European Encounter

Chapter 1 Plan

Rachel knew that her efforts to forget the passionate embraces she and Trent had shared in his spelling hut a month earlier were in vain. And even though she saw Trent several times a week providing security for him while Quen, his chief security officer, was accompanying his own daughter Ray, and Trent's daughter Lucy, on their bi-monthly visits to Lucy's biological mother 2000 miles away, there had been no repeat of their kisses. Trent had been polite, complimentary, respectful. In fact, he was treating her like a highly valued employee and even a friend. Which she was, right? But a line had developed between them that neither one of them seemed to be able to cross. And Trent was acting like nothing had happened. Why?

Oh yes, Ellasbeth, his ex-fiancée, who was already inserting herself back into his life as she played the doting, sweet elf mother. After all, she was Lucy's mother and marrying her would solidify his leadership of the entire Elven population. She was sure Ellasbeth didn't love him, but she did want the power that marriage to the Elven Sa'han would give her. And Trent, who took his duty to his people very seriously, would probably marry her to keep his influence over the way the Elven population would develop over the next 100 years. Ugh!

And as if Trent could tell she was thinking about him from miles away, her phone rang and his name flashed up on the caller ID. "Hello, Trent!" She answered her phone in a breathy voice. Shit, why was her voice sounding like she was a 12 year old girl with a crush on her science teacher? Maybe he didn't notice.

"Ummm, hello Rachel, did I interrupt something?" Trent asked in his melodious voice, sounding a little annoyed, and maybe, jealous?

"Ah,no, I just got out of the shower!" She told him she just got out of the shower? Why did she say that? And then her mind went to thoughts of him in just a towel, his body still wet from the shower, and then of the towel slipping down...Stop it Rachel! It's never going to happen! He just isn't interested in you! The kisses you shared were just the result of two lonely, grieving, vulnerable people seeking comfort! But the passion of those kisses, and his long skillful fingers running over her skin, that had been real.

"Rachel, are you still there?" Trent's tone sounded amused, as if he could tell just where her thoughts had gone!

"Yes, yes, of course! What can I do for you?" Rachel answered, thinking there was a lot she could do for him, and...Oh my god, can't I stop thinking with my hormones?

"I'm having a little problem out here with the fairies. I hoped you and Jenks could come over and help me deal with it. Quen's good at dealing with them, but with him gone, I could really use someone with expertise on their behaviors."

"I really don't have any 'expertise' with fairies." Rachel replied.

"Well, I was really thinking of Jenks's expertise, but I can always use your point of view, too. You always have such a unique way of seeing things." Trent sounded amused.

"I can come out and drop Jenks off, I suppose. And then you can have someone drop him back here when you two are done talking about his Expertise!" Rachel grumped back, unreasonably disappointed that Trent didn't want her help with the fairies.

"No, I want your help, too, on another matter that I can talk to you about when you get here," Trent rushed on, sounding a little annoyed now, but if it was at her or himself, she couldn't tell.

"What is it Trent? Can't you tell me now?" Rachel said quickly, wondering why she felt nervous about what Trent wanted to talk about. Was he going to fire her? But men usually broke up with her at a 5 star restaurant, so she wouldn't make a scene. But Trent's kitchens were as good as any 5 Star restaurant, so... But why did possibly being fired by Trent feel the same as a breakup to her?

"No, this is something I want to discuss with you in person. Can you come out this evening, say at 7? I'll have Maggie fix us something to eat. And something for Jenks, too." Trent sounded serious, but annoyed too, at her questioning why he wanted to talk to her. No one was supposed to question the Cookie Maker, huh?

"Ok, I'll have to check with Jenks, but I think that's he's free today. Assuming he's ok with it, we'll see you at 7!"

Jenks was free, and at 6:45 Rachel and he were driving in Rachel's red mini-cooper on the long winding road from Trent's gatehouse to his underground garage. She still marveled at the fact that she no longer had to even stop at the fortress-like gatehouse; she was one of the few people waved right on through after the electronic gate doors parted for her automatically as soon as her car came into sight of the monstrosity. And she laughed to herself knowing the gate was designed like a fortress because of her frequent, but not necessarily successful, attempts to break into Trent's compound.

Once she had been caught by Trent while in the form of a mink, and Trent had kept her as a mink for three days in a cage on his desk. She had escaped in the end. Today she could see that little episode as Trent's attempt to assert his dominance over her. Him and his mind games! But she didn't necessarily think she'd mind him asserting his dominance now. Maybe he could become a mink, too! How was mink sex, she wondered? Oh my god, why was she thinking about Trent as a mink?

