by L. C. Giroux
As if fate was laughing at him Marie-Hélène walked in at that moment.
"Is my sister coming here tonight?"
"Non, she said Michel had several days of surgeries planned so they would be sleeping there. I will see her tomorrow at the office. It will be just you and me 'ere for a few days. Violet thinks you will play a 'orrible trick on me. You wouldn't do that, would you?" She actually looked concerned. Allyn couldn't help himself and smoothed some stray hairs behind her ear.
"No, I won't play a trick on you." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I forgot to mention one friend of mine when we were talking. I was telling him about you and he was very interested in meeting you." She looked up at him confused. "He is a very nice guy but a little strange sometimes. Has some odd habits, nothing dangerous but I think you would like him. Certainly more fun for you than just sitting here with me for the next couple of nights. Should I tell him you'll see him?"
"'e is a friend of yours? You know him well?"
"Yes, quite."
"Is he as old as you?"
"I don't think I am exactly ready for the grave just yet."
"Non, I mean 'e is not some boy? I find boys my age to be very dull. Older men are trés interestant."
"Oh, well yes, he is about my age."
"Bon, it will be fun. You will be there, non?"
"Non, I have meetings and other engagements all week, if I am not at something then I need to be home preparing for the next one. I will tell him you would like to meet him." she stretched and yawned like a sleepy child.
"Pardon. I think I will go up to bed. Funny how sitting on a plane all day can make you tired."
"I promise not to ask to much of you tomorrow."
"Good night Allain." She surprised him by putting her arms around him and kissing his cheek. His body warmed to her touch. He stroked her hair and then kissed her on the forehead. Safer that way, less chance of him wanting something he couldn't have. She looked up at him and his heart thudded in his chest. Crazy or stupid as the plan was, he needed to at least try to make her see him as a man that loved her.
"Do you need help finding your room, you'll be sleeping in Violet's wing."
"Non, she told me she left a light on for me to find it." She yawned again but she still hadn't taken her arms from around him.
"Well, I still have a couple hours more work to do so don't wait for me. I'll bring your bags when I head up."
"D'accord. Bonne Nuit, Allain." finally she unwound her arms from him and he could breathe again. He waited till he heard her on the stairs and took a deep breath. She had agreed, now he just needed to figure out how to make this work.
Hours later he had the rough idea of a plan. It was all so ridiculous there was no way it could work but he was beyond caring. Even if it only lasted a couple of dates it was worth it. If she hated him for it... Well, he couldn't think about that. He carried her bags upstairs and put them in her room. She had fallen asleep while reading. He quietly stepped in and removed the book from her hands. He was surprised by the glasses she was wearing but eased them off her face and put them beside the bed. She looked so warm, soft and kissable he couldn't help touching his lips to her forehead.
She stirred and draped an arm around him. He suspected she might still be asleep, he couldn't tell though. She twisted her head so that her lips met his and she murmured against them. When he tried to tell her good night she kissed him deeply, as if he was a dream lover. His body caught fire and he wanted to sweep her into his arms and into his bed. He couldn't have stopped kissing her if he wanted to and considering how confused he was he didn't want to. She felt like sun warmed flowers in his arms. Now he understood the appeal of the sleeping beauty story.
Eventually, she sighed and her arms loosened around his shoulders. He looked down at his very own tormentor and stroked her cheek with the lightest of touches. She stirred again and mumbled something about her prince.
"Would that I could be your prince, my sweet." he breathed in her ear. She had a half smile on her face as she rolled over and curled up in a ball, never having fully woken up.
She was so childlike in her trust and yet an alluring woman at the same time. Allyn resolved then insane, unworkable plan or not, he needed to find a way to make it work. Leaving her room as quietly as possible, he took a deep breath when he got outside her door. With the throbbing in his groin he wasn't going to be sleeping anytime soon.
The next morning Allyn stumbled downstairs in pajama bottoms and bathrobe. He smelled coffee, thank God. He'd been up all night thinking about her or trying not to. He felt like he'd gone ten rounds in a prize fight. The other guy had definitely won. When he entered the kitchen she was sitting at the table with a cup the size of a bowl reading the... Business section?
"Bon matin, Allain. Une cafe au lait or a glass of tea?" She was exceedingly cheerful for the hour.
"Coffee, please. And it is a cup of tea." He reached over and poured himself some coffee and nearly choked on it. He had forgotten that she liked her coffee stronger than most. Maybe that was the secret to being a morning person. Of course a little more sleep last night would have helped. She lowered her paper and just stared at him.
"Pardon?"
"Never mind." he looked at her again, now that she wasn't hiding behind the paper. She was already dressed for the office. She had on a trim business suit, the skirt a little shorter than average but not indecently so. She had the legs to carry it off. Those legs ended in shoes that he was going to have to actively work on not thinking about all day. Black patent leather, a sky high heel with a thin little strap around the ankle. He could feel all the blood rushing from his head already. He pulled his robe around him tighter. She had the jacket unbuttoned over a silk camisole. The effort to remain passive in the face of such temptation was making him grumpy. She was an odd combination of prim and sensual. The heavy silver chains at her wrists were in complete opposition to the prim suit but they put him in mind of handcuffs. The whole outfit could have been that of a dominatrix in public. The thought made him lightheaded with desire. He sat next to her on the banquette.
