Hey guys! I am so, so, so sorry it's taken so long to update! I've had a lot going on, plus I was kind of at a road block with this story. Sorry! Hope you like the update though! Take care!
~HM
Unwanted Love
Chapter 4
Ava hadn't heard the Malfoys arrive at the resort; she had been outside on her balcony enjoying the view with Baxter wrapped around her neck. She knew Nora had gone out to explore and Liam retired to his room to take a nap. According to Liam, he had a long night researching about certain jobs he wanted to take at the Ministry. So she decided to spend some time to herself and take advantage of the peace and quiet while she still could.
"Isn't it beautiful, Bax?" she asked with a sigh. "Just look at that blue sky…and those mountains are breathtaking."
"Interesssting sssmellsss," Baxter hissed as slithered down to her waist and then over her legs that were propped up against the railing.
Ava laughed as she gave him a stroke. "I bet…want me to take you outside so you can hunt? You haven't fed in awhile."
Baxter hissed in agreement and happily coiled himself around her wrist as she got up and carried him back inside. She heard laughter flow from downstairs as she made her descent and found her parents and Aunt Tasha and Uncle Draco lounging on the couches in the living room. "Hey, you're here!" Ava exclaimed as she walked over to them. "I didn't hear you guys get here or I would have been down sooner."
"We haven't been here long," Draco said as he immediately got up to hug her. "Is that the famous Baxter?"
"The one and only," Ava said proudly then flashed a smile at Natasha. "Hi, Aunt Tash!"
"Hi sweetie…I'd love to hug you, but…maybe you can pass Baxter to someone else first."
Ava laughed as Baxter slithered from her wrist to Draco's, then went up and wrapped her snake-free arms around her. "It's so good to see you! It's been too long!"
"Too long," she agreed as she pulled back to get a good look at her. "You're getting prettier by the day, A.J."
Ava smiled. "Thanks, Aunt Tash," she said as she casually looked around the room for a certain someone.
"Dameon went searching for Nora," Hermione said with a hidden smile. "So you're in the clear for now."
Ava just shrugged it off like she didn't care. Dameon and Nora always seemed to get a long great, which always slightly annoyed her. Aren't sisters supposed to stick together? The least she could do was realize how incredibly irritating Dameon was, but for some reason, she was alone on that opinion. "Well…I'm going to run out back and let Baxter go and explore. He needs to hunt."
Draco gave Baxter back to A.J. "Where's that boyfriend of yours, A.J.?"
"Oh, he's taking a nap," she informed him and the rest. "Had a late night last night. It's good to see you both, I'm glad you guys are here."
"Ditto," Draco said as he sat back down. "See you later, A.J."
"Bye," she said as she walked out, stopping to give her father a kiss when he tapped his finger to his cheek. "Bye, Dad."
"See you, pumpkin…happy hunting, Bax," he said giving him a little tap under his mouth.
Ava gave a final wave before walking through the sliding glass door that led to the patio deck out back. After she slid the door closed behind her, she walked over to the edge of the deck and trotted down the steps that led to the meadow that was big enough for her entire family to run around in once they got there.
"Should be plenty of field mice around here," she said as she swung Baxter off her neck and then held him up in front of her and looked into his eyes. "Now be careful, okay? You are not use to this area and there are pretty big, bad birds out here…I'd really hate to see you get carried off by some hawk or eagle."
He nodded his head in agreement and tickled her nose with his tongue, which always made her laugh. "Okay…have fun," she said as she put him down and watched him slither away in the grass.
She watched him as long as she could and only looked away when she couldn't see him anymore. Since the view was there in front of her to enjoy, she took the time to revel in the moment. It was quiet…the house was farther than most of the other guest houses so the only thing she could hear was the soft whistle of the wind and the distant chirps of birds nearby. Happy to be there, she closed her eyes and lifted her face into the sun and took a long, deep breath.
"Are you meditating?"
Her relaxed body immediately went rigid in irritation at the sound of Dameon's voice. "Go away," she said through clenched teeth as she kept her back to him.
Dameon chuckled as he walked over and sat on the bottom of the steps. "Yeah, okay…like I always do what you tell me."
