Children of the Moon

Embarrassed

Sarah and her partner, Frank, sat in the squad car having lunch. She took a swig of her diet coke, washing down the bite of bacon cheeseburger and looked at him. He was eating a cobb salad and drinking water. She shook her head. He looked deep in thought and she knew what was on his mind... retirement. Bethany, his wife, was pressuring him again. His wife is and has always been a worry wart.

A few months ago we had stumbled onto a robbery in progress when we stopped for some coffee and some gas. Frank had gotten injured... barely. While he was getting checked out at the hospital, Bethany had come rushing into the ER wailing about her poor husband dying. She had cornered Sarah and cussed her out for not taking care of him. Then she switched her tune and begged her to talk him into retirement, that he was too old for the job and what would happen to her and the kids if he died on the job.

Frank had come out of the ER and had heard her. He had grabbed his wife by her arm and had left, really mad too.

While he had been on desk duty, letting his leg heal, he was called into the captain's office and told him his wife had called to inquire about his upcoming retirement. Frank shot that down immediately. He was furious at her and they had had a big fight, after which he had moved to a hotel for a week. Sarah shook her head again and looked at him.

Frank was only 42 years old and in great shape... pure muscle, no flab. He was fast for his age and could outshoot anyone on the force.

"Penny for your thoughts," she says, turning towards him. He sighs and pushes the salad away from him.

"It's Beth," he says and sighed again. "She is really pushing me to retire."

"Do you want to retire?" she asks and looks at him closely. "I hope not. You are the best partner I have ever had."

"I am the only partner you have ever had," he says, grinning at her. "And no, I don't want to retire. I love my job and she just can't understand why."

"So put your foot down and tell her. If she can't handle it, tell her to go see a shrink," she tells him and shrugs. Frank turns toward Sarah and stares.

"Don't you think that I haven't tried that?" he asks. "She will not do it."

"Turn it into an ultimatum. It is either/or. Ask her if she wants you to be happy and tell her that your job makes you feel happy," Sarah says and takes another bite out of her burger.

"I will try it again," he said just as the radio crackled and the voice of the dispatcher comes through. As they listen carefully Sarah jumps at the address mentioned. She grabbed the mike and took the call. Frank stared at her.

"Isn't that the address across from your mom's place?" he asked and she nodded.

Sarah shudders as she remembers being teased as a child. Some of the older kids had cornered her against the wrought iron gates, telling her horrible stories about the place. About murders that had happened there, hands having been found cut off in the mail box, and horrible noises coming from the property. She had screamed loudly for her parents and the kids had just laughed at her. They had suddenly stopped laughing at her and were staring at something behind her, beyond the gates. They had screamed and had run away. Sarah had turned only to see a beautiful woman in white, who told her to go home and that they would bother her no more. She had gone there often but never saw the lady again.

Sarah turned to Frank and looked at him.

"We should call for back up. That place is huge. You can't even see the house from the gates," she said and he nodded. She called for back up and asked that they wait until she got there. Frank laughed at her and she stuck her tongue out at him. They took off and soon were at the address in question. The first thing she noticed was that the gates were wide open. They had always been locked before. They entered the grounds and she gasped at the wild beauty of the place. They continued down the road leading up to the manor. Police cars where everywhere. The officers were ready to go in. She got out and walked over, climbing the steps up to the door. She carefully opened it and pushed it quietly to the side.

Wow, Sarah thought as she and her partner quietly entered the manor. While looking around, she noticed the foot prints in the dust on the floor leading to the grand staircase. She motions to her partner to pull their weapons from their holsters. He nodded and did so, heading up the stairs. The other officers fanned out on the bottom floor, making sure it was secure. Sarah followed her partner up the stairs and heard the shower running from the first door on the left. Frank and Sarah got ready to burst in when the water stopped running. The door opens and she gasps when the most beautiful man she had ever seen walked out stark n***d, humming, eyes closed and drying off his long black hair.

"Freeze," she shouts and the man dropped the towel, raising his hands. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He turns his head in her direction and looks her in the eye.

"I am Alain Deveraux and this is my ancestral home," he says.

"Prove it," she said and he smiles at her.

"My wallet is in the bedroom at the end of the hall," he said and Frank heads that way. Sarah blushes as she noticed that he was still n***d in front of her.

"Cover yourself," she says and he bends over to pick up the towel, slinging it around his waist and tucking it in. Sarah is mesmerized by his eyes. They were the brightest green that she had ever seen, like the finest of emeralds. She shook her head as Frank came back with the wallet and the deed to the property.

"Here you go and I found this on the dresser in there," he said, handing her the wallet. She opens his wallet and looks at the ID. She then nods at Frank and they put up their weapons. She also noticed the pictures in the wallet. All of them but one were of strikingly gorgeous women. The last was a picture of a middle aged man in the outfit of a butler.

