by P. M. Briede
“Olivier, are you in there with her?” Paige’s voice broke through the barrier of the door, even if she couldn’t.
“Don’t judge me, Paige,” Olivier called back, “but yes I’m in here. It was Charlotte’s request. The lock picks are on top of the door frames. Feel free to unlock the door and see for yourself.”
“Ass, you know that I can’t reach that high!” Anxiety dripped from Paige’s voice and I knew being locked away from me was driving her crazy.
But Olivier didn’t move to let her in. “Look the in the hall closet, there’s a step stool,” he instructed. “Use it.” He cupped my face and brought it up to his. “You’re safe. They’re in custody. I’ll never let them or anyone else hurt you again. From now on, I’m your shadow.” Wesley had once tried to make these same types of promises to me and I’d foolishly forbidden them. How different would my life be if I hadn’t? This time I planned on allowing it.
We knew Paige was on her way in when we heard the rattling of the doorknob. Bursting into the room, she charged the bed, jumped in on my other side, and yanked me out of Olivier’s arms. “It’s okay;” she whispered in my ear. “We’re all here for you. Tristan is on his way over right now.” Olivier shifted uncomfortably at this pronouncement. “They’ve cleared my house. So we’re going to take you shopping and you’re coming home with me.”
In unison the word “no” spilled from Olivier’s and my lips. His was more of a petulant shout while mine came out more as a fearful screech. “Why not?” Paige asked confused. “You’ve always stayed with me when needed, just as I’ve always stayed with you. What’s changed about this time?” she challenged while arching an eyebrow at Olivier.
Our arguments tumbled over each other. “Because I offer her more protection than you do!” he growled.
“Because I don’t want too this time,” I simply stated.
Paige’s response focused on Olivier’s argument. “Like you did last night! We almost lost her.”
Leaping from the bed, Olivier rounded on Paige with fists clenched at his sides. “It was because of me that we didn’t! Had our roles been reversed, Ms. Lochs, you wouldn’t have heard anything and would be discovering her body this very morning! Maybe if your department had done their job the first time, their trial wouldn’t have been dismissed! You could have warned me they were out there, you know.” God, but his voice echoed through the room and my head.
Taking a cue from him, Paige stood but did so with more menace. “I don’t report to you and maybe if you’d just stayed out of her life none of this would be happening to any of us!”
How had they not killed each other during those seven weeks of my absence? I stood, but on the bed to remain between them. “Children!” I hollered. “I am not some favorite toy to be fought over. Now lower your voices before someone at my house recognizes them and comes over to investigate what’s going on here!” I fixed my glare on Paige. “I meant what I said last night about not needing anyone to make my decisions for me. Olivier offered to open up his home to me…”
“I bet he did! Char…” Paige broke in but I didn’t give her the chance to finish.
“Enough, Paige. No one knows better what I need than me. I’m thirty-six years old and I can make up my own mind and live with the consequences. Understood?” Reluctantly, she nodded.
Swiveling my head, I scolded Olivier. “And you! I will not put up with you purposely antagonizing my friends. Like it or not we are all we’ve got right now and I am depending on you both! Understood?” Though his arms were crossed over his chest Olivier actually looked amused at seeing me tower over him. I didn’t wait for his nod because his demeanor was causing the corners of my mouth to turn up and I was still really mad at both of them.
Only Paige did see Olivier’s face and made one last case for me not staying with him. “Charlotte, you’re giving him exactly what he wants! We all know he’s in love with you. He can barely keep it under control when he sees you in public. What are you going to do about his advances while you’re living under his roof? Eventually, he’s going to wear you down. Being with him will effectively end any chance you have with Wesley.”
“God damn it, Paige, back off!” I blew, frustrated that it felt like she was blaming me for Wesley shacking up with Abigail. “You are not my mother. I am not some slut who’s toying with either of their emotions.” Not looking at Olivier, I threw my arm back to point in his general direction. “Are you under any misconceptions that my feelings for Wesley have diminished in the slightest?” I asked Olivier.