"Rachel, what the turn blasted Tink are you thinking about? Your aura has little sparkles around it, and you have a look on your face like...oh my god, not about Trent again? Just pin him down, have at it, and move on! You are just too distracted now! You're gonna get yourself and him killed one day if you don't get back in the game." Jenks whined. "You two are driving the rest of us crazy!"

"It's not like that! We're just colleagues and, well, friends!" Rachel whined back. Even if she really wished there was more, it just wasn't so.

"Friends with benefits, huh? That's what you both want, don't deny it!" Jenks smirked.

"I don't know what you mean, and besides Trent is practically engaged, again!" Rachel grumped.

"No he's not! But if you don't make your move soon, he may get that way! Ellasbeth, eww!"

"She's a beautiful Elven woman, and she's Lucy's mother! It's just a matter of time until they get together, and you know it too!" Rachel said, starting to feel very depressed. But maybe Jenks was right, maybe there was a window of opportunity, before Trent made such a stupid mistake. She wasn't sure if she hoped there was, or wasn't. She was definitely confused. Maybe Trent was going to tell her that he was getting engaged, maybe Maggie's food was just to soften the blow! And she could admit to herself, at least, that it would be a blow!

She saw Trent standing at the door that opened into his formal apartments from the underground garage, waiting for them. He was very courteous that way, always holding doors open, opening car doors and even trying to push her out of the way of assailant's guns and knives. She couldn't let him do the last though, or else she'd have to start paying him to bodyguard her! And she couldn't afford him. But she supposed they could work out some form of acceptable payment! Stop it Rachel! He. Is. Not. For. You! But her mind said, why not?

It was too much to figure out now, so Rachel got out of her car, after parking in her own personal space, and slammed her car door hard.

Both Trent and Jenks, who was now perched on Trent's shoulder, looked at her in surprise. Jenks with a knowing look on his face, and Trent with a questioning lift of his eyebrows.

"Nothing!" Rachel grumped, as she followed the men into Trent's apartments. But Jenks smirked and didn't even try to hide his smile.

Trent took them up to his private apartment, away from his public great room, with its 50 foot mahogany bar, 20 foot ceilings, slightly raised stage and small dance floor. The party room, as Rachel had dubbed it, was huge, about the size of a high school gym on steroids. She had been to a few of Trent's parties, and they were lavish affairs, with live famous performers right off the top 20 charts. And that had included her rock star dad, or sort of dad, several times. She had never attended any of those parties in any capacity other than as hired security, but she'd had to dress up, and it had been fun, usually. Not so much fun at Trent's aborted engagement party, but that was because a demon had attended, and had been harassing her. Trent had rescued her from him, and she had thanked him by arresting him at his own wedding the next day. The arrest had stopped the wedding, and ended the engagement so it wasn't all bad. Of course Trent hadn't been in jail more than 3 hours, and later he'd thanked her for stopping the wedding. And here he was, thinking about marrying the same distasteful woman again. Men!

As they sat down in Trent's small informal kitchen, Trent himself got up and poured the coffee into two colorful, and mismatched mugs. He'd been collecting mugs from different places after Rachel had teased him about the letter K being emblazoned on all his dinnerware. And he even had a very small mug, custom made she'd bet, for Jenks, with his name on it. Jenks must be eating this up, she mused.

"Thanks for the wonderful coffee, did you make it yourself?" She teased, knowing Trent never made anything on his own. And he blushed and said, "yes, is it ok?"

After she regained the use of the muscles in her face from the shocked expression that it automatically moved into, she said, "yes, it's wonderful! And I love your mugs!" Gesturing vaguely to Jenks's coffee mug. Her lips quirked up automatically in response to Trent's pleased look and she felt her heart give a painful leap at the sight of his smile, feeling it warm her right to the center of her soul.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and the pleasure Trent's eyes held changed into something deeper, and wilder, and Rachel felt passion burn into her like liquid fire. And she saw the same passion echoed in Trent's eyes. They continued to stare at each other until Jenks cleared his throat and said, "Really! Did you bring me out here for a real issue, or should I have just sent Rachel out alone to help you with your 'fairies'?"

