by A.N. Meade
patient, so persistent in believing that they would be together again. She wondered if she would have had so much faith if it had been her pursuing him. There was so much left still that she did not know or understand about herself. As she sat there thinking about what she knew, and all that she would like to come to know, she realized how blessed she was that she knew one thing for sure- She was loved. He loved her. This was what it felt like.
There was a quiet knock at the door of their suite. Aimee wrapped herself in a sheet from the bed and walked out into the living area. She stood on the tips of her toes to see through the peep hole. It was Liam. He was carrying some coffee and a bag.
“Bonjour, Aimee.”
“Bonjour, Liam. Come on in. You can sit down, I’m just going to go and grab my robe.”
When Aimee came back out in her robe, Liam was sitting at the table. He had set out breakfast for them. “Where’s Marc?”
“Sleeping.” Aimee fussed with her hair, trying to straighten in down with her fingers.
Liam smiled, “It’s been years since he’s slept properly. Good for him.”
She could feel a flush of blood in her cheeks. She was sure he knew what had happened, and for a moment she was embarrassed. A change of subject seemed like a good idea. “Have you known him long then?”
“A while.” Liam was not giving up that schoolboy stare.
Clearly Aimee would have to try again. She scanned the table. She was starving. “What have you got there?”
“Breakfast. I thought that you must be hungry by now.” Liam had set out three cups of coffee, and some croissants. Out of a small paper bag, he pulled out a bag of blood. He got a juice glass, filled it halfway with the blood, and sat it in front of her along with a cup of coffee. He took a coffee and croissant for himself and began to eat.
It was good they were off of the topic of Marc’s sleeping habits. This also gave Aimee an opportunity to get to know Liam a little better. “So what do you do here in Paris, Liam?”
He took a moment to chew his bite of croissant and then answered, “I work for Avant Corporation. We do a lot of lab work. It’s mostly testing, genetics, and things like that.”
“Sounds interesting.” Aimee took a drink of her coffee. It was good, warm and aromatic.
“Yes, I guess so. It keeps me busy anyway.”
There was a pause after his answer. Conversation tended to flow very well between them for nearly being strangers. She liked Liam. She knew that he must be okay to be such a good friend of Marc’s. Still, she wanted to know more about him. She needed to understand him better before she could trust him herself. One question begged being asked above the rest. “Are you an admirer then, like Enric and Natasha?”
Liam laughed suddenly, spilling his coffee on his lap. He used his napkin to wipe it up neatly as he answered. “No offense, I like your kind well enough. I just wasn’t quite prepared for that question.”
“I’ve been too forward. I apologize.” Aimee grabbed a towel and wiped up what had spilled across the table.
“No, no. I can see how you would be curious of my connection to Marc.” His eyes met hers. He was very surprised and also amused.
“I didn’t mean to offend you.” Aimee had definitely misjudged that moment. She thought it would be a good chance to ask the burning question. His response had certainly not been what she expected.
“You haven’t, not at all. I don’t often get to discuss these things actually.” He took in a deep breath, put the coffee drenched towels off to the side, and looked into her eyes. “I am a guardian of sorts.”
“Oh.” It was Aimee’s turn to be surprised. “I didn’t know vampires needed guardians.”
“I don’t protect vampires.” He could see that he was only confusing her more, so he attempted to clarify. “I look after Marc because he is a friend, but in general that is not what my purpose is.”
“Then what is your purpose? What is it that you guard?” This was clearly more complex than she had imagined.
“Balance is my purpose. You see humans tend to self-regulate the violence between each other. If for no other reason, there are checks and balances because of their mortality alone. With vampires, things are not so simple. There are few checks and balances for immortals. Because of this, we exist, a handful of guardians to watch and maintain the balance.”
Liam had explained, well, but this beckoned another question from Aimee. “What happens then, if the violence grows among immortals? What if things get “off balance”?
Liam thought carefully about his response. “Well, then it would be our job to restore it.”
