by Bri Clark
“Yeah I think I was just overwhelmed from training today. I'm fine now. I just want to take a shower. You know, let the hot water clear my head.” I moved toward the bathroom. He followed right behind me. Stopping and turning around to look him in the eye, I decided to tease him to bring back that mood he was in earlier. “You aren’t going to take a shower with me are you?”
Instead of answering me, his eyes roamed up and down my form, lingering on my exposed belly. The room temperature suddenly skyrocketed. After a moment, a half-smile turned up the corner of his mouth. He reached up, rested his hand on the doorframe above, and then leaned into my face. As his breath tickled my cheek, my heart palpitations began again. I can kick his butt but he could kill me with just a look, without even touching me.
“Do you want me to take a shower with you?” he asked his voice low and husky in my ear. My eyes closed, fighting the need to feel his lips on mine. When I opened them, I found him in a full-blown smirk. I recovered quickly, mad at myself for letting him mess with me.
“NO!” I yelled retreating to the bathroom and slamming the door in his face. I heard his booming laughter through the door. At least he was still happy. I undressed and showered, letting the scalding hot water wash over me, releasing the tension running along my back and washing it down the drain with the water. After I finished washing and stepped out, I noticed my clothes were gone. Wrapping a towel around me, I stepped out onto the cold tile floor. Where could they be? I heard his laughter again. The realization hit.
I was fuming as I slung open the door. Then I stopped abruptly. His hands covered his eyes as he suppressed another laugh. Looking regal and handsome in a black tuxedo, he cleared his throat. Holding up one of my evening gowns from the closet, he shook it slightly. I had admired it many times before in my closet. It was an elegant, sequined, floor length green satin dress with a slit up the right side. Every sequin shimmered in the light like the tiny droplets of snow that rained on the northern lights.
“I know that you are confused. I can sense it. I just want you to wear this. I didn’t peek while you were in the shower either.” An impish grin spread across his lips. “You had it so steamed up in there, who could see anyway?”
“Why would I wear something like this?” I crossed my arms.
“Because it is appropriate for the evening.” He shook the dress once more, pointedly, and it was hard to continue the charade. I'd do anything he asked of me and then some.
“One more thing Marie,” he called.
“What?”
“No weapons tonight.” He no longer hid his trailing, lusty gaze. As he blatantly admired me in my towel, I felt the scarlet blush stain my skin. Therefore, I didn’t argue.
“Fine,” I said.
While I dried my hair, I cursed him under the heat. It felt awkward leaving my weapons behind, but I pulled the gown from the hanger and dressed anyway. I tried not to think about the sudden change in my relationship with Henry. He'd never looked at me the way he did tonight. When I thought back about the changes I sensed, I realized it began on our trip to Alaska.
Rubbing my suddenly sweaty palms on a towel, I went to the mirror to examine myself. My red hair appeared as fire around my face making it seem almost ghostlike in the glow. My eyes usually light blue with white or vice versa had changed to striking dark cobalt. I actually felt beautiful, an unfamiliar concept to me since my time was spent learning fighting techniques and not trying to catch someone's eye.
I sifted through my memories and could not find anything to compare to the feeling. Fluffing my hair, I let out a breath and stepped out.
“Is this good enough?” I asked doing a little spin. The slit up the leg of the dress gave a good view of my leg. I'd worked hard for them and I liked how the high heels I wore made them shapely.
He shook his head and rubbed his chin. “It’s missing something.”
My mouth dropped. Was he kidding?
“Hold on, don’t get upset.” He held his hands up then offered me two green, elbow-length gloves.
“May I?” He extended one toward me.
“Yes, please.” I answered, not sure what kind of occasion would require such a get up. He stepped back and gestured for me to spin again. I conceded. He smiled, seemingly satisfied.
“You are sheer perfection, a goddess even.” He declared making me blush a completely new shade of red.
“Can we go now?”
He first draped a soft shawl across my shoulders and then offered me his arm. My heart ached with happiness.
“You know we are going to look out of place at Elias’s dressed like this.” I said as we pulled out of the hangar. He glanced over at me and winked. His eyes were glowing with excitement. I stayed silent, enjoying the electric mood in the truck. Unable to watch the scenery as usual, I found my eyes kept moving back to him.
Before we made it in to town, he turned down a road I didn’t know. I looked at him, uncertain, but he kept his face unreadable. We pulled up to a little cabin with smoke billowing from the chimney. It started to snow again, draping the countryside in a deep blanket.
Before I could point out his thoughtlessness in making me wear heels, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the cabin. As I reeled in his embrace, he opened the door and sat me down gently. A large fire was burning in the middle of the one room cabin. There was a small kitchenette. A comfortable sofa was positioned in front of the fireplace, a bookcase with an ancient record player on it. It was quaint but welcoming.