"What have you done to your hair?"
"What do you mean? I put it up for work, non?"
"Non." he reached over and started to pull pins out, dropping them on the table. Finally he ran his hands through it to loosen the twist and let it slide through his fingers and down her back. "Bon, there is no reason to look like a, well like a junior executive."
"I thought... You dress like this."
"Yes, well, I am not a pretty young girl." She started giggling at him. If he could hear her laugh like that every morning he'd never sleep again.
As long as she kept her hands busy she wouldn't touch him. But oh, how she wanted to run her hands over his bare chest. When he had leaned in and pulled the pins from her hair, she was enveloped in his scent. She smiled to herself. He was always so refined looking, so genteel but his scent was pure male animal. It made her want to strip the expensive dignified clothes off of him. This was the first time she could remember seeing him in the least bit disheveled. Yes, she needed to hang on to her coffee for dear life so she wouldn't pull his robe off him. She wanted to feel the coppery curls of his chest against her cheek. He had some freckles from the sun there too that made her think she'd like to trace them with her tongue. Oof, How was she going to spend the day working with him? At least Violet would be there today, she would distract her from thinking about Allyn like that.
She got up to pour herself more coffee. When she turned around to ask Allyn if he would like more he was frowning at her.
"Probleme?"
"No, no problem." He hadn't shifted his gaze from her shoes
"Is it my shoes?" He looked up at her like he just realized she was there.
"I was wondering if I would have to carry you if you wore those? They look like you could break an ankle."
"We are not going 'iking?"
"Iking, what is iking?"
"Ouh, lo
ng walk, up and down mountains, oui?"
"Oh! Hiking, there is that H we like so much here. No, we will not be going 'iking."
"Bon, then you will not need to carry me. I wear these in Paris. I should be fine 'ere." She studied him as he took the business section she had been reading. The poor man looked tired and tense. The dark smudges under his eyes were not a good sign. From their conversation yesterday it didn't sound like he ever let himself have any fun. She would find a way to change that.
"Allain?"
"Oui?"
"You will take me out on the boat, won't you? I know you said you would be busy this week but when you can?"
"I suppose. Violet won't be able to come with us. Since she got pregnant she gets very bad seasickness. She came with me to the dock and almost got ill."
"Violet is very happy with Michel and having a baby, non?"
"She almost purrs. She is so different now, confident in a way she never was. Like she can finally see all the wonderful things about her I always saw and couldn't convince her were there. Michael has only to look at her and smile and she knows. It makes me a little jealous. Michael is a good man, you'll like him. We are all going for lunch together I believe."
"Oui, Violet said. Are you going to the office comme ça? It is getting late." He glanced past her and swore. He popped a last piece of croissant into his mouth and got up. He swallowed down the food with the last of his coffee and came over to her by the sink. When he was standing next to her he looked her up and down.
"Those silly shoes make you too tall."
"That is why I like the silly shoes. Now I am almost as tall as you." She stepped closer to him, stretched her chin up and gave him a quick kiss on his chin. He hadn't shaved yet and the little bit of stubble there tickled her lips. Mmm, she wanted to run her lips along his sharp jaw line to his neck. Allain pulled back so quickly she almost laughed. Yes, the man definitely needed to learn to have fun. She looked up at him and smiled at the look of confusion on his face.
"Allain?" She whispered in her most seductive voice.
"Mmmm?" He was staring at her lips like he had never seen anything like them before.
"Vite! You are going to make me late for my first day." She grinned at him as he backed away. He was mumbling under his breath. Well, she was going to have fun anyway.
The ear piercing shriek followed by rapid-fire French told him Violet had found her cousin. Allyn ducked into his office to get away from the noise. To be honest, he was hiding. Deciding to take his Jaguar was a mistake but she had begged so sweetly. He'd indulged himself with the fast sleek cars since he'd gotten his father's old one when he was a boy. After his father died, it seemed fitting he keep driving them. The car's speed and handling made him feel alive in a way few other things did. Unfortunately, one of those things had been sitting next to him on the commute in. Sitting so close, listening to her laugh as she urged him to push the car faster, he no doubt looked the very picture of a man in the throws of a mid-life crisis. What was worse he didn't know if he cared any more. It wasn't as though he had sudden desire to start chasing after young women, just one woman and one he'd loved from afar for longer than he should.
Suddenly his door burst open and the shrieking women surrounded him. Violet looked at him sternly.
"Allyn, who is this man you are setting her up with?" Marie-Helene blanched.
"Violet! I told you it was fine."
"He is a colleague I have gotten to know socially. It will be fine, do you really think I would put her in any danger?"
"No, of course not! Its just that I thought... Oh, never mind. As long as she's enjoying herself." His sister didn't like the idea, couldn't say he blamed her exactly. He didn't know what Violet's reaction would be once the truth came out but he wouldn't have to tell her if Marie-Hélène decided that she didn't want anything to do with him. Really, that was all this was, a ruse to allow her to see him as something other than Violet's brother and the stodgy, boring facade he hid behind and was in danger of becoming.
