Chapter three is up. I'm so happy to hear that there are so many of you enjoying reading this story. The feedback has been excellent and I'm practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. So please, feel free to continue with all the reviews, they are giving me the best warm and fuzzy feelings ever. (And yes, I am the one who writes the TVTome reviews for Mutant X...I have to catch up on those so much and will try real soon, happy to hear that someone's actually reading them.)
I hope you all enjoy this chapter just as much as you did the last two. I promise to try and write chapter four as soon as possible but life may get in the way as tends to happen.
***
'Hi Gwen.'
Her head turned towards the sound as she tried to pinpoint where the voice had come from. She smiled as her eyes alighted on the bartender. He was leaning against a table, a wet cloth in front of him and some empty glasses in his other hand. She smiled in reply and walked out onto the verandah which looked out onto fields of green, the occasional house, contrasting with the vibrant green background. She raised the pair of designer sunglasses from the ridge of her nose to survey the landscape before her in all its true glory. She had visited the bar atleast ten times since showing up in Beverly Hills and everytime her breath was taken away by the view. She couldn't ever have imagined that there would be places so beautiful in the world.
'You want your usual?'
She lowered her sunglasses back to their original place and turned, a smile on her face.
'I think I'll just have an orange juice today,' she replied brightly.
'Be right with you.'
She watched as James walked away. Normally she didn't get a chance to get to know anyone really well but somehow he had become more involved in her life. She didn't mind, she had grown to be incredibly selective about her friends so when someone she liked liked her back she was not going to complain.
She took a seat at one of the tables with an umbrella to shade her from the intense midday sun. She took out her laptop from her bag and set it out on the table in front of her. As soon as the machine was turned on she started typing. She had learnt from her first experience of conning people that she should always be prepared for every eventuality. She had almost been caught out the first time, a rookie mistake and had been forced to cut loose and run. Since then she had checked all the details, rechecked them and then checked them all over again. She was the grown female equivalent of a boy scout.
In the couple of hours since she had seen the new guy move in she had found out a suprising amount. Everyone seemed to have a different story about him but the name and address were always the same. He was called Thomas Carter and he had just moved into one of the more expensive mansions on the hill. Other than that though Lucy was at a loss. She had heard from one person that he was a banker from the city looking to get away from the fast paced life because he had experienced a mental breakdown and had killed his wife with a squash racket. From another person she had heard that he was British royalty and wanted to bring his many mistresses to America so he could keep them secret. Her personal favourite was that he needed a new house and really liked the Californian weather. Given her hectic lifestyle, full of danger and intrigue, she always liked getting away from that and she favoured the simple stories.
***
Brennan winced as the cupboard door slammed. He looked over at Shalimar. She had been storming around for over half an hour, and he was developing a serious headache from all the noise.
'Shal...'
'I can't believe she did this to me. Why would she want to piss me off this much? She knows that I'll slap her right?'
'Shal...'
Brennan closed his eyes as Shalimar's interruption was punctuated with a slam of the fridge door. He was torn between letting her rant her frustration away or trying to win her over by convincing that the world wasn't coming to an end simply because she had to hang out with him a little bit longer. Coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't last till she ranted it out he stood up and walked over to where she was standing.
'Shal...' he tried again.
'I just don't understand why she insists on doing this kind of thing to me. Why couldn't she just have told me when we first started? Sure, I would have been a little angry but I would have gotten over it. But no, Lexa Pierce can't do things like normal people cos she has to be special and...'
'SHALIMAR!'
She spun round in shock at the sound of Brennan's voice and stared at him. He looked beyond tired and she immediately realised how much she had put him through in the past 30 minutes. She walked towards him with her most apologetic look on her face.
'You okay?' she asked quietly, resting her hands on his chest and looking up into his face.
He raised his eyebrows at her, the look immediately giving her the distinct impression that he wasn't.
'I have an idea,' she said as she started to unbutton his black shirt. 'How about we go upstairs and find a room that I can stay in.'
Brennan smirked at the idea.
