Hiya mates….
Ok so I did update faster than you thought, right? Well to be honest it was because of NightsMist , a big thank you to you, when I looked into yahoo to check mail I saw a ffn review alert, mind you I was on my way for lectures and I was checking mail via my phone, not the best of ways, rather slow connection, anyhow I read the comment and I was elated, ecstatic, overjoyed and the list goes on. I was beaming the entire day. I was so bloody happy that you enjoyed my last chapter so much that I simply got in front of my laptop at home, kept aside my biology notes, and started typing until I ended up with this chapter for all you guys who has had the best patience in the world. Though it took sometime to put it out... i had to edit and all...
However this chapter is dedicated to NightsMist, because you are the reason I was up and running or else this chapter was gonna be written in another month or so late….
See what I mean when I say reviews can work miracles so don't stop those reviews….. Have them flowing in.
Mwahhhh
Enjoy…
I DON'T OWN G/W… not gonna say much on the matter except that I don't own much and that I am not making profits whether financial or credential. The plot line is part imagination and part inspired from some of the best romance novels I have read, well its like a fruit salad anyhow…..
Chapter 7
Relena drove slowly back to the apartment in her old car. There was nothing more that she could do to help her situation she thought unhappily. Her brow was pounding out her tension. Reasoning was a challenge when she felt as though the shock of recent events had set up a barrier between her and her wits.
She was still struggling to accept that, in the space of one day, her whole life had fallen down round her like a house of cards and with it the future that she had taken to build up for herself.
The first shock wave of her life's disasters was when her brother crashed in like the earthquake he can be and targeting her as one of the innocent villages, the result of the aftermath of that attack was that the house where she had lived from birth was no longer her home. She was barred from the gardens where she had grown up and happily worked whenever she had a moment free without ever realizing that everything could be list in a second.
And now once again the independent life she had laboured so hard to build would disappear into thin air in just a matter of time. It seemed like trying to hold water in your cupped hands, no matter how hard you try the result was inevitable, you were going to lose the water that you painstakingly collected. After all, the profit margins from all her part time jobs were low and, with Joyce, her working friend on maternity leave, she was working alone. It seemed such a waste all the times she drove herself hardcore to balance her life with all the jobs she was undertaking, but more precisely heartache was what she was feeling, to realize that she no longer would live her life.
Her mobile phone rang just as she finished packing the orders from the mail-order catalogue in the rear storeroom. It was James, the only person she had made a close friend after leaving Milliardo, true she had fallen in love with him, because he was a helping hand like a god in her time of need only to have been painfully hurt when he turned out to be gay (yes disaster number two in the form of love) but nonetheless their friendship had grown stronger.
She couldn't tell him about this situation, she would fight it alone, besides he has done enough and more for her and she knew he didn't have the kind of cash to help her out from this tight spot. Smiling with pleasure, she relaxed and went into the living room to chat and savour every piece of his news. He told her that he was in Germany. A landscape architect, James Cross had already made his name in design world and he often accepted commissions abroad. Relena had first met him at college and now saw a lot less of him than she would have liked.
"So Rel, I just wanted to know how things are with you, doing alright are you? I haven't been able to catch up with you for like ever."
Relena smiled again "Oh well you know I am pulling through but trying to balance everything is a stress, sometimes I don't think I can do it." Dan had started barking in the storeroom and she called out to him to hush. "There is no point talking about my depressed moments James lets talk of more positive things, and my life is definitely not in that category"
"How often have I cried on your shoulder?" he censured. "Only once," she sighed, recalling that night with pained regret."I will be moving away on some work and won't be here much longer, need some cash so will be selling the apartment and some stuff".
"What the hell, you can't be in such bad shape?" Relena pictured James raking an impatient hand through his brown hair, his grey eyes glinting with concern and disappointment on her behalf. He was very attractive and tremendous fun. They had so much in common and she even got on like a house on fire with his family. Of course It had taken a long timefor her to register that their close friendship was destined to go no further but she had yet to meet the man who could compete with James's hold on her affections, although goodness knew she had tried.
While Relena was enjoying her conversation with James, Heero was descending from his limo that had purred to a halt outside. He surveyed his surroundings with huge disdain. The apartment building as such was composed of ramshackle sheds and an ancient garage. He strolled towards the open door of the apartment that concerned him and just as he began to frown at the strong perfume in the air he saw Relena. Endless long slim legs clad in slim-fit jeans, blonde hair in a pony-tail, she was leaning back against the counter, a glorious smile lighting up her lovely face. She was chattering, unaware of his presence. Instantly he knew that he would not be satisfied until she smiled at him like that.
"It feels like a hundred years ago since I saw you…I miss you." Stilling in the doorway, Heero began to listen. He was fifteen feet from her and she still hadn't noticed him. That had never happened to him before. The average woman went on hyper-alert when he entered the building, never mind the same room. She was locked onto that phone as if it were her lover. Or, as if she were talking to her lover, eyes shining, voice husky, giggly, her entire manner in feminine flirt mode.
