The Twelve Zenati Pt. 00

"As your date?" she frowned. "I thought this was just a way to find out what happened to my home and belongings?"

"It is, but there is no reason we can't have a little fun at the party as well," the corners of his mouth turned up into that small smile that showed his genuine pleasure at the thought, and Olivia melted a little beneath its warmth.

"Can I think about it while we eat?" she asked. "I'm not so sure I could pass for one of the girls you date. I'm usually the one serving the drinks and cleaning up the messes, not on the other side of the equation, and the idea of that makes me pretty uncomfortable. What if I embarrass you by saying the wrong thing to the wrong person?"

"I don't care what anyone thinks or says, that's how I got to be where I am. Trust me, you couldn't upset or embarrass me at this party if you tried," Remy picked up the burger Aunty Bea placed in front of him for lunch and took a large bite. He watched her carefully, seeing the fingers of one of her hands toying with a strand of hair again as she ate, picking at the burger one-handed. "Eat," he encouraged, taking another large bite, confident that she would do as he suggested. He had no illusions that just because he was tipping the scales in his favour that she would be a pushover and allow him the control of her life that he now craved since having her in his home where he wanted her. She was very amenable to his suggestions though, and he tried hard to keep the authoritative, commanding tone he would have liked to have used with her from his voice.

*****

The afternoon sun was still bright as Olivia studied her reflection nervously. The hair stylist had been friendly and talkative as she set about creating a style and colour palette they were both happy with. With all the split ends gone and long layers making her hair seem windswept and full of body, she had to admit the woman was very good at her job. Her hair was coloured a dark blonde, almost brown at its base, but the lighter blonde streaks in two different colours gave it the multihued tones she was used to, but within the same palette of colour, making it seem as if it was naturally sun bleached. A far cry from the brash and brassy black, red and almost purple hair she had sported for the last few years.

To her surprise, the stylist had arrived with a beautician, who had given her acrylic nails, making them all the perfect length and coloured in a pale pink that glittered in the right light but were not over the top. Her eyebrows had been reshaped, and her make-up applied with the same careful attention to detail as everything else that had been done to her. She dressed carefully in the outfit Remy had chosen for her, a simple little back dress over sumptuous satin and lace underwear with strappy high heels also in black.

For the first time in her life she had no need to carry a bag. She had no keys and no phone to take with her, and she doubted she would need her empty wallet and ID. The slim lipstick she wanted to take with her could be carried in Remy's pocket if she wanted, although the beautician assured her that her lipstick would not smudge or need to be replaced. She felt as alien to herself as her reflection looked. It was hard to believe she was the same girl who had agreed to this transformation as a disguise. No one she knew would recognise her at this moment. She wasn't even sure Remy would recognise her as the girl he had saved last night. There was only one way to find out though, and, picking up the matching black wrap for her shoulders, she made her way downstairs to meet him.

She smiled as she saw him waiting patiently, and as he turned to take her in his smile was wider than she had seen it. He wore a black suit, and she noted that his jacket made his shoulders seem wider and his physique look even more attractive than she had known it to be in his more casual clothes from today. Once again the attraction she felt for him rose to colour her cheeks before she could squash it down again. She couldn't cross that line; it would be the beginning of the end. If she threw herself at him and he rejected her, where would she go? She had nowhere to go and no way to go anywhere. At this moment she had no home, she was broke, and people wanted to kill her. She had to rely on this man and trust him, she had no choice. It reminded her yet again that she needed her phone back. If she were forced out on her own her phone would be her lifeline.

"Wow, you look even more beautiful than I imagined you would," Remy said softly as she made it to the bottom of the stairs without falling in the too high heels. "Ready to go?" he asked, his smile returning to the soft half smile that showed his pleasure.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Are you sure this will work?" Olivia asked, her nervousness lacing her voice, making it higher than usual.

"Look," he said, turning her toward the large mirror in the entrance way. "Do you recognise yourself?"

