**Author's note** Thank you for the responses for "A Stranger In My House." And I appolgize for all the grammer mistakes I made while writing it. It was midnight when I wrote it so. That explains why I screwed up every other word and I posted without really looking it over. Anyway here's the next part to the story.""

Another note when you come across this these two stars (**) I am referring to the Eddy Murphy movie "Coming To America". If you have seen the movie then you will understand to what I'm talking about, if not then ignore the astricks.

Chapter 9 The Past and Present (maybe the future)

Even though she was screaming she was surprisingly calm. 'So this is how I'm going to die. My regret is that I never told Laurent that I loved him.' She thought.
"Elizabeth." That voice, she knew that voice. The intruder turned her to face him. She looked up into his face.
"Laurent!" Elizabeth gasped and yanked away from him. Backing up a few feet, she got a good look at him. Soaking wet, in jeans, a black, shirt and a leather jacket. His hair was wet and sticking forehead. "You scared heaven and hell out of me."
"I'm sorry Elizabeth, I did not mean to frighten you."
"You are a jerk for what you did. An absolute jerk." Elizabeth punched him in the chest and turned away from him. She turned so that he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes and on her cheeks.
"Elizabeth, I tried to get your attention from outside. I knocked on the door, window I even called your name hoping you would hear and reconize my voice. I saw that the kitchen door was unlocked so I came in. I honestly didn't mean to frighten you, I have no reason to frighten you."
He came around and faced Elizabeth, he gently wiped her tears with the pad of his thumb. Then he wrapped her into a hug. "You need to dry off, let me get you something." Elizabeth broke out of his embrace and hurried into the hallway. She took a deep breath and headed towards the closet where she grabbed a very warm blanket and three huge towels which were nice and fluffy. She also on her way back to the livingroom, grabbed a robe that Steven, her brother gave her. It was too big for her but it would probably fit him perfecting. She reached the livingroom and nearly dropped the items she was carrying. Laurent had his back to her and oh, what a back it was. He had taken off his jacket, shirt and shoes which left a really nice sight.
"Here, I brought these." Elizabeth dropped the pile onto a chair and turned to leave again.
"Aren't you wondering why I'm here at 3:45 in the morning during a storm?"
"Now that you have mentioned it, why are you here?"
"Because you're here." Laurent said simply. All the anger she felt towards him, for scaring her melted away after he said that.
"Here you need to dry off or you'll catch a cold."
"I'll go and get something to drink." She turned and started to leave again.
"I love you, I always will." She froze and her thoughts from a few minutes before came back to her. She never told him she loved him.
'Now's your chance.' That little voice in her head said quite loud. ' Turn the hell around and face him.' It added.
She turned to him. "I love you too." One minute she was standing on her own, the next she was in his arms crying, again. For the second time in 15 minutes. He tipped her head up and his down for a kiss that shattered Elizabeth's fears about the future.
"I was hoping you did, my love."
"Let me get that tea." She went into the kitchen and grabbed tea bags, glasses, and arrangement of different snacks and a pitcher of water.
"Here, let me get that." He took the tray off the counter and grinned at her.
"I can carry that all on my own."
"I know, but why when I'm here."
"It's called independence." They argued all the way into the livingroom.
"Here, you can make the tea." Laurent put the tray on the mantle.
"Gee, thanks." Elizabeth rolled her eyes and smirked at him.
"Smirk again, and I'll the tea, and you will sit on the couch and wait there, looking absolutely beautiful in the purple satin.
Elizabeth smirked and picked up the pitcher.
"That was a smirk, sit down Elizabeth." Laurent had a mock angry look on his face.
"No it was a half smile." She denied.
"I know the difference between a half smile and a smirk. And you Miss Wakefield gave a smirk."
"So what if I did? What do you plan to do about it?"
"First I'll make the tea and then we'll disscus your 'punishment'."
"I'm so scared." Elizabeth teased him gently.
"Good, because you should be." She could hear the playfulness in his voice.
She began to leave the livingroom. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to put on something warmer."
"There is no need, I like that on you."
She shook her head and curled up on the couch and watched him heat the water with the aid of a candle. What are you doing here?"
"I came here to find you."
"How did you know where I was?"
"Your website said that you lived in Sweet Valley, so when I found that out, I caught the earliest flight out of London to L.A. Where I then got in touch with the LAPD."
"And Nick is on that force." Elizabeth finished his story for him. "And it just so happened that Jessica was there and the rest is history."
"How, did you know?"
"Jessica is my sister. And she's been planning this for ever now."
"To get us together?"
"Exactly."
"I need to remember to thank her."
"Why were you ouside in the rain, with no umbrella?" Elizabeth accepted the cup of tea from Laurent. He sat down next to her.
"My umbrella was stolen out of my hotel room in London by a sly little blonde thief."
"Oops." Elizabeth felt her face heat up to practically the same temperature as the mug of tea
"It's alright."
"You're not made at me?"
"I could never be mad at you. Why did you decide to live here?"
"I loved this old house." Elizabeth confessed, "ever since I could remember. Whenever I went to the beach I would look at this place from the distance and I would fantisize about the people who lived here. This place had also been empty for 50 years."
"Why was it empty for such a long amount of time?"
"There is a local legand that people know. It's never spoken out loud that much, it's something that doesn't need to be said. The gist of the legand is that this manor, which is called, Blackwell Manor, by the way, is haunted." They fell into silence, drinking the tea and muched on the chips she had brought from the kitchen. The storm was still raging. "How long are you going to be here?"
She asked changing the subject.
"As long as I need."
"That's not very clear, Laurent."
"I'm going to be here as it takes to get you to agree to marry me."

