*****
Ever since the encounter at The Island a few days before, Anita had been restless. People were gossiping about her and why she had attracted the Descendants’ attention, and she would rather just fade into the background. She had gone to the Observatory every day and had been sullen and moody with Bas and Patrick, and for that, she felt bad, which made her even more frustrated. All she could think to do was turn to Body pursuits, but no amount of riding, sailing, climbing or swimming could seem to lift her mood. What was really annoying was that the Descendants had gone quiet since that night at The Island. Nobody had seen them or heard from them, and even Cleo had nothing to share. They could be anywhere, they could have left Empire, nobody knew. Anita desperately wanted to understand why she reacted to the presence of Marcus and Alexander, and how she could ‘control her energy’ as Alexander had suggested she should.
Today’s Body pursuit to try and lift her mood was a run by the river with her grandmother’s springer spaniel, Thorn. She hoped maybe the combination of exercise and playing with Thorn would do something to pick up her spirits. She was preoccupied with thoughts of embarrassing displays in bars when she felt someone with powerful energy coming up behind her. She was instantly wary. This had been her automatic reaction to most people since Alexander’s words in the Temple, so she was guarded as she spun around to see who it was.
Her energy immediately lifted when she saw Marcus’ blissful form coming towards her. For Gods’ sake, get a grip Anita, she said silently to herself, but this just seemed to spur on her energy’s disobedience and once again she felt like she might explode. Luckily, Marcus didn’t seem to have Alexander’s reader skills, so that should save her one embarrassment at least.
‘Well hello,’ came Marcus’ drawl as he approached. ‘Fancy seeing you here.’
‘Hmm,’ Anita replied, feigning disinterest and calling to Thorn.
‘Mind if I join you?’ Marcus asked.
‘Umm…’ Anita was trying to think of a suitably offhand reply, when Marcus said, ‘great,’ smiling a cheeky smile that reminded Anita of a naughty five-year-old.
‘Right,’ she said, rolling her eyes as she set off at a fair clip across the field. Marcus kept pace with her, but he wasn’t in any state to make casual conversation, and Anita smirked as she increased the pace. They reached the fence and Anita jumped straight up on the stile, making to climb immediately over into the next field, but Marcus reached out a long, surprisingly strong hand, grabbed the back of her top, and pulled her roughly back down.
‘I think that’s enough of that for the moment,’ he gasped, dryly, trying to catch his breath. ‘You’ve made your point.’
‘I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,’ Anita retorted, playfully. The run had improved her energy no end, and now she was in a mischievous mood. She liked the way this encounter was going.
‘I think you’ve got a fair idea,’ Marcus fired back, seeming to have recovered enough to assume his usual, superior stance. ‘How did you get so fast?’
Anita shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, softening a bit. ‘I’ve always been fast and strong and able to beat anyone I’ve competed against. At first people thought I cheated, but now they just think I’m weird.’
‘Well, I know what that feels like.’
Anita snickered. ‘What you feel is adoration and envy and jealousy. Nobody thinks you’re weird.’
‘What’s so different about how people treat me? People stare at me, they talk and point, they treat me differently…’
‘…ahh, the poor little Descendant…’ Marcus exploded forward so his face was inches from Anita’s, the smell of vanilla invading her lungs once more.
‘You think it’s funny? You haven’t got a clue.’
Bloody hell, his energy was more up and down than hers was. Anita was intrigued. ‘Then enlighten me,’ she said, in a soft voice, starting to feel him infecting her emotions.
The side of Marcus’ mouth curled into a smile. He took a step forward, and Anita instinctively stepped backwards, her route blocked by the tree behind her, her back now flat against its bark. There was nowhere for her to go, and Marcus placed his arms either side of her to pin her in place. She was trapped and her pulse quickened. Marcus leaned his head forward to look straight into her eyes; he was enjoying this. He was back where he wanted to be, and, to her surprise, Anita quite liked it. Marcus relaxed and the mood between them shifted. There was a tension in the air as they waited for what seemed like forever to see what would happen next, their faces inches apart, eyes boring into each other. Anita could feel his breath on her skin, her pulse beating loudly in her ears, the smell of vanilla running through her, intoxicating and clouding her mind. She tilted her head up slowly towards his, holding his gaze, almost willing him, challenging him to pull away. Instead, he bowed his head warily towards hers, watching her cautiously, as though she were some kind of wild animal, as he moved his lips to hers. Their lips brushed lightly and Anita felt a powerful jolt of electric energy between them. She fought the urge to pull away as Marcus pressed his lips more purposefully into hers. He was surprisingly gentle, she thought, as he moved his hands to either side of her face and kissed her more deeply. Anita relaxed, her mind racing, not sure if she were really in a dream, her lips responding willingly, seemingly without her instruction. He finally pulled back, slowly running his thumb across her, now sensitive, lips before replacing his hands on the tree either side of where she stood. He leaned back in towards her, flirting, making her think he was heading for her lips again, but this time moving his mouth at the last moment to her ear, where they softly commanded, ‘come to the ball with me.’
Anita froze; she had not expected that. A flurry of thoughts came pouring into her head, and adrenaline-fuelled panic filled her body. Given what had just happened, she was struggling to think clearly. All she knew was that she had to buy herself some time. She looked down at the ground, searching for inspiration, before taking a deep breath and returning his gaze once more, a sly smile now on her face. She paused, savouring the moment of confused, impatient intrigue in his eyes. ‘Maybe,’ she murmured huskily, cocking one eyebrow, then quickly, before he had time to process her response, ducking under his arm and out into the open field.
‘Maybe?’ Marcus questioned after her in indignant disbelief.
She put her fingers to her lips to touch where he had just kissed her, gazing fascinatedly back at him. ‘Maybe,’ she confirmed, sporting a triumphant look as she turned, called to Thorn, and ran back the way they had come.
Marcus sank to the ground, leaning back against the tree trunk. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his perfectly quaffed hair. Why the Gods did he like her, he silently questioned himself. Nobody else would have done that. Most girls would have fallen over themselves to say yes to him, but Anita wasn’t like the other girls.
Anita’s mind exploded with thoughts as she ran. What should she do? She didn’t want to hurt Bas, who she had already effectively turned down. She didn’t want all the other girls to hate her, or to have all the attention that going to the ball with Marcus would bring, but Anita had kissed plenty of guys, and she had never felt an energy jolt like that before. In fact, she had never felt an energy jolt at all. She wondered if Marcus had felt it too. She decided it was best to try and avoid him for a few days as she sprinted home; she wanted to put off the decision for as long as possible. Not to mention, that in situations like this, it was definitely best to play hard to get. She had to admit there was something more than a little addictive about him, and she didn’t want to put him off by being too available.