Mesmerized by Julia Crane Page B

doing. 
    Soon, they were in their underwear, and nothing else mattered to Lily. The lust took over. She put her hands on Jake’s cool chest and began to kiss him. 
    He grabbed her hands and pressed them to his chest. “Not now.” He felt bad seeing the look in her eyes. Avoiding them, he dug in his bag and yanked out his dry clothes. “Why don’t you get dressed?”
    Lily glared at him. She couldn't believe he had turned her down. “Fine.” She unzipped her backpack and pulled out dry clothes. 
    After she was dressed, she looked in the mirror. She was a mess. Her wet hair was matted to her face. Her nose was bright red and cold. But, she didn’t care. She turned to Jake and said, “What is going on?”
    Jake took a deep breath. “Sampson came back after you fell asleep. He’s a seer, do you know what that is?”
    Lily nodded. “Someone who can see the future. I wasn't born yesterday.”
    “Right. He saw people coming for me.”
    “You? I don’t understand. Aren’t we on the run from people looking for me?”
    Jake shuffled his feet. “A long time ago, someone found out that I was immortal and came looking for me. The man was obsessed with finding out how I could live and not age. He was filthy rich, and wanted to stop the hands of time. He sent his goons after me." Jake met her eyes. "They wanted to know my secret, as if I had one to tell. I got away from them, but they keep coming after me. It’s like an unsolved case to them. It gets passed down from generation to generation.
    "They took Laura from me." His jaw clenched and he looked away. "They tortured her. There was nothing I could do to stop it."
    Lily sucked in her breath and lifted her hand to her chest. "Did they..."
    "Yes, they killed her in front of me. Trying to get me to talk." His fists were clenched at his side. "They won’t accept my answer, that I’m human and cursed and I have no idea how it works. They killed her because I don’t have the answers. I won’t let them do that to you.”
    Lily was dumbfounded. She had no idea how to respond. She swallowed hard. "How did you get away?"
    "I killed them." Jake's voice sounded detached.
    "Oh."
    "Not that it mattered. They never come after me themselves, they just send hired help." 
    "I'm sorry, Jake." She couldn't stop thinking of Laura and what she must have gone through. Or how hard it had to have been for Jake to watch the woman he loved being tortured to death. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. “How do we avoid them?” 
    “We move around a lot, stay under the radar. I can usually go a decade without seeing them. I can't believe the timing." Jake moved towards her. "I can't let them get to you. It would break me if something happened to you." 
    "Hush, don't worry about me. I always have the compulsion if they come after me. It might actually help, maybe I can send them back with a false message."
    Jake shook his head. "I don't want you to go anywhere near them."  He pulled her close and ran his hands through her hair. Just being near her made his heart feel like it was going to explode out of his chest. 
     
    The next morning, Jake woke Lily up early. They needed to get far away. He had a condo in Florida where they could stay. 
    "Have you ever been on a train?" 
    "Only once when I was little. I don't remember it. I've always thought it would be romantic to ride cross-country." Lily smiled. "Are we taking a train?" she asked hopefully.
    "Yes, we can pay with cash. We'll get the tickets under different names."
    "Sounds exciting. Can I pick my name?"
    "Sure, you can even make up mine if you want."
    "Ok, I want to be Emma Gray, and you can be..." She put her finger to her lip thinking. "Gavin Stevens." 
    "Um…okay. Do the names have any significance?"
    "Just names from romance books I've enjoyed." 
    Jake shook his head. "Let's get out of here. Grab your bag." 
    "Right behind you, Gavin." She giggled and grabbed his hand.
    The train ride was even more beautiful