Chapter Five

When I left Maman's, the sun was setting. The sky was deepening into the bruise color of dusk. And if I didn't hurry, I was going to be in trouble. I settled my packages in the passenger seat and had just turned on the car when there was a knock at my driver side door. I blinked up, a sheepish smile breaking across my face at the sight of Charlemagne.

Dressed in a dark green velvet blazer, matching slacks, and a black turtleneck with his hair tied back at the nape of his neck, he looked like a dream in the fading sunlight. He bent until his face was close to the glass, raising a hand to gesture for me to roll down my window. I did. "I believe I left you a note, Abigail." He said, arching one perfect brow. "Do not leave the house?"

"Oh, yeah, that does ring a bell." I mumbled, baring my teeth in a grimace. "I was going home right now." I said, placing my arm on the windowsill and leaning my chin against it to look up at him through my eyelashes. "Don't be mad, I was getting you a present."

Charlemagne blinked at that, his features softening. "A present? Pour moi?" His mouth twitched. "What is it?" He breathed out, gripping the top of the window as he leaned closer, his nose just barely brushing mine.

My breath hitched. He was close enough for me to feel his breath against my lips, for me to tilt my head and kiss him again. My gaze dropped to his mouth. You cannot love a lion into a housecat. Swallowing, I managed to pull back before either of us could close that distance. "Home first." I mumbled. "And then I'll give it to you."

Charlemagne's eyes wandered my face before he straightened. "As you wish." He said, taking a step back from the car. "You will go straight there, yes?"

I prickled at his tone. "You know, I haven't eaten—"

"Abigail."

I pressed my lips together and rolled my eyes up at him. "Straight home, yes."

"Bien. Do not make me punish you." He warned, leaning back into the window as a wicked grin spread across his handsome face. "We would both like it entirely too much, I think." He said and was gone a second later.

Face burning, I dropped my head forward with a small squeak. Calm down, Abigail. Charlemagne was a consummate flirt, remember? Right. Blushing and carrying on like this only stroked his ego. With that in mind, I sat up, and pulled away from the curb. I left the window down, wanting the cool air on my heated face. I didn't need spells or charms, I needed a grip.

Fifteen minutes later, I turned down my street. My heart sighed as I pulled into my driveway, warm light was seeping through the blinds. As much as he ruffled me, and I hate to admit that he did, it was a comfort to know he was waiting for me at home. I grabbed my things from the passenger seat and started up the walk to the porch. "See? Straight home." I said, when he pulled open the front door.

Charlemagne met my gaze, the blue of his eyes had darkened. "Good girl." He purred, a grin widening his mouth when I blushed all the way to my hairline. "I love it when you blush for me."

"Shut up." I mumbled, rolling my eyes to myself, as I brushed past him into the house. He'd managed to make me forget all about the tainted front door. I paused in the foyer to inhale before I blinked back at him. "Is that shrimp etouffee?"

He tilted his shoulder in a graceful half-shrug and shut the door behind us. "You said you hadn't eaten yet." He pointed out.

"From Chambeau's?"

"Where else?"

I grinned at him. "You're wonderful." I said, shaking my head a little. "Thank you."

His features softened as a smile spread across his mouth. "De rien, ma chérie." Charlemagne murmured, crossing the space between us to take my bags from me before he tilted his chin towards the kitchen where he'd plated my shrimp etouffee. "Eat."

Still grinning to myself, I hurried into the kitchen to settle at the kitchen counter. I paused to inhale, the savory, spicy scent tickled my nose and made my mouth water. Charlemagne followed me into the kitchen to place my bags down on the counter. He reached into one just as I took my first bite and pulled out the bottle of swamp water with a raised brow. "Please, tell me this is not my present."

I rolled my eyes at him, taking my time to chew and swallow. "It is not." I said, leaning forward to reach for a much smaller Walmart bag. "This is for you." I mumbled, sliding it across the counter towards him.

