She's Hypnotizing

Chapter 7: She’s Hypnotizing

~ Willow ~

Brax gently lowered us to the ground in front of the caves. I could see the river off in the distance. I jumped down off his back. He immediately shifted back into his human form. Dragons were lucky, their God Typhon gifted them the ability to be able to keep their clothes after shifting. I let my eyes linger on Brax a little too long. He caught me and gave me a cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes at him.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” I said. His grin grew wider.

“Oh, I am.” He replied to me. Then he proceeded to let his eyes roam the length of my body. My face instantly turned red. Was I really embarrassed right now? He obviously wanted me to watch him check me out. Wow! This guy… When did he get so… damn sexy? I feel so confused. My emotions are all over the place right now. Thank Goddess for Mona.

“How was the flight down the cliff?” She asked me.

“It was good.” The reply didn’t come from me, but from Brax. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes once again. Mona looked at me.

“It was fine.” I said. It was more than fine; it was so thrilling. I just didn’t want Brax to get an even bigger ego.

Everyone was busy setting up the tents. Brax helped Mona and I set up our tent. Some guys got a fire started and us girls got dressed to swim. I followed Mona down a trail that led to a different part of the river. I had never been here before. People were already there. There was a rope swing that hung from a branch from a large tree that grew over the river. I also saw some people diving off a cliff into the river. I wonder how deep this river is. It has to be really deep to dive from a cliff at that height. I heard some girls squeal and I turned to look toward the commotion. Ugh… Brax was surrounded by a group of girls who were simply swooning over him. I felt a tinge of jealousy. I heard Nolla scoff and I imagined her rolling her eyes inside my head. I don’t know if it’s at all the girls or me.

“What is it, Nolla?” I’m interested in what she has to say.

“We like him and you won’t admit it.” She said.

“We like Drake.” She started to pace back and forth inside my head as if she was agitated.

“Not as much as we like Brax.” Why is my life so complicated? The girls finally dissipated from Brax’s side once they realized that he wasn’t interested in any of them. That didn’t stop them from watching his every move though. I tried to focus on what I was doing prior to my distraction with Brax, but then he removed his shirt. My mouth instantly went dry.

“Holy shit!” Mona laughed next to me.

“Did you really just say that out loud?” She asked. I hadn’t realized I had. Brax must have heard me. He gave me a flirty grin and his eyes flashed from their crystal blue to straight black. AHH! Why did he have this much of an effect on me? I stopped caring if he caught me looking. Nolla wasn’t helping me by drooling inside my mind. It’s not like I’ll get in trouble for looking at him. I haven’t agreed to making things official with Drake yet, so… I can look right?

“If you’re okay with looking at a man while pursuing a relationship with another, your heart isn’t in the right place.” Nolla said to me. I hate to admit it, but she is right. I let my eyes roam the length of Brax’s body. He looked like he was chiseled from stone, cliche, I know. He has rock hard abs, broad shoulders, muscular arms. It all fell into the perfect V right above the waistband of his shorts that hung mouthwateringly low. I could see his happy trail leading to his…. Ya know.

“Girl breathe.” I heard Mona say to my left. I snapped out of it. Damn it! What the hell is wrong with me? Agitated, I twirled myself around and walked toward the river. Maybe this trip wasn’t the best idea. I should have stayed in the castle.

“Or, maybe it is exactly what you need.” Nolla interrupted my thoughts.

“Nolla, if you have something to say… then say it!” I groaned out at her.

“Fine, Drake is bad news! He is no good for you. He likes you… yes. But he isn’t right for you, Willow. You are meant for so much more. You are almost 20 years old. It is time to start thinking seriously. We have the entire werewolf race to look after.” Wow! My Lycan really let me have it. I hardly ever listened to my parents, but Nolla… my Lycan could get my attention.

“And what do you suggest I do? Claim Brax?” I asked her.

“Well… that is a thought.” She said back to me while batting her Lycan eyes.

“What about our fated mate? Do we even have one?” I can’t believe this is the first time I am asking her this question.

“Your guess is as good as mine. Selene didn’t give me that information.” Selene is our moon goddess. The mother of all shifter wolves and now lycans starting with me.

“Of course you don’t know. Why couldn’t you have come with an instruction manual?” You think Selene would pity me because I don’t have elders I can turn to with my questions. I am the first born lycan. My parents were given lycans by Selene. My father was an alpha werewolf before his wolf changed into a Lycan on my mother’s 18th birthday. They can’t tell me if I will have a fated mate or not. We know nothing about lycans. I need to get my mind off this subject. It only agitates me when I can’t get answers to such important questions.

I tried to shove all the thoughts of Drake, Brax and my never ending list of questions on how to be a lycan aside. I removed my swimsuit cover to reveal my red bikini. My brown hair curled down over my shoulders and down my back. I heard cat calls and turned to see a group of guys directing them straight at me. Any other time I would drink it all in, but something about it now just made me angry. I rolled my eyes and ignored them. I walked over to the river and attempted to sink my toes into the water to get a feel for how cold it is. I didn’t have time to do that before I was grabbed up by big strong arms. When I opened my eyes, I was soaring through the air.

“WHAT THE HELL!” I barely had time to yell before landing in the middle of the river. The rush from the cold water took my breath away as I sank lower before I started to swim to the surface.

Once I broke through the surface, I looked around to find Brax with a shit eating grin displayed over his infuriatingly handsome face. He is waiting for my retaliation. He knows it’s coming. I couldn’t think about that now though. His sexy white smile compliments his piercing blue eyes perfectly. I thought about his hands on me. I am glad I am in the water right now. I know he would definitely smell my arousal. I can’t let him get away with this. Feeling playful I pulled my hand back and splashed. He dove under before my splash even hit him. Where did he go? I didn’t trust him. I dove back down, knowing that he was up to something. Holding my breath, I was fully submerged under the surface of the water. I looked around. I was surprised to see that the water was completely clear, and the sunlight illuminated everything down here. It was beautiful. The light from the sun’s reflection on the water caused little strips of light to dance on the bottom of the river bed. I was caught off guard as Brax swam up from underneath me, and let his hands slide up my thighs, over my hips, onto my sides, then come to rest on my back. He was in front of me… and he is holding me close to him. Here we both are, under the water looking straight into each other’s eyes. During a moment of weakness, I stopped fighting my attraction to him. He brought his hand up and let his knuckles trace my cheek down to my jawbone. Then he used his thumb to trace my bottom lip where his eyes were focused. He wanted to kiss me.