Emily curled up into her protective ball, knees pulled tight against her chest with her arms wrapped around them. She looked down at the water, and a tear dripped down her cheek.
Chevalier reached into the water and rubbed her back softly, “All of this because of Ethan?”
She shook her head, “No.”
“What is it then? Tell me.”
“You’ll get mad,” Emily whispered.
“I’m more likely to get mad if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on.” He reached to her chin and pulled her face toward him and looked deeply into her tear filled eyes.
Emily avoided his gaze. She knew she didn’t have the strength to fight him right now.
“Emily…” he hissed at her and her heart skipped a beat.
She pulled her face out of his hands and looked down at the water gain, “I’m afraid.”
“To tell me?”
“No…” She paused and ran her hand along the surface of the water, “Of you.”
“I’m a heku, Em. You should have been afraid of me from the start.” His voice lightened.
“You killed him,” she repeated from her earlier sentence.
“Yes I did, and I’m sure he won’t be the last.” He frowned again as her body tensed at his words.
“How many people die before you realize I’m not worth it?” She watched the ripples in the water.
“Damnit, Emily.” He hit the edge of the tub with his fist, cracking the porcelain, “You’re lucky no one else judges your self-worth by your eschewed views.”
“No one should die for me, Chev, my life isn’t any more important than anyone else’s.”
“Ethan didn’t die because he tried to…” Even the thought made him angry, “Attack you. He died for disobeying my rules.”
Chevalier grabbed her face more forcefully than he originally intended, and pulled her to face him, “You aren’t expected to follow the same rules. I told you, you aren’t a subordinate to me. If they can’t obey the rules I’ve set forth, they know the consequences long before they are allowed to join this coven. You are right, you have nowhere to go. However, you belong here with me, so that’s not a problem.”
Her eyes were wide and shocked.
“Now get out, get dressed, and come out to eat. Gordon just brought your dinner.” He stood up and walked out of the bathroom.
Emily wasn’t sure if he was mad or how mad he was, so she decided to do what he asked. The only clothing in the bathroom was the silk pink nightgown that she had complained to Margaret was too low cut. Without wanting to cause problems, she slipped into it, ran a brush through her matted hair and then decided to leave it down.
The fire in the bedroom was roaring and the warmth from it felt good. She was warm from the bath, but her muscles still ached from the cold. Chevalier was sitting by the fire, a silver tray on a table between him and the other chair. As she sat down, he picked up the silver cover and motioned for her to begin.
She wasn’t feeling very hungry, but again decided not to cross him, and began picking at the steak and potato.
“Kyle tells me you’ve been having nightmares about Keith?” He watched as the firelight danced across her skin, still pink from the bath.
Emily nodded and took another bite.
“Tell me about it.”
She froze. She couldn’t tell him what Keith was saying in the dream, he still had views that she was good. On the other hand, she couldn’t make him madder, she felt like her life was on the edge as it was.
“I don’t remember,” was the answer she decided to give.
His eyes narrowed, “I’m not accustomed to being lied to.”
She looked up at him, her eyes daring, “Fine then, yes I do remember them, but no, I won’t tell you what he’s saying.”
Chevalier shrugged, “Fine, but I will tell you something… Keith was a liar and a manipulator. If you believe a single thing he ever said to you, then you are a fool.”
Her glance turned to a glare, “And you don’t know what you are talking about. Keith knew me for 9 years before you came along. I am pretty sure he had a good idea about me.”
“An idea that I plan to disprove.” He leaned closer to her, his eyes suddenly amused.
Emily brought her knees up to her chest.
“Stop it,” he ordered.
She looked up at him with wide eyes, “What?”
“Stop pulling yourself into a ball!” His fists were clenched.
She thought for a moment and then wrapped her arms around her knees, watching him, “I thought I wasn’t a subordinate.”
“You aren’t, but you are in my care and when you wrap yourself into your protective little ball, it shows how insecure you are and I won’t have it. I won’t have you hiding your body from me. I won’t have you pretending no one looks at you, and no one values you. I’m tired of watching you beat yourself up over it.” He quickly moved over to her, picked her up gently in his arms, and pressed his lips to hers.
Emily didn’t hesitate and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, winding her fingers through his hair. His lips were soft and sent warm shivers up her spine. She felt herself being laid down on the bed, then his heavy body pressed against hers. As his tongue pried her lips open and began to explore her mouth, her body tensed, the panic setting in. She tried to move out from under him, pushing against his chest with her hands, but he didn’t move.
She turned her head away from him, “Stop, Chev.”
His voice trembled with anger, “Not tonight, Em, you aren’t pushing me away tonight.”
“Please, let me go,” she protested as he ran his soft tongue up the length of her neck and began kissing along her jaw line. She shivered, and inhaled sharply, submitting to him.
Chapter 9 - Trust
“You’ve done it now, Slut, now he’ll know how dirty you are.” Keith smiled at her, his eyes empty and rotting. He took a step toward her, and she turned and ran naked through the trees.