Trent dropped his gaze, reluctantly it seemed, and then brought out a map of his indoor greenhouse complex and started to put circles around some key exits and entrances. It seemed the fairies were trying to expand their territory into the adjacent outdoor gardens, and were wreaking havoc with several of Trent's prized roses. Fairies just didn't know how to nurture a real garden, one that wasn't already under constant care by a staff of professional gardeners like Trent's indoor gardens. As Trent and Jenks discussed the various reasons the fairies were trying to clumsily expand their territory, Rachel drifted away from the table, taking her refilled coffee mug with her. She really didn't have any insights into the inner workings of the wingless fairies' minds, so she knew she couldn't add anything to their discussion. She sat in one of the big comfy chairs in the informal living room adjacent to the small kitchen, now cleared of preschool toys, and sipped the wonderful coffee. Trent must have learned how to make it from Maggie, because it was just as good as hers. She smiled as she thought about Trent's cooking lesson with Maggie. Billionaire, devastatingly handsome, intelligent, great kisser, master of magic, incredible horseman, did she mention fantastic kisser, and now awesome cook? Was there nothing the elf couldn't do, and excel at? Ellasbeth just didn't deserve him. And then she sighed.

Just then Trent reached down and put a strand of her hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear. She started, almost dropping her coffee! Where had he come from? Sneaky elf!

"What were you just thinking about, Rachel? Your aura had sparkles around it!" Trent asked.

"Oh, nothing, I don't remember," she lied. I was thinking about your many talents, you stupid elf!

How could he think about marrying Ellasbeth again? Surely there was another Elf girl out there that he could find who would appreciate him. But she had to admit, she hoped he didn't find anyone else, and that he might start to see the advantages of being connected to a demon. A demon, Rachel? Elves hated demons. Demons hated elves. Of course not all demons felt that way about elves. Al loved Ceri for 1000 years. And she had loved Ceri, too. And she loved Ray and Lucy, and Quen, when she thought about it, and of course she loved Trent...

She loved Trent? What! When had that happened? Oh, she knew she liked him. He was oh so nice to look at, and to kiss, and to argue with! She like 'liked' him. What was she, a 10 year old girl? Well, she had been 10 when she'd first met Trent at the Make-A-Wish camp his father had owned. He had been 13, and her best friend had a crush on him. When her friend had dumped Rachel to spend time with Trent, she had been heart broken. And then Trent had come upon her hiding and crying in his horse Tulpa's stall. He had taken her for a bareback ride and they took several jumps together before she finally lost her balance and fell off. She remembered his face over hers as she had tried to get her breath back, begging her to be OK. Maybe that's when she had first fallen in love with him? No that couldn't be right. She'd arrested him at his wedding, tried to pin murders on him that he'd had nothing to do with, snuck into his offices several times to get evidence against him, and yet, there'd always been something more between them. She'd also risked her life to save him from demons, more than once, saved his daughter from demons, saved him from drowning after they had both been on an exploding boat, and she knew she would do it all over again without thinking, because she just couldn't imagine living in a world without him. But he was the king of the elves, and she was a demon, and it could never work, could it? She knew her friend Ceri had wanted them to be together. But Ceri was gone now, and she didn't think there was one other person in the whole world or in the Ever After who would want them to be together. Even her mother would be against the match, because they could never have children together, and her mom wanted grandchildren. But Trent was still standing there, looking down at her with his beautiful green, green eyes.

"Can we talk?" He asked as he sat down in front of her right on the coffee table. She'd never seen Trent sit on a coffee table, or any table for that matter. Ok, maybe on the farm table in her kitchen when he was trying to get her soul out of a bottle and back into her body. But that had been in her subconscious, so it didn't count, right?

"Sure. What's going on?" This can't be good she thought. Any conversation that starts with 'Can we talk' cannot be good. Rachel nervously twisted her hands together in her lap, but couldn't bring her eyes up to meet his. If she didn't look at him, it wouldn't hurt so much. "Where's Jenks?"

"Out trying to talk to the fairies. I don't think they like him too much so I don't know how well that will go over, but he does know Belle's sister, so maybe they will listen to him."

"Oh, OK. So?"

"Rachel, I miss the girls so much, and Quen, too, I guess. If you hadn't been here for me the last month I don't think I could have made it. You are such a good friend to me. I don't deserve you, but I'm so glad you are here. And I've been thinking. The girls will be away at least another 4 weeks, and I am so sick of coming home to an empty house. I have some time now to please myself before they come back." Trent explained in a soft, mesmerizing whisper.