“Nope.” His tone voiced his curiosity to see where this was going.
In the emotional haze I was in, I was about to drop a bomb I hadn’t even fully admitted to myself. “Good! So everyone in this room is well aware that I’m still madly in love with Wesley. Problem is, Paige, he has either forgotten or doesn’t give a damn! I’m not the one who walked away. I’m not the one who started seeing someone else without even breaking up with my fiancée. So explain to me why it’s wrong for me to finally accept his rejection and pick up the pieces of my heart. Explain why it’s bad to have Olivier help me do it. I’ve always known that he could be a man I could love since it seems I’ve come close to doing so every time we’ve gotten together in the past. Explain to me what is so wrong with Olivier!”
Paige did the last thing I expected. She peered up at me as she crossed her arms proudly over her chest. “Nothing,” she smugly said. Olivier and I stood dumbfounded as Paige just smirked at us.
“What do you mean ‘nothing’?” I questioned Paige with narrowed eyes. She’s always been wary of Olivier. He is an otherworldly being after all. “Have you been manipulating me?” I guessed.
“You weren’t going to move on from Wesley without being pushed off the cliff,” she admitted.
“Are you freaking kidding me right now?!” I screeched as I stomped my foot on the bed and flung my arms down by my sides in frustration. “Jesus, Paige. That doesn’t give you the right to play God in my love life.”
“Olivier, can you give us a minute?” Paige suddenly addressed him. Olivier hadn’t said a word since her confession and he didn’t say anything now. He just quietly left the room. “Put away your indignation, Charlotte,” she began when the door was closed. Not that it would keep Olivier from listening. “You went through hell last night and I hate to be the one to inform you, but it’s not looking too good for our side right now. We are no closer to getting definitive proof about our exile mole or figuring out how they’re going to usher in their war. We all need to not waste time with what few things will bring us joy in the remaining days. I’m not saying date Olivier. I’m just saying that if he makes you happy, don’t put him off.”
We heard the doorbell ring and Tristan’s voice floated through the house. “Think about it?” Paige asked. I nodded my head. “Now let’s go downstairs. Tristan’s been worried sick about you.”
You’d have thought Tristan had been my best friend for twenty-two years. He blew past Paige and took me in his arms. “God, I’m so glad you’re okay.” His voice trembled as he spoke. “Wesley called me. He said the police called him to let him know his home had been broken into and that you’d been attacked.”
I pulled away from Tristan and looked at Paige. “I thought you said you called Wesley.”
“I did,” she said. Her expression held the same level of confusion as my own. “Tristan, Wesley didn’t say it was me that called. He said police? How’d they know to call him? Is he on the deed, Charlotte?” I shook my head no.
Tristan’s eyes darted between the two of us. “I know it’s weird because I could have sworn you told me you called him too. But when I specifically asked him if he got a call from you he said no,” Tristan began explaining. His eyes settled on me as he continued. “The strangest thing about it was Wesley said Charlotte had just left him to come home yesterday afternoon. He couldn’t understand how you’d been attacked in the break-in. Given this was the first he’d mentioned you to me i
n months, I blew and asked him why he cared so much now. I confirmed you’d been attacked and called him crazy for thinking he’d just seen you the day before. He said he didn’t understand why all his friends had gone insane and hung up on me.”
I couldn’t get sidetracked. Bottom line was that instead of calling me to see what had happened, Wesley had called Tristan. Shaking the infuriating man out of my mind, I asked if Paige was still up for taking me shopping. “Of course!” she answered. “It would be my pleasure. Besides, you can’t wear that to dinner tonight.”
“Um, I’m sorry but I’m not going out to dinner tonight,” I contended. I got a little nervous when Tristan stepped away from us and stood a little behind Olivier. Whatever Tristan knew, I didn’t think I was going to like finding out. “In case you’ve forgotten, I was almost murdered last night.”
