Chapter 45 –Myrnin's POV– Promises We Can't Keep
Rhysian sat lazily on the couch and peered over at me. "So...now that you've got the girl...what are your intentions?"
"My intentions?" I laughed, wondering where this conversation was headed.
We were interrupted by a hard knock on the door. His eyebrows went up.
I smiled widely, knowing what to expect. "I presume it is just an associate of Amelie's dropping off a little gift she helped me procure for Claire."
My smile faltered when I opened the door to find the Court Jester standing there; then immediately laughed out loud as I realized he was holding my gift for Claire.
His eyebrows furrowed as he huffed and brushed past me into the lab, slamming the gift into my chest as he walked by. That just made me laugh harder as I held the overtly revealing Tardis blue teddy and matching stilettos he had deposited into my hands.
"You do make an excellent errand boy," I chuckled with a smirk.
Oliver spun to face me, his features livid.
Testosterone fueled excitement ignited in me and I carefully set the garment aside, so that I could put my full attention into playing with Oliver.
Rhysian jumped from his seated position on the couch and was in my face in an instant. "Unless you intend to piss Claire off immensely, I suggest you put it back in your pants and let's just hear what he came to say."
It took a second for me to regain control over my impulse to rile the Jester up one side and down the other. Rhysian waited. "You never let me have any fun," I snapped.
Rhysian rolled his eyes and stepped out of my personal space.
I trained my attention on the Errand Boy. "Yes?" I asked with a mock air of concern.
He returned my stare with his own look of disdain, clearly wishing he were anywhere but here. "We need to discuss the borders. What have you found?"
I wondered how he could talk so clearly, through gritted teeth like that. My eyebrows pulled together. Admittedly, we hadn't found much. "To date, there are zero indicators that any of the security protocols have been breached. I am beginning to think this was an inside job."
Oliver frowned, "We've had people scouting all of the suspected locations, but if it is a well-established resident, they could go under the radar indefinitely. I don't like waiting around for their next move, in order for us to get another clue, as to who we are dealing with. Unfortunately, Amelie has amassed a great number of potential opponents...so the list is quite long."
Oliver must have been finished because he simply walked out the door. I looked back to Rhysian, who just shook his head and took my brief moment of silence as his opportunity to pick up where he left off, "Back to your intentions..."
I smirked at him, as I picked up the teddy and heels. "You asked for my intentions...do I need to be any clearer?"
"Don't be an ass. You know what I am referring to. As her stand-in father, I think it is my duty to make sure the man who is courting her, fully plans to do the right thing by her."
I rolled my eyes. "Rhy, when have you ever known me not to do the right thing?"
His gaze hardened and I gathered he was remembering more than one of my past indiscretions. I gave in to his plea to be serious. "Rhy, I have loved her for as long as you have known me. Even when I didn't know her, I loved her. And now that I do know her, there is absolutely nothing that I wouldn't do to protect her and keep her safely by my side. Now, can we stop with all of the brotherly bonding and go? I suspect the car is waiting. It is 7:00pm, which means we are already fifteen minutes late." I glanced at the time on my phone before pulling up the camera and snapping a quick photo of the outfit.
When we arrived at Common Grounds, it was already crowded. According to Claire, Eve was taking the night off and would be relaxing with us. I was glad she and Claire would have a moment without worrying about the threat hanging over Eve's head.
Claire looked up as we came into view. Hmmm...she was clearly not thrilled at our late entrance. I slid into the chair beside her and Rhysian settled on my other side. I nuzzled my head into her neck and kissed her a little more affectionately than our current circumstances called for; but hell...if it got her attention away from her irritation with me, I was happy to use whatever means were necessary.
"You're late," she hissed, stubbornly holding on to her annoyance.
"But I had a really good reason," I murmured softly as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I opened to the photo I took before we left, and slid the phone over to her.
Her eyes widened. I could tell she was debating whether to still be mad at me or aroused. I thought I would help nudge her in the right direction and placed my hand on her thigh. I drew small circles with my fingertips as I compelled a tight little spiral of arousal between her legs, tickling her senses.
She gasped and clutched my hand on her leg. Her eyes were hot for me now.
I dipped my head back to her neck and whispered in her ear, "That's better."
"That's not fair," she struggled to keep her breathing calm.
"Certainly not," I purred, agreeing with her. "Would you like me to take you all of the way?"
Her eyes were a mix of heat and desire as she seriously contemplated my offer. I wondered what her response would have been, if Eve had not interrupted. I sighed as I pulled back my compulsion; I would have liked to bring her to an orgasm right then and there, just to see the look she gives me every time she climaxes...I would kill for that look.
"Oh, you got it!" Eve squealed as she snatched Claire's phone from the table to look at the photo.
Claire was struggling to understand as she looked at Eve in confusion, "You know?"
