by Reid, Terri
Maria chuckled, “Your connection with him is very strong, already he can sense your spirit.”
Eloise shook her head. “Maria, he obviously does not need my help for this. Please let me leave.”
Maria shook her head. “You have so little faith in love. We will wait for a while.”
Paul disengaged the blonde’s hand from his arm and then leaned across the doorway, blocking her from entering any further.
“Well, thanks for the lift, Marilyn,” he smiled and then yawned. “Wow! What a day, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.”
Marilyn moved into the room and trailed her finger from the top of Paul’s shirt to the middle of his chest and then looked up into his eyes, her tongue suggestively moistening her lips. “I’d be happy to stay and help you unpack,” she purred.
“How obvious can she be?” Eloise snorted.
Paul looked up quickly and scanned the room. Then he turned back to Marilyn.
“You know, you’re a nice girl and all, but I am just not interested.”
Marilyn’s eyes widened. “Not interested? Why not?”
Paul took hold of her shoulders and turned her around and guided her back to the door. “Because my heart is already involved somewhere else. Good-night, Marilyn.”
He gave her a little push and closed the door firmly behind her. Then he rubbed his hand across his forehead, “I must be going nuts, I even feel her when she’s not here.”
Maria snorted. “Now there is a man who understands love.”
Eloise sighed in agreement.
Paul punched the button on the answering machine while he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of juice. There were two messages. The first from Marilyn earlier in the day leaving him her phone numbers, in case he needed them.
“How obvious can she be?” he asked, deleting the message.
The second was Sergeant Turner.
“Hello, Major, this is Turner checking in. There was a little confusion this morning. When we arrived both members of the PRCD unit were away from base.”
“Confusion my ass,” Paul interjected, then took a gulp of juice.
“Anyway, we waited at the base and they arrived at about 1200 hours. They seemed fine and Ms. Parker apologized for the confusion, seems that she confused 0800 hours for 2000 hours.”
“And you believed her?” Paul yelled at the phone, placing the bottle down on the counter and pulling off his tie.
“She and Ms. Dawson then entered the motor home and worked on their project for several hours. At 2300 hours, Ms. Parker exited the motor home to speak with us about tomorrow’s itinerary. At that time I noticed a long scratch across her left cheek. There was also considerable bruising on the same cheek.”
“Crap,” said Eloise.
“She told us that she had an encounter with an unfriendly, but she now had protection. I believe she was referring to a small bag she wore around her neck. She insisted that we not tell you about the incident.”
“I bet she did,” Paul snarled, unbuttoning his shirt.
“We maintained surveillance and noted lights out at 2330. Anderson and I will rotate watch tonight. If you need further details, I will be happy to comply.”
Paul deleted the message. “Dammit, Eloise, can’t you just let someone protect you?”
He slipped out of his shirt and tossed it over the kitchen chair. Then he walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower.
“Come,” Maria said, motioning towards the bathroom.
“No!” Eloise squealed. “There is no way I’m going to spy on him.”
Maria shrugged, then remained silent and stood next to Eloise for a few minutes. “And you have never been attacked by Delphine in the bathroom?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Eloise lifted her hand to her cheek and looked at the closed door. “I can’t go in there,” she said. “I couldn’t…”
Before she finished her sentence the shower stopped running and they could hear Paul moving around in the bathroom. He opened the door, wearing only a towel around his waist.
Maria smiled. “He is man who is enjoyable to look at, no?”
Eloise blushed. “Good grief,” she whispered harshly, “You are a spirit, you’ve been dead nearly two hundred years. Stop lusting after him!”
Maria chuckled. Paul stopped and looked around the room again.
“Eloise?” he called, then he shook his head. “Oh, yeah, she just transported herself here. Go to bed, Grimes.”
He went into his bedroom and closed the door.
“We must follow,” Maria said.
“Why don’t we wait for a moment,” Eloise suggested, “Give him some time to get dressed.”
The bedroom door opened and Paul stepped out dressed in a pair of low slung cotton pajama pants. Eloise’s heart leapt to her throat.
He shook his head.
“There’s no way I’m going to get any sleep, so I might as well call,” he muttered to himself.
“He makes your heart pound, no?” asked Maria.
“Oui,” Eloise sighed, absently.
Paul walked back to the counter and picked up the phone. He punched a long distance number.
“Turner, it’s Grimes, I got your report,” he said, “Has there been any movement or disturbance since you called?”
He waited for a moment. “Good, good job, Turner. Now what are her plans for tomorrow?”
After a moment he responded. “Baton Rouge, what the hell does she need in Baton Rouge?”
He listened to the response and chuckled. “Feminine products and ingredients for Sally, they must want you to stay behind pretty badly.”
Eloise was astonished. “He saw right through it.”
Paul stretched and yawned. “Okay, place the GPS device on her car and track them tomorrow. If they go anywhere except to Baton Rouge and back, I want you to call out the troops. This is getting too dangerous to have them playing games.”
