All Bottled Up by Christine D'Abo

pulled her hand away, but didn’t remove it completely, resting it on his knee.
    He felt so warm, inviting, it was a temptation she’d never been faced with before. One she definitely wanted to explore.
    Viola bit on her bottom lip as she tried to find the right words. “How can I not show gratitude for what you are doing for me? You’ve given me so much in such a short period of time. I look different, I even feel different. It’s amazing.” 63
     
     
    “The waiter is coming,” he said, but didn’t move. “I should return to my seat to give you more room to eat.”
    “Okay.”
    He still didn’t move. Instead he picked up her hand and kissed it. In a flash he was back in his original spot.
    “Drink your wine, darling.”
    Viola couldn’t keep up. He had her so worked up, she thought she would burst.
    Before she could say anything else, Jerod flicked his finger and the buttons on her shirt redid themselves.
    “No sense in giving him a show.”
    With the steaming meal placed before them, their conversation died down. Viola concentrated on her fish and hoped she could sort out her emotions before the meal was done. She loved Bill. It was only natural that she’d project some of those emotions onto Jerod. He was, after all, showing her how to seduce the man. It would stand to reason she’d feel something for him as a result of all they were going through. Wouldn’t it?
    After supper, Jerod waved his fingers and made a sizable stack of bills appear on the table.
    “That should cover things nicely.”
    Viola gasped. She’s never seen that much money in any one place at the same time.
    “Ah…yeah. Nice tip.”
    “He earned it. He didn’t flirt with you once.” She giggled as they left the restaurant together. As soon as they reached the night air, Viola shivered. “I didn’t think it got this cold here at night.” She heard him snap his fingers and out of nowhere a white knit shawl appeared in his hands. He took great care to drape it over her shoulders.
    “We should get you back to your room. I would hate for you to get a summer cold.”
    “Is that what Bill would do? Walk me back?” She couldn’t resist the urge to tease him.
    Unfortunately, Jerod didn’t look amused.
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    “Not exactly. He would drive you home in his Ford and make advances toward you the entire time. Which reminds me of another lesson I need to teach you.”
    “Rebuking his advances?”
    He spun her around so fast she had to throw her arm up against his chest to prevent her from losing her balance.
    He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “No. Lesson five.” Her mind was a whirlwind trying to remember the order of the lessons he’d outline at dinner. “Attitude?”
    “Kissing.”
    Her mouth suddenly dried. She had to run her tongue over her lips to moisten them.
    “What happened to lesson two and four?”
    “I’m changing the curriculum.”
    “You don’t like how I kiss?” she said, sounding more juvenile than she wanted.
    “There’s always room for improvement.”
    His hand slid up her arm, under her shawl and across her shoulder, until it rested at the base of her neck. He rubbed his thumb over her pulse line, which made her heart beat even faster.
    “I think we need to change the setting.”
    He snapped his fingers and they were standing in her resort bedroom.
    “That’s better.”
    Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. “Why did you do that? Someone might have seen us disappear.”
    “That’s the wonderful thing about humans. They discount the impossible as a trick of the eyes.” He looked around and made a tsking sound with his mouth.
    “Bill wouldn’t approve of this. We need to make a few changes to improve the atmosphere.”
    He snapped them again and the room filled with candles. She gasped. The glow they produced was stunning. Shadows reached long and far, dancing on the walls to the rhythm of the ocean waves.
     
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    Viola noticed he didn’t do anything this