A Castle of Opportunity - FREE

Chapter 8

I was exhausted, yet exhilarated. There weren’t words to describe the way he made me feel. It felt deep, not just superficial lot s****l. I felt a deeper connection to him, even though it wasn’t what you considered “making love”. After showering, I went to my room to put on clean clothes. I debated on wearing something sexy, like a thong, just in case he wanted more, but my body was sore. It was sore in a good way, so I put on sweatpants and a big tee shirt with my favorite band on it. He went to his room to get dressed also. There was a lot of smiling and silence afterwards. I was out of breath and still felt a bit awkward. He never seems awkward, I began to wonder if I was his first “assistant”, but quickly put it out of my mind. We kissed deeply and went our separate ways. I hoped we wouldn’t be apart long. I enjoyed sleeping next to him, and if we met back up in the morning for the first time after having s*x, I feel it would be weird.

Something inside me took over and I could not handle the tension anymore. I wanted her, and she wanted me. And I do not regret it. It was not long, but she felt and tasted the best compared to anyone else I have had. I did not know if it was because of the tension we had built up, or if it was because I was starting to feel like I would imagine “love” to be. I did not want to think about that too long, it was too early for that. But I had one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had the pleasure feeling, and I did not want it to stop there. It was going to happen again in the future, as long as she wants it as bad as I do. It is really insane for this level of passion in my life just from taking a chance and putting out that help wanted sign. I expected to like her, and I fantasized that she might even like me, but we were being pulled together like magnets, undeniable attraction.

I wanted to be near her again, not for s*x. I did not want her to think I was using her or only thinking about things like that. To be honest, I was thinking about a lot more that I was not prepared to be thinking about. Hopefully she wanted to be near me also, so I walked to her room after getting dressed in matching black silk pajamas (my ultimate comfort clothes), and asked her if she wanted to sleep in my room tonight. I was usually so cocky and sure of myself, but I’m the walk down the hallway, I was nervous.

She seemed happy to accompany me, and told me she was jealous of my sleepwear, jokingly. When we got to my room, I made sure the bed was made nicely but not tightly so she could climb on in. After remembering her comment, I pulled out another pair of silk pajamas and laid them on the bed.

“They will be big on you, but I will always share with you if I can, Brenna.”

She smiled and took them off the edge of the bed graciously. They were red, not black, so we wouldn’t match completely, which was something I felt worried about and I did not know why. I guess I did not want to come off cheesy, or more so, HER think i am cheesy. I climbed into the bed and lowered the light to just my lamp. At the end of the bed, she turned to face the wall and changed into my clothes. I saw her bare back and most of her buttocks, but I was most satisfied when I saw her wearing something of mine.

With the arms of my sleeves dangling past her hands, she crawled into my bed. I told her that I usually read at night, and that I had a book I thought she would like, but she decided to lay on my chest. I opened my book like I was reading, but half of the time I was listening to her breathe and feeling the pressure of her laying on my body. I felt more at peace than I had in years.

Theo offered for me to sleep in his bed, which is something I had wanted to do since I saw it, but I would never admit it. I was feeling extremely close to him, closer than any boyfriend I had ever had. We had only been around each other for a few months. Some days, I was on the computer, but we always made time to see each other. He gave me a book which made my heart flutter, but I was too exhausted and too comfortable to be able to read. I laid my head on his chest, hoping he would be comfortable, and thought about how I never wanted to sleep without him again. I didn’t want to admit this either. I don’t want to be one of those girls who professes their undying love after three days and scares the potential love of their life away. I wanted to go with his flow. He had lived years beyond mine, and I was still young. I didn’t want to seem young and naive, I knew he had been with plenty of girls. But I did what my heart and body told me to do, and put my head on him and fell fast asleep.

Theodore woke up with the book still in his hand. I was peeking over his chest. He must’ve kept holding me close, because I usually toss and turn all night. I took in his scent again, and felt his chest rise and fall beneath my cheek. I took my hand and started rubbing the other side of his smooth chest, feeling his muscles. I never took myself for someone who obsessed over muscles. But I never wanted to stop touching his body. I wanted to caress him from bottom to top sometimes. This was one of those times, but I didn’t want to wake him up, or think that I was initiating s*x, although if I touched him the way I craved, it definitely would initiate s*x.

When I brushed against his abs, his eyes started fluttering open. I was happy to see those bright blue eyes look down at me. He has recently been looking at me with such care.