“Run all you want, you can’t run from your whoring life. You can’t run from him knowing the truth about you,” Keith called as he ran after her.
“Did he say he loved you? I think not, do you know why? Because he feels pity for you! Who else would take you if he won’t… I’ll tell you... no one, Emily. No one wants you because you are ugly and worthless.” His voice echoed through the trees.
She screamed as his cold dead hands clamped against her arm.
“Shhhhh, Em, it’s ok.” Chevalier was pressed against her side with one arm draped over her. She could feel his body against hers and she remembered.
Emily tensed under his arm and began to pull away when she realized she wasn’t dressed, and the pounding in her head was growing worse after the dream.
“No you don’t… you aren’t leaving,” Chevalier told her, and his arm held her to the bed.
“I need to go,” she said, again trying to get up.
Chevalier kissed her shoulder lightly, “Go where?”
“Please… let me up.” She pried at his hand.
“Tell me where, and if I think it’s a good enough reason, then I’ll let you go.” He moved his hand to wrap it around her.
Emily pulled the blanket up higher to cover herself but Chevalier grabbed it and lowered it again
“Stop it,” he said lightly.
“I’m cold.” She tried again, but he held the covers tightly.
“No you aren’t, you are hiding.” He kissed a line from her shoulder up her neck, “Now go back to sleep and this time… ignore what Keith was telling you.”
“But...”
“You talk in your sleep.” He could feel the warmth from her blush and smiled.
She rolled onto her side away from him and glanced at the clock Kyle put in for her, it was almost 3am. She decided to stay awake and watch for 7am, but soon her eyes began to feel heavy and she was comfortable with him pressed against her back with his arms around her.
***
“Good Morning
,” he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose.
She glanced at him. He was on top of the covers and fully dressed, smiling down at her. She could feel the blush rising to her cheeks, and she pulled the covers tighter around her.
Chevalier chuckled, “Gordon is almost here with your breakfast.”
Her eyes widened, “No! He can’t come in here.”
“Why not?”
“Chevalier, stop him, please, don’t let him in here!” The panic in her voice stopped his laugh and he got up to talk to Gordon in the ante-chamber. Emily took the opportunity to run for the bathroom, taking the bed sheets with her as a cover.
Chevalier entered the bathroom just as Emily was pulling on a robe and cinching it tightly around her waist.
“What was that about?” he asked, watching her.
“What was what?” She turned to look at him.
Chevalier just looked at her, waiting for an answer.
She sighed, “How many of your coven have you slept with, Chev?”
The question shocked him, but he held his face steady, “I don’t see how that is relevant.”
“Oh… it’s quite relevant.”
“How so?”
“Is it safe to assume the answer is a large number?” She walked past him out into the bedroom.
Chevalier followed her, not sure where this was going, “I wouldn’t say large, per se.”
“That’s it then… I don’t want to be added to that number based on one lapse in judgment.” She sat down and picked at the eggs on her plate.
He grinned, “Is that what it was… a lapse in judgment?”
“Yes.” She pulled the robe down over her legs.
“I see, so… so you fear that Gordon will count you in with my many… shall we say… exploits?” He was enjoying this and it infuriated her.
“Exactly”
“Then do you care if I am counted along with your exploits?” He sat in the chair across from her casually.
She didn’t answer, the blush rising quickly to her cheeks.
His eyes narrowed, then he started to laugh, “My God, Emily, how many men have you been with?”
She pushed the plate away, no longer hungry, “It’s none of your business.”
“Oh do tell, you were quite good at it, so I can only guess at the high number.” He laughed harder as her blush grew darker.
The humiliation was too much and Emily briefly considered jumping off the balcony. He noticed her gaze and stopped laughing, studying the look on her face and the darkening blush. She walked over and began going through the closest wardrobe.
Chevalier wondered at her sudden silence and the body language showing she was extremely uncomfortable. His mind shifted to the conversation they had about Keith. She met Keith when she was 14, and then it struck him.
“Oh.” Was all he could manage.
After a long, awkward silence, he moved to her side as she rifled through the wardrobe, “I’m sorry, Em, I wasn’t thinking… I guess I didn’t realize it’d only been…”
“Don’t… just don’t say it… we shouldn’t be talking about this.” She grabbed what she had her hand on and disappeared into the bathroom.
Chevalier decided to leave her alone. She seemed to need some time to adjust to what happened, and he was all too eager to make use of his private office. It was only a few seconds before he unlocked his office door and went to step in, but saw Storm running at him.
“Wait!” She called to him.
“Yes, Storm?” He hated how his voice sounded irritated with her.
She paused for a moment and then continued, “You promised a follow up with the Wilson case, Sir. He’s no longer waiting patiently.”
“Not today, Storm.” She looked hurt but walked away from him.
He walked into the solitude his office provided and heard the door lock shut behind him. Ignoring the piles of papers and stacks of books, he sat in the large mahogany chair and buried his face in his hands.
“What was he doing?” he wondered.