'Sounds good,' he said, pulling Shalimar's top over her head, mussing up her blonde hair in the process. Giving up on the buttons Shalimar ripped Brennan's shirt off and threw it over her shoulder so that it landed in the sink. Their mouths met in a passionate kiss and they then began the difficult task of making their way through the house without falling over or banging into anything that might break and cost a lot of money.
Eventually and with much effort on both their parts they made their way into Brennan's huge master bedroom. Shalimar fell back onto the bed taking Brennan with her.
Gradually sunlight faded over the horizon. The lights in houses all over the hills were switched on, shining like beacons in the darkness, crickets started chirping and while Brennan and Shalimar enjoyed each others company Lucy went to bed alone after deciding on her plan of action.
***
'What was that?' asked Brennan as he raised his head from the pure white pillow. He looked across the minimalist room towards the window and the figure of Shalimar. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and Brennan could faintly hear the noises from outside.
Shalimar peered over the edge of the window sill, down towards the driveway and Brennan's front door. She pulled back almost instantly as she saw a woman walk out from beneath the porch and look up at all the windows in turn. Shalimar turned and walked quickly back into the room, picking up items of clothing as she went. Her and Brennan had hardly been worried about being neat and tidy last night and Shalimar was left wondering where her top was before she noticed it draped across a lamp shade in the corner.
'Lucy Xiang is ringing your doorbell, and in order for her to want to seduce you so we can trick her into playing a part in our plan, she has to believe that you're available, which means that me being in your bedroom, wearing one of your shirts and no underwear would probably not be the best situation right now,' Shalimar said frantically as she started pulling on clothes.
'Shal. Breathe,' Brennan said in reply. He rolled out of the king sized bed and walked towards the suitcase which he hadn't unpacked yet. He unzipped it and hauled out some clothes. He pulled a t-shirt over his head and yanked his jeans on. The doorbell rang again and Shalimar whispered a hasty 'Go!' He walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs, trying to get his hair to stop sticking up on end like he had been in a nasty accident involving the power grid of an entire city and some kind of short circuit situation. He saw her petite figure through the frosted glass of the front door and jogged across the marble floor.
'Hi,' he said as brightly as he could as he opened the door. He blinked slightly in the bright sunshine and smiled.
'Hi,' she replied. He looked a little cuter than he had in the car yesterday and she was taken aback by his smile. She held out the basket she had brought with her.
'I brought you a welcome to the neighbourhood gift, just to say...welcome to the neighbourhood.'
'You shouldn't have,' Brennan replied. He held out his arm and ushered her into the front hall. 'If I can find the lounge we can go in there. I haven't really had a chance to get to know the layout of the place yet so you'll have to forgive me if I'm completely lost.'
She laughed. 'Maybe I could help you find it,' she offered.
'Thanks Luc...' Brennan paused as he realised that not only had she not introduced herself but she had probably changed her name and wouldn't go by Lucy anymore. He turned quickly, trying to hide the cringe on his face.
'Excuse me?' she asked. She couldn't believe he had just called her by her real name. She thought she had done a good job of covering for herself but she had been getting strange vibes off him the minute she walked in the front door. She should have known that something was up and she should have bailed.
'My housekeeper. Her names Lucille, I thought maybe she should get these flowers in water.'
'Oh,' she replied. 'Yeah, she probably should, they'll wilt so quickly in this heat and humidity.'
'Lucille!' Brennan called up the stairs. When, predictably no one appeared he made his excuses and walked up the stairs, leaving Lucy to breathe a huge sigh of relief.
'Calm down, calm down, calm down,' she berated herself as she walked around the room, looking in at doorways as she passed to try and see what the house was like, and more importantly what the money would be like.
'Ow!' exclaimed Shalimar as Brennan pushed open the door to his room. She stepped back and rubbed the side of her head, which had moments before been pressed against the wood so she could try and hear something of the conversation.
'Are you okay?'
'Yeah,' Shalimar replied, rolling her eyes.
'Just so you know, you're now answering to the name Lucille.'
Shalimar stared at Brennan in bewilderment.
'I'm an idiot, don't ask,' he explained.
