Just Like Magic

Chapter 14 Bathtime

Randalyn's POV

We finally stop again after what feels like a century of running... I know I'm exaggerating, but if we hadn't stopped sometime soon, then I think my body would've just collapsed from exhaustion. I'm not used to this kind of exercise... But the real strength from inside of you comes out in everyone when it pertains to saving their own lives at that moment. So the adrenaline from the fear, somehow made me feel as if I could do anything. So for me, that's exactly what I did, what I didn't think I could do, but did it anyway... That's true inner strength if you ask me.

I used my only bit of strength to run as fast as I could to get away from the men trying to hurt me, if not kill me if they had the chance. That might not seem like much of a fight for my life to just run, but putting the strength into every step I took when I didn't think I could take another step was something incredibly hard to do. I had to push myself further than I ever thought I could go, further than I ever have gone in my life.. and, in a way, I feel proud of myself.

The only other time I ever felt like that about myself was when I was able to get a punch in on my father. Efficiently breaking his nose and it took him down for the night, so he didn't hurt me anymore that one night.. Yes, the beating that I took from him the next day was unbearable, absolutely unbearable... I wore those bruises for weeks and the scars that were retained on my back from his whipping never went away.. but worth it because of how I got to give him a taste of his own medicine. That was something I have held onto my entire life and this run will be on the list along with it.

So my body aches in every way possible after a trek like that. I'm gasping for air, holding onto my chest, just praying for the pain to ease as more air enters my lungs. I leaned back on the huge tree beside me, just hoping for a little relief to my body, in every sense of the word. He is panting but not as hard as I am.. so he looks concerned about me as he walks over to me instantly. I put my hand up, stopping him to let him know I was fine... My body is just not used to this type of activity. "I swear I'm fine. Just haven't run this much in a while.. like never actually.. but I'll be fine if my body doesn't decide to give out.. we will see." I say humorously between gasps for air as he smiles over at me but nods with me. "Me too... So how about we stop over here for a little bit." He says to me as I nod, then flopping onto the ground.

I hear a chuckling from him as I look over to see he is laughing at me. "What are you laughing at?" I ask trying to put some attitude behind that question but it doesn't work. This just gets him smirking at me as he says softly. "You're dramatic and it's hilarious.. plus you're still covered in mud, so that adds to the scene."

I laugh at that comment as look down just to notice I really am covered in dried mud. It must've dried while I was running. I try to comb my fingers through my hair but it's completely knotted with clumps of mud stuck to each strand of hair, stopping me from doing so. That action alone sends a pain through my head making me wonder how I'm going to get this mud out of my hair and off of this poor fuzzy shirt.

"So? You're just jealous that you didn't get a mud bath too.. Is that it? I knew it... It's because they're good for your skin. Right? I don't know how good it is for hair but I assume just as good because this feels amazing." I state sarcastically but in a playful tone, making him smile as he shakes his head, looking at the ground right before he glances over at me.

I find myself biting my lip as our eyes connect again. Our gazes just seem to keep finding each other somehow and when we connect it feels electric so of course it feels very wrong just to disconnect from him. But I have to cut the tension between us or I will never get anything done. "But in all seriousness, my hair is now dried clay. Is there anywhere I could go to wash this off? If those guys come back, I want to be able to move as fast as I can and, believe me, I can't do that being a clay statue at the moment." I declare as he chuckles but nods in understanding while looking around to help me out.

He waves for me to follow him as we walk a little further into the trees until a pond comes into view. "You could do that here and I'll build a fire over here behind the trees, so you can have some privacy. But if anything happens, just yell for me and I'm there." He declares as I smile and nod. "Ok thanks Cass."

He shares a smile with me for a long moment until he clears his throat then turns and then walks away. I watch him leave, but giving it a second to make sure he is gone before I start to take everything off. I start to strip off one layer after the next. Starting with my boots, then my socks, to my jacket shirt and pants. I slip my bra and thong off setting everything down beside the water.

After I set my bag down, I slowly walk into the water letting the cold take over. I shiver and take deep breaths the further I get into the water. I feel every last inch of me hardening at the freezing temperature of this water. But it's all I got so I won't complain.

I can't swim and have to make sure I don't kill myself so I don't go too incredibly deep. but enough to be able to sit in the water. as if I'm in a bathtub, even though this is the furthest thing from that. I take each of my clothing items that are dirty clothing that I need to wash before I even decide to wash myself.