She rolled her eyes as she turned around. "Why are you even here? I thought you said you were going to stay clear from me as much as possible."
"True," he said as he stretched out his legs. "I was going to sit out here and read my book…but then I saw you looking up at the sky with your eyes closed like you were in some other world." He didn't feel the need to add that the sight of her sent an unpleasant and unwanted feeling in the pit of his gut.
"I was just enjoying the moment," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Nothing wrong with that. So, what are you reading? Hope it has pictures in it to help you out."
"Ha, ha," he said dryly and then held up the book. "It's your mum's latest muggle book and as you can see…not one of her children's stories."
Ava blinked in astonishment when she recognized the hardback cover he held up. "You read my mum's stuff?"
"Sure," he said as he set the book back down next to him. "I've read all of them…even the one's she published before we were born."
"So you do read children's books?" she teased with a slight grin.
"Only if it was written by your mum. So? You've read them I bet."
"Well, sure…but she's my mum…and I love her."
Dameon got up and walked over to her. "There you go…she may not be my mum, but I still love her. Plus, it doesn't hurt that she's an excellent writer."
Ava frowned as she took a step back. "Cut it out…I hate it when you do this."
Now Dameon frowned in puzzlement. "Do what?" he asked as he took another step to match her retreated step
"Show your good side," she admitted as she stumbled back again. "It confuses me…it's easier to think of you as an annoying prick and nothing else."
"Really?" he asked intrigued as he took another step. "So…let me get this straight…when I'm jerk, you think I'm an annoying prick…and when I show my good side…that annoys you too?"
"Got it one," she said and instead of taking another step back she placed a hand on his chest to ward him off. "Back off, Malfoy…you're crowding me."
He didn't budge. "Where's your boy toy?"
She scowled. "I told you not to call him that."
"Right…sorry. Where's boy wonder?"
She let out a frustrating groan and gave him a shove. "You are the most…" She gasped when he suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward, causing the entire front of her body to slam against his chest. His arm was around her waist, holding her tight against him and even through her anger she couldn't help but notice how incredibly hard his body felt against hers. "Just what do you think…"
"Shut up and get behind me."
The urgent tone in his voice made her suddenly alarmed as her whole body went rigid. He had his wand out and pointed down on the ground with a cold look in his eyes that made her tremble. "What is it?" she asked shakily as she started to turn around when he loosened his grip. She was about to get behind him like he told her to, but when she saw what he was pointing his wand at, her heart shot up in her throat.
"No!" she gasped as she pushed his wand away. "Don't you dare hurt him!"
Dameon tightened his grip on her when he realized she was trying to get away. "A.J., are you crazy? That's a snake, he'll…"
"It's Baxter," she said and flung his arm away and poked her thumb against her chest. "My snake."
Dameon lifted a brow. "Your snake? You have a snake?"
"That's right," she said and slapped his hand. "Put that away."
Dameon slipped his wand back in his pocket. "I didn't know you had a snake."
"Dad gave him to me last summer," she said as she turned around and bent down to scoop Baxter up. "It's okay, Bax…did that mean old bully scare you?" Ava lifted him over her head and settled him around her neck and then turned back around to see Dameon staring at her as if she had two heads. "What?"
"You…you're a Parselmouth?"
Ava lifted her chin in defense. There were a lot of people, including her boyfriend, who thought that it was weird she talked to snakes. It wasn't something that she ever thought of hiding; she wasn't ashamed of her gift at all. She inherited the gift from her father and the hell with anyone who looked down at her for it. It had been a sore subject between her and Liam, but in the end she realized that he had a snake phobia and so she couldn't really blame him. "Yeah? So? Are you going to now call me Freak instead of Grace?"
"No," he said, slightly hurt that she would even think so low of him. "Grace fits you too well." He cocked his head to the side and studied her. "How come I never knew this about you?"
She shrugged. "It's not something I hide, yet I don't announce it to the whole world either." She eyed him closely. "So…you really don't think I'm weird?"
He lifted a brow. "Weird? On some levels, yes…but no…I don't think it's weird you speak to snakes. It's pretty cool and…"
"What?" she asked when he hesitated.