"Of course, silly...who do you think gave him your sizes? He is a man; there is no way he would have been able to pull that off on his own."
"By far...the best part was the Court Jester dropping it off. I had no idea what a good errand boy he is. Now, if I could just teach him to retrieve..." I contemplated, grinning.
Even Rhysian laughed at the memory of the Oliver's expression, carrying the delicate lingerie.
"Oliver?" Claire gasped.
"Yes. Amelie had him drop it off."
"Amelie?!" her voice raised an octave. "What the hell...was this a community project?"
"No," Eve chimed in again, "Myrnin had a very specific idea in mind and it just took more than one of us to pull it off. Speaking of that, I wonder if Amelie would tell me where exactly she found a Tardis blue nightie."
Claire's eyes narrowed, "Have you been watching the BBC again?"
I grinned wider, "Amelie even assisted me with my outfit."
"Your outfit? I am not sure I even want to know...but go ahead and tell me...what does it look like? Or is there a photo on your phone for that too?" She gathered my phone back from Eve.
I waited while she thumbed through photos. I knew when she found it because she let out another gasp.
"What?!" Eve reached for the phone.
"Oh no...I think you've already seen all of his 'naughty bits' that you are going to," she told Eve sternly with a grin.
Eve looked confused and faced me, "How does that count as an outfit?"
I raised my eyebrow and looked at Claire to see if she wanted to answer the question.
Claire let out a reluctant laugh and explained to Eve, "Because he is wearing a fez and a bowtie."
"Oh!" Eve giggled, understanding.
"Don't forget the sonic screwdriver..." I reminded Claire.
She closed her eyes and shook her head, "No...you did not just say that..."
"Where the hell did you find a sonic screwdriver?" Eve asked playfully, sipping on her drink.
"That was the one item he contributed to the outfit. He didn't purchase it." Claire explained, still shaking her head.
"Ha!" Eve rolled with laughter as Claire's cheeks turned pink.
Claire turned her attention back to me and whispered under her breath, "You are in so much trouble!"
"Am I going to have to tickle you again?" I murmured as I teased her thigh with my fingertips.
Claire crossed her legs tightly and squirmed. She dug her nails into my hand, with a surprising amount of force.
Oliver interrupted as he checked in with Eve, "Is Michael coming tonight?"
"Yes," Eve's face reflected a soft glow when she talked about Michael. "He is coming right after work." She glanced down at her phone and frowned, "Actually, he should have been here about five minutes ago." Immediately, her eyes changed to alarm as I felt panic sweep through her.
Claire grabbed her hand, "It's okay...I'm sure he is just running late."
"Call him," Oliver ordered.
Eve's fingers shook as she dialed. On the second ring, I could hear Michael's voice answer, "Hey, honey...did you change your mind?"
Eve's eyebrows furrowed, "What?"
Michael's tone changed to one of confusion and then anxiety as he explained, "Your note...you said you would rather spend a quiet night at home and would be here in...well, five more minutes..."
"Michael, I didn't leave that note! Where did you find it?!"
"On the bed..." he answered.
Eve sucked in a ragged breath, "Michael, I...I didn't....get out!"
Every nerve ending in my body was on edge as I processed their conversation. Dread washed through me, cold and bleak, because I knew that no matter what, this wasn't going to end well.
Suddenly, Michael yelled, "Who, the fück, are you?!"
Eve screamed.
Oliver snatched the phone from her fingers and slammed it down on the table while engaging the speaker, so that we could all communicate with him. At the same time, both Oliver and Rhysian were already speaking on their own phones, urgently relaying the information to Amelie and her guards.
The terrible sounds of a struggle ensued. With each blow, Eve's body reacted as though she were the one being hit. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she listened to him fight for his life.
Michael's voiced choked off with a gurgle. Then there was silence, before someone cut the connection to Eve's phone.
Oliver barked an order at me, which for once, I agreed with, "Let's go...now!"
Claire grasped my shirt, "You are not going without me!"
"Listen to me! I cannot have you there. It would put us both at risk and you know it," I spoke harshly, but the thought of her being anywhere near whatever this was, killed me. I softened my tone when I saw the pain come to her eyes, "Go with Rhysian. I will take Eve with me. Oliver may be a lot of things, but I know he can fight. With the two of us...and all of the men Amelie already has on the way, we will be fine."
I saw Oliver's eyebrows rise in surprise, at my compliment of his fighting skills. He spoke lethally, his eyes solid crimson, "We need to end this...now."
Claire clutched at me and commanded fiercely, "Don't you dare die on me!"
I smiled tightly, "I promise."
Tears were streaming down her cheeks as Rhysian physically carried her to the car and settled her inside. He looked up at me and nodded hard.
I nodded once back....desperately hoping I could keep my promise.
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I'll just say this - you do NOT want to miss the next chapter...