I rinse the outside of my boots off so they aren't covered in mud. I do the same for my leather jacket, then onto each piece of clothing. When they are clean I toss them on top of the boulder that's next to the edge of this pond and my bag just in case.

I lean back until my hair has completely submerged in the water. I use my hands to massage the mud out, splashing just slightly with this action. I find my body starting to relax actually getting used to the cold. Which is nice until I feel a tickle on the bottom of my bare foot. I jump not knowing what did that until I feel a full grasp on my ankle as I'm pulled into the water.

I yell out when I'm submerged in the water completely, sending only bubbles to the surface but not my cries for help. I panic knowing he couldn't have heard me as I used the little bit of air I had in my system. I know I'm the one that has to get me out of this at least to get some air or call for help. So I kick at whatever is holding my ankle, over and over again trying to get it to release me. It works as I float up to the surface of the water. When my face breaks through the surface of the water I yell out using what air I could gain in that second. "Cass!" I'm not even given a moment to figure out if that worked or not, let alone get any air in my lungs before I'm dragged back into the water.

Cassius' POV

I kneel down next to the fire, extending my hands toward the flames I have created. It's so cold out here, especially since the sun doesn't come in here at all. I don't know how plants survive in this environment, but they do. I put my hands out above the flames helping thaw them out, enjoying the heat as my eyes bounce from one thing to the next. There's nothing out of the ordinary around here, but that doesn't mean I don't need to be on my toes just in case.

I find myself still glancing back behind me over and over again, not trying to invade her personal space, I want her to feel safe with me. It's just hard when the aching to let the temptation take over and join her, won't stop invading my thoughts.

I stand up while shaking my head hating myself for that thought. This woman is trusting me and here I am trying to get to know her better in more ways than one. This makes me feel as if I'm the worst person on this planet, things are crazy for us right now so these thoughts are ridiculous to even fathom.

But I can't deny the reoccurring thoughts I have been having about her in every way, from her stunning beauty to her fun personality... I don't know how anyone could think she is a monster... I mean I do know how because of what we are taught about muggles from a young age.. but there is no way she is like all the stories I have heard about muggles. I won't believe anything like that about her until I see it so she can prove me otherwise.

I can hear little bits of splashing from her behind me, getting cleaned up, bringing my thoughts back to the enthralling ideas of her stripping down, and skinny dipping only feet away from me. Which sounds absolutely amazing.

I daydream about that tantalizing idea before I think I hear another splash but this one is way louder than the rest. I listen for it again but don't hear anything. I start to turn around to see if she is ok. But I stop and shake my head figuring I am just being nosey and I need to keep my intrusive thoughts and eyes to myself. So I keep my gaze forward to keep staring at the flames that are popping with each snap the fire makes.

I stare at the golden flames thinking of her eyes and how they glow almost the same. Her eyes are gorgeous and have me hooked with just one look but she has no idea and probably never will. I'm just trying to help her get out of here safely. I'm not planning on getting attached anytime soon, especially to an illegal being. I don't want to be on the run all my life and she probably doesn't want me there with her all the time anyways... So when we figure out what to do with her, I'm sure we will be on our own separate paths to live out normal lives once again... Yeah, that's probably what will happen right? I wonder if that's what she wants... Is that what I want?

"Cass!" catches my attention as I sit up straight looking around me just to quickly realize that is a distress call from Randy. I jump up without hesitation, turning around and running through the couple of trees that were separating us. "Randy, are you ok?" I yell out but she is not there. I see the pile of clothes on top oof boulder by her backpack but she isn't there. I slowly walk around, straining my ears to listen out for any signs of life. I keep looking but I don't know where else she would go because she is not here... maybe the water? I look over at the water and it's completely staying still, looking like it could be glass.

I step closer to the water staring out looking for any clue or sign of her, but nothing until a loud splash catches me off guard. I jump and then see it's Randy, splashing at the surface, gasping for air as she yells my name again. "Cass!" She is instantly pulled back under but I can tell she is fighting this as much as she can. Her face emerges again as she just gasps for air.

I run into the water, with my arms extended to grab hold of her hand. It's soaking wet so insanely slippery, it takes me a couple of attempts of her hand slipping through my clutches before I grip her petite hand tight between my palms. I start to pull but she doesn't move any closer to me and is still engulfed in the water. I keep feeling her being tugged back under the water. I don't know how long she can hold her breath but I would assume I need to get her out soon or she might drown.

I keep pulling getting her closer to me but it's taking all of my strength just to do that and it works only slightly. but enough to get her face out of the water. She is gasping for air trying to use her hand to help her in the water. I can't tell what she is reaching for but she yells out "My leg!" between gasps for air and gurgling of the water.

I slip further into the water which gets me closer to her but not in a secure spot to keep pulling her out. So I use my arm to wrap around her torso, pulling her onto me and making sure her face is out of the water. My hand feels for her thigh, once I get to it, I slide my hand down her leg searching for what she is talking about. While reaching down her leg, I come into contact with something slimy and slick wrapped around it. I would assume it's a tentacle or seaweed wrapping around her leg.

I don't know what has her with the water being just as dark as the forest surrounding us, but I can tell by the fight that it's something big and strong. So I take my wand in hand and stupify the being at her feet a couple of times, hoping that will be enough to send it away. We both whip back into the water, showing it has let her go. We splash in the water, trying to steady ourselves as I tug her all the way over to me and she automatically wraps her arms around me. She is still gasping for air as she yells out. "I can't swim Cass!"

I securely wrap my arm around her torso. keeping her body completely pressed into me as I declare back to her. "It's ok Randy I know how to swim and I got you.. just hold on tight." She vigorously nods at me as I feel that she does just that by tightening her arms around me before laying her head on my shoulder, still gasping for the much-needed air in her system.

I backstroke with one arm while making sure she stays on me, slowly getting us away from the area where we were just attacked and making sure to get closer to the edge of the water so I can reach the ground. Once my shoes squish into the mud, showing me I'm finally able to reach the ground, I let out a sigh of relief. I look into her eyes to see they're staring up at me and looking as if they're glowing once again... I thought that was just the starlight reflecting before, but we don't have that now and they are still glowing... It's strange but absolutely stunning.

I can feel that her legs are still swinging past mine showing me that she still can't touch the ground as I can, but she continues to kick her legs like she is trying to swim. So I turn us to make sure she can reach the shallow end of things. but she is shorter than I thought, because that isn't working, making her completely dependent on me for keeping her floating in the water. I keep trying to bring her closer to the edge but the closer we get the tighter her hold is on me. She keeps pressing her body into mine showing that even if she could touch she wouldn't want to leave me.. and I have to admit I wouldn't want to put her down.

I reach up and touch her cheek to get her attention. "Are you ok?" I ask softly as she nods but then shakes her head instantly after. "I'm alive thanks to you but.. that was so scary... why does everything want to kill me out here?" She whines out to me as I say softly to her. "It might sound awful... but out here you're an easy target... but... I'm sorry I should have been right here with you.. but I wanted to give you privacy." I say to her as she shakes her head and replies. "It's not your fault."

We stare for a moment in silence as she clears her throat and exclaims. "What the hell was that?" I shake my head as I reply. "I have no idea I didn't get to see it but don't worry about that you're safe now," I say as I push the wet hair out of her eyes. She nods her head before looking at me. "Thank you for helping me.. again." She says softly as if she is embarrassed about that.

"It's not a problem I swear, I'm just happy you're ok." I say to her as we float with our bodies still pressed together in this water, having our faces only inches apart.

"That at least helped get the mud out of my hair so I look remotely decent." She says humorously as I blurt out without a second thought. "You don't need to do any of that, you're already stunning." She smiles at me as she asks. "Really?" I scoff as I state as if it should be obvious. "absolutely." her eyes lock with mine as I feel her breath fanning over my lips making me imagine what we could do with us being so close like this right now. I find my face automatically inching closer to hers as she does the same to me.

I close my eyes leaning in to collide together the way we both want to. When our lips connect I can feel an automatic spark as if there is a natural electricity between us.. She presses her body more into mine making sure there is no space between us as I keep kissing her just enjoying this moment and how soft her lips feel when pressed into mine.

I let this intoxicating feeling take over as we kiss in what feels like the most tantalizing moment of my life. The moment is easily becoming breathless as I rub my hand over her back and down to her hip. She wraps her legs around my hips as her hands caress through my hair while pulling my head in closer, making our lips press harder into each other.

My other hand automatically grabs on her hip rubbing over her naked soft skin while making sure she is secured into me. causing a light moan to leave her lips making mine vibrate under hers. This is becoming more than I ever intended but all I wanted with her... But I don't want to hurt her and I have to make sure this is what she wants. I can't and won't take advantage of her.