“Good grief, Charlotte,” Paige expelled with irritation. “I didn’t forget that. But you seem to have forgotten that today is your birthday and I’m not giving that to those assholes as well.” Holy crap! I had forgotten. I hadn’t even realized we were in the month of May already, much less close to the end of it.
Using every bit of the six inches I had over her, I straightened up and asserted myself. “I’m not going to dinner, Paige. I look exactly like I should after an attempted rape and murder.” At my admission of what Squeaky and Shorty had attempted to do to me last night, Olivier, Tristan, and Paige flinched as if I’d slapped them. “It’s just a day and now a lousy one at that.”
With her hands on her hips, Paige set her stance but it didn’t intimidate me as much as it had in the past. “Which is exactly the reason why we need to celebrate! You got a second, no wait third, lease on life. Maybe you’re a cat and you’ve got six more lives to go.”
God, I hoped that wasn’t true. If all I had to look forward to were six more brushes with death in the future then slit my wrists now please. Before I could respond, I heard Tristan question Olivier. “So exactly how do you put up with it? Is this typical for them? It doesn’t surprise me from Paige, but I’ve never seen Charlotte this confrontational.”
Paige and I set our eyes on Olivier as we all waited with baited breath for his answer. Running his hand through his hair, Olivier shot Tristan a look that said “thanks for drawing their collective attention to me.” He looked up at the ceiling and squared his shoulders. “Good news, no this is not typical for them. Bad news, it has been today between all three of us at some point.”
Chapter 11
The next day Olivier and I sat in his backyard and talked about what I’d truly meant when I’d told Paige he could be a man I could love. I’d been sitting on his back porch reading when he startled me by plopping down in the chair next to mine.
“Am I, my dear?” he questioned. “Am I someone you could love? After all there was a time when you did.” He was referring to when he’d lived life as Henry Montplaisir. We’d dated for a couple months until my dormmate my freshman year talked me into dumping him. I’d thought she was a friend. It turned out she wasn’t. Until I learned that Olivier was Henry, Henry had always been one of those regrets in my life. I’d cared deeply for him, probably loved him. I was young and inexperienced and terrified of my own feelings. That last part was still true in regards to Olivier.
“Is Paige an exile too?” I asked with all seriousness, purposely avoiding Olivier’s question. The turn whipped his head around and he shook it vigorously. “Well, I was just wondering because she seems to have a lot of your stealthier qualities.” I turned back to my book and was amused to see Olivier struggling to patiently wait for the answer to the question he’d asked me before I hijacked our subject. Curious to see how long he could hold out, I pretended to read but watched as the jittering of his legs grew more pronounced.
After about five minutes he snatched the book out of my hands, tossed it aside, and expelled an exasperated, “Charlotte!”
With a coy smile, I gazed into his face but found he was in no mood to be playful. For him this was probably more serious and life altering than the exile rebellion. I’d been unconsciously holding my breath so I set my gaze on the sky and exhaled. “I said it without thinking,” I admitted with a shrug. “It’s a complicated answer, Olivier.” When I’d blurted it out in a rage I hadn’t thought through all the potential pitfalls of loving this particular man. At the time I’d forgotten exactly what he was.
“I’ve got nothing but time, explain it to me.” Olivier’s voice pled with my heart. He reached for my hand but I pulled it away. There didn’t need to be any mixed messages.
“Do you possess qualities that draw me in and make me love a man? Absolutely,” I allowed. “But you’re not a man. We’re not going to grow old together. All we’d have is the time on this earth and given my recent track record and the ever imminent apocalypse, that time might be short.” It was a hard thing to disclose. I could love Olivier but the truth was I was afraid too.
“Charlotte, a life with me would be long and we would grow old together. Clearly, I’m capable of aging with you. I’ve been doing it for years now. If you’re saying those things because of my feelings, please don’t. I’m the only one who would suffer the loss that accompanies death. Let me stand by your side through the rest of this life.” He was begging me not to close the door on us. “Give me a chance.”