"Not at all," she gave a nervous laugh made more so by the feeling of his large hands resting on her upper arms from where he had taken hold of her and turned her toward the mirror. He stood behind her, and, to her, they made a picture-perfect couple at that moment. She closed her eyes and tried to rid her mind of the image. She couldn't think like that, she had to keep this as business-like as possible. He had saved her because she was a witness to the murder of his brother. He felt sorry for her losing her home and was probably helping her find it so he could ask her to leave his home and allow him to have his privacy back.

"Here," he said, breaking the spell of their joint reflection. He handed Olivia a small shoulder bag with a long strap. "I want you to have your phone for emergencies. Nothing will go wrong, but just in case, you have your phone, and, although programmed into your phone now, you also have my card with all of my numbers, as well as Kairos's contact details in case we get separated." He had also placed a small money clip in there with several hundred dollars in case she needed to get back to his house on her own. Not that that would happen as long as she had her phone with her, now that it had several of his own monitoring apps installed.

"Thank you," she said, surprised by the bag and that he had wanted her to have her phone for safety reasons, the danger of what they were doing coming back to her full force.

"Kairos will drive us tonight. Come," he placed a hand in the small of her back and guided her outside to the car.

Olivia slid into the car, tugging down on the hem of her dress as it rode up to expose even more of her legs. Both of the dresses he had given her today were far shorter than she would normally wear or was comfortable with. She was surprised to find that Remy slid into the car beside her rather than in the front with Kairos.

"Your dress is fine," he said softly, reaching over to still her hands. Keeping one wrapped in his own, he looked at her with a soft expression and squeezed the hand reassuringly. "Nervous?"

"Very," she admitted. "Are you sure this is a good idea, you know, taking me to a party with your friends? I can't imagine I will fit in at all."

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "You look beautiful, and I am more than happy to be the lucky one to have you as my date." He gave her a half smile that made her heart flutter and squeezed her hand again. "We won't stay long, just long enough to find out what we need and be polite. You have nothing to be concerned about, I'll keep you safe, and this will help." He proffered a black velvet box and opened it toward her.

"It's lovely!" Olivia gasped. She had not expected this. "Is it some form of Celtic design?" she asked, seeing the delicate gold chain and the pendant with a stylised knotted symbol.

"It's a traditional design. My ancestors used to create this knot with their hair right here," he tapped just above his right temple. "Apparently, it was all the rage back in the time of Rome's conquest of the world. My ancestors were on the losing side of that war machine for a while, but they learned to survive by being mobile..." His voice trailed off. "You don't want a history lesson, but wear this tonight, it will show that you are under my protection."

"I'm not so sure about this," she hesitated. She knew what wearing a man's personal symbol could mean, at least in some circles. She was not as naïve as this man probably thought.

"You can take it off straight after the party," Remy said, taking it from the box and holding it up as if offering to help her with it. "Good girl," he said softly near her ear as she turned and allowed him to place the chain and pendant around her neck.

Olivia's skin prickled, and she felt as if there had just been a big shift in the relationship, but still feeling like she had little choice but to see this through now. It wasn't like she could run away, she had nothing and no one to help her except maybe this man who had done nothing but treat her kindly since helping her escape certain death the night before. She shivered as his fingers trailed lightly over the back of her neck, doing up the clasp, and seemed to linger there just a moment too long before withdrawing. Her attraction to him was growing, but there was something that held her back, and she couldn't put her finger on it. She sat back and looked at him.

"It's perfect," he reached out and adjusted the pendant on her chest, his fingers once again lightly brushing her skin.

"Thank you," Olivia whispered, not knowing how else to respond and trying to fight her own physical attraction to this man. He surprised her by taking her hand again and holding it for the remainder of the car ride as he asked her about her life and her boat. Olivia glossed over her old life and concentrated on her time with Kevin and how she had wound up broke and bartending in this town.

The drive to the marina seemed much shorter than their speeding getaway from it the night before, and, as she stepped from the car, she realised they were at the upper end of the marina, far removed from the decrepit old dock where her boat was berthed. They walked through the marina, following the subtle music and chatter of a cocktail party already in full swing.