What's he want to do, move into the church? I don't think Ivy would like that, but there's plenty of room for two people in my bed! Don't go there, Rachel!

"You're so right, you work so hard, and have so many responsibilities, you do deserve some time to just relax." Rachel said softly, wanting to reach up and push his bangs back from his eyes. This wasn't what she had expected. What's he thinking? Rachel raised her head to look in his eyes. Although she didn't know where he was going with all this, it didn't seem like he was going to tell her he was about to rush into another political marriage, at least not yet. And he didn't seem to be telling her to get lost.

Trent leaned closer to her and took her hands in his. "Rachel, I've never had this much free time for myself since I got out of university. Ok, yes, I took the mandatory three months between high school and college and toured some of Europe, but other than that, I have never been on a vacation, ever!"

"Your toured Europe, with backpacks? Staying in hostels? I can't see it!" Rachel smiled at the thought of Trent hiking with a backpack and a walking stick.

"No, no backpacks, and no hostels, but I did stay in a 3 star hotel one time in Berlin!" Trent shuddered.

"And Quen was with me, which put a real crimp on my social life. I did manage one, though!" smirked Trent.

Now that did not surprise Rachel. His name had been linked to just about every debutant in Cincinnati, as well as several in New York and California up until the time he'd first become engaged to Ellasbeth. 'Why is he telling me this? I don't care about his old girlfriends, I really don't.' Rachel thought. But there was a lump forming in her throat and she tried to stand up.

But Trent still held Rachel's hands and he wouldn't let her leave.

"I want to try it again, to see Paris, Rome, Venice, London, Edinburgh! And hike in the Swiss Alps! And maybe ski there. Can you ski? It doesn't matter. And sail among the Greek Islands! See an elephant in its natural habitat! Walk in the footsteps of the hobbits! I know 4 weeks isn't enough time to see and do everything, but we can do a lot! Because you'll have to go with me! Quen would never let me travel by myself! And I don't want to go with an entourage of security or lackies. I want to be able to slip in and out of those little Swiss chalets with no fuss, totally free to just be me! Please Rachel, it's the chance of a lifetime! We may never be given this time again to just be two people going on an adventure! And then when the girls come home, I think I can be content with living my life around them, as it should be." Trent was babbling, he was so excited!

And the light in his eyes was infectious! Rachel had never seen him this hopeful! It was hard not to be caught up in his excitement! She had never even had a first chance to see any of those places! It would be a fantastic opportunity for her. But why her? "Wouldn't you be more comfortable with someone who wouldn't cramp your style? I mean, not that I would keep you from doing whatever with whoever, but it might be awkward at times." Rachel knew it would be awkward for her, more than awkward, it would be heart wrenching!

"No! You are the perfect companion! You are both my best friend and my bodyguard rolled into one! I don't want or need to be with anyone but you! All your expenses will be covered, of course, plus a big bonus! We can leave tomorrow night on my transatlantic jet!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! First of all, you would be paying for my share of a vacation, I wouldn't feel right taking any other money from you! And you would have to promise to listen to me when I'm doing the security bit! And tomorrow night, isn't that rushing things? I don't even have a passport!" Rachel grumped. But she knew she wouldn't say no! He had looked so...happy! And carefree! And young! All the things he had never been able to be! Maybe this was going to be his last hoorah before settling down and marrying Ellasbeth. But Rachel didn't care if it was. She knew in her heart that this might be the only chance they would ever have to spend time together, free of other people's expectations, and she wasn't going to miss it! She loved him, and if this was the only time in her life that she got to spend with the man she loved, then she was not going to miss out on it! She supposed part of the reason he wanted her to go with him was that he would be able to make most of the plans and decisions. She had a very hard time ever telling him not to do something anyway, unless it had to do with security, and in a foreign country where neither of them knew the customs, she would probably be happy to let Trent make most of the decisions.

Trent seemed to know immediately he had her agreement. As she told him her demands for the trip: separate rooms, private bathrooms, a car with heat and (the elf was never cold so she had to make sure he remembered she was sensitive to cold), Trent smiled as wide as he could, and then leaned over and gave her a big tight hug, and said softly into her ear, "Thank you! We are going to have the best time of our lives! And you do have a passport. I got one for you last year in case you ever had to go with me on a business trip out of the US."

Oh my god, the arrogant man! And then she returned his hug feeling like the sun had just gotten 1000 times brighter.