Charlemagne eyed me curiously as he opened the bag and dropped his gaze to the box inside. Surprise raised his brows. "What is this?" He reached inside to pull the box out. "A little telephone?"

I rolled my eyes, munching down on a shrimp as I watched him. He knew what a cellphone was, but he'd refused to take that last step into the twenty-first century. "It's a cell phone and you know it." I said, hopping out of my seat to come to his side.

I took the box from him to open it for him. "Here, I even got a case for it." I said, digging it out of the bag to open it and slip it onto the slender shell of the cellphone. It was dark blue, similar to his favored color. "I thought you'd like the color." I offered him a small, shy smile as I held it out to him. "Oh, and the man at the store already set it up for me, and my number's in there… what?"

Charlemagne swept his gaze over my face. "Why did you buy me this?" He asked softly, seeming genuinely curious.

I bit my lower lip, bunching up my shoulders. "Cause…I really wanted to talk to you yesterday." I answered softly, studying his face. "I would just feel better if I could reach you a little more easily."

He dipped his chin in a slow nod. "Show me how to use it then, Writer." He said, taking it from my hand to look it over. "It is very thin. Are you sure this is durable?"

I beamed up at him, the tension dropping out of my shoulders. "Yes, and if you do break it, I got an extended warranty." I assured him, reaching into the box for the charger to plug in the adapter. I took the phone back from him to power it on, shifting closer to show him the function of each button.

We went over his password—something easy like the year of his birth, 1519—and his apps. I showed him how to find me in his contacts, how to send a text. The basics. I didn't want to overwhelm him. "Here, do you want me to take a picture of you?"

"Of course." Charlemagne straightened, brushing imaginary lint from his suit lapels. "How do I look?"

My smile softened. "Beautiful, as always." I said, taking a step back to lift the phone up to bring him into focus. He arranged himself as if he were standing for a portrait, in control of every movement of his body. I took a few pictures before shifting to show him. "Good?"

"Bien." He leaned down until his chin was resting against my shoulder. "And now of you."

"Me?" I blinked, aware of his body heat at my back.

He nodded against my shoulder. "I do not have any pictures of you. I'd like one."

A blush warmed my cheeks. "What about one of us together?" I said, tilting my head back against his shoulder.

"Like this?" Charlemagne murmured, wrapping his hand around my hip.

Swallowing, I could feel the pressure of his fingers through my shirt. "Mhm." I sounded, tapping at the phone to bring up the front-facing camera. Our faces filled up the screen. He looked perfect. Beautiful enough to make your heart ache. A stark contrast. My dark curls were air-dried and frizzing around my face. Eyes bright. And flushed.

I tilted my head against his, watching his features soften on the screen in front of us. His smile was soft and genuine, unpracticed. I smiled back at him and took the picture. "There." I said, starting to pull away when he slid his arm around my waist and pressed me into the hard planes of his body.

My breath escaped me. I was suddenly and entirely aware of his arm across the softness of my belly, of his breath stirring the hair at my ear. "We have to talk, ma cherie." He murmured, his voice rolling down my spine. "You kissed me."

"Oh." I breathed out, my heart knocking into my ribs. "That was… it was affection between friends." I mumbled, trying to remember how to breathe.

Charlemagne chuckled against my ear. "Ah, of course." He said, sliding his hand across my waist again before he was suddenly in front of me, walking me back towards my fridge. He was so close, I had to tilt my head all the way back to look up at him. I knew I was staring, lips slightly parted, frozen like a small gazelle in a lion's gaze. "And after all, what is a little affection between friends?" He dropped his head, his nose brushing along the column of mine before he kissed my bottom lip.

It was a small kiss. Almost chaste. Less a brushing of lips, with more intention. And yet, a hot stone had dropped into the pit of my belly and knocked all the feeling out of my legs. "Right." I said, breathless, just looking at him up close.

