He smiled devilishly when he imagined the look of utter pleasure that would appear on her face the moment that he touched her. Magnus knew that he and Ava would make love, but this night was not about that, it was about seduction and intimacy. It had been a long time since he shared that with a woman and he thoroughly enjoyed sharing it all with Ava. And from the looks and response of her mind and body tonight, he knew that she felt the same.
Not wanting to feel the displeasure of being hung over in the morning, Ava dug through her luggage and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. She stood in front of the bathroom sink and squinted at the harsh light that was bearing down on her. As she swallowed the pills and drank down the rest of the water she choked, the image before her was not her own and she covered her mouth to stifle the scream that escaped her. Looking back at her was a young woman with the same green eyes as she, but the woman’s hair and attire was completely different.
The image had also placed her hands over her mouth and the two stood there a moment and stared at one another. Each one was examining the other and uncovered their mouths at the same time, neither one was afraid.
"Celeste?" Ava asked even though she knew the answer.
"Yes," was the reply from the reflection.
Ava reached out and brought her hand to the mirror and when she did, the mirror rippled like still water when it is disturbed.
"Help me," the image in the mirror said and Ava watched and felt to see if her lips moved just then and they did. Celeste was saying the words, but Ava was feeling them.
"He’s coming." She could feel the tremble in her own voice and watched as tears fell down her face, a sense of dread came over her and tightness began to envelope her chest. She felt as if she was suffocating or drowning. Her legs felt like jelly as she made her way over to the nightstand and dialed the number to Magnus’s room.
Magnus had fallen into a deep sleep, and was in the midst of a dream when a voice called out to him. He awoke a moment before the phone rang. He knew that it was Ava and without asking her what was wrong, he jumped out of bed and was at her door within seconds. Ava had managed to open the door and when he arrived he saw her on the floor leaning against the bed, trying to catch her breath.
"Ava? What happened? Are you alright?" Magnus felt helpless, he knew that it was another supernatural attack.
He helped her onto the bed and listened as she told him in between heavy breaths what had happened. "She’s inside of me Magnus," Ava cried. "She’s inside of me and we have to free her, that animal is still after her, we have to help her!" She said in a panicked voice.
"Ava we are going to help her I promise you that. But there’s nothing we can do from here. Listen, maybe we ought to go back home, I’ll tell them that something came up and we have to leave."
"Magnus, no. I can’t let you do that, you were invited here as a distinguished guest. It means a lot that you would even consider it but I won’t let you."
He looked at her with deep concern, her eyes held such sorrow that he felt it deep inside too. He would do anything to make that sorrow go away.
"Ava, I wanted this to be a special weekend"… his voice trailed off.
"And it is Magnus, you have made me feel unbelievably desirable and you were right, I do feel like Cinderella. I don’t want this weekend to end so I am going to try and put what just happened behind me and concentrate on enjoying the rest of the weekend.
We’ll get it all sorted out when we go home but for now, let’s try and salvage what’s left of the weekend. We still have the awards ceremony to look forward to tonight but I'm afraid that we’ll spend most of the day in bed," she grinned and pointed to the window. "The sun’s almost up and neither of us have had any sleep."
Magnus gazed out the window before asking if she would mind if he stayed in her room. "Ava I’ll sleep out on the sofa in the living room, I’d feel a hell of a lot better if I was nearby, just in case," he said rather emphatically.
Now that is the worst idea ever! Her mind shouted out to her. If that man stays in your room, you and I know good and well that he will end up in your bed. And you don’t want that, not right now.
Ava looked away for a moment as she silently cursed. She mouthed the word Shit! Before turning around.
"Magnus thank you for being so concerned, but I don’t think that’s such a good idea. And I think you know why, so how about you head on back to your room," she said while gently pushing him towards the door. "And if I need you, I’ll call you."
"But Ava…" He began to protest.
"No, really I’ll be fine. Pick me up at seven," she said and shut the door behind him. She wanted him out of her room fast, before she had a chance to change her mind. Besides, she had to run out and pick up the gift she had ordered for him. The sterling silver cuff bracelet was being inscribed with the words, We are such stuff as dreams are made of and it was ready to be picked up. She wanted to give it to him before the ceremony.
Once she returned from picking up the gift, Ava lay down for a much needed nap. After waking up, she was glad that she had turned down his suggestion of sleeping in her room. Not only had she slept like a log but no nightmares found her and she was grateful for that. She awoke refreshed and soaked in a hot bath before it was time to start getting ready for the awards dinner. While she relaxed in the tub she wondered what Magnus was doing. Was he still sleeping? Or was he awake as well? Perhaps he was lounging around watching television. She figured she'd see him soon enough and thought the few hours that they would be apart, good for the both of them
The moment she slipped into the silky gown she knew that she had made the right choice. It hugged her body voluptuously and showed off her hourglass figure. A smile crept across her face when she looked in the mirror. She wanted to go for a glamorous look and used black liquid eyeliner on her top lid only. She had spent hours touching up the curls in her hair and when she was finished, was quite happy with the results. A touch of shimmering gloss on her lips, a pair of simple diamond earrings, and the Kate Spade evening sandals in matching blue satin with specks of emerald green made her outfit complete. By the time Magnus knocked on her door she was ready.