A familiar aroma rose in the air mixing with the smell of the wood. A meal was already waiting for us on the wooden table. Facing Henry, I could tell by the puzzled pull to his brows that he was watching my reaction closely, but I didn’t have the words. By taking advantage of the bond we shared and the ability to sense one another, I let him sense me. His response was that smile I wasn’t immune to that assaulted my pulse. Hanging my shawl and gloves on a peg first I waited so he could pull my chair out.
“Shall we?” he suggested after he seated.
Inhaling the comforting scent of the already prepared soup, I then let the creamy mixture slide down the back of my throat, hoping it would calm the butterflies taking flight in my stomach. The food was as satisfying as ever and my mind began to wonder as I sipped. Didn’t he say this was a celebration of sorts?
“So what exactly are we celebrating?” I asked. Henry choked on his broth. His cheeks turned a faint pink. Hiding a grin in my napkin, I turned. It wasn’t like him to be surprised.
“Well,” he started. He appeared uneasy fidgeting in his seat. This was so unlike him, his confident façade was a pale comparison to now.
“Yes?” I encouraged, trying to hide my curiosity.
“Today is exactly one year from our first meeting. We don’t know when your birthday is so I thought it would be kind of like our own private tradition. What do you think?” His gaze finally met mine.
“I’m very surprised.” It was all I could manage. Words were so hard for me to put together when my feelings for Henry were so confusing.
“I didn’t know you had a cabin.” I evaded instead. His body tensed.
“This is your cabin right?”
“Well actually it’s Elias’s. He is letting me borrow it for the night.”
“Does he know that I'm with you?” I asked while my hands knotted in my napkin.
“No,” he said louder than necessary. “No,” he added calmer. “I told him I needed to get away.” I nodded my head in understanding and sipped my soup, and he relaxed then.
Dinner continued in silence…a comfortable silence. Henry began clearing the table and taking the dishes to the sink. I followed with the intent of helping but Henry jerked the rag out of my hands with a scowl and pointed to the couch. So, I crossed the room and fell onto the soft comfort, kicking my heels off to free my feet from the torturous contraptions.
Finally, I draped my legs over the arm and sighed with contentment. I didn’t remember ever feeling so pamper
ed. While watching the flames dance, I felt the warmth of the fire on my skin closed my eyes, angling my body closer. My dress fell back exposing my legs. I tugged on the dress, not wanting Henry to find me immodest. Instead I found him leaning against the wall, eyes ablaze from the firelight…or was it something else?
Stopping me from fixing my dress…he joined me… placing his hand upon mine. The blaze of his eyes changed to something I didn’t recognize. They were enchanting, dark swirls of blue mixed with shining, white bands crystallized into swirling tornadoes.
“I know it’s hard for you to accept how gorgeous you are. I find myself just staring at you, as if you’re a priceless work of art that might disappear. Just now when you were completely relaxed and unguarded? I have never seen you like that. It was riveting. I know you sense my feeling…you have to. I try hiding them to protect you. I don’t want you to become overwhelmed. Our relationship is complicated.” Caressing the top of my hand that held the fabric of my dress, he continued. “I asked you not to bring any weapons tonight because I wanted to leave all that behind for now. It made me so happy that you did. Can you do something else for me?” His words were soft and melodic, his accent caressed each syllable bewitching me to agree.
My head was a cloud; my heart beat at warp speed. Unable to answer his question, I simply gawked. Did he just say I was gorgeous? This heaven’s warrior called me a piece of art. I must be dreaming.
“Tonight here in this room can we be just a man and a woman leaving all the weapons at the base, leaving Glazier at the base and just be Marie and Henry for once?” As I heard the thick emotion that coated his words, I realized the same feeling must be tainting his eyes.
The idea was appealing. I thought about it for a moment and realized there was nothing I wanted more. Running my fingers lightly across the expanse of his forehead, across his temple to rest on his cheek I nodded. His eyes closed and his breath caught under my fingertips. A surge of joy overtook him. It captured my breath in my chest and refused to let go. Before he got up, he brushed his lips along the inside of my wrist leaving me in more turmoil than Glazier ever did. Music floated in the air. The melody of a piano filled the room…the notes becoming one with the warmth of the fire heating my skin.
Henry towered above me, and I looked up. He reached for my hand, bidding me to stand. I refused just to tease him. Not accepting my snub, he grabbed my hand and jerked me up. Placing both of my hands around his neck, he then encircled my waist as we swayed to the music. He hummed along to the melody. His deep bass became one with his intoxicating scent relaxing away my sudden hesitation. I laid my head against his chest.
A random fear that I never wanted to forget this moment crossed my mind…overcoming it was easy. Because I knew that this night, with Henry, was burned into my mind and scorched across my heart. Feeling the acceleration of his pulse, I jerked up. Opening his eyes and looking down, he frowned.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Why is your heart beating so fast?”
He placed his lips where his breath had been moments before. “Because you are in my arms.”
Shivering, I felt Glazier begin to stir. No. Glazier will not ruin this. I want to feel this way. The eclectic mixture of emotions: confusion, happiness, longing were their own baffling delight. Henry sensed Glazier. As his head dropped, the music stopped and the moment was over. Unwilling for the moment to end, I imagined Glazier in a safe. I slammed the door and padlocked it.
