The Last Bite01:52 Feb 23 2009
Times Read: 613
Chalee Taylor was sitting on the big over-stuffed chair by the fire, reading her book
when she heard the creak of a door, Mrs Bell, the housekeeper, had already left hours ago, so it couldn't be her, maybe it was Firefly, he was always up to mischief, he seemed to be a very active night cat. She ignored her worries and sank deeper into her favorite chair. She must have dozed off for a while, because a thumping sound woke her form sleep, she looked around the room to see where Firefly was, she couldn't see him anywhere, she put her book on the antique side table, and got up from her chair, went to the door and listened for a moment, there it was again, that thumping sound, like a heart beat, no, that was probably my own heart beat I can hear, she thought, maybe it was the gardener, Mr Brantock, no, it can't be him, what would he be doing here this late ?
She didn't know what time it was, but she was sure it must be rather late.
I can't stand here all night, she thought, maybe it was a ghost ? She laughed at herself for that last thought, there were no such things as ghosts, but then again she didn't believe in a lot of things up until six months ago, now there were things she truly believed in but didn't understand.
She took a deep breath and opened the door slowly, she had to see what the noise was, it couldn't be that bad, could it ? She thought.
She ventured out into the hallway, she looked left then right, nothing,
the halls were empty, all of the hall lights were still on as she'd left them. She walked over to the staircase and took a peek down the stairs, she could hear someone moving around, she paused thinking, I should have brought my baseball bat, she thought, her favorite thing in the world, since her dad had given it to her ten years ago, it was the only thing she had left to remember him, he had been dead nearly nine months now, and she still missed him terribly, she decided there wasn't enough time to go back and get it, she was just going to have to face them as she was, on second thought, she thought, she grabbed a heavy brass candle holder from the table at the foot of the stairs, this should do, she thought, It was was probably just kids, thinking the place was still empty, it had been for quite a while before she moved in six months ago, the owner wasn't due back here for another year according to what the housekeeper had said, she had all of that time to make this place home for now, till she found somewhere permanent for her and Firefly, she had a year to figure it out, she did love this house though, it was peaceful and quiet and there was no one around for miles, till you reach town anyway, Wiliquay was a rather rural village, it had a few small stores, the bigger town of Sallwend had the larger supermarkets, shops and boutiques.
She stepped off the last step and rounded the corner with the candle holder, ready -to face the would-be burglar, and fight if needed, but instead she found herself staring into the eyes of a rather tall, dark-haired stranger, whom she found immediately handsome, he had the most beautiful eyes she had saw, long black hair, like an ebony river with moonlight shining on it.
She opened her mouth to speak, say something girl, anything, she thought, but she couldn't find her voice, what do you say to a handsome man who'd broken into your home ? Who may rob you or worse ?
He finally stopped staring at her and suddenly scowled, saying in a deep, velvety voice “Who are you, Miss ?”, she was a little shaken by the question, who was she ? She thought, your the one who broke into MY home, and your asking me who I am ? The nerve of the man,
“I live here, Sir, and you made a mistake by breaking in here, the police are on their way as we speak”, she said in a hurried voice, she may think him good looking but he was still a stranger and potential threat.
“I'd say that was impossible Ma'am, there is no phone here”, he said,
she looked around the hall with her eyes, thinking of a way to escape him,
how did he know there was no phone, she thought,
“I know there's no phone here”, he said, “ because I own this house, and you say you live here ? “, he asked,
“yes Sir, I rented the house six months ago, Mrs Bell gave me the keys when I came to look at the house”,
he stopped scowling at her but still looked a little on edge.
Damn, why did his tenant have to be so beautiful, he thought,
he was very attracted to her, he was drawn to her, with some deep need to protect her, he sensed her fear, not of him, of someone or something else, he sensed it the moment he saw her.
He spoke quietly “so Mrs Bell leased the house to you, you say”, he thought for a moment, “very well ma'am”, he added,
“yes, she did, she's nice”, she said, “she made me feel very comfortable here”,
“yes, she is quite the woman”, he replied in a thoughtful tone.
She looked at the three big suitcases on the floor next to the hall stairs,
“I don't mean to be rude, Sir, but how long will you be staying”, she asked, quietly,
“Its just that I have a rental agreement and lease for two years, and its been only six months”.
He looked at her, gazing curiously and said “Would you mind my staying in a guest room till tomorrow ?”,
“no, that would be fine”, she said, “what will you do ?”,
“there's a small bed & breakfast in town, I can stay there for a while”,
all of the guest rooms have heavy drapes, I'll be safe enough till sundown, he thought.
He picked up two of his suitcases, which even for him, were rather heavy, and started walking towards the stairs, beautiful wooden rails, and steps with a carpeted pathway down the middle of them, the walls were a beautiful shade of burgundy with cream accents of little flowers. She jumped a little from the sudden movement, when he picked up his cases and walked towards her, but she adjusted her skirt so he wouldn't notice,
“would you like me to show you to a guest room and bring your luggage ?”, she asked politely,
“ that won't be necessary, besides, my suitcases will be too heavy for a woman of your.........frame”, he said, looking down at her from his height,
“I can handle myself”, she said, standing with a defensive tone about her, she smiled at him then, trying not to let him see how afraid she was, not of him, she felt like she could trust him, but she didn't know why, she was afraid of something else, something worse than him, of someone she had trusted, and now she felt unsafe again, with a stranger in the house, she wasn't afraid of the stranger, but she was unsure of him, there was something about him and she liked that.
Its a good thing he can't read minds, she thought, if he knew how I want him to touch and kiss me he'd think I was crazy, I must be crazy, I just met the man, what is wrong with me.
She walked over to his last suitcase and picked it up, struggling to hold onto it.
“Oh my, what do you have in here ? Bricks ?”, she asked, smiling at him.
Oh my, he thought, she wants me, but she doesn't know me, if she knew the real man inside me she would be horrified, she would be like the others, and turn away from the monster I am, shes so beautiful, I can't believe how much I want to smell her skin, touch her hair.
I have to get these thoughts out of my head, I don't want to frighten her away, he thought, I'm leaving tomorrow anyway and then she won't have to be so on edge.
“No, just a lot of clothes and a few personal possessions”, he said, smiling back at her.
To be continued.......
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