These people obviously knew Remy and respected him, Olivia noted. She was introduced to a myriad of people she knew she would never remember as they entered the party. Remy was solicitous throughout, never leaving her alone and always having a hand on the small of her back or holding her hand throughout the ordeal. Olivia kept waiting for the moment where someone would discover that she was a fraud and didn't belong here. She might have once upon a time, but not anymore.

Memories of large and lavish parties thrown by her uncles and cousins ran through her head, and she did her best to remember her manners and all the etiquette training her mother had drilled into her. She had been brought up to be a lady in every sense of the word. It was imagined that she would marry well into another such family of wealth and social standing. That had been before she had met and run away with Kevin. Now she was a nobody, with nothing and no one to care about her, except, strangely, a man who she had known for less than twenty-four hours and who looked after her as if she was something precious to be treasured and protected from harm.

Olivia watched a glamorous and extraordinarily beautiful woman leaning up to kiss Remy's cheek and embrace him. She felt a small wave of jealousy, even though she knew she had no right to feel that way. The woman introduced her escort, who greeted them both with a curt nod of his head, and Remy introduced her.

"Olivia, this is Madonna Schwann, an old and dear friend," Remy said with a smile.

"Enough of the old," Madonna chided him good-naturedly. "I see she already wears the Suebian Knot," she raised an eyebrow in Remy's direction.

"She does," he said in a tone that seemed to end any further discussion on the subject. Olivia reached up and touched the pendant at her throat. She felt like she should know that word, but not quite being able to grasp the familiarity of it. She was distracted as Kairos approached their small group and spoke quietly to Remy, who, even though he had stepped away slightly, had kept hold of her hand.

"He's here," Remy murmured in her ear, coming back to stand beside her. The sun had set, and it felt like they had been mingling and making small talk with the other party goers for hours. She frowned, not realising who was here or why he was telling her for several moments until he made his excuses to their companions and guided her downstairs to the rear of the yacht where the slimy marina manager waited at a small onboard docking area with Kairos.

"That's not the woman who owns the boat," the manager eyed the men suspiciously.

"I just had my hair changed, that's all, Vinnie," she stepped forward. "I need to know what happened to my boat." She said, moving closer to the man and feeling Remy shadow her as the man raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked her over appreciatively. He licked his lips and eyed Remy nervously as he let out a small growl.

"The police took it as evidence. Some dickhead offed himself on the dock last night, and bits of his brain were found on the hull of your boat, so they took it," he shrugged. "You still have to pay rent if you want to keep the berth," he grumbled at her, and his eyes flicked nervously at Remy and then Kairos. "I'll be going then."

"Wait! The police wouldn't just take my home and not leave a card or some instructions on how I can get my stuff back!" she said in alarm. She didn't have much, but it was all she had. "Everything I own is on that boat!"

"Nope, they just flashed their badges when I asked what the hell they were doing and towed her away. Best call the water police in the morning if you want to find out more," Vinnie said as if wiping his hands of the problem. "Rents due end of the month whether the boat is there or not, otherwise I will rent the berth to someone else."

"Shit!" Olivia cursed. She had no home, and after blowing off work tonight, she doubted she would have a job. She felt the sting of tears threaten to spill from her eyes and blinked rapidly.

"He's a real charmer," Remy said disgustedly out loud while his mind was pleased with the performance the man had just given and nodded at Kairos to pay the man. "I'll help you work it all out tomorrow. Come back upstairs for a little while, then we can say our goodbyes and head home."

"Home?" she queried, feeling wretched about how truly awful her life had become.

"Yes, Home," he said softly. "You'll stay with me until we can get his sorted out."

"Thank you," she said softly, and turned toward him, impulsively wrapping her arms around his waist just to feel something other than totally alone and adrift at that moment. Between her experiences with Kevin and being a bartender, Olivia rarely drank herself, and she found the few cocktails she had drunk during the party had gone to her head. She shouldn't be hugging the man and finding comfort in his steadfastness and the kindness he was showing her, but right now he was a lifeboat to the sinking ship that was her life.

