BACK TO FRASER'S FRACTURED FICTION

Complicated Lives

by A. Fraser and Jean Hontz

Part 4

© Copyright 2005 A. Fraser and Jean Hontz. All rights reserved.

Alex had walked over to Fairlawn, but glumly accepted the ride home in Gideon's Cadillac. This necessitated being in the same car with Francis, who was also being taken home; but Francis was very firmly up in the front seat beside Evan, while Alex, still dripping, was in the back between Josh and Mitch. Gideon sat supremely unruffled, damn him, across from them.

"Too bad there aren't more parties like that," Mitch commented, apparently unaware that the temperature inside the car was about zero. Kelvin. "One where a girl ends up nak..."

"Yes," said Gideon in tones that indicated that finishing the sentence would be very stupid.

"It would have been more... gentlemanly... not to look," Joshua chided the werewolf.
"I'm only human," Mitch answered. "Most of the time."

Alex said nothing. Neither did Francis. Evan grunted; he was hardly innocent of some goggling himself. Low cycle or not.

"Julian's probably going to kill us all when he finds out," said Mitch cheerfully. He glanced from his boss to his boss' husband. "Except for you two, of course."

"I doubt it very much," Gideon remarked, still in those quelling tones.

Mitch finally took the hint and shut up.

"Alexander?" the Baron asked softly.

The dark head came up; the grey eyes looked into his. "What?"

"You will be... all right, if we leave you at home? You are quite welcome to stay at Oakwoods."

"Thank you, Gideon, but I'll be fine." He saw the doubt there. "Really."

"Very well, if you are certain..."

"Yes. Anyway, Mrs. Jenkins is there, she'll look after me."

"Undoubtedly," Evan put in. "I called ahead and asked her to have a hot bath ready for you."

There were a lot of replies that could have been made to this, but it had been a very trying night so far. Alex settled for, "Thanks."

"I'll be just dandy, too, thanks for asking," came a mutter from the front seat.

"Oh, I'm not worried about you, Francis," Gideon stated calmly. "You are definitely staying in Oakwoods. At swordpoint, if necessary."

"A cold shower might very well be in your future," Josh added.

"I already got dumped into a snowbank."

"Apparently not for long enough."

"Any objections?" Evan growled.

The spectre of Rigo Smith seemed to hover in front of Francis' eyes. He shuddered. "None."
 

"Good. Here we are, Alex."

They were indeed at the door of the Gothic monstrosity known as Valley Mansion. Evan stopped the car, but didn't hop out to open the passenger door. He didn't want to leave Francis to his own devices up front.

Mitch opened his own door, got out to let Alex out, and got back into the car.

"A long hot bath, a good stiff drink, and a smoke," Josh suggested to Alex.

"Look, don't worry about me," Alex told them. "I'm fine."

The door to his mansion opened. There was no creak, although there really should have been. A woman who looked as if she'd done some wrestling in college, though possibly the College of Hard Knocks, stood on the doorstep. This was Mrs. Jenkins, a retired Nameless One, who'd been foisted off on Alex by Evan. Evan had apparently believed he'd done the vampire a favour. Alex lived in a state of slight terror of his own housekeeper.

She curtsied to the car, on general principles, because there was a Baron inside. She never showed the least sign of deference to her employer, a genuine Count.

"Your bath's ready," she said to him now, as he forlornly watched the Caddy head off down the long drive. "Go on, get out of those wet clothes and into the tub. You'll feel better."

'Serve her damn well right if I took the damn clothes off right here,' Alex thought. He knew that it wouldn't phase Mrs. Jenkins. She'd seen him naked. It only made her sniff.

He retired to the bathroom, took off those wet clothes, and sank into the hot water gratefully. Though he couldn't get frostbite, and didn't feel the cold in the same way that humans did, walking around in several gallons of melted snow hadn't been much fun.

Had that eye contact with Adele meant what he had thought? But she had scorned him, called him an idiot, compared him with Julian. He wasn't certain what that meant. The idiot part, that he understood. A lot of people tended to call him an idiot. But then she'd looked him in the eyes as Francis had been trying to beat the shit out of him, and he'd felt...something. A connection.

He reached for his cigarette case and lighter. Waterproof, thank the stars.