His eyes turned to chips of black ice. "Things are kind of up in the air right now," Relena confided, having told James only what she deemed necessary for him to know, which was not a lot. "We'll catch up when you get back." Relena did not know what it was that made her look up and when she did she jerked and almost dropped the phone. Shock gripped her vocal cords and her lungs. Heero Yuy was standing in the doorway, a long black cashmere overcoat hanging loose over his dark pinstripe suit, strikingly elegant, even more strikingly handsome. "James…I have to go…someone's at the door," Relena announced in a clumsy staccato rush of unease, eyes wide and defensive. Her smile had fallen off her lips as if she had been slapped.
Heero strolled in. "Who's James?" he enquired lazily.
"A friend." Relena crammed the phone back in her pocket. "How can I help you?"
"Are you going to ask me that in bed?" Heero murmured. "I'm not a customer."
Hot pink washed her cheeks and only slowly receded. Her bright blue eyes touched on his and fled again, her hands clenching because he'd had the cruelty to mention what she had steadfastly refused to think about. She applied her tried-and-tested least-said-soonest-mended formula to her thoughts. As a young child she had learned the futility of excessive anticipation and worry when she was powerless to alter things. Now a tiny pulse beat out her extreme tension in the blue-veined hollow beneath her collar-bone. Even without looking at him, she felt the high-octane hum of energy that laced the atmosphere around him. It put her entire body into a crazy state of anticipation: her muscles were rigid, her breathing audible and her breasts felt heavy, her nipples tingling.
"I'd like you to show me around the building," Heero imparted.
"There's not much."
"Whatever. I need fresh air. I can hardly breathe from the perfume in here." Before he stepped outside, Heero directed a cutting glance in the direction of the headily scented bowls of rosebuds and other mixtures set out by the counter.
"I got those from a friend, I usually like roses so they were sent to me all the way from Netherlands," Relena told him. Heero said nothing. With difficulty she silenced the selfprotective words on her tongue. She let her dog, Dan out of the storeroom. The little dog headed for Heero, hovered in unsuccessful hope of an acknowledgement, and then raced out in a delighted fury of barking to investigate the strangers outside. The parking area out front was, at first glance, packed with cars and men.
"Who are all these people?" Relena frowned.
"Security."
Relena was tempted to make a tart comment, relating to his undoubted need to take such precautions. His brilliant Prussian scrutiny met hers. "Much better not," he said softly. "It's never a good idea to put me in a bad mood." Momentarily she shut her eyes, disconcerted by the speed with which he had read her and almost equally shaken by her ongoing need to fight with him. On the other hand the idea of giving way to the chill of fear that he evoked scared her even more. "I like to have a free space outside, so when I got the apartment I was glad to see there was a strip of garden, makes me feel at ease, the entire setting seems all so natural to me—"
"I wouldn't have said that this was your natural habitat."
"Well, then, you'd be wrong—"
"I'm very rarely wrong about anything." Relena hung onto her temper with difficulty.
"Well you'd have to stop comparing me to the person you knew few years ago, that person no longer resides within, she was practically erased with the rest of my ties with the Peacecraft family."
He had come to a halt and he cast a long dark shadow. In silence, Heero reached for her hand and she had to combat a strong urge to whip it out of reach. Long brown fingers encircled her wrist with complete cool and exposed the roughened skin on her palms and the ragged state of her nails. "When I got to know that you had given up all of your luxury life and settled to a hard life style with part time jobs, I didn't appreciate that entailed working like a slave.'
Off-balanced by that physical contact, Relena breathed unevenly. "I actually enjoy it, it's how I want to work and how I want to live life, I do not want to be pampered, there is no essence in what I used to live and now I realize it"
"You've led a restricted life. And believe me when I say your ideas were very similar back then as well"
"I don't think so. Just protective probably because of my brother but not restricted, and your correct I had similar ideas back then but they have probably grown stronger in time rather than fading away, hence my reason of choosing seclusion rather than the great family path"
"You're very stubborn." Stunning dark blue eyes linked with hers and her chest went tight round the quickened pound of her heartbeat, until she was aware of nothing but him. He carried her fingers to his handsome mouth and pressed his lips softly to them in an elegant gesture that had immense style and assurance. "I like it Relena. You know that, even all those years ago in a world of yes-women, you shine like a star, the ultimate conquer, the price."
Shivering, she jerked her hand back but she could still feel the touch of his lips on her skin like a fiery brand of intent. A hard, tight knot of heat sat low in her tummy. Nothing fazed him. His ruthlessness was like a steel wall of chain-mail. That she knew it and was still capable of responding to him with excitement shamed her to the core. Excitement? He'd kissed her hand and the sizzle in the air blew her mind, after all those years still she couldn't stop herself from reacting. What did that say about her? That she had spent too long dreaming about a man she could never have? She forced a breath into her straining lungs and started talking fast about her normal day today activities.
