Soul Control by C. Elizabeth Read Free Book Online Page B

fools. I think you have an air of mystery to you, something I hope to figure out soon.”
    When they left, a warmth of tenderness ran up my spine from his touch. It was difficult to explain and was another sensation I’d never felt, along with a jaw-dropping and wobbly leg thing. The whole package left me speechless.
    “Saydi, dear, close your mouth. It’s not very enticing to young men,” Miranda teased.
    “Wow!” Was the only word my brain could muster up.
    Miranda burst out laughing. “I take it that ol’ blue eyes is the forty-five minute adventure yesterday?”
    “They’re green/blue.” How come no one can see that?
    She shook her head and with a half grin, rolled her eyes. “Sorry, green/blue eyes!” Then she smiled knowingly. “He seems to be a little sweet on you, too.”
    Shaking my head, I fidgeted with the tie on my apron. “No.” Besides, there isn’t much to me .
    ~ * ~
    The rest of the day dragged, and Miranda was right. We only had four or five more customers after the triplets graced us with their presence, so she closed at four instead of six.
    “See you next Saturday, Miranda,” I called back to her.
    “Sorry I couldn’t drive you home, sweetie.”
    “That’s okay, I still have lots of daylight left. Besides, I walked home last night in the dark.” My tummy did a happy flip flop remembering with whom I walked home.
    “Well, don’t do that often.” Another adult warning.
    “I won’t,” I promised, and waved to the back of the store as I stepped outside.
    The wind was blowing again, and it was a cool one. Wrapping my arms around myself, I rounded the corner so the chill was at my back. If you paid attention, you could see all the houses were ready for winter with the storm windows on, flower pots put away, and yards neat and tidy, awaiting the first dump of snow. That also meant the streets were practically deserted by the time dusk rolled around. Everyone hunkered down for a cold winter.
    Footprints came from behind.
    “Saydi, wait up,” Nathanael called.
    Think, think, mouth work, tongue don’t tie up . Whirling about, I managed, “Hi.”
    He stopped directly in front of me with a smile, so close I could smell his cologne again, tickling my senses, and...that was it, my brain quit right there. It was only going to let me say “hi,” nothing more after that. There was nothing left to do but ogle.
    Chuckling, he ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s a good thing I saw you leaving early. My plan was to be waiting for you outside the store at six when you were supposed to be off. I would have missed you if we hadn’t been over at the hardware store.”
    It was interesting he knew what time I got off. It didn’t matter, I was still way too busy...ogling.
    His feet shuffled from one to the other and his confidence seemed to be slipping. Well of course it is, with you drooling over him. Then he licked his lips. “Okay, well...my car is at the hardware store. Can I give you a ride home? I’d rather do that than walk in this wind.”
    It was a direct question, not one that difficult to answer. Now the real question was—would my brain release its grip on my throat? I tried it out. “You don’t have to.” Yup, tongue worked, mouth didn’t...the words practically spit at him.
    And even with the close call of almost being spit on, he still smiled sweetly. “I know I don’t have to. Why do you have such a hard time believing I want to?”
    I shrugged, looking to the ground.
    He stepped forward until he was only a few inches from me and with one finger lifted my chin to meet his eyes. His eyebrows raised as he softly said, “I want to.” Then held his hand out toward the hardware store. “Shall we?” he asked, slightly bowing and taking the first step forward.
    His antics made me laugh.
    “That’s better. I like your laugh.” His confidence was back, and mine, well...we’d work on it.
    We walked to his car in silence. It was a little more uncomfortable than the