He listened for another moment. “Good job Turner, I appreciate your diligence. I know I handed you a handful. By the way, has the Frenchy shown up yet?”
Eloise could see the muscles on his back tighten.
“Good, that’s great. Do me a favor and call me when he does. Thanks. Good-night, Sergeant.”
He hung up the phone and chuckled. “Feminine supplies. They’re good, they’re really good.”
Paul walked back across the room, switching off the lights as he went. He closed the bedroom door and Eloise could hear him get into bed.
“Well, it looks like it was a false alarm,” Eloise said to Maria, “We can go now.”
Maria shook her head. “No, it is not when he is awake when he needs you. It is while he sleeps.”
“What do you mean?”
“Delphine sends him a dream tonight, a dream about you. He will think he is protecting you and he will jump to save you.”
Maria turned and looked at the balcony. Paul’s apartment was on the sixteenth floor.
“He’ll be killed,” Eloise said.
“Oui,” Maria agreed, “So, for tonight the amulet protects you both. In the morning you will be back in your bed and he will be safe.”
“But after tonight, do I come back every night?” Eloise asked.
Maria walked over to the bathroom and selected several hairs from Paul’s comb.
“Non, tonight while you watch over him, I will create gris-gris to protect him.”
“Gris-gris?” she asked.
Maria smiled. “It is like your amulet. It will protect him.”
Eloise nodded, grateful to Maria for protecting him. Maria nodded back and faded from sight. Eloise took a deep breath and then slipped through the door in Paul’s bedroom. Paul was sprawled out in the center of the bed and already his breathing was deep and rhythmic.
She walked up beside the bed and watched him sleep for a moment. Then she climbed into the bed with him and slid her arms around his waist. Only, because she was in a spirit form, she couldn’t fee
l him.
“Eloise,” he murmured in his sleep, “Darling, you’ve come back to me.”
Eloise nestled closer and closed her eyes against the tears. “Yes, darling, I’m here.”
He shifted in his sleep and tried to wind his arms around her, but they slipped through her and onto the bed.
“What good is this? How can I protect him when I am not really here?” she wondered.
In a few moments, Eloise drifted off and found herself with Paul in his dream.
“Eloise you’re finally where you belong,” Paul whispered.
He reached out and took her hand in his and pulled her to him. This time when his arms circled her they felt strong and real. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly. Then he picked her up in his arms and walked toward a large canopied bed.
Eloise looked down at herself and found that she was wearing a slinky cream-colored ankle-length satin negligee. It was obviously Paul’s dream, Eloise thought, she should be grateful that she wasn’t dressed as a French maid.
She reached up to her throat and found that Paul had remembered to let her keep the amulet.
Reaching the bed, Paul placed her on the edge and cupped her face in his hands. “Darling, how did you hurt your face?” he asked, running his thumb alongside the scratch.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Unfriendlies,” she replied, remembering Turner’s report, but not wanting him to worry added, “But now that I’m with you, I’m safe.”
He kissed her again, tenderly, almost reverently.
“I’ve wanted you for so long,” he whispered in her ear, “At last, you’re mine, body and soul.”
“Body and soul?” Eloise asked.
Paul pulled back a little and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I suppose the wedding vows make me yours too.”
Wedding vows! This was a dream about their wedding night. Well, Eloise could just guess where this was headed.
Paul bent down and began nibbling on her neck. She shivered at the delicious sensation.
“Eloise, darling,” he moaned, slipping her negligee off her shoulder. “You are so beautiful.”
As his lips trailed over her exposed shoulder and she was tempted to just lie back and enjoy the dream, Eloise realized that she really needed to keep them alert to the potential dangers of the night.
She put her hands on Paul’s shoulder and gently pushed him away. He looked up at her, confusion across his face.
“I haven’t hurt you, have I?” his face a mirror of his concern.
Eloise shook her head and ran her hand along the side of his face.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that, I’m a little nervous, Paul,” she said.
He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t worry sweetheart,” he said, “I’ll make you forget your nerves.”
He kissed her with enough persuasiveness that if she hadn’t been concerned about an imminent threat, she indeed would have forgotten that she had any nerves at all.
“Paul,” she moaned.
Oh, this was so not fair, she thought.
“Paul,” she whispered, hating herself for the weakness in her voice.
“Yes, sweetheart,” he said, exploring her earlobe with his tongue and teeth.
“Ohhhhh,” she sighed, then took a deep breath, “Paul this is really important.”
“Um hmmm,” Paul responded, trailing soft kisses down her neck. “So is this.”
She felt Paul’s hand gliding up the negligee, skimming over her thigh, her abdomen and higher. She grabbed Paul’s hand before it could reach its intended destination. He raised his head and looked at her in surprise and confusion.
“Paul,” she whispered urgently, “I’m seeing dead people.”
Paul jerked up and away from her and perched on the edge of the bed.
Suddenly the balcony doors sprung open and Delphine glided into the room. Her face was contorted in rage and her eyes spewed madness.
“So, this is your Jean-Paul?” she spat. “I destroyed him once, I will destroy him again.”