In his morning, deep, groggy voice, he told me Goodmorning.

“Top of the morning, Mr. Renwick.” And I smiled at him.

He rubbed the back of my head, ruffling my hair, and I closed my eyes in enjoyment.

“I need to sit up, miss Brenna, may I?” I nodded and started to get off of his chest. He got up and walked to the bathroom, and I watched his back muscles as he went. He wasn’t super buff, he wasn’t super skinny. He was perfect.

When he came back, I had sat up. One of my buttons had come undone when I was sleeping and my cleavage was showing, but I didn’t bother on buttoning it back up. Teasing him had become something I enjoyed. He walked over to the bed and sat down, putting his hand underneath my chin, lifting my face up to him.

“You amaze me. You are gorgeous. I had an amazing night with you. But, I need to take a shower and get ready for the day. I am going to do something I have not done in a long time today. So go get ready, I would ask you to shower with me but I do not think I could focus on getting clean. Maybe wear a dress?” He gave me a quick kiss and got up to go back to the bathroom. I stretched and went to get ready.

During my shower I thought about what he could mean about doing something he hasn’t done in a long time. This could only mean leaving his house, right? Moving his old car? Or maybe it was something simple as a big fancy dinner since he hasn’t had guests lately. I slowly scrubbed myself and stopped myself from m**********g. If we did anything again, I wanted to be built up as much as possible.

I put on a dress, the one I wore when I first arrived. He hasn’t seen it since, I think he might like that.

We met in the kitchen. He had made some tuna salad sandwiches with a promise that I would be eating much better later. Both of my theories could still reign true.

He walked over to me and put his hand gently on my hips, “I have to go take my medicine, and I’ll be ready. We’re leaving this place for a while.” He smiled big, and I grinned back at him, promptly doing what I was told to do.

We got into the old car, which had been recently cleaned. I sat neatly in the passenger seat awaiting anxiously. People in town had probably heard the rumor that I was working at the mansion, but if they saw me, that would verify it. And I bet no one knew what Theo looked like. I almost wanted them to be jealous, but I doubted we’d stop in our small town. After a few minutes, he slowed down and stopped at a gas station. I was going to be seen out. It made me nervous, but I was still excited.

People outside turned their heads to look at the car, recognizing it immediately. They stopped and stared. Theo got out of the car and looked around, I realized he probably hasn’t seen the town in years, I’m sure it’s changed a lot. He leaned down in the window, “Do you want to come? Or do you want anything?” I decided to stay in the car, my nerves were running high like the first time I had shown up at his doorstep. “Just a water, thank you.” The outside attention had turned to me. The window was down and people were talking with eachother, but I couldn’t hear them. I recognized some of the people I went to highschool with, some of the more popular girls. They were definitely interested in Theodore’s appearance. I also saw an old friend from childhood, Matthew, so I did wave hi and then pretend to need to dig around in my bag.

Theo came back and handed me my water, and asked if I waving to the girls.

“No, not at all. They’ve never really spoken to me.”

“Oh, they were staring pretty hard, I just assumed.”

“They were staring at you”, I laughed, “we don’t have many men that look as good as you around here.”

He smiled, “Thank you, Brenna. I have not seen anyone look as good as you around anywhere.”

I blushed and he pulled out of the parking lot.

We pulled into a restaurant about an hour away. It looked really nice, and the building was very old. Since he hadn’t been out in awhile, I wonder what would have happened if this building wasn’t here anymore.

He opened the door for me and looped his arm around mine and led me inside. Nobody stopped and stared this time. There were a few glances and a big smile from someone behind the bar. I saw Theo smile back and led me that way.

“Mr. Renwick! What a surprise. Please, head upstairs, I’ll be up in a bit.” He smiled at me, “miss” and nodded. I smiled back and followed Theo up the stairs.

Up stairs there were private dining rooms, empty. It looked like where you would have a private wedding ceremony or business dinner. But it was all to ourselves.

The man, middle aged, not unattractive, with a short pony tail, came up with a glass of red wine and a water. When he got closer, I saw that it was blood in the glass. That made me think about two things: one, there are places around the world that sell blood to those affected and I would have never known; two: he knows that I do not drink blood, so they must be able to smell it or sense it somehow which is also curious.