She took his breath away when she opened the door and he gazed upon her. The blue of the gown that she was wearing had caused her green eyes to sparkle even more and he couldn’t stop staring at her. "You look absolutely amazing Ava," Magnus grinned.
"You look like a Hollywood starlet, soft, sexy, and seductive. You know we don’t really have to go to this dinner, we could…"
Ava laughed, she was hoping to get a positive reaction out of him and it looked as if she had accomplished that.
"We will do no such thing," she grinned and playfully punched his arm. "Now let's go handsome, you don’t want to be late and miss out on your award."
"Magnus wait I almost forgot," she said and rushed back into the room. When she grabbed the small box and handed it to him, he didn’t know what to think. The last time someone gave him anything was during the holidays and here was this woman who he barely knew, handing him something which he had no doubt was special.
"I know what you're going to say." Ava had already played the scenario in her head. "You're going to say that I didn’t have to get you anything and that it means a lot."
Magnus opened up the small box and took out the cuff bracelet.
"I hope that you like it," she said and watched as he slide it on his wrist. "I saw it in the store and I thought it suited you."
"Ava it's divine, thank you so very much" he said and kissed her before taking her in a warm embrace. She was tugging at his heart strings, making him feel like he's never felt before. Not even when he was with Jeanette did he ever have such feelings. Sinta was right again, he thought to himself and he held Ava tighter. The curse has got to be lifting, because I have never felt this way about anyone in my life.
The room where the awards ceremony was being held was elegantly decorated and as the two took their seats, Magnus didn’t notice tha
t Jeanette had walked in and she was alone. The blond turned several heads as she headed towards her table.
"Ava, thank you again for this," he said touching his bracelet. "You have no idea of how much this means to me."
"Well you're making too big a deal out of it," she grinned. "But you're welcome, I just wanted to get you a little something to thank you for inviting me and to congratulate you on your award."
"Yes congratulations on your award Darling," Jeanette interrupted their conversation and boldly gave Magnus a kiss on the cheek.
Ava abruptly turned away. "This cannot be happening," she silently mouthed the words. What the hell is wrong with me? She cursed to herself.
Magnus stood up and with no expression asked, "Jeanette what are you doing here?"
"Well hello to you too Magnus, you look as dashing as ever. And why wouldn’t I be here?" She asked, barely looking at Ava. I've come to this how many years now darling? It's actually funny that you should ask because I wasn’t planning on attending this year but when I heard that you were getting an award, well I just had to come and support you."
Magnus couldn’t take his eyes off of Ava; the situation was now very uncomfortable. Especially since he had told her so little about Jeanette.
"Jeanette I'd like you to meet my date, Ava. Ava this is Jeanette."
Always the lady, Ava reached for her hand. Jeanette, who was still standing, looked down at Ava and nodded her head. Ava withdrew her hand and turned her back on them.
"Jeanette things are about to start, maybe you should find your table," he said. He hoped that her table would be located on the other side of the large ballroom, or on the other side of town.
"Why sugar, I've already arrived at my table," she said with a smirk and took the seat next to him.
Although the ceremony was about to start the table that seated six only consisted of Ava, Magnus and now Jeanette. "I'm so sorry Ava," he whispered to her.
Ava put on the best game face that she could. "There's nothing to be sorry about Magnus, it's your night and she's here to support you right?" She said coldly and turned her attention towards the MC.
After dinner, and during a short intermission, Magnus asked Ava if she'd like to go for a walk and they excused themselves from the table. Once they were outside and breathing in the night air, Magnus once again apologized. "Ava, I want you to know that I had no idea that she was going to show up. I don’t know what she's got planned but whatever it is it isn’t going to work."
"Magnus you don’t need to explain anything to me, I mean it's not as if we are a couple right?" She stared him boldly in the face.
"Ava, please don’t be angry I will fix this, I promise. I want this evening to be about me and you. And yes, we arrived as friends, but I was hoping that we’d go back home as a couple."
"Fat chance of that happening," Ava said. Jeanette was making her way towards them.
"Sorry to interrupt Magnus darling, but their looking for you, it's time to accept your award and make your speech sugar, come on." Jeanette waited for no reply, she grabbed Magnus by the arm and almost tugged him back inside the hotel. All the while he kept resisting and turning back to look at Ava, was she going to follow? Surely she wouldn’t want to miss him accepting his award and listening to his speech.
Ava stood outside for a moment longer, she needed to catch her breath and calm down. She'd let another woman steal away a man she loved. Okay, she told herself. Love? I'm not in love with Magnus but I was in love with Gavin, or so I thought I was. The more she thought about it the more she realized that it was more like lust, she was in lust with Gavin. But what she felt for Magnus was different, last night when they were dancing it was so erotic, sexual and natural all at the same time. And the way he kissed me, what about that? She questioned herself.