Heero listened without interest or comment. He wasn't into much of anything she was into. He had never had the time or patience to stand still and smell the roses or admire a view.
Her love and enthusiasm for the general things of life was patent. But his mind was occupied with less innocent pleasures. He was wondering how she could look so marvellous when she was dressed like a tramp. He was keen to see her all packaged and groomed to her feminine best for his benefit, as he knew how she would look, from all those years back. He was recalling the faint evocative perfume he had smelled on her skin, suspecting that it might possibly be the unspoilt aroma of simple soap. He was constantly noticing and being irritated by the skittish way she backed off on her long coltish legs every time he got within two feet of her.
"Stop that."
"Stop what?" she exclaimed. Heero closed a restraining hand over hers and anchored her to his side.
"Mr Yuy…"
And that formal mode of address filled him with such ferocious dissatisfaction that he hauled her to him and kissed her luscious pink lips with all the fierce desire that he usually kept in iron-clad restraint. A muffled gasp of fright escaped her before the descent of his hard, hungry mouth silenced her. He stole her words, her breath, her ability to think and her legs threatened to buckle under her with the shock of it. The shattering swell of excitement snatched her up into a maelstrom. The sensual thrust of his tongue into the damp interior of her mouth set her body alight with reckless response. He backed her up against the old stone wall behind her. Firm hands cupped her denim-clad buttocks, lifting her off her feet into stirring contact with his erection. Seductive sensation made her tingle all over. His passion was raw and thrilling and terrifyingly new to her.
Suddenly, Heero lifted his dark head and vented what sounded like a curse. "Your dog's bitten me…"
Momentarily speechless, Relena blinked and focused with difficulty on the sight of Dan growling like mad and hauling frantically at the hem of Heero's immaculate trousers. "Oh, my word, he really doesn't like you…"
Crouching down, trembling all over like a wobbly jelly inside and out, she was grateful for the excuse to lift the little dog up in her arms.
"Impossible! Is that it? No, "Are you hurt? Bleeding? In need of a tetanus shot?" Heero Yuy drawled with icy sarcasm.
''I'm really sorry…are you okay?"
"I don't think I'll bleed to death. And the shots are up to date," Heero said very drily, unable to avoid noticing how the dog was being gently petted and soothed. He could have sworn there was a triumphant smirk in those little round doggy eyes. The fever in his blood had made him act without thinking and that awareness angered him. What was it about her that always affected him? He looked forward to the aftermath of total conquest when he would no longer want her, she had made him wait for years and this victory would be the sweetest thing he would relish.
Legs feeling shaky, Relena thanked heaven for her pet's opportune intervention and moved away. Putting Dan back onto his four stubby legs, Relena straightened with reluctance.
She was seriously ashamed of her own behaviour and not enough of a hypocrite to tell off her pet. Not when she was convinced that Dan had saved her from losing her virginity.
She did not believe that Heero Yuy would have called a decent halt. He did what he liked when he liked. He had hauled her into his arms like a Viking on the rampage. He was violently oversexed. Those daunting truths had sunk in on her. Her mouth felt hot and swollen and she was afraid to look at him.
Heero smiled. His smile would have chilled an iceberg. Events were moving exactly to plan.
Heero found himself focusing on the sincere glow of shyness in her damp eyes. She was like a distress beacon radiating emotion. She was not putting on a show for his benefit. He was fascinated by the feelings she could not hide. His bed partners always had a hard glossy shell that matched his renowned self-containment. Full of ideals and optimism as she was, she was ridiculously vulnerable. In a few months' time, possibly even sooner, she would be sadder and wiser. A faint stab of regret assailed him that that should be the case. Perturbed by that unwelcome jab of seeming sensitivity, he crushed it dead.
"I've organised accommodation for you." Heero turned to a subject of greater interest to him.
Relena froze, silky brown lashes screening her gaze to conceal her reaction to the sudden impact of that announcement. "What sort of accommodation and where?"
"A penthouse in London…I like lofty spaces."
"I don't…is there a garden? Dan will need a garden," Relena told him tightly.
"Dan?" Heero queried with an ice cold tone, how dare she mention another male.
"My dog."
"I'll pick up the bill for his stay in a pet hotel," Heero imparted in a dry tone of dismissal.
"No. He has to stay with me. He pines and refuses to eat when I'm not around," Relena responded with unhidden anxiety. "I know it might sound silly to someone who's not sentimental about pets…but he's a very emotional dog."
Heero settled his icy gaze on the ugly little dog messily digging up the border behind her back. The dog with a foolish owner twisted round its short tail. No way was he prepared to share house-room even briefly with her pet. "He goes to the hotel. My staff will choose the very best available."