Olivier just didn’t get it or he was ignoring the obvious. “How can you lie to me like that?” I accused him. His jaw quickly started working in an effort to push the denial across his lips. “Did you forget you all but admitted to me that once the exile threat is eliminated you’re going to burn for your crimes?”
Waving it off like it was no big deal, Olivier hedged, “As long as we can give them the true culprit of this uprising, I should be able to talk my way out of being burned.”
“Should?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow. “That doesn’t instill a lot of confidence. I’m not just afraid for you, Olivier. I don’t think I’d survive another devastation like that to my heart. At some point I have to look out for myself, for what’s in my best interest.” The brightness in his eyes dulled, this wasn’t going the way he’d wished. I felt so bad. Once he’d told me he’d walked this world for millennia loathing every human he’d ever come into contact with, until me. Now I was rebuffing that sacred trust because I was selfish and afraid.
“Would it be too much to let me just love you then?” Olivier tenderly whispered. “I can stay by your side. We can remain as we have been. Over time if you decide you want more from me, all you have to do is ask.”
What was the fair thing to do? Should I refuse him, effectively slamming the door in his face because I felt it would be better than stringing him along? No. I chose to trust him to master and manage his own heart. With a mind of their own our fingers interlaced when I put my hand on his. “I think I could live with that.”
* * *
A week and a half later was the school’s prom, the last big event of the school year before graduation. “Olivier, would you mind giving me a hand?” I called from his bathroom. I was struggling to get the zipper of my dress up higher than my bra strap. Olivier joined me in his bathroom and pulled it up the rest of the way.
Our eyes met in the mirror as his erupted in fire. “Your beauty never ceases to steal my breath,” he sensually slurred. Since this was a school event, I hadn’t done anything provocative. I’m sure enough of the kids would be pushing the envelope. I was wearing a sleeveless red dress with a V-neckline that merged into the A-line skirt, stopping just below my knees. I’d slicked my now shoulder length hair back into a French twist. The bruising around my eye had faded enough to be well hidden by stage make-up. A black bolero jacket and black tights hid the bruising on my arms and legs.
Olivier’s hands slid from the zipper down my sides to rest on my hips. I allowed the intimacy as we’d been sharing a bed since I’d been the equivalent of evicted from my home. I hadn’t slept with him, hadn’t even kissed him actually, but his presence kep
t the nightmares at bay most nights. The repair work on my house was almost done. I could have been shopping for the replacement furniture but I’d been putting it off because the idea of moving back into that home alone terrified me.
He wasn’t the only one appreciating the image in the mirror. In his suit he cut such a strong figure as his broad shoulders tapered down his sides into a slim waist and those long legs stretched into a round butt. Reflexively, I licked my lips as my eyes ate up the sight of him. Olivier caught the act in the mirror and his hands clamped my hips to pull me back against him.
I fought the lurch in my stomach as his arousal met my back and a flash of that night stole across my mind but I couldn’t keep my pulse from racing. This had happened before when Olivier’s desire for me overtook his senses. I’d been making dinner earlier in the week when he came up behind me. With a knife in my hand I spun and had he been human it would have pierced his throat. Thank God he wasn’t! He caught my hand just as the tip of the knife pricked his skin. Holding my hand firmly, he didn’t move but talked me through letting go of the ghost in my mind to see what was really in front of me.
“Just breathe, my dear,” his melodious voice murmured in my ear. “There you go. Deep breaths, it’s just me and I’m not going to hurt you.” His tender words and voice caressed and eased my frazzled mind. My heart rate slowed and grew less erratic. “Are you ready to go now?” he asked once it was apparent I’d calmed down. No, but I nodded my head anyway.
As we walked into one of the ballrooms at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside, the butterflies again took up residence in my stomach. I should have just told Max the truth about what happened and that I couldn’t make it tonight. He’d have understood but I don’t think he would have allowed Olivier to miss the prom also. With Paige visiting Tristan on the campaign trail, I would have been home alone and the thought was more distressing then attending the prom.
