Chapter 37 –Claire's POV– Oh, Hot Damn
Claire studied herself in the bathroom mirror. She leaned in and carefully inspected her eyes. They looked tired. She repeatedly blinked wide, trying to make them look less sleepy. Four months had gone by since Myrnin arrived and they'd settled into a comfortable routine – working during the days and chatting late into the nights.
She wandered over to the closet, absent-mindedly sorting through clothes to find something suitable to wear; while she contemplated their time together. She enjoyed being with him. He drove her crazy – frequently – but he always made her laugh. She had to admit – it was a huge improvement over the hours she used to spend crying daily.
She appreciated his effort. He was working hard to do and be what she wanted, but all of it was still new. A part of her worried that he would wake up one day and realize that she wasn't really what he wanted – that he was attracted to the thought of being with her, more than he actually liked her.
The other half of her simply didn't know how to let go of the dream that had kept her alive for so long. She paused for a moment, while the familiar grief wound its way through her heart. It hurt to think about her Myrnin and she tried not to. Claire wished she could let go, but was beginning to wonder if she might never be able to. Was she so damaged, that she was destined never to be able to give herself to someone else completely, again? She shook her head to rid the thought from her mind – it was just too painful to consider.
With renewed determination, Claire focused on the task at hand – what to wear. She picked over her plain shorts and t-shirts searching for something, well – more. Claire knew it wasn't her fashion sense that had improved. Instead it was the way Myrnin looked at her when she wore something he liked. A flicker of heat passed through her belly when she pictured his eyes, staring at her, desire evident in his features.
She crossed the room to the wardrobe and pulled out her lingerie drawer. She searched through various garments until she found a revealing cobalt blue bra and matching underwear. She ran her fingers over the delicate lace trim. It was definitely more than her routine white-on-white undergarment choice, but different was good these days– it made her feel alive.
After slipping into the underwear, she pulled on a medium-length casual beige skirt that flowed gently around her legs when she walked and a blue tunic style top. She wanted to be comfortable for the drive. They were taking an excursion to the mountains. Myrnin believe he had found a gravity anomaly and wanted to take readings with the new equipment they spent the last two months working on.
She stepped out of the bedroom and found him busily gathering equipment and taking it out to the car. His eyes flashed up at her. She noticed the way his gaze traveled appreciatively down her body. She flushed in response.
"Are you ready to go?" he questioned; his arms full with gizmos and gadgets.She nodded and followed him out the door into the night. He could handle the sun better than most vampires, but he still preferred to conduct their outdoor experiments in the dark.
As Claire's eyes adjusted to the dim light, she stopped cold. "What the hell is that?"
He glanced back at her in surprise, "What?"
"That....that monstrosity of a vehicle." Claire stared at the over-sized black Jeep. It had the biggest wheels she had ever seen. "And where the hell are the doors?"
He spoke patiently as if explaining something to a toddler. "This, my dear, is necessary, to accommodate all of the testing equipment."
"Yes...but the doors?" she pushed.
"Oh, they would just get in the way."
Claire stared at him, "Get in the way of what? Me not falling out of the car while you drive like a madman?"
He laughed, "No. The equipment will be active while we drive. The doors would hinder its ability to get accurate readings."
Claire let out a small 'humph' and walked over to the passenger side of the vehicle. She wondered briefly how she was going to hoist herself up. She didn't have to contemplate long, because she felt Myrnin's strong arms come around her; lifting her easily as he planted her in the seat.
"If this makes my hair windblown, you're in trouble," she muttered sternly.
He grinned, "I suggest you pull it back. I know I am talented, but I have yet to control the weather." He smirked and then his face turned serious, as he thought about it.
Claire laughed at his contemplative expression. "Is that our next project?" she teased.
He flashed another grin that took her breath away and blurred out of sight, only to reappear next to her in the driver's seat.
"Do you even know how to drive this thing?"
"Yes." He looked a little hurt. "The You Tube video made it look very easy."
"What?!" Claire exclaimed. "You learned to drive from a You Tube video?!" She was rethinking her original worries: falling out of the door, windblown hair – not a big deal – when compared to crashing because he skipped part of the You Tube tutorial. "Are you out of your mind? No. Wait, don't answer that." She worked to gather herself back together.
"Claire, you know physical things come naturally to me," he said silkily.
She wasn't sure, but it sounded like there was a sexual innuendo somewhere in that sentence.
He reached his hand over to her leg and then slid it up her thigh, waiting expectantly for her response.
Yep – he definitely had sex on the mind. Claire grabbed his roaming hand. "No...if we are going to do this, you need both hands on the wheel."
He sulked but complied.
Claire tried to catch her breath. Her skin was still burning where he had touched her.
He must have been a quick study; Claire was surprised the ride was uneventful. After about thirty minutes, she released her death grip on the multiple handles hanging from the steel frame, and relaxed into her seat.
He glanced over to her with a smirk. Of course, he could feel her body's resignation, that he had been right. She refused to look at him.
Her brief calm was shattered when he reached behind the seat, grabbing a drink. Even in her peripheral vision, she recognized the bottle – vodka.