The Next Morning

Elizabeth stepped out onto the patio. The house was beach front so the patio had a set of stairs to lead out into the sand. Elizabeth followed the stairs and buried her feet in the still damp sand. She stared out at the pacific, it was a grayish blue that lingered after that storm. She looked down the beach both ways and she realized that she was lone. She glanced up at the sky and smiled.
"It's going to be a beautiful day." She walked up to the water's edge and waded mid calf into the cool water. She turned and faced the manor, and thought about what Laurent told her. That he will be here in Sweet Valley until she said yes. She needed a walk. She went back into the house and took the stairs up to the second floor where her bedroom was. She walked quietly into the room not wanting to wake him up. The only thing that had happened last night was that she kissed him on the cheek after he declared his intention and she went up to her room to lay back down, a few minutes later he had came into her room and laid down next her.
"Nothing is going happen." She said bluntly.
"I don't want to be by myself."
After he wrapped his arms around her she had fallen asleep and slept peacefully through the rest of the storm.
She grabbed her cd player and a couple of cds.
"Where are you going?"
Elizabeth jumped and turned around. He had his arms resting behind his head and was sitting up watching her.
"I was going for a walk down the beach, I'm not fleeing the country." Laurent began to say something, "Alone this way I can start planning my next novel." Elizabeth grabbed a pair of sneakers and socks.
Laurent got out of the bed walked over to were she was standing. He was clad in only green silk boxers.
GOD. DAMN. HIM.
He tilted her head up and kissed her on the nose. "I guess I don't have to worry about a hotel." He whispered.
He was too close for her comfort.
"I won't be here you return from your brain storming walk." He continued. "I'm planning something for you, so I'll be busy for today."
"Ok," Elizabeth thought of something, " can you even drive?"
"Yes, I can. I may be a prince but I can do things for myself. Including tying my own shoe laces." **
"I never said that you could ty your own shoes." Laurent kissed Elizabeth for the second time, by this was on her mouth. It was a full kiss that sent shivers down her spine and a tingling feeling in her belly. "I'm going for that walk now." Elizabeth turned with socks and sneakers in hand and high tailed it out the room and out of the manor.

Laurent watched his object of affection run out of the room. "I wonder how long it will take her to realize that she forgot her cd player while escaping me?" He wondered. A minute later Elizabeth came back into the room looking pissed off. She grabbed the pack and hooked it around her waist.
"Shut up." She grumbled.
"I didn't say anything."
"No but you thought it." She looked up at him. "You sir, are a royal pain in the ass. And I mean that litterally." She turned around and left the room.
He walked over to the balocny and let him self onto it. He watched her pull her hair into a ponytail and then bounce off into a run onto the deserted beach.
He chuckled. " So far I have slept with her, pissed her off, several times in a short time, made her smile and she said she still loved me. All in the short time we have been back in each other's life. I'm giving it a week, until I go back to France... with Elizabeth by my side."

While he said those words a small voice of reason said quietly, "Don't count on it."