He turned to walk out of the door to go and rejoin his guest.
'You're names Thomas Carter.' Shalimar said. He turned to look at her with a look that told her he wasn't stupid.
'What? You forgot my name.'
I hope you all enjoy this chapter just as much as you did the last two. I promise to try and write chapter four as soon as possible but life may get in the way as tends to happen.
***
'Hi Gwen.'
Her head turned towards the sound as she tried to pinpoint where the voice had come from. She smiled as her eyes alighted on the bartender. He was leaning against a table, a wet cloth in front of him and some empty glasses in his other hand. She smiled in reply and walked out onto the verandah which looked out onto fields of green, the occasional house, contrasting with the vibrant green background. She raised the pair of designer sunglasses from the ridge of her nose to survey the landscape before her in all its true glory. She had visited the bar atleast ten times since showing up in Beverly Hills and everytime her breath was taken away by the view. She couldn't ever have imagined that there would be places so beautiful in the world.
'You want your usual?'
She lowered her sunglasses back to their original place and turned, a smile on her face.
'I think I'll just have an orange juice today,' she replied brightly.
'Be right with you.'
She watched as James walked away. Normally she didn't get a chance to get to know anyone really well but somehow he had become more involved in her life. She didn't mind, she had grown to be incredibly selective about her friends so when someone she liked liked her back she was not going to complain.
She took a seat at one of the tables with an umbrella to shade her from the intense midday sun. She took out her laptop from her bag and set it out on the table in front of her. As soon as the machine was turned on she started typing. She had learnt from her first experience of conning people that she should always be prepared for every eventuality. She had almost been caught out the first time, a rookie mistake and had been forced to cut loose and run. Since then she had checked all the details, rechecked them and then checked them all over again. She was the grown female equivalent of a boy scout.
In the couple of hours since she had seen the new guy move in she had found out a suprising amount. Everyone seemed to have a different story about him but the name and address were always the same. He was called Thomas Carter and he had just moved into one of the more expensive mansions on the hill. Other than that though Lucy was at a loss. She had heard from one person that he was a banker from the city looking to get away from the fast paced life because he had experienced a mental breakdown and had killed his wife with a squash racket. From another person she had heard that he was British royalty and wanted to bring his many mistresses to America so he could keep them secret. Her personal favourite was that he needed a new house and really liked the Californian weather. Given her hectic lifestyle, full of danger and intrigue, she always liked getting away from that and she favoured the simple stories.
***
Brennan winced as the cupboard door slammed. He looked over at Shalimar. She had been storming around for over half an hour, and he was developing a serious headache from all the noise.
'Shal...'
'I can't believe she did this to me. Why would she want to piss me off this much? She knows that I'll slap her right?'
'Shal...'
Brennan closed his eyes as Shalimar's interruption was punctuated with a slam of the fridge door. He was torn between letting her rant her frustration away or trying to win her over by convincing that the world wasn't coming to an end simply because she had to hang out with him a little bit longer. Coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't last till she ranted it out he stood up and walked over to where she was standing.
'Shal...' he tried again.
'I just don't understand why she insists on doing this kind of thing to me. Why couldn't she just have told me when we first started? Sure, I would have been a little angry but I would have gotten over it. But no, Lexa Pierce can't do things like normal people cos she has to be special and...'
'SHALIMAR!'
She spun round in shock at the sound of Brennan's voice and stared at him. He looked beyond tired and she immediately realised how much she had put him through in the past 30 minutes. She walked towards him with her most apologetic look on her face.
'You okay?' she asked quietly, resting her hands on his chest and looking up into his face.
He raised his eyebrows at her, the look immediately giving her the distinct impression that he wasn't.
'I have an idea,' she said as she started to unbutton his black shirt. 'How about we go upstairs and find a room that I can stay in.'
Brennan smirked at the idea.
'Sounds good,' he said, pulling Shalimar's top over her head, mussing up her blonde hair in the process. Giving up on the buttons Shalimar ripped Brennan's shirt off and threw it over her shoulder so that it landed in the sink. Their mouths met in a passionate kiss and they then began the difficult task of making their way through the house without falling over or banging into anything that might break and cost a lot of money.