"What the hell is going on here?" came a shout from below. "Why are you all here?" Alain walked over to the railing and looked over.

"It's all right, Jessie," he called downstairs. "The officers were only doing their job. They were just leaving." Sarah closed the wallet and handed it to him. He smiled at her and gave a slight bow.

"We do still have questions, Mr. Deveraux," she said and he nodded.

"Of course," he said. "Would you mind waiting downstairs for me while I get dressed?" She blushes and nods. While they walked down the stairs, Frank nudges her.

"Got an eye full, didn't you," he said, grinning at her. She blushed even more and gave him a mock punch in the shoulder. He laughed at her as they arrived on the ground floor.

Sarah looked up and saw a beautiful young woman in a navy blue business suit with long hair the color of copper fire. She looked furious. As Frank walked over to dismiss the other officers, she walked over to the woman.

"And you are?" she asked and the woman took a deep breath, looking at her.

"Jessie Lacoux, attorney at law," she answered. " Mr Deveraux is a very private person. Why did you come here?"

"We responded to a call of a possible break in," she answered. "We were just doing our job." Jessie nodded and took another deep breath.

"Do you mind me asking why he came back now?" Sarah asked.

"My family had always lived abroad," his voice came from the stairs. "I have been studying and now that I am finished I decided to set up shop here." She looked up at him coming down the stairs. She was again stunned by his beauty and felt a strong pull towards him. Her heart was racing. He was wearing black jeans and a white medieval looking shirt with ties at his neck that he had left open. He caught her staring at him and raised an eyebrow at her, smiling. She blushed again and cleared her throat. Frank had come back and was looking back and forth between Alain and his partner, his eyes dancing with laughter.

"May I ask you one last question, Mr Deveraux?" she asked.

"Call me Alain, please," he said, smiling at her. She shook her head.

"Mr Deveraux. Has there ever been anyone else living here before you came home?" she asked, looking at him. He frowned.

"No one else was supposed to be here," he said, looking serious. "Has anyone ever seen someone else?"

"I have," she answered and told him about what had happened to her as a little girl. She swore his eyes flashed before he looked down.

"That is very possible," he said in a low voice.

"Are there any other questions, officers?" Jessie asked and Sarah shook her head.

"Not at this moment," she said and pulled out her card, handing it to him. "Here is my number at the station," she said and he handed her his card.

"This be the number you could reach me at any time," he said, smiling at her again. She looked at the card and blinked. It stated: Alain Deveraux, Supernatural Investigation and Services. She nodded and she left with her partner. Alain and Jessie followed them out and he waved at them as they left. When they were just out of the circular driveway, Frank just burst out laughing. She looked at him in confusion.

"Sarah, my dear, you are in love," he stated, laughing harder. "The look on your face when he stepped out of the bathroom n***d was priceless."

"I am so not in love," she stated loudly and smacked his shoulder. He looked at her and grinned, nodding.

"You kept staring at him like he was a porterhouse steak, hungry like," he said, laughing again. She blushed and looked grumpy, folding her arms across her chest.

"I am not in love," she stated again and he raised his eyebrows at her. She looked up and yelled "Watch out!" He looked up front and almost plowed into a tractor trailer turning into the gates. It stopped and he swerved to miss it.

"Damnit," he grumbled and turned into the road.

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Sarah's POV:

I just can't get the sight of him out of my head. I had never seen someone so beautiful in my life. I even wondered if he was human. I knew the elves and fey were that gorgeous from the ones that I had met. Frank teasing me like that only made my heart race again and he was right. I did act as if I was in love with him. I remember that in the supernatural community everyone had a mate that the Moon Goddess chose for them. And the way I reacted to him made me wonder if I was his. But if it was true, why didn't he just come for me? I did not think he rejected me as I had heard some of them saying that it was very painful. I felt confused.

"Almost back at the office," Frank said. "I'll do the report and you can go home."

"Thanks, partner," I said to him. "I don't think I can concentrate on anything right now." He peeked at me.

"Damn... You are in love, girl," he said. "Did you feel a mate pull? Because he is definitely not human. Did you read the age on his ID?"

"No, I didn't. Why?" I asked.

"Because he is over 200 years old," he said and I jumped. I had not noticed that.

"I did feel a mate pull towards him," I admitted quietly. "But he did not grab me and I was always told that they would do so."

"It might have been because we held a weapon in him," he said. "Or he could control himself better. It might also be that he respected you being a cop." I looked over at him, my eyes wide. That had to be it. He didn't want to embarrass me in front of the other officers. I needed to talk to him in private. And now I will be off duty.