Before Liam could explain in more detail, and before Aimee had the chance to ask more questions, Marc emerged from the bedroom. He must have overheard them talking. “What are you two doing? Chatting it up, I see.”
She couldn’t help but smile looking at him. His hair was a mess and his eyes were half open, sensitive still to the light. It was funny how neither of them had actually had much sleep, but they were both so relaxed and they could not stop smiling between them. He had pulled on a pair of lounge pants, but his chest was bare. She loved his body, lean and strong. He looked amazing straight out of bed, not trying to impress anyone. She looked at him, and then turned away before she looked back at him again. He made her feel like no one else had before. She couldn’t even hold his gaze for too long. There was too much power in it.
Even Liam could feel the pull between them. “Looks like you had a long night there, friend.” You could tell that he very much enjoyed teasing Marc.
Marc blushed, though he would never have admitted it. “What are you doing here? It’s not even dark yet.”
Liam’s playful grin faded. He put down his food, and clasping his hands, he looked over at Marc. “I know what happened with Damian. It may be wise to cut your trip a bit short, so I decided to come over and drive you into the country. I know that you had some things there that you wanted to share with Aimee before you go.”
Marc furrowed his brow. He had hoped that last night’s events hadn’t drawn Liam’s attention. “You want me to go back to America?”
Liam did not hesitate in his reply. “Yes. I think it would be best, just to give things time to diffuse.”
Marc was skeptical. “Do you really think that it will make a difference?”
“Honestly, I don’t know yet. I hope so.”
The weight of what went unsaid between them was more unsettling than what had been discussed. Aimee was very concerned what all of this business with Damian would end up meaning for them.
Liam rose from the table and spoke over his shoulder as he walked out the door. “I’ll be out front when you’re ready.”
“Thank you, Liam.” Marc called after him.
“Of course.” He shut the door quietly behind him, leaving Marc and Aimee alone.
Marc walked silently over to the table and poured a glass of blood for himself. “I know that you don’t feel like drinking, but you should.” He pushed her glass toward her. She didn’t want to drink, but she trusted him. She lifted the glass to her lips and drank. When she was finished, Marc started to explain a little. “There is something very special that I want to show you today.”
“What?” They had already seen the Eiffel tower, and they had their first kiss. Aimee wondered what else it was that Marc had planned. It must be important for him not to want to leave the country without showing her first.
“It’s a surprise.” Marc looked down and grinned, leaning back in his chair.
He seemed to love teasing her like that. He was good at being playfully evasive. There was a depth to his voice that let her know that today would be a very special day for them both. She was still concerned about Damian and what would become of that situation, but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind for now. She would focus on Marc, and whatever this was that he had to share with her.
It seemed like they were driving forever. Liam’s car raced along the countrysi
de in endless pursuit of this “special” place that Marc just had to show her. The anticipation did nothing to shorten the trip at all. The hills were beautiful. She tried to distract herself by focusing on them as she stared out the window. They passed houses and vineyards, and the occasional cyclist. She wondered what those people’s lives were like. She couldn’t help but wonder if they could see the beauty that she saw in the landscape there. It was all around them, and it was breathtaking. Their lives, as they went about their routines had a very magical element to them. Aimee was still very much in touch with her human self. She knew now that her despair had not been because of a fault within herself, but rather a lack of having ever been truly cared for. She felt so much differently here and now, her whole perspective had changed. She reached over and held Marc’s hand in her own. He looked at her and smiled, as she mouthed the words “I love you.”
“I love you too,” He mouthed back.
It wasn’t long after that Liam pulled off the narrow road and parked. “It’s been a long while since you’ve been back here, eh Marcus?”
Marc ignored the question. He was too excited to get Aimee moving and show her what he had brought her here to see. “We’ll have to hike the rest of the way.”
Aimee pulled a pack out of the open trunk “I love hiking.”
She threw on the pack and started walking up the trail. She did love hiking. It had always been a peaceful escape for her. She enjoyed the challenge of