"Actually, I've spoken with him already this morning and he can't wait to meet her."
"Really?, What is his name?" Violet crossed her arms on top of her very round pregnancy bump. Damn, he hadn't thought of a name to use yet. He looked out the window of his office at the Hancock tower and had his answer.
"Hancock." Violet pulled a pen and piece of paper from his desk.
"What is his first name?"
"Umm, that is his first name. His last name is Smith."
"Oh hell, I'll never be able to find him then. Allyn, he better be on his best behavior." He turned to Marie-Hélène.
"He'd like to see you tonight, I suggested that he come to the house so you would be comfortable. I'll be there but I'm afraid I have things I have to work on. Violet perhaps you would you like to chaperone?" Her cousin glared at her, making it absolutely clear she had no wish to be chaperoned at her age.
"Ugh, no, if you are going to be at the house anyway, I suppose I don't need to be there."
"Allyn what does 'e look like?"
"Oh, you know, like a regular guy. Brown hair, a little grey maybe, tall, not fat but I'm not the one to ask if he's handsome or anything. I know he likes music and travels a lot." All of which described him without giving anything specific away. He might be considered handsome but who was he going to ask? Violet always told him he was but she was family, it wasn't like that counted. "You'll just have to decide for yourself when you meet him."
"Bon, I won't have long to wait then. 'e sounds trés mysterious, its sexy, non?" Allyn bit the inside of his mouth so he wouldn't laugh, mysterious and sexy were not words usually associated with him.
Violet just stared at her cousin. "Yes, well, first you'll meet my Michael at lunch. Allyn will you be able to join us?"
"I have an appointment to get my glasses replaced before but I can meet you after I am done."
"What happened to your glasses?"
"Ask you cousin. Now I need you two out of here or I won't get anything done this morning. Violet can you start familiarizing La Reine with the various tasks and parts of the organization. I'll take over after lunch but I have other things I need to get done first."
Violet looked at Marie-Hélène and she just shrugged. As they were walking out the door Violet turned and looked back at him. "Allyn, you seem different, but I can't put my finger on what it is. Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine, my dear. Maybe I am just content." She wrinkled her nose like that couldn't be it and made a face at him but left to catch up with Marie-Hélène.
Allyn walked into the restaurant and was shown to the loudest table in the place. The women had poor Michael trapped. As he got closer he had to clench his teeth at what he saw in front of him. He knew there had to be a perfectly logical reason why the woman he loved was stroking his brother-in-law's face in front of his sister.
"What is going on here?"
"Oh, Allyn, Marie-Hélène was just about to read Michael's future."
"Non, non, Violet it is not 'is future. You make me sound like a gypsy. I can read 'is character and deepest desires." Michael blanched.
"Darling do you think this is such a good idea? I mean if she really can..."
"Michael, darling, the things you like to do in bed are not all that deeply hidden, really." Violet burst out laughing and Michael turned crimson. Allyn almost felt sorry for him but he couldn't help laughing too. "Oh, Michael darling, just let her touch your face. Really, you're the one that is supposed to be clinically rational."
"Yes, well, since I live with you now, I feel anything but rational."
"It is called being in love dear, and you'll get used to it in twenty or thirty years. Come on!" Allyn looked at Michael and just shrugged.
"I knew you were done for as soon as I walked through the door old man. With the two of them together you can't possibly win, you can only hope for a negotiated surrender." Michael turned warily to Marie-Hélène.
"Hell, let's ge
t this over with. If you come up with any truly dark secrets can you at least keep your voice down so you don't destroy my career." Both of the women just laughed at him. Marie-Hélène closed her eyes and fluttered her fingers over Michael's face from his forehead to his chin. Allyn sat on the banquette next to Violet and tried not to cringe, Michael was madly in love with his sister. It didn't change the feeling in the pit of Allyn's stomach that wanted to pull her hands away from any other man and make sure she only ever touched him.
"Hmm, Violet is a lucky woman." she smiled but kept her eyes closed to continue with her 'reading'. "Very smart, bien sur! Caring, longs to be part of a big family, 'ides 'is animal nature from the world." Michael shifted uncomfortably. "worries that 'e is not 'elping enough people." Marie-Hélène opened her eyes and moved to sit across from Allyn.
"Yes, well everyone hides their base instincts from the world." Michael coughed and the women laughed at him again. Allyn was just glad it wasn't him under their inspection.
"I'm more interested in what she said about you wanting to help more people."
"It's funny, that has only really come up since meeting you darling. I see the work your foundation does all over the world and I end up feeling rather insignificant. It is not a position us surgeons are used to, or at all comfortable with. We tend to be the center of our little universes, as you may have figured out."
"Yes, dear." Violet gave her husband a very knowing look. Allyn didn't understand all of what went on between them but the love and desire they felt for each other shown so clearly on their faces it was almost embarrassing to watch, and made him jealous as hell. He wanted to be able to look at Marie-Hélène like that, openly without a thought as to who might see. His thoughts were interrupted by the woman in question.