All characters are owned by the remarkable Kim Harrison, Queen of Awesomeness, I'm only borrowing them. I do use one word-for-word quote from ODW (362) and it is in italics and double quotations. Enjoy.
WARNING! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED ODW
BEYOND THIS PLACE THERE BE MAJOR SPOILERS
Ivy was sprawled out in the living room with headphones and a magazine and hadn't even stirred at the sound of the doorbell. I glanced at her, then towards the back door, waiting a moment to see if Jenks would come zipping through the screen. Opening the door was a new experience for him, one he usually took advantage of.
When he didn't appear, I uncurled myself from my corner of the couch. "Don't worry about it, Jenks. I've got it!" I shouted over my shoulder, dropping the book I'd been skimming on the coffee table. The roar of exuberant pixie children from the backyard still continued, but I could hear Jenks's bellowing for order while his kids, equipped with the discarded pink and blue toothpicks that had held the little hot dogs at Ceri's baby shower, waged war on an unfortunate hummingbird that had strayed into their garden. Even as I reached the front door, I could still hear the mayhem caused by fifty-four pixie children relishing the rare day of fine weather this late in the season. It might be the last time they got outside before the real winter weather began and Jenks and his entire family would be living inside the church. In my desk. Lucky me.
The bell rang again, and I shook my head in annoyance, slowing my pace so whoever was so damned impatient could wait a few more moments. I paused with my hand on the door handle, wishing we had taken a drill to the door by now. Tucking a stray red curl behind my ear and trying not to consider how unprofessional I appeared after stirring in the kitchen most of the day and lounging around the rest, I opened the door and gawked at the man on my doorstep.
"Trent?" I said, more surprised than worried. But considering the last time I saw him he had tried to strangle me, twice, perhaps I should have been more worried.
"Rachel, can I come in?" he asked, glancing around and looking entirely out of place in his perfectly tailored suit and polished shoes. His limo was parked at the curb, and I could see Quen, not the loathsome and lanky Jonathan, was behind the wheel today.
"Um, Ceri's not here right now, and…" I said, trying to think of a reason he'd be at the church unless he wanted to speak with Ceri. Maybe he had gotten over the fact I was kin to demons and wanted to wave huge wads of money in front of me to work for him again. Or maybe he hadn't gotten over the whole demon kin thing and wanted to try to strangle me again. I decided on the latter. Hell, third time's a charm.
"I'm not here to see Ceri. I'm here to see you," he said, finally turning his vibrantly green eyes onto me.
"And why," I said, pushing another strand of hair out of my face and huffing impatiently, "would you want to see me?"
"Rachel…" he said, and moved as if to come through the door.
I considered slamming the door in his face, but he was already inside and standing right beside me. Damn elves and their quickness.
"Hey!" I shouted, but he just glanced around the sanctuary, a small smile the only emotion on his face, but that faded in a moment when he glanced back towards me. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but you can just get the hell out, right now," I said, wondering why Ivy or Jenks weren't rushing into the sanctuary to help me deal with the pain-in-the-ass elf. Stepping away from the door, I kicked it fully open and waited for him to get the idea.
"We need to talk," he finally said, and I had to pause for a moment, confused at the look in his eyes, a mix of weariness and excitement that I'd never seen in him before.
"About?" I prompted, and he shook his head and glanced towards the hall, where Ivy was leaning in the shadows, watching us with her magazine still in hand.
"We need to talk in private," he amended, and I snorted derisively.
"Why, so you can try and jump me again? I don't think so elf boy. You can say it here or you can get the hell out," I said, and gestured towards the door suggestively.
"Rachel, it's important. I wouldn't be here otherwise," he said, pulling his eyes from Ivy's looming shadow and watching my face carefully. "Please," he said simply, but the beauty and melody of his voice tore at parts of me.
I sighed, knowing what I was about to do was incredibly stupid. But if he really wanted me dead, I doubt he'd do it in-person, or that he would have waited so long after the incident in the ever-after. I eyed him carefully, taking in the odd gleam that lurked in his alluring eyes and the nervous movements of his hands.
"Fine," I conceded, and Ivy huffed irritably from the shadows, turning an icy shoulder on us and retreating into the living room. I walked over to the new additions in our sanctuary, a cluster of couches and chairs where we could interview potential clients, and flopped down unceremoniously on one of the couches, stretching out so he'd have to sit elsewhere and hanging my boots over the armrest.
He stayed where he was standing by the doorway, and shook his head slowly. "I don't want your roommate to overhear us," he explained.
"I'm going to probably tell her anyway, Trent," I sneered, but he continued to stand back, watching me. I felt a chill in my center as I watched his eyes track down my legs and back up. I sat up suddenly, praying I wasn't blushing like a school girl. I had to think. I sure wasn't going to bring into my bedroom for our little chat. The backyard was filled with pixies.
"We can talk in the belfry," I suggested tentatively, and I wasn't sure if I was more relieved or apprehensive when he nodded in agreement. I got up slowly and nervously brushed at the tops of my jeans, still feeling the weight of his eyes upon me.
We climbed the stairs to the belfry in silence, and I had to glance behind me to make sure he was still following. The small hexagonal room was a bit chilly from its open and slanted windows, and the large bell loomed over us, filling the space with its potent shadow. The bell's cord descended into the sanctuary, waiting in stillness for the right action that would shatter the abeyance and unleash its wild cacophony of sound and movement. I wrapped my arms around myself and sat on the edge of the fainting couch, wishing I had brought my jacket up with me. The cold didn't bother Trent at all. It was an elf thing. He stood by the open window with his back to me, making gauging him all the more difficult as I waited for him.
Finally, he turned from the window and towards me, the light of the moon drifting through his hair and making it nearly glow, and I had to suppress a snort at the thought of the similarity to a halo. "Do you remember, when we were talking…in the ever-after?" he asked, and something in his voice and the way he dropped his eyes when I tried to stare him down made me think he was being shy. Or else pretending to be, probably to try and manipulate me or put me off my guard. If he tried to strangle me again, I swear I was going to blast his ass back into the ever-after. Snarky elf bastard…
"Do you mean the part where you accused my father of killing your entire family or the part where you accused Jenks of abandoning us and stealing the last trip home?" I grinned when I saw the tips of his ears go red, and he spun back to the window, apparently deciding to ignore me.
I waited out the silence, nervously jerking my foot up and down. "Before that," he said, still with his back to me. "When I said I wanted to be…better."
"Yeah, well I didn't take it too seriously, you know?" I said cautiously, and he spun back around to watch me, his face now partially hidden by the shadows of the clouds that were covering the moon. My eyes dropped to me shoes, and I stared at the tracks in the dust I had made on the floor. "We were in a dangerous, frightening situation, the kind of situation where people say things they don't necessarily mean."
"I meant what I said." His voice was a hoarse whisper, and I fought to keep my eyes down. I didn't want to see him at the moment, the vulnerability in his voice enough to sufficiently creep me out. This wasn't the arrogant, pain-in-the-ass Trent I was use too. I had seen pieces of him poke out of that powerful façade, but never this closely, this intimately.
"I meant what I said too, Ceri won't ever love you," I reminded him gently.
"'I know, but someone might.'"
I jumped at the shifting of weight on the fainting couch. My head jerked up. Trent was sitting right next to me, way too damn close next to me, and gazing at me with his oh-so-pretty green eyes, managing to look fragile and demanding all at once.
"Trent?" I said, completely unsure of what was happening, or maybe unbelieving.
"I think I could be a better person with you," he said simply, and I felt as if the world was falling out beneath me. Before I could protest, call him a number of names, or remind him of my apparent relation to demons, his face was nearly touching mine. All the arguments froze in my throat, and I couldn't stop my eyes from fluttering, almost closing, when he brought a hand up to gently stroke the side of my face.
"But still a bastard?" I asked, shocked that I could still tease him when he was so obviously breaking down our usual boundaries.
"Always," he whispered and he brought his lips to mine. I stiffened, unsure and apprehensive while his lips were gentle on mine. But his arms moved around me, one hand reaching up to stroke my hair, the other protectively around my waist, and I relaxed in his embrace.
He leaned further into me, and when I didn't take the hint, he used both hands to guide me all the way down onto the couch, lowering himself over me, his chest only inches above mine, his legs enclosing mine. One of my hands reached uncertainly for him, brushing against his hip. He sighed lightly, and I ran my fingers over his stomach and up his chest, feeling his warmth and the lightly muscled contours of his body. His warm fingers found the hem of my shirt and traced careful lines before slipping underneath. He ran his hand over my stomach and side with long, slow strokes that clearly intended to reach higher, and I sighed at the slight caresses that promised so much more when the bell above us tilted heavily to one side, and swung back suddenly, the ear-splitting reverberation pulling our hands away from each other and over our ears instead. I glanced up, horrified, as the bell moved again, ringing once more, and as terribly as it hurt my ears, I couldn't help feel even worse for Trent with his sensitive elfish hearing. Even when the tone died away, my ears were ringing and his face was still screwed up in pain.
"Rachel?" I could barely hear Ivy call from underneath us in the sanctuary.
"Ivy? What the hell is your problem? You damn near made us both deaf!" I shouted, unsure how loud my own voice was since my ears now felt like they were wrapped in cotton. But I could just make out Jenks's uproar of laughter and blushed when I realized both of them knew exactly what Trent and I had been up to.
"Sorry, but we were calling you…you must have been distracted. Your mom is on the phone, should we tell her to call you back?" Ivy shouted, and I looked at Trent apologetically.
"I'm sorry," I mouthed to Trent, but he shook his head irritably and pointed to his ears. "I'll be right down!" I yelled, while gesturing to Trent that I was leaving. He glared at me until I disappeared down the stairs, and as the laughter in the sanctuary continued, I felt myself turning bright red, wondering how the hell I would explain this.