Remy wrapped his arms around her and bent his head to press his lips to the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her. Yes, he acknowledged, she felt so right in his arms, and the plans he had to pull together on the fly today were working exactly the way he wanted. Now he would have time to make proper plans without the urgency of ensuring she would turn to him rather than running back to the family she had run away from.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry," she said as if coming to her senses. "I shouldn't have done that." She released her arms and went to step away.

"I'm glad you did," he said huskily, keeping one arm wrapped around her, holding her close, and, placing a finger under her chin, tilted her face up to his. "I've wanted to do that all day, and this," he bent his head and brushed his lips lightly over hers in a tender chaste kiss.

"You have?" she asked, bewildered.

"Even with multi-coloured hair and casual clothes, you are beautiful, Olivia. A man would have to be a eunuch not to want to kiss you," Remy said quietly, looking into her eyes. After searching them for a long moment, he bent to kiss her again, this time deepening the kiss with an insistent tongue that glided over her lips until she parted them for him to explore her mouth, her own tongue wrapping around his as she gave in to her need to be close to another human being, to him.

"Let's say our goodbyes and go home," he said after abruptly ending the kiss. "I want more of that, and more of you," he said huskily. Keeping an arm around Olivia's waist, he guided her back up onto the deck where the partygoers were all laughing and having a good time, totally unaware of how Olivia's life was unravelling around her and how Remy was gathering those threads of her life and weaving a new one for her. One where she belonged to him, body and soul.

In the car he had pulled her onto his lap and kissed her again, his hand travelling the length of her long bare legs as he did so. In her mind, Olivia couldn't quite fathom how she had gone from grateful for his kindness and protection to being in his arms and kissing this man. When he finally came up for air, she blinked up at him, stunned by the look of arousal and something else she couldn't put a name to written on his face.

Remy could see her thinking and willed Kairos to drive faster. He didn't want her questioning this moment when he would make her his and bind her to him. She had exceeded all his hopes for tonight, and now, as she lay curled in his lap, her beautiful golden hair catching the light and her sea green eyes blinking up at him, he felt nothing but his desire for her. All of the other considerations he had contemplated as he had investigated and stalked her dissipated around his overwhelming need to own, control and dominate this beautiful woman's life. She quite obviously didn't know her own worth, and her insecurities leant themselves to his desire, but he also knew he needed to be cautious so as not to scare her away before he could fully bind her to him.

Olivia reached up and touched his cheek, as he had hers. It didn't seem real, yesterday she was contemplating her horrible existence, and tonight she was heading home with a rich, powerful and, not to mention, very attractive man who seemed to genuinely care for her and what happened to her. The niggling misgivings she had been having seemed to have been discarded the moment when Vinnie had delivered the news about her boat, and she had turned to him for comfort. She knew she wouldn't have acted that way without the Dutch courage from the cocktails earlier, but now it didn't seem to matter.

"What a difference a day makes," she whispered softly, as he once again released her mouth so they could breathe.

"What a difference, indeed," he agreed huskily. "We're home," he said as the car slowed to enter the gates that would lock out the rest of the world and keep them safe from outside influences.

*****

"I want you," he whispered, and his mouth descended on hers before she could argue the point, and he swallowed her whimper, deepening the kiss and willing her to relax and meld into him as she had done earlier that night. He pulled her tight against him, one hand lowering to her ass, the other running up her back and into her hair, taking hold of the long strands and pulling, not so gently, to make her gasp.

Olivia felt his lips brush hers, tasting her, tempting her, coaxing her to more until she opened up to whimper and allow him instant access to her mouth and tongue. The way he held her and kissed her felt like an attempt to possess her, and she both revelled in and rebelled against the feel of it. After so much had happened, she worried this might be going too fast, and she would hate to see regret in his eyes tomorrow morning and have the possibility of him kicking her out. She broke free and looked up at him.