"So much for going with the flow," she whispered as she headed towards the elevators.
She was determined to pack her bags and head back to the plantation. She obviously wasn’t wanted, both Jeanette and Magnus made that clear. She was talking to herself out loud, trying to unleash some of the anxiety about being so naive and too quick to believe what Magnus had said earlier about them returning home a couple.
"Jeanette showing up here may have been a fluke, but the way he allowed her to drag him back inside was not," she said and took one more glance around the room before shutting the door.
Magnus was in the midst of finishing up his speech when he glanced at the table. Ava had still not returned and he was starting to get worried. Once the applause had subsided and he made his way back, he saw her. She was coming out of the elevators luggage in tow.
Ignoring the congratulations from fans and colleagues, he made a bee line towards her.
By the time he caught up to her, she was already at the desk handing the desk clerk her room key. Magnus grabbed hold of her arm.
"Ava, what are you doing?"
"What's it look like? I'm leaving," she said and politely asked the clerk to call a taxi.
"Ava please this is ridiculous, look I told you that I had no idea that she was going to show up here. Don’t you remember what I told you just a few moments ago?" He said and pulled her to a quiet corner.
"Ava, I meant what I said, I want us to be together. Jeanette means nothing to me, you have to know this." Panic set in and he knew that there would be no changing her mind, at least not tonight anyway.
"Magnus this is all wrong, I can't do this. I'm so tired of being hurt and for what? Why is it always me who ends up getting hurt when all I wanted to do was have a good time, forget about the damn ghosts for the weekend and maybe fall in love.
But something always happens. Look you go back to the party, have fun with Jeanette, it seems like she cannot be without you. I will say this, don’t you think it's funny that after all the time you two spent apart from one another that now, tonight she decides that she needs to support you. Yeah, she must really care about you Magnus huh? Enjoy the rest of your evening, I'm leaving."
"Ava please, I won't let you do this. Are you going back to the plantation?" He wasn’t sure if by leaving she meant that she was going back to the plantation or leaving him for good, but he had to find out.
"I'm going back to the plantation Magnus, I am going to pack up the rest of my belongings and then I'll figure out what to do next. There's talk of a storm coming and I don’t want to get stranded there but do me a favor, call and let me know if you plan on bringing Jeanette back home with you tomorrow alright? I want to make sure I'm gone by then."
"Ma'am? Excuse me but your taxi has arrived," the desk clerk interrupted.
"Thank you," she said and pulled her arm out of his grasp. Just as he was about to go after her, a group of faithful fans had made their way over to him and began bombarding him with questions. Ava heard one of the ladies tell him that a nice young woman had sent them over to find him. Ava knew that the nice young woman that the fan was referring to had been Jeanette.
By the time Magnus had managed to excuse himself from his admirers, Ava was gone.
Chapter Twelve
The taxi ride back to the plantation was a long one, but the driver must have sensed that she was in no mood to chat because he kept quiet during the entire trip.
"You stay out here by yourself chère?" The driver asked as he pulled up in front of the house. Besides the porch light that was illuminating the front door, the house was pitch black. Ava was a bit taken back by the sheer size of the house and how intimidating it looked at night.
"No, just for the night," she said and paid him.
"Be careful now chère, there's a storm brewing. Not a big one mind you but a storm none the less and you don’t want to get stranded here. What with the bayou being so close and all, so take care," he said and drove away.
Ava stood at the bottom of the steps and watched as the headlights of the taxi illuminated a dismal ghostly streak throughout the dark bayou. The red of the tail lights disappearing into complete and utter darkness.
<
br /> It feels good to be back at the big house, she thought to herself as she made her way up the soaring staircase. Even though she had been there for over a month now, it seemed like she could never get used to the old place, it was a place that although it was larger than life seemed to always make her feel like she was right where she was supposed to be.
Jeanette changed all that now didn’t she? She told herself.
She didn’t want to deal with having to pack up everything tonight, all she wanted to do was get out of her gown, take a hot shower, make herself a cup of tea and curl up in bed with the diaries. She figured she'd take them with her when she left in the morning. It was then that it hit her, she had no place to go. "This is the perfect time to start a new life somewhere else," she sighed. She'd hoped that the new life would include Magnus, but it was obvious that his ex, Jeanette had other plans.
At least I have the luxury of being single, having no kids, no drama, and I've got enough money that I can go where ever I want. Then why the hell are you so miserable? Her conscience asked. She knew the answer; she wanted to stay at the plantation with Magnus. She was enjoying searching for clues with Magnus and Sinta, everything that had gone on in that house was something out of the ordinary but she liked it, she liked the unpredictability of it all and during one weekend away, it had all turned to shit. I should have never accepted his invitation, she thought to herself. If only I had stayed here nothing would have happened.
Echoes in the Bayou Page 10