Eventually and with much effort on both their parts they made their way into Brennan's huge master bedroom. Shalimar fell back onto the bed taking Brennan with her.
Gradually sunlight faded over the horizon. The lights in houses all over the hills were switched on, shining like beacons in the darkness, crickets started chirping and while Brennan and Shalimar enjoyed each others company Lucy went to bed alone after deciding on her plan of action.
***
'What was that?' asked Brennan as he raised his head from the pure white pillow. He looked across the minimalist room towards the window and the figure of Shalimar. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and Brennan could faintly hear the noises from outside.
Shalimar peered over the edge of the window sill, down towards the driveway and Brennan's front door. She pulled back almost instantly as she saw a woman walk out from beneath the porch and look up at all the windows in turn. Shalimar turned and walked quickly back into the room, picking up items of clothing as she went. Her and Brennan had hardly been worried about being neat and tidy last night and Shalimar was left wondering where her top was before she noticed it draped across a lamp shade in the corner.
'Lucy Xiang is ringing your doorbell, and in order for her to want to seduce you so we can trick her into playing a part in our plan, she has to believe that you're available, which means that me being in your bedroom, wearing one of your shirts and no underwear would probably not be the best situation right now,' Shalimar said frantically as she started pulling on clothes.
'Shal. Breathe,' Brennan said in reply. He rolled out of the king sized bed and walked towards the suitcase which he hadn't unpacked yet. He unzipped it and hauled out some clothes. He pulled a t-shirt over his head and yanked his jeans on. The doorbell rang again and Shalimar whispered a hasty 'Go!' He walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs, trying to get his hair to stop sticking up on end like he had been in a nasty accident involving the power grid of an entire city and some kind of short circuit situation. He saw her petite figure through the frosted glass of the front door and jogged across the marble floor.
'Hi,' he said as brightly as he could as he opened the door. He blinked slightly in the bright sunshine and smiled.
'Hi,' she replied. He looked a little cuter than he had in the car yesterday and she was taken aback by his smile. She held out the basket she had brought with her.
'I brought you a welcome to the neighbourhood gift, just to say...welcome to the neighbourhood.'
'You shouldn't have,' Brennan replied. He held out his arm and ushered her into the front hall. 'If I can find the lounge we can go in there. I haven't really had a chance to get to know the layout of the place yet so you'll have to forgive me if I'm completely lost.'
She laughed. 'Maybe I could help you find it,' she offered.
'Thanks Luc...' Brennan paused as he realised that not only had she not introduced herself but she had probably changed her name and wouldn't go by Lucy anymore. He turned quickly, trying to hide the cringe on his face.
'Excuse me?' she asked. She couldn't believe he had just called her by her real name. She thought she had done a good job of covering for herself but she had been getting strange vibes off him the minute she walked in the front door. She should have known that something was up and she should have bailed.
'My housekeeper. Her names Lucille, I thought maybe she should get these flowers in water.'
'Oh,' she replied. 'Yeah, she probably should, they'll wilt so quickly in this heat and humidity.'
'Lucille!' Brennan called up the stairs. When, predictably no one appeared he made his excuses and walked up the stairs, leaving Lucy to breathe a huge sigh of relief.
'Calm down, calm down, calm down,' she berated herself as she walked around the room, looking in at doorways as she passed to try and see what the house was like, and more importantly what the money would be like.
'Ow!' exclaimed Shalimar as Brennan pushed open the door to his room. She stepped back and rubbed the side of her head, which had moments before been pressed against the wood so she could try and hear something of the conversation.
'Are you okay?'
'Yeah,' Shalimar replied, rolling her eyes.
'Just so you know, you're now answering to the name Lucille.'
Shalimar stared at Brennan in bewilderment.
'I'm an idiot, don't ask,' he explained.
He turned to walk out of the door to go and rejoin his guest.
'You're names Thomas Carter.' Shalimar said. He turned to look at her with a look that told her he wasn't stupid.
'What? You forgot my name.'