"Perfectly natural between friends such as we are." Charlemagne said, his breath warm against my mouth. "So, as your friend, I could…kiss you here." He brushed his lips against the corner of my mouth. "And here." My cheek before dropping his head to my pulse. "Perhaps, here?" He kissed the side of my neck, sending a spark deep into my abdomen.

"Mhm." I managed because functioning in this situation had become totally obsolete. I braced one hand against the fridge, and I curled the other in his shirt.

"Where else am I allowed to kiss you, hmm?" Charlemagne murmured into my neck, brushing his nose along my thumping pulse.

I swallowed hard. He was enjoying himself entirely too much. The man could seduce secrets out of the Pentagon if he really tried it. God, I'd really hoped I'd be different. Resistant. But damn him if he didn't have me. And Sabella. Oh, and let's not forget Lian, or whatever her name was. "Mm, I don't think either of your paramours would be too happy if I answered that question." I managed.

"That is over and done with." Charlemagne tutted, making a dismissive gesture with his hand before he brought it up to the side of my neck, his thumb slid along my jaw. His mouth followed a similar path along the other side. "They're nothing to me now."

Ice dropped into my stomach, cracked, and spread tension through my body. I couldn't do this. I didn't want to be nothing to him. Easily dismissed in a casual gesture. I excused myself and tore out of his grip, hurrying down the hall to hide in my guest bathroom. I ran cool water over my wrists until my breathing evened out. There were things I wasn't yet willing to admit about my relationship with Charlemagne, but I knew—had always known— that if we crossed that line, this thing between us would end sooner than I wanted it to.

Swallowing, I gave myself a quick once-over in the mirror, before dipping back out into the hall. Charlemagne was waiting for me, leaning casually against the wall. "What I said upset you." He murmured, watching me closely. "I thought it would please you to find me unattached."

"Why would it please me?" I mumbled, ducking around him to amble back towards the kitchen. "That they meant something to you one day, and the next nothing at all?"

He reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together as he tugged me to a pause. "Abigail." I looked back at him when he said my name, our eyes met. "They are not you."

My throat tightened. Well, what the hell made me so special? If I looked too closely at what he was saying, I thought I might break my own heart. I shifted to close some of the distance between us. "Charley." I started softly, studying his eyes. "You are too important to me."

I opened my mouth to continue, to try to explain something I didn't fully understand myself, when he lifted his free hand to brush his thumb along my lower lip. "I understand, ma cherie. We are too important to each other." He said. "You will set the pace, I will follow, bien?"

Swallowing again, I nodded quickly. "Good." I said, relief coursing through me, as I ducked into the hard planes of his body to hug him tight. As long as we stayed friends everything would be okay. Whatever else there was, was too dangerous. Too unsettled.

Charlemagne slipped his arms around me, pressing his face against my hair. "You need to eat, and so must I." He sighed. "I must hunt, but I will return to you soon."

I nodded against his chest, aware of the scent of him permeating my senses. "No Marcus tonight?" I asked, curling my fingers against his back.

"Not tonight." He murmured. "I have decided that tomorrow I will have a small gathering at my home. You will come as my guest."

I blinked to myself before pulling back enough to look up at him. "Really?" A little thrill of excitement ran through me. "But you said you didn't want me to meet any other vampires?"

"I don't." Charlemagne exhaled, his brows drawing together. "But seeing as how I cannot allow you out of my sight, my need to see you safe far outweighs my jealous heart." He said, holding my gaze. "You will come, yes?"

I nodded quickly, unbidden warmth filling my chest. "Yes." I said, a smile starting across my mouth. "Yes, I'll come."

His features softened as he stepped back, slowly detangling us. "And you will not leave the house? You will wait for me?" Charlemagne said, holding up his new cell phone. "I will carry this with me." He murmured, slipping it into his lapel pocket.

I bobbed my head again, pleased to see him remember it. "I'll wait." I promised.

And I did. I waited long into the night. I placed Nannette's jars into the four corners of my house and washed my windows and doors in blessed swamp water. But Charlemagne never came back.