"Are you crazy?!" she yelled and then caught herself. "Of course you are – why do I keep asking myself that?" she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she began again, "And why did you decide hard liquor was going to be your drink of choice, while you drove? Out of aaaalll of your options: water, soft drinks, hell, even blood - but no – you pick the felony?!"
He disregarded the panic in her voice and spoke smoothly, reminding her, "You forget, my dear, I am good with physical things....and if that doesn't work, I will simply encourage the officer to let us go."
"That's your well-thought-out plan? Get drunk while you drive and compel your way out of any trouble?"
He smirked, "That is always my plan."
Claire ground her teeth and reached for the handles again.
The terrain began to change. Myrnin slipped the car into four-wheel drive and navigated the Jeep off of the road. He followed a barely marked path as they made their way through trees and brush. Claire clutched the safety handles with all of her strength as the car slanted at fierce angles, up and over the hills in their way.
"Where the hell are we?" She asked breathlessly.
"We've got another quarter mile like this and then it levels out again for the last twenty minutes," he assured her.
"Okay." Claire held her breath again as they began to go through a small stream. She looked down, out of the open door, at the water. It came almost to the top of the wheels. "Won't the engine stall?" she asked concerned.
"No"—Myrnin began, but before he could continue, Claire screamed as the car lurched down suddenly, causing globs of mud to fly up, landing gracefully all over her. The nose of the Jeep surged back up and evened out again in the next minute, as Claire stared in shock at the mess on her clothes.
She turned her head slowly to look at Myrnin. She found he was covered in mud as well, but trying very hard not to laugh.
Claire reached out and yanked down the mirror from the visor. She inspected herself and drew in a harsh breath at her reflection. "Look at my hair...," she said through gritted teeth. "I look like a drowned cat." She turned her head back to him, waiting for him to take responsibility for his actions.
Her look of stern expectation and righteous indignation was all it took for him to laugh out loud.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him. Myrnin tried to pull himself back together, in a futile attempt to comfort her, "You look fine..."
"Fine?!" she seethed. "That is not the f-word that comes to mind."
He smiled wider and worked to hide it by turning his head the other direction.
She smacked him hard in the arm. "Oh no...don't you turn your back on me! What am I going to do for the next twenty minutes?!"
He looked back at her. "You are more than welcome to slip out of those wet clothes. There is a small lake within a mile of where we planned to stop. You can rinse out your clothes there and they should dry in a few hours."
Her mouth dropped open, "Seriously?! You are trying to get me naked – right, now?"
"No...I am just trying to provide you an alternative to sitting – like a drowned cat – for the next twenty minutes. I am more than happy to discard my clothes as well, so you don't feel uncomfortable – and I promise to be a perfect gentleman."
He smiled at her angelically while she contemplated her options.
"A perfect gentlemen?" she asked.
"Absolutely," he reaffirmed.
"If I'm going to be taking my clothes off, I'm going to need alcohol," she muttered. "Give me that bottle."
He happily complied, grinning again.
Claire put the vodka to her lips and let the liquid burn a trail down her throat, before handing it back. "And stop looking so excited."
"Not possible."
"And you promise not to stare at me?"
"I am definitely not going to promise that," he looked at her like he was waiting for a show.
Claire felt her body heat up as he stared. "Just give me the bottle again," she muttered. "And...just...no words...," she held her palm up toward him.
He chuckled softly as he handed it to her.
Claire drank again, relaxing as the alcohol soothed her senses.
Myrnin continued to drive and watch her at the same time.
She carefully peeled off her top, trying not to spread the mud around. Then shook out her hair, aiming the mud back out the window.
"Shit..." Myrnin breathed quietly.
Claire looked over at him inquisitively, taking another sip as she did so. "What?" she asked.
His eyes changed intensity as he stared at her cleavage.
"A perfect gentlemen; remember?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"I had no idea you would be wearing that. You need to give me some kind of warning next time. You know, like – 'Hey, I am wearing smoking hot lingerie; are you sure it's safe for me to take off my clothes?'"
Claire giggled, the alcohol making her feel tingly. "It's too late for that. You promised," she said as she lifted up, to slide her skirt down her legs, carefully pulling it over the dagger sheathed to her thigh.
"Oh, hot damn," Myrnin stuttered.
Claire turned to him and laughed at the distressed look on his face. "Problem?" she asked innocently. She took another drink, enjoying the freedom from her inhibitions.
He shifted in his seat to reposition himself. "All I can say is, it's a good damn thing we have twenty minutes before I can take my hands off of this wheel. Hand me that bottle back."
"You are welcome to stop and relieve yourself if you need to...," she teased. "I promise not to watch."
"I will only do that, if you promise to watch," he growled low, his eyes burning with intensity.
Claire laughed again and kicked her feet up on the dash; the safety handles completely forgotten as the alcohol steadied her nerves.
Myrnin reached over and ran his hand along her thigh.
Her head fell to the side as she glanced over to him. "Now is that the action of a perfect gentlemen?" she purred...