Eloise climbed across the bed behind Paul and threw her arms around his neck and held tightly.
“You can’t hurt him,” she cried. “This time I won’t leave him.”
Paul turned to Eloise. “I am Jean-Paul?” he asked.
Eloise nodded. “Yes, you are, were, Jean-Paul,” she confessed.
“But you sent me away,” he countered.
“Yes, she sent you away because she thinks you are weak,” Delphine said. “She could not trust you to protect her.”
Paul pulled Eloise around to his lap. “Tell me,” he insisted, looking deeply into her eyes.
“She said she would have let you live, but because you were connected to me, she killed you,” Eloise whispered, pleading for him to understand.
“So, you sent me away, because…” he said.
“Because I love you,” Eloise replied simply.
Paul smiled. “That’s all I needed to hear,” he said, lowering his lips to hers.
Eloise wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and kissed him back.
“No! He is just using you,” Delphine snarled. “How could you love such as you?”
“I have no idea,” Eloise murmured absently, “but it’s amazing.”
She heard Delphine hiss in the distance and then heard the sharp crash of the balcony doors being slammed. She and Paul looked up for a moment. She chuckled and turned to enjoy more of Paul’s attention...
Eloise found herself alone in her own bed, just waking from the experience. Damn, just when it was getting good.
The phone rang loudly, she jumped. She searched for it unsuccessfully for a few moments and then found the receiver. Eyes still closed, she brought it to her ear.
“Hello,” she mumbled sleepily.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Paul’s voice greeted her.
Eloise sat straight up in bed, all of the images of the night before rushing back.
“I’m sorry, who is this?” she feigned recognition.
His chuckle on the other line melted her heart. “I had a great dream last night,” he continued, “It seemed so real.”
Eloise heart beat faster. “Oh, that’s nice,” she answered, “Did it help with the case you were on?”
“It was quite revealing,” he said.
“Crap,” she muttered.
“Excuse me?” he asked.
“I said great, that’s just great,” she lied.
“So, I was wondering when Jean-Paul was going to show up,” he asked nonchalantly. “So I can plan the assignments of my troops.”
So, he remembered that part of the dream too. Eloise paused for a moment. The danger was still there – after failing this attempt, there was no way Delphine was going to leave him alone if he was in Louisiana. She bit down on her lower lip and then lied to him again.
“Actually, Sally and I were going to go into Baton Rouge to pick him up this afternoon,” she said, “Do you want me to call you when we get back?”
There was dead silence on the phone for a few moments. Eloise could picture the hurt and frustration in his face.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” he replied, his voice sounding cool and controlled, “Just have Turner call me.”
“Okay. I’ll do that,” Eloise said, tears sliding down her face, “Take care of yourself.”
She heard him exhale slowly.
“Yeah, you take care of yourself too,” he said softly, and then he hung up the phone.
Eloise sat hugging the phone for several minutes before finally hanging it up and getting out of bed.
Chapter Seventeen
“So are you going to tell me what happened last night?” Sally asked, sipping on her green shake. She was dressed in a black tee-shirt with a Mickey Mouse logo and black jeans. Eloise stood on the other side of the counter, dressed in her uniform.
“Nothing happened last night,” Eloise muttered, chugging her protein shake, “Nothing at all.”
“Whew, by the tension I’m feeling, I would have guessed that you and Paul ...”
Eloise glared at Sally.
“Okay, I’m dropping it,” Sally said, “And let me be the first to say that I’m really looking forward to being stuck in a car with you for five long hours.”
Eloise couldn’t stop the chuckle. “You are so obnoxious,” she said, trying to hold back a smile.
“Okay, so what gives?” Sally said, “Really, if it has anything to do with this project, you should share it.”
Eloise took a deep breath. “Paul and I spent the night together last night,” she explained.
Sally shook her head, “Okay, you’re going to have to explain this one.”
“Maria snatched me last night and took me to Washington.”
“Cool, out-of-body girls night out,” Sally said. “Why?”
“Delphine was gunning for Paul and this time I had to be there to protect him.”
“Have you ever noticed that when you and Paul are together you’re pretty much indestructible?” Sally asked innocently.
“Well, it worked. I was able to protect him.”
“But how, you were a spirit?”
She attacked him in his dream, so I was there in his dream.”
Sally chuckled. “You were in Paul’s dream. So how did he have you dressed? French maid? Were you even dressed?”
“Sally!” Eloise cried, “Of course I was dressed. I was actually dressed fairly conservatively considering it was our wedding night.”
“Oh, how sweet,” Sally said, and then exclaimed. “He was dreaming of your wedding night?”
Sally paused. “And then Delphine interrupted, bummer!”
Eloise shook her head. “The main point is that I was able to protect him and now he’s safe.”
Sally disagreed. “The main point is that you love him, miss him and still feel this need to lie to him in order to protect him.”
Eloise sighed. “Yeah, that pretty much is the main point.”
“So, do you think he remembered the dream?”
Eloise nodded. “He called first thing this morning, he was so happy.”