He lit up, and leaned back in the water, blowing smoke rings. Would he ever see Adele again, he wondered.
-------------

Meanwhile, Adele was also relaxed in a bath. She wasn't smoking. Well, okay, she was smoking but it did not involve cigarettes. A knock on the door, and she called out, "Come!"

It was Bess, who took a seat on the toilet and met Adele's eyes. They both burst out into laughter.

"I'm so sorry... In front of the kids, too. But I... They were staring so I thought.."

"Girl, I'm envious. I'd never have had the nerve to walk through a room full of horny men totally nude. Not to mention keep my poise."

Adele made a face. "It's ... I'm very stubborn. The moment someone tells me I oughtn't do something... Not to mention impulsive. It's a failing."

"Mom's getting you some clothes. She wants to know if you'll spend the night."

Adele frowned, playing with the bubbles in the tub with her. "No, thank you very much, but I think I just want to, I don't know. I'm not tired and I...So tell me about Alex?"

Bess smiled. "He's not really that bad," she said. "He used to give me piggy-back rides when I was little. He was a father, you know."

"No," said Adele quietly, "I didn't know."

"Oh, he was married, and had a couple of small kids when he was turned," Bess told her. "I don't really know the full story, but I guess the one who turned him was quite a bitch. She didn't like the idea of him going back to his wife and children, so she made him a vampire so he couldn't."

Adele remembered a conversation she'd had in Paris. "Complicated lives,"she said.

"What's that?" Bess looked at her.

"Oh, nothing. Something I said to Genevieve. Go on."

"I think Alex has had a lot of trouble with relationships ever since. He sure can't seem to keep a girlfriend. Before Janine, there was a girl named Brier. I never got to know her very well; I was going through a pretty bad stage at the time myself; running away from home and that kind of thing." She shook her head at herself 11 long years ago. "Anyway, they had a huge argument, and she stalked off and he never saw her again. Then Janine started getting really weird; she'd been pretty nice up til then. Next thing anybody knows, they're in bed together and he made her a vampire. It was a pretty dumb thing to do, but she more or less made him do it."

"Thanks, Bess. It's good to know that." Adele said.

-----------------

It wasn't long after that Adele was standing out in the clear cold of the evening, alone. She'd begged off a cup of coffee, knowing Mary was tired and had told everyone that she was headed home. Home. Well, no doubt Julian was entertaining tonight, and Adele had no desire to hear sounds of lovemaking and fun going on and not having a bit of it herself. Not that she minded Julian finally cheering up. Still.. She didn't want to be alone.

She looked in the direction of the hovel, a smile playing on her lips. Francis was a sweetheart. A bit dim, but all heart and all fun. But sometimes a girl wanted something a bit more, uhm, interesting. "Complicated," she whispered.

She knew where the Valley Mansion was. She'd passed it when out riding with Francis. God, it was a horror of a place. It would have fit right into her world, though.

She began hiking up the road.

By the time she reached the mansion's front porch, she was once again shivering. She rang the bell.

She was wearing too big jeans, a sweater that was a bit too tight across her breasts, and an old parka Guy had contributed to her wardrobe - one of those double hand-me-downs. Her hair was a loose cloud of dark curls, blown about by the cold wind. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold. She was not wearing makeup.

The woman who answered the door almost made her laugh out loud. She had a bit of Mabel in her, but Adele sensed the woman wasn't just a middle aged lady.

"Is Alex in?" she asked, her voice a bit shakey from the cold.

The woman stared at her for a moment, then recovered. "Come in, child, it's cold out there," she said. "You must be Miss Blakesley."

She reflected that the Cliff Road was a very small neighbourhood. Gossip had to spread among the Brotherhood and friends like, er, gossip. But nobody had told Adele about this gatekeeper.

"Yes," she replied. "And you must be...?"

"Mrs. Jenkins. I do for Mr. Goldanias."

Adele nearly asked "do what?" before she realized the woman was English. She looked around her at the interior of the mansion. Every bit as Gormenghastly as the outside.

"He's in his study. Let me take your coat."

Adele let herself be divested of this garment, which seemed to have originally been Mitch's anyway, to judge from the fit. She followed the housekeeper's directions to the study, a dark room tucked away in a corner of this dark house. Alex rose to his feet in surprise as she came in.

"Adele?"

"Ah, you do remember me," she said, smiled, then shivered. "Might I please have a brandy? It's cold outside and the walk was a bit further than I'd thought."

"You walked here? In this weather?"

He hurried to pour her a glass and pushed a chair closer to the fire for her.

After she took a couple of sips she sank into the chair. Alex was still standing over her.

She cleared her throat. "Uhm, I'm ... I didn't want to leave without saying I'm sorry I called you an idiot. I.. I've got a rotten temper."

"You don't have to apologize," he said, looking down at her. "I am an idiot. I have a habit of saying entirely the wrong thing."

"Join the club." She reached up and put her hand over his, where he gripped the back of her chair. "Can we start over?" she asked.

"At what point?" he replied.

"Why do you feel it's necessary to behave the way people expect you to?"

He looked up briefly at the portrait of a rather stern-looking man that hung over the fireplace. "Perhaps because it is expected of me," he answered.
"Perhaps I don't know any other way to behave."

She snorted. "Been there, done that. Damn near ended up married to some decrepit old fart with a title. Because I decided I did not want to behave, I'm here. So, if I said I expected you to act wild and crazy, sweep me off my feet and take me to bed, would you?"

She was staring into his eyes. "I am here of my own free will, I wasn't trapped by your vampiric skills, nor even your Byronic air. Although I will confess the rose in your teeth," she giggled. "I don't want to be made into a vampire, but I wouldn't mind being laid by one."

As he stood there looking at her, still having not said a word, she added, "Alex, my ego is going to be down in my boots unless you take me up on my oh-so-not-ladylike offer. If you can't do that at least give me a reason why not. And don't tell me you like redheads. Goddess I hate them. It's pure envy. I got stuck with the damn freckles, and cheated out of the hair."

He ran a hand through her hair and placed the other one on the small of her back, sending a small current of electricity through her body. He made her finally shut up by the simple act of sealing her lips with his. She shivered, but it had nothing to do with being cold.

Still without speaking, and in one easy movement that a lot of men would have died to be able to copy, he scooped her up into his arms. This wasn't, precisely, what he had wanted; but it was a hell of a lot better than spending the rest of the night alone.

And he knew, deep down, that what he wanted was impossible.

He carried her effortlessly, her head resting on his shoulder, through the gloomy halls of Valley Mansion and downstairs. The master bedroom was situated like a crypt or dungeon; although most dungeons don't have king-sized beds covered with one of those soft fake-fur throws.

He undressed her slowly, delicately; and let her do the same to him. Then once more he lifted her up and placed her on that sensuous bed covering.

"Point of no return, Adele," he whispered in her ear.

She wanted madly to giggle and say, 'Alex, it's only sex.' But, probably fortunately, something stopped her. There was a look in his eye that said it wasn't just sex with Alex. No matter his playboy rep, or his supposed heartless use of women, there was something else there, lurking in those eyes.

She also wanted badly to say, 'Alex, please, just be you. Not who you think I want you to be, not who anyone else wants you to be, just be you.' Again, though, she kept silent.

The opaqueness of his mind was seductive. She'd come to long for this. No worries with vampires, of hearing their thoughts, seeing in their mind's eye the woman, and sometimes even more upsetting the man, they longed to be making love to rather than to her - where she was merely a convenient whore to use instead. Sometimes those desires she could read, unknown to their owner, were full of hatred and pain; those were the worst to deal with.

Even if that's what Alex was thinking, she couldn't know it. Couldn't know that for certain. Couldn't judge him based on past misery; couldn't judge herself wanting against his ideal, the woman he longed for. And that in itself was wonderful. Dark, unknowable, beckoning nothingness.

She said nothing aloud, nothing to Alex. Instead she smiled into his eyes and lifted herself up to meet his lips.

. . .

He was no teenager like Francis; puppy-eager, concerned with only his own pleasure, everything all over in no time and then ready for more in twenty minutes. Alex was a man, and a very experienced one. He knew how to please a woman. Adele had never had sex quite like it. Oh, she'd had experienced men before, but this was... She refused to think about how it was different. In fact, the thinking part of her brain had been pretty much non-existent for hours. Only her body reacting, achingly desirous of giving her partner full measure back.

But then, just before dawn, in between kisses, he had whispered something in her ear. It had sounded quite sincere.

Two words.

"Please stay."

Her mind slammed into overdrive. What did that mean? In a few minutes he'd be dead to the world (unless he was a different sort of vampire than she was used to). Here she was, no clothes to speak of, starving -she'd been too nervous the night before to eat very much and with all this physical activity she felt like she could eat three breakfasts- and... Okay, it was Sunday morning, she didn't have to be back in Paris until Tuesday really, but then there was Mrs whatshername who'd think what to find Adele rattling around the house dressed only in a sheet? Would she think ... Oh, hell.

She stretched contentedly, and began playing with the dark hair on his chest. "Aren't you going to be out of it very soon?"

"I would like you to be here when I wake up." Another kiss, and that strange look in his eyes. It took her a moment to identify the emotion.

Hope.

Just like that. A bald statement of desire, but it was that look that tore her heart. "I can do that. Shall I get carry-out?" she said with a grin and a barely suppressed giggle.

He smiled. "There's lots of food in the house," he said. "Mrs. J does eat, after all; and I think she sometimes feeds Evan."

"What else does she do with Evan?" Adele couldn't help asking.

"Oh, she's retired, she's past all that."

"Won't she object to me wandering around the house?"

Alex had just enough intelligence to realize that answering "She's used to it" would not be a survival step here. "She's not easily ruffled," he replied. "If you get cabin fever, she would probably drive you into town."

He touched her hair again. "I know it's a lot to ask," he said. "But I really would like you to stay."

Well, that wasn't exactly what Adele had had in mind. She'd figured to go home, get some clothes, some make-up, some good Parisian food, a long, long nap and then show up at dark. Hmmm.

"All.... All right. Come on, let's get a shower so you can go to bed all fresh and clean."

She towed him into the shower, soaped him up, giggled at the resultant obvious response, but wouldn't let him touch her. "If we start that," she explained, 'you'll go all stony in the middle of something and then where would I be. Behave."

He watched as she soaped herself up. Their eyes were locked, but he played along and didn't try to touch her again. When they were both clean they each towelled off and she asked, "Uhm, where do you spend the day, Count? And where can I grab a nap? Oh, and do you have a robe or something I can wear? I'd really feel a bit silly parading upstairs for breakfast in the nude."

"You did at Fairlawn," Alex pointing out the obvious.

"Yes," she replied soberly, "but that was something else entirely. I know I wouldn't shock Mrs Jenkins but I'd feel... I mean .." she blushed. "I'm not ... Please?"

He leaned down and kissed her, causing certain complications to arise again.

"I told you to behave," she chided him. "Robe, please."

Grinning, swaying his rather magnificent naked ass at her, he went and fetched her a robe. It was not pink and fuzzy. It did, however, have a label proclaiming it to be made in Maine by none other than L.L. Bean. There was a moose in silhouette on the pocket.

"You," said Adele, "do not strike me as the L.L. Bean type." She could have hidden herself and the Fairlawn twins, and possibly the dog and cat, in this robe.

"It was a gift," he said, laughing. "As for your other questions, I sleep here." He pointed to the bed they had so recently, and thoroughly, explored. "No windows, you will note. You're quite welcome to share it with me for a nap, but I realize that few people enjoy sharing a bed with a corpse." His tone was lighter than his words. "There are something like 8 bedrooms upstairs, not counting the rooms Mrs. Jenkins has; I believe she keeps them aired and supplied with fresh linen just in case the von Trapp family comes to call. Pick any one you like. Except the tower."

"Is that where you keep Igor chained up?" she asked, biting down the first automatic response about mad first wives.

"No. The floor's not safe. I keep meaning to have someone in to fix it, but there seems so little point with just two of us in this house."

"I'll check it out. I've always wanted to be the fair maiden in the tower waiting to be rescued by the gallant knight. By the way, I liked that laugh. You need to do that more often. It's very sexy. The ass isn't bad either." She smacked it and jumped away from him with a little scream as he reached for her. She was giggling, and wrapping herself round in the robe. Then their eyes met and they kissed.

"I'll be here when you wake up, Count Goldanias. Don't keep me waiting."

He walked her out into the hallway and met her eyes once more as he closed the door.

When that door was closed Adele leant back against the wall for a minute. Then she yawned and went upstairs in search of something to eat and coffee. Then sleep.

 

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