Immortal Darkness (Phantom Diaries #3) (6 page)

For a moment his eyes glazed over as his mind went off on its own little erotic journey. I could see the hunger in his eyes, and the passion in his parted lips. But just as suddenly as the lust and hunger had touched his eyes, shock and fear replaced them.

“No, this isn’t right.” He backed away and leered suspiciously at me.  “This isn’t the Annette I know.”

“Chace, it is.  I’m completely Annette.  Look at me.”

“I am looking at you.”  His gaze roamed from my lips to my navel and down to my toes. “The Annette I know doesn’t strut around in her underwear and corset.”

I shot a quick glance down at myself to find my robe was partially open. With an embarrassed tug, I pulled my robe tightly around me. “Chace, my robe slipped open. It doesn’t mean I’m possessed by Kristine.”

“Your robe didn’t just slip open… Kristine.  You're up to your old tricks again. You're deliberately being sexy and alluring to throw me off guard.” He gripped my shoulders and held me at arms’ length. “I knew this would happen. I knew she’d get back into you if you went to Paris. And all your time with Aaron… Is this the result of you being with him so much?”

“Chace, you're being ridiculous.”

“Am I?  Since when do you go around wearing a corset?”

“I’m starting a new production. I have a bunch of new costumes to try on and they all involve a corset. These are period costumes. It’s what women wore back in Kristine’s day. The new opera is about Kristine, well… it was written for her by Aaron’s ancestor, Rupert. I have to dress like her. Besides, you're the one who walked in on me half dressed, remember?”

“Yeah, after you told me to come in.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and roughly raked them back as he let out a frustrated grunt.

“Look, come see the costumes I have to wear.”  I turned to the gowns, but Chace grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“This has nothing to do with costumes, and you know it.”  He grasped my shoulders and held me tight.

I could almost feel his restraint; holding back from shaking the truth out of me.

“Kristine,” he shouted.  “Let Annette go.”

“Chace!” I wanted to sound patient and amused, but the frustration slowly built up. “I am, Annette. I promise.  Kristine is in no way around here.  Please.  Look at me.”  I stared into his eyes, hoping he’d look deep inside me and see my true self.

“If you're really Annette, prove it.  Tell me about Annette. Tell me only what she and I would know.”

Chuckling, I ran my hand along the line of buttons of his shirt and gazed innocently up at him.  “All right.  I like ice cream, pretzels, and walks in the park… with you.  I also like to…”

Before I could finish proving myself, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me with the heat and passion he’d held since entering my dressing room.  The shy and boyish lips that could at times be so reserved and conservative were now hot and hungry.  “I’m so relieved to know you're here and you're okay,” he muttered as he brushed his lips along my cheek and ran his fingers through my hair. “I missed you, Annette.  Every day, every night, I thought of you, longed for you.”

He pulled back, cupped my cheeks and looked at me, his gaze scanning me, looking to ensure everything was as it should be.  “I was so worried, you can’t imagine. I heard you returned from Paris earlier than expected… and that you didn’t come back with Aaron.” He bit his lip with worry and concern.  “I don’t want to pry and I know this isn’t really any of my business, but…  For a woman to come back from Paris so quickly, and not with the man who brought her there… something must have happened.  Did he do anything… inappropriate?  Did he try to take advantage of you? I mean, I know Paris is the city of romance and I can imagine how easy it must be to be swept off your feet. But if you came back so fast… what happened?”

“Chace, Aaron was the perfect gentleman. Yes, Paris is the city of romance, but he didn’t overstep any boundaries and didn’t take advantage of me or the romance of Paris.  I just couldn’t remain in Paris under the circumstances.”

“And what circumstance was that?”

“I didn’t accept his marriage proposal and didn’t feel comfortable staying there after that.”

“What? He proposed? Marriage?” He stared at me incredulously.  “Damn, the guy sure works fast.”  His gaze filled with dismay and loss.

“He does, but I just couldn’t accept.”

“A rich and successful guy like Aaron Aragon proposes to you and you don’t accept? How come?”

“Because, I couldn’t.”  I shrugged, not wanting to get into the myriad of reasons that kept me from wedding anyone just now.

His eyes widened with excitement and the first gleam of true happiness since seeing me. “Oh, Annette.” He pulled me tightly to his chest, kissed my hair and sighed the full degree of his relief. “You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me. I never would have thought I had a chance against someone like Aaron Aragon.”  He back away and looked at me, his eyes brimming with tears of joy as he shook his head in disbelief.  “You turned down his proposal of marriage. I can’t believe it.”

I wanted to set the record straight, to be completely honest with him, but he was so happy, so joyous. I didn’t have the heart to tell him right then and there that my refusal of Aaron’s proposal had nothing to do with him.

As he leaned in close to kiss me again, the door swung open and a seamstress entered with an armful of gowns. 

Chace pulled away. “How about coffee after your fittings?”

“I’m supposed to have a quick run through of a few songs.”

“Okay, then after that… please. We have so much to talk about.”

Oblivious of our moment, the seamstress bulldozed her way in, stripped off my robe and proceeded to tighten my corset with vigor that bordered on vengeful.

“All right,” I said just before her next tug of the laces left me breathless.

For a moment Chace stood there, entranced.  Snapping out of if, he winked and left.

Chap
t
er 5

“
H
ow’d rehearsals go?”

Nodding, I sipped my coffee. “Not too bad, considering the little time we’ve had. Everyone seems pretty enthusiastic about the new production though, so that’s good.”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

We nodded at each other and sipped our coffees for a long and uncomfortable moment.  I let my gaze wander around the little coffee shop.  Couples sat close together, talking to one another with love and affection clearly written all over their faces. Four older men sat at a distant table, laughing as one regaled them with anecdotes. And at the table beside us three teenage girls were embroiled in a heated conversation about male heartthrobs.  Everywhere around us people converse with ease, while Chace and I sat tightlipped.

I knew he wanted to know about my trip to Paris; about what’d I’d found and discovered, but I didn’t know where to start.  So much had happened.

“Despite what you might think,” I finally said, “going to Paris turned out to be a real eye opener.  Turns out my connection to Kristine is even stronger than I’d thought. The good thing, however, is that I was able to completely put her to rest.”

As I spoke, I saw Chace relax and listen intently, a silly grin on his face.  It allowed me to relax and open up more.  I enjoyed sharing my trip to France with him and felt he understood what I’d gone through.  “And you know the strange thing that happened?  The moment I entered the Aragon estate, this old ancestral home the family has owned for generations, it was liked I’d been there before.  I felt so much of what had happened, as if it seeped through the walls.  This was the home where Kristine was once engaged to Rupert and everything that happened between them remains in that old house... almost as if neither of them can put this relationship behind them… let it rest, let it go.”

Chace reached for my hand.  “Well, I’m happy you were able to put your relationship with Aaron behind so easily.  If someone had told me Aaron was to propose to you, I would have instantly felt defeated. I mean, how can I possibly compete against a guy who has it all… who has so much to offer you. But to know you turned him down… Wow, you have no idea how that makes me feel.”

I couldn’t let his euphoria run on false hopes.  “Chace, it’s not about competition. I’m not some prize that you guys fight over. I’ll be honest with you. I care for you all in different ways, but I do care. But when you get right down to it, I’m simply too young.  I’m only eighteen and have plenty of time to think of marriage.  I just moved to New York, just started a career… I mean, I’m just starting to get to know myself.  And you know what?  I really like living on my own.  I love my apartment, something I really realized last night when I first got back, and I love my independence.”

“And you’re right.”  He squeezed my hand, his joyous grin as wide as a boy opening his birthday gift.

“Truth is, I’m not ