My Lost Orchard

Chapter two (part one)

I watched as he ran out of view, quickly jogging to catch up with him.There, standing three feet away from me was a man. He was bent over, slowly stroking Daltons soft fur, unaware of my presence, or so I thought. I watched him for a moment, studying the curve of his broad shoulders and the light aubrun of his hair falling down around his ears. Finally he looked up at me, not an ounce of surprise on his face. He was beautiful in the most striking of ways. his skin was tanned a dark olive color, his lips full and pink, but the most striking of all his features was his eyes. Set under a low full brow was a pari of the lightest, most radiant green eyes I'd ever seen.

"I'm sorry," his words were lined with a slight accent that melted off his tongue.

I was so startled by this beautiful stranger that my words seemed to have escaped me. So I watched him watch me as the minutes passed by us both. even the leaves on the trees were still, the only sound was my heart beating in my chest.

"My name is Destin," he said breaking the silence.

"What are you doing in my orchard?" it was the only thing that I could get out. He stood to his complete height then, much taller than my own, and took a step towards me.

"You're orchard?" He questioned with the slightest of smirks on his face.

"Mine, yes," I repeated.

"I live here," he said, again taking a step towards me. This time I took my own step back, running right into the rough bark of a fully blossomed pear tree.

"You live in the orchard," I asked, my voice sounding softer than I'd ever heard it before.

"It belongs to my family and me. I live just a mile or so through the trees," his voice was deep and smooth in my ears. He took quick steps in towards me so that we were mere inches apart. I could feel the scape of the bark against my back as he started to speak, "Technically you're the one trespassing on my land."

"I.... I didn't know," I stuttered out, aggressively looking down at my feet.

"I've seen you here before, running."

"I'm sorry." If I had, had more room to push back I would have, but I was already sure my back would be scrapped up.

"Don't be," I could hear a whisper of a laugh but dared not to look up at him. "You make me smile," he said, and I could feel his eyes on me, almost begging me to look at them. "I like to watch you, you go about like a child but you look like a women. Its extraordinary," his words shocked me into submission and I looked up at him.

"Nothing about me is extraordinary," I was blushing through my whole body at that point. My heart beating as my body grew more and more accustomed to his presence. He smelled like menthols and dirt, such a masculine earthy smell.

"I would say otherwise. You're beautiful, and beauty is extraordinary all in itself." He was very close to me then. He had his arm against the tree above my head, my back pressed firmly against the bark, and his eyes on mine. Just the atmosphere was enough to send shivers down my spine. He was like a character from one of my novels, except he was standing right infront of me. "What's your name?"

"Rose," I whispered, my eyes unwavering as I watched those green eyes look back into my own.

"So," he paused, letting a smile grown on his lips. "Rose," he paused again, as if testing the name, then smiling even bigger. "Why are you in my orchard?" he took a few steps back then, and turned so that his back faced me. I was startled for a moment by his physical absence, and I wished to smell his small again.