"I can't believe I'm going to admit this to you," he said with a sigh. "You'll just get a big head, but…it's kind of…well…sexy."
Ava snorted a laugh. "Now you're the one being weird."
"No…seriously," he said with a grin. "It's kind of hot. Say something else."
"No!" she laughed, slightly flustered. "You're crazy."
"C'mon…say something else…I need to find out if it's sexy…maybe it was just a fluke and I'll think it's weird and start calling you Freak."
Ava gave him a dry look. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Nope."
She let out an exasperating laugh. "I thought so…all right, fine…here goes." She held up Baxter up to the side so she could see him in her peripheral vision, but looked right at Dameon and spoke.
He groaned when she was done. "Yep…definitely sexy. What did you say?"
She smirked. "That you're a constant pain in my side that refuses to go away."
He let out a loud, deep laugh. "Back at you, A.J." He looked at Baxter and took a step closer to them. "Can I hold him?"
"Sure…but he'll probably won't let you." She held out Baxter to his outstretched arm. "Especially when you almost tried to hurt…" She trailed off when Baxter immediately uncoiled from her wrist and slithered onto Dameon's.
"You were saying?" Dameon said as he let Baxter slide up his arm and around his neck.
Ava scowled at Baxter. "Traitor. I can't believe you're going to him when he almost killed you."
Baxter hissed back in response. "He did not know I wasss your ssssnake. He wasss protecting you."
"What's going on?" Dameon wanted to know.
Ava crossed her arm in a pout. "He likes you because you tried to save my life from him…he's very protective of me, so you won him over with your little heroics."
"Your snake has good taste. Let me guess…he can't stand wonder boy."
"Liam has a fear of snakes…so, no…Baxter isn't crazy about him."
Dameon grinned. "Yep….excellent taste."
"You really are an annoying prick."
"So you've said," he said unfazed as he lightly scratched Baxter under his chin. "Many of times."
"In my opinion…she can't say it enough."
Ava looked up to the patio to see Liam standing at the top of the stairs. "Liam…you're up."
"Just now," he said with a charming smile as he started to walk down.
Dameon turned around to face him and Baxter hissed angrily at Liam, who yelped like a little girl as he stumbled backwards and fell down on the steps. "Problem?" Dameon asked him casually.
"Liam, are you okay?" A.J. asked urgently as she ran passed Dameon to help him on his feet.
"Fine," he muttered as he eyed the snake warily. "What's he doing out of his cage?"
"Liam…I know you're afraid of snakes, but I can't keep him in the cage for the entire trip. He knows not to hurt you."
"He just hissed at me," he sputtered as he skirted around Dameon until he was on the grass with A.J. at his side.
Dameon patted Baxter's head. "Good boy."
Ava scowled at him. "Cut it out, Malfoy…you're not helping." She then turned to Liam and rubbed his arm. "Why don't we go on a walk? Get some fresh air?"
"Yeah," he said as he flickered his gaze to Dameon. "Let's do that." He put a possessive arm around her and smirked triumphantly when he noticed the flit of anger in Dameon's eyes. "We can finally spend some time alone," he said looking down at Ava and gave her a sweet, lingering kiss.
"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick," Dameon muttered as he turned away and walked up the steps.
Ava pulled away from Liam, slightly embarrassed. "Wait…Dameon…"
He turned back around with an intriguing brow. It was always a pleasant surprise when she actually called him by his first name. "Yes?"
"Would you mind keeping an eye on Bax while I'm away?" she asked and tried to take a step towards him, but was pulled slightly back by Liam. "Er…I just would hate to have to put him back in his cage. He's not allowed to roam free of the house."
"He can hang with me while I read," he assured her.
She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks…I owe you one."
He grinned. "Looking forward to the payback. Have a nice walk."
"Let's go, babe," Liam said as he tugged her away, not liking the friendly exchange between the two. It made him extremely uneasy. It was a lot more comforting when they fought like rabid dogs. "I need some alone time with you."
Ava blushed. "All right…let's go."
Dameon stood on the deck as he watched them walk down the trail that led into the trees. "I really don't know what she sees in that loser, Bax," he said once they were out of sight. "The woman drives me crazy…but even I know she could do better than that."
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