"But if I'm not there he won't eat—"
"Nonsense."
"It's not nonsense—"
"I'm not into animals indoors," Heero pronounced with finality.
Relena breathed in very deep and reminded herself that it was 6 months since Dan had starved himself to skin and bone while she was on holiday. The following month after, James had helped her to get the little dog a pet passport so that he could travel with his mistress. But now it was very much to be hoped that he had got over such excessive reliance on her for his sense of security. She could feel her eyes prickling at the prospect of life without Dan and would have died sooner than betray her weakness. Heero Yuy would be fed up with her within the space of a week, she told herself comfortingly. She would bore him to death.
"Do I have any say about anything?" she enquired flatly.
Heero thought hard about that. If he had had a chain attached to her ankle, he would have been set on removing links to restrict her freedom even more. It was an unfamiliar attitude to a male accustomed to easy conquest and it annoyed him. "Your accommodation?"
Relena went for that assurance at speed because she saw no reason why she should be anything other than difficult.
After all, she was in no hurry to fulfil the agreement he had enforced. "I want to live somewhere with a garden," she told him with complete truth. "I'll go mad if I'm in the city and shut in between four walls."
"There's a pool with a roof that rolls back."
"I want a garden…even a condemned man gets one last request."
"You're not facing a firing squad." Heero treated her to a fulminating appraisal. A garden? What the hell did she want with a garden? That was not a reasonable request. That would take more time to organise and waiting for her was killing him by inches. Ever since he had first seen her, a parade of disturbingly erotic images had kept up a constant assault on his concentration. He was tired of that mental invasion and unlikely ever to be a convert to the art of patience.
"How soon will you come to me?" Heero prompted levelly. Unnerved by that bold question, Relena made the mistake of looking directly at him. She clashed with stunning Prussian eyes hot with hunger and her face flamed at what he let her see there. Her entire skin surface prickled and tightened over her bones.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I mean." A rougher edge had entered his dark-timbered drawl.
"When I have to…when I have no choice."
"The answer of a pure and virtuous virgin facing ravishment about a century ago." His cynical smile of insolent amusement made the blood burn hotter than ever in her cheeks. "Take a reality check. You're not in that category."
"You think you know everything, don't you?" Furious resentment raced through Relena. "But you don't. For what it's worth, I am in that category!"
His hard gaze narrowed, black spiky lashes lowering to intensify the blue glitter of his potent scrutiny. He studied her in the charged silence and she dragged her attention from him, ferocious embarrassment and anger engulfing her.
"Don't you dare make any snide comments," she warned him fiercely.
Heero was travelling from stunned surprise over her claim to a powerful surge of satisfaction. Was this the source of her unusually strong attraction for him? Had he somehow sensed the subtle distinction between her and the other women he had known? She was different, the exact opposite of his usual sexually adept partners. A virgin. Asking her to go back to London with him for a couple of hours to fill in the time before his flight to New York now struck him as very inappropriate, even tacky. For a split second the entire scenario felt tacky, but when he looked at her he blocked out that thought before it could get a toehold. He had never felt such an urgent desire for a woman and now that he understood that the source of her reluctance was inexperience the need to possess her had an even sharper edge. She was not indifferent or impervious to him. She was just shy, and he was willing to admit that he wasn't used to shy women.
The silence had settled like a blanket. His lack of comment suddenly infuriated her and made her feel foolish. She so wished that she had not blurted out one of her biggest secrets.
"Look, I have loads of work to do," she muttered curtly. "When do you expect me to come to London?"
"Next week. You'll be informed of the arrangements."
Heero withdrew a card from his pocket. "Should you wish to talk to me…here's my private number. You'll be able to reach me no matter where I am."
Relena accepted the card, unable to imagine why she would ever wish to voluntarily seek contact with him.
Before he climbed into the limo, Heero glanced back in her direction. She didn't return the compliment. Scooping up the muddy little dog, which was belligerently intent on barking at the nearest car, she vanished back into the apartment at speed. His aggressive jaw line clenched.
"We'll see how long it will take Relena before you crack, I've once splintered you, the whole reason you ran away and took refuge with Trowa, and no woman says no to me, but right now I have you cornered so well that for you to escape you have to run into my arms….revenge is sweet….."
So….. what do you think…..?
No really I want to know, I am actually little stuck at this point, I do have an idea on how the entire story should end but I just want o know what you think of how I have made out the characters because it doesn't fall into the usual Heero and Relena zone. And I am obviously not following the general plot line for any of my stories, so the best way I can figure out how successful my writing style and my approaches are is if you guys give me feed back, and honest to god I need them or else I wouldn't be pestering you guys for them.
So you guys will be doing me a major favor if you drop a couple of lines of your thoughts within the reviews…..
Love ya.
Rain
