Element, Part 1 by CM Doporto

of them had been lies that crushed her into a pit
of agony. She would never fall for words like those again. She had to be
smarter than that.
    She took a deep breath. “Ryan, I’m flattered by your words
but....” She turned her body in his direction and looked up at him. “I don’t
think I…” Her eyes caught his gaze and her breath caught in her throat. Why did
he make her forget about everything she promised not to do? This uncontrollable
attraction was more than she could handle. She would not surrender to it. She
didn’t want to take the chance of getting hurt again. The battle between her
head and heart overwhelmed her. Then she heard that voice; her grandmother’s
voice, reminding her to have faith. Isn’t that why she agreed to the date in
the first place?
    “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” His eyes cried out
and she knew he searched for the right words he longed to hear from her.
    Oh my God, why can’t I resist him? She turned away,
trying to fight the feelings taking over her heart. Why was this so hard?  No
one had ever made her feel this way before. She couldn’t explain the connection
or the relentless force that drove her soul straight to his.
    She looked back at Ryan. The calling of his lips and the
hunger in his eyes made it easy to break her rules. “I guess what I’m trying to
say is that… I’m scared. I’m so scared of getting hurt again.”
    He leaned in closer to her. “I’m scared too. We’ve both been
hurt before and I don’t think either of us can handle going through that again.
All I know is that there is somethin’ about you that drives me…” he breathed
out slowly through his nose, “crazy.”
    Not only could he not resist her either but he had the same
fears as she did. One thing was for certain, he would have to earn her trust
and that would take time. She would take the time and get to know him. She
peered into his eyes. “So, I drive you crazy?”
    He cracked a smile. “I don’t mean crazy, like that. I mean
that I can’t stop thinkin’ about you and the way you make me feel.”
    She pressed her lips together, contemplating if she should
open up to him. He had definitely shown his vulnerability. She figured now it
was her turn. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I can’t deny that
there is something about the way you make me feel too.” Her hand drew to his
arm. “It’s like… magnetic.”
    His eyes lit up and he took her hands in his. “Then you do
feel what I feel?”
    A hum of energy encircled them. She looked down and saw how
his hands cradled hers in the shape of a heart. His voice touched a part of her
that made her want to surrender everything to him. It overwhelmed her and she
struggled to contain her emotions.
    She stared directly into his eyes. “Yes, I do and it’s
amazing. Just please don’t hurt me.”
    “I understand, Natalie. The last thing I want is for you to
get hurt and I don’t want you to hurt me either.”
    “I promise I won’t… but let’s take this slow. Get to know
each other, okay?” She surrendered, laying all her emotions on the table.
    “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.” A
pregnant lady walked in holding a small boy’s hand.
    Ryan let go of her hands and stood up. “Oh hey Steph, you’re
not interrupting. Ummm, let me introduce you to my friend, Natalie Vega.”
    Natalie immediately jumped to her feet and met her halfway.
“Hi. Nice to meet you.”
    “This is my sister-in-law Stephanie and my nephew Colt. Oh
and my soon to be born niece, Emma.”
    Natalie leaned over and rubbed the boy’s sun bleached hair.
“Aren’t you cute?” He hugged his mother’s leg tightly, hiding behind it.
    “Lance wanted to let you know that the horses are saddled
and ready. He needs to finish mending a fence on the east side of the property
so he’s about to drive over there.”
    “Okay thanks, Steph. We were getting ready to head out.”
    “Did you still want to ride?”