and head into the bathroom, where I look around. Everything is made of silver or gold. I sit on the edge of the bathtub, thinking about Trevor and me, and sigh. He really likes me, and I don’t want to shatter his heart like some brutish guardian.
    As I take the suit out of the bag, my emotions go crazy. The suit scares me. It is no more than two little pieces, with white and black dots. I have never shown so much skin before.
    Steadying my nerves, I slip on the suit on and leave the bathroom. I wrap my arms around my chest as Trevor scans my body. He probably sees me shaking. Why can’t that be all he sees?
    Trevor crosses to me and wraps an arm around my waist. His other hand pulls my arm apart, and I can tell by the way he study’s me that he’s about to pounce again. I break away just as his head moves to my neck.
    Behind me, I can hear him sigh angrily as I rush to the door, but as I glance back at Trevor, he has no emotions. He’s lifeless like a statue, but even a statue has something carved on its stony face.
    Maybe I should tell Trevor the truth about everything. He would understand, wouldn’t he?  I mean doesn’t he have the right to know who he is befriending?
    “Trevor, I need to talk to you about something important,” before I can change my mind—though I’m unsure how he will take this.
    “Okay.”
    “You know I am not from around here, yes?”
    “I could tell that by your hair and accent.”
    Accent? I have an accent?
    Swallowing, I meet his eyes. “Would you still like me if I’m royalty and a fox?”

Chapter Sixteen
    “WHAT KIND OF QUESTION is that?” Trevor asks, pausing a moment as if waiting for a response, before continuing, “You’re in New York. Guys here love for their girls to be wild animals.”
    I nod, even though he misunderstood my question.
    “Come on. Let’s take a swim.”
    Trevor walks ahead of me, and I follow. We enter a room with a large body of water in the center. I suppose it could be a lake or beach. The ones back home aren’t quite as industrial. There’s no purple sand to be eroded here, just hard flooring.
    Trevor removes his shirt and shorts, revealing Caribbean blue, nylon boxers he wears beneath. He dives in the water, making a large splash that only a water-chemp makes on my planet.
    Spinning in the water, Trevor waves for me to join him, but I reject his invitation, and Trevor grins at me. Wondering what’s so funny, I smile back, until he splashes me with water. I jump back,