How had he come so far as to seduce a child? He let his feelings take over and that was never safe, not when he’d spent his entire life gaining control of his most intrinsic emotions. He delved deeper into his mind and body trying to figure out what it was with Emily that he couldn’t live without, why she brought out such strong desires. He shuddered to think it could be love. He, the Chief Enforcer, didn’t love, he commanded, he punished, he took, but he didn’t love.
The image of Kyle sitting on her bed during the night brought the sudden rage back and he fought the urge to break something. She brought out his protective tendencies, which always led to violent ideations. There was so much to protect her from, not the least of which, herself, her dead husband, and now the disobedient in his own coven. Ulrich was also on his mind, his warning for Chevalier to stay away from her and his promise to make her disappear. Chevalier’s promise to Ulrich that he wasn’t interested in Emily, another broken promise surrounding her, she seemed to be collecting them from him.
He sighed and shut his eyes, deep in meditation.
***
Emily waited to see if Chevalier would come back soon, but after a few hours, she knew that Keith was right. She let it get too far and now he wanted nothing to do with her. What she needed was something to occupy her mind, something that would let her think. She needed to decide where to go now that Chevalier would want her to leave. She didn’t want to go to Ulrich, she didn’t know him, and Chevalier didn’t trust him.
She walked out of the bedroom, pausing to tell Anna that she wasn’t needed again today. She set about going through the castle. She didn’t find anything interesting, more bedrooms, some servant’s quarters, and a large ballroom with wooden floors and long green drapes covering the walls. One door she went to open was heavy, she could budge it just a little, no more than an inch. It was dark inside, and sounded like a large room.
Emily set her feet firmly and put both hands on the door, pushing as hard as she could. She groaned with the strain, but again, all she could manage was about an inch. She stopped when she heard a chuckle behind her and spun around.
She smiled, “Kyle!”
“Having problems?” He walked past her and easily opened the door.
She shrugged and walked into the room, then her mouth fell open. The room was uncommonly large and housed an empty pool. She began to walk around it and could hear Kyle walking behind her.
“Why is it empty?” She stopped to look at him.
Kyle laughed, “We’re heku, we don’t swim for fun.”
“Then why do you even have a pool?” She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Well, that’s tough. Ok so…” he was hesitating.
“Sooooo… what?” She prompted.
He sighed, “This used to be a ceremonial room. A donor stepped into it by accident and… well… he can’t be in the ceremonial room. So we moved the ceremonial room, but we had to do something with this one and to keep up human appearances, we put in a pool.”
Emily laughed, “That’s pretty pathetic, but ok… no one swims?”
“Never,” he said, looking around the large empty room.
“Hmm, that’s too bad.” She stepped down into an empty hot tub and sat down on one of the benches that lined the outside.
Kyle followed her down and sat across from her, his eyes amused.
Emily glanced around the massive room to make sure no one was around and turned back to Kyle, “May I ask you something?”
“Depends…” he said, watching her. He was drawn to her green eyes.
She smiled slightly, “If I wanted to… can I leave?”
He raised his eyebrows, “Yes, I’ll open the door for you.”
She sighed, “Not here, here… the island.”
“You are leaving us?” He tried to hide the shock in his voice, but failed.
Emily shrugged. “If I do, will anyone try to stop me? I mean those armed guards with the dogs on the pier?”
She fought back the tears, “I don’t think Chev would care much if I left.”
Kyle moved closer to her, “Did you two get into a fight?”
Emily couldn’t help but smile weakly, “You could say that.”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I don’t think he would like it if you left.”
“Don’t be so sure, Kyle.” She shrugged.
Kyle tried to read her face, tried to figure out what the problem was so he could help, “If you are right, then I would still ask you to stay.”
“That’s sweet, but I don’t think he would even want me on this island. It’s only a matter of time before he gets back and asks me to leave. I just need to figure out where to go, now that my ranch is gone.” One stray tear betrayed her and escaped her eye.
Kyle reached up and gently wiped the tear way, “No family or friends?”
She shook her head, “Dad and... well Keith, were the only family I had and I didn’t have time for friends.”
“I won’t let you go homeless, Emily. I have a few places you could stay, I even have one in Europe if you want to get far away.” He sounded sad.
Emily looked up at him, “You do? You would let me stay there until I got a job and got back on my feet?”
Kyle nodded silently.
She relaxed a bit, “Thank you, that’s… that’s so nice of you.”
Kyle stood up and offered his hand to help her do the same, “Let’s go riding, it’s nice out and I won’t let you leave today.”
Emily nodded and followed him out of the pool room and into the barn where their horses waited, already saddled. Emily grabbed Patra’s large head in her hands and kissed her nose, “It’s ok, Patra, I’ll take you with me when I go.”
Kyle watched as Emily slid easily onto the painted mare and they set out along the tree line, walking the horses slowly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Kyle asked after some time in silence.
Emily shook her head and looked away from him.
“If you decide you need someone to talk to…”
Heku : Book 1 of the Heku Series Page 15