Theo introduced me and I met, “Daniil”, who goes by Danny, who had a Russian accent and has known Theo for “ages”. I assumed he was immortal too. You could never tell. I could have met many in my lifetime. He told me he knew the perfect meal for me, and asked if I liked red or white wine. I didn’t know, so I just said white, and smiled. Danny and Theo looked at each other for a minute silently before he walked back downstairs. I asked what that was about and Theo looked confused. I told him I noticed the silence. He laughed, “Oh! We can talk to each other silently.” I asked him what they were talking about before realizing that I was invading their privacy. “It is a bit embarrassing. He mentioned that I had not brought a woman here, only took them ..home. He said you must be special and I told him you were.” He seemed to start to blush before taking a big drink. His eyes started to lighten. I asked him how he could tell that I wouldn’t want any blood. “We can hear your heart. It’s fast and loud. Mine is very slow and very quiet.” I nodded. We talked more about this and that before Danny brought me a big plate of country fried chicken and potatoes, with extra gravy. He really did know what would be perfect. I wondered if that was something to do with being immortal, or if he was just really good. Whilst seemingly reading my mind, Theo spoke up and told me, “Remember how I said that I could help change your emotions to feel better , but did not because I felt it was an invasion of sorts? Not everyone can do that. Danny, having been passionate about food before the switch, he can tell what people want to eat, what would satisfy them the best. I always thought it was an odd “power”, but it fits him.” I wondered what I would get if I turned.

We finished our food and drinks and left. It was dark out by the time we were walking out the door. Outside, we were stopped by a young woman who called Theo by name. He smiled slightly, but seemed annoyed at the interruption.

“Hello, Mariana.”

“Hello, Renwick. It has been SUCH a long time, hasn’t it?”

“It has”

“And you have a new friend!” She looked down at me, she was very tall in her heels.

“Brenna.” I smiled.

“Brenna, Brenna. That’s a lovely name. Your friend and I have known each other for ages! We’re you going out? I could tag along?”

“No, sorry, this is a private outing tonight. Maybe another time.”

“Oh, okay, Renwick. I think I will have to stop by soon. Maybe when your friend is gone, we can catch up alone. That’ll do it! I’ll stop by soon.” Before Theo could reply, she turned quickly on her heels and strutted away. She looked stunning in her clothes, very dressed up.

Theo turned to me, “I was going to ask you on a walk before we were interrupted. Would you like to walk with me?” He held out his hand.

“Of course.” I took his hand and we strolled across the street to a dimly lit trail lined with flowers and small trees. I was going to ask him who the woman was, but the scenery was so beautiful, and his hand in mine made me feel electrified, so I felt it would wait another day. Plus, I knew there wouldn’t be a time I would be “gone”, so she would find that out soon enough if she was one of the girls Theo had “taken home” before. I also can’t be jealous of something that could’ve happened 50 years ago. I grasped his hand tighter and walked further into the tall flowered shrubbery.

He let go of my hand and pulled me closer to him, putting his hand around my waist. His hand burned a hole into my side, heating me up from the inside. Everytime he touched me, I felt such a yearning for him. I rested my head against him as we walked. Eventually, we came up on a bench. We were deep into the man-made trail, maybe the middle. He gestured for me to sit with him. I sat down and he sat as close as possible next to me, taking his jacket off and putting it around my shoulders. I felt like we were in a movie. He slipped his hand under the coat and put it back around my waist, turning slightly to face me.

“It is good to get out. I will admit I was in a bit of a depression before you came along. Even before we met, I would wait on you to walk by. You were like a friend that I did not even know. I did not know it would turn into this. But now, I do not want it to stop. I also did not like how Mariana kept calling you my friend, because it feels we have advanced farther than that.” I nodded and stared at his eyes, brighter in the darkness around us. “Will you be my girl?”

I blushed and looked down. He tilted my head back up. “I want you to be mine.” I nodded yes.

He smiled big and kissed me. One of his hands held my face. The kiss deepened. I felt on fire. My head, my heart, and my body. His girl. His girlfriend. It was a no brainer, it’s not like I wanted to date around. And being with him has had me in a state of excitement my life had never known possible. I wrapped my arms around his neck and shoulders. He pulled from the kiss just slightly to whisper “my girl” against my lips. My breathing got heavier. We started kissing again, one of my legs slung over his. I began to moan slightly and he put his hand in my hair and pulled my head back slightly, breaking the kiss.

“Brenna. We have to stop, it’s getting hard to control myself.” He sounded out of breath too. I agreed reluctantly, I was about to be okay with being naked in public at this rate.

We both got up together wordlessly, locked hands and headed towards the car. I noticed we were walking a lot faster this time.