When he loosened his grip, I felt his grief, the longing from him as he began to release me. I tightened my arms around his neck and his body stiffened. Searching his eyes, I hoped he would understand that Glazier wasn't going to ruin this night.
His hand returned, but his mouth was still drawn, his eyes dark. The mood wasn’t the same anymore. How could I explain? What could I say? What could I do? Reading him, I sought direction. He was confused and worried. That was definitely not what I wanted. Then I realized I didn’t have to say anything.
Longing for him to know the joy I felt in his arms I took a deep breath inhaling his sweet fragrance. My heart fluttered and my pulse raced. Looking deep into the glistening pools of his beautiful eyes, I let go of all my inhibitions and allowed him to sense me. All the feelings for him that I'd kept bottled up, that I'd foolishly misread came out in a deluge of thoughts.
His embrace tightened as he gasped. Sensing him in return, I found he held nothing back. His emotions were a mirror to mine…like some unknown connection we shared…our own silent torture. It didn’t have to be. His brows furrowed in concern while his mouth was a taunt line on his divine features.
“I don’t understand why Glazier….” He tried to ask but my fingers covered his lips, silencing him.
“You asked me for something and I agreed.” Feeling a sudden burst of confidence, I continued. “You asked for no weapons, no Glazier. Just a man and a woman. I want that too. I need that.” My voice choked on the truth of my own words. I did need this. His brows still furrowed and the confusion in him didn't go away.
“Henry, I have a request of my own.”
“What would that be?” he asked, taking a deep breath.
“Can I be the woman tonight?” I gave him a lopsided smile and couldn't help but giggle. He joined right along with me. His booming mirth filled my senses, instantly inviting the lightheartedness back. He crouched and picked me up, sending us in circles.
I held on tight, realized I never wanted to let go.
Chapter Twelve
Marie
At Elias’s cabin in Norway
Still in each other's arms we fell against the couch in jovial laughter. His fingers traced invisible patterns up my arms sending fiery darts straight to my marrow. His fragrance flowed freely inside me; his rock hard frame lay beneath me. There wasn’t a part of my mind or body that he wasn’t in contact with.
As he continued to tickle the skin of my arms, something unfamiliar and thrilling burned in my stomach. My current position kept me from the view of his chiseled features. I could see the ceiling but I preferred his face to the dull logs. Shifting my weight to the right so I could turn over, he tensed beneath me while his hand clamped down on my shoulder holding me in place.
“Don’t,” he instructed his voice hoarse and low.
“What! What did I do?”
A groan rumbled from deep within his diaphragm before he answered. “You haven’t done anything, it’s my fault.” Reading his regret all at once, the inhibitions I recently relinquished came back like blood rushing to a wound. The sting of the rejection was far more cruel than the agony of unknowing. Vulnerable tears flowed while I fought back heavy sobs in my chest. Making a pathetic attempt to hide them, I heard a cursed groan confirming my efforts were in vain. His reaction made a sob tear free. Pulling my shield up like an invisible blanket around me, I retreated to the side of the couch.
One of his arms was still around my waist, pinning me against the couch. I tried to maneuver around it. Instead, he clamped down upon me stopping me dead in my tracks. For the first time ever, I cursed his strength. Knowing I could not match it, I became a dead weight instead refusing to budge an inch. He nudged again with a little more force…I still refused. Balling the material of the couch’s back in both my hands I prepared for a fight. There was no way I was facing him.
“Please Marie, turn over,” he pleaded. “Please so I can see your gorgeous face,” he beckoned again.
“No,” I choked out between sobs, “why can’t you just say what you need to say? Why do you need to drag out my humiliation? Why did you even bring me here?” I cried. The emotions seemed to form words and flow out of my lips without any control.
“Is that why you are crying? You're embarrassed? You think I don’t want you? We are way past wanting, Love.” He barked a derisive laugh. My mind kept repeating his last word like an echo in a cave. Love rolled off his tongue, effortlessly, like it was as easy as breathing. My mind, my emotions were all in a frenzy. I couldn’t
decide on which feeling to go with so I chose self-defense.
“Is that why you had to see my face?”
“Please, Love, look at me.”
My mind kept repeating the sentence like a record skipping on a favorite lyric. Unable to take another rejection and scared of what might happen if he didn’t reject me, I stayed put. The temptation to retreat into Glazier was appealing, but I refused her help. This was between him and me…a man and a woman, just the way he'd wanted it. Finally he broke my hold with the couch, overpowering me. His face was mere inches from my own as he inspected me.
“Love,” he whispered. Turning my chin toward his face, I squeezed my eyes shut. The feelings were all too overwhelming. If he refused me again, my heart would literally jump right out of my chest and dance around the room, ending all my pain for good.
“I need to explain myself, but I have one request, a plea really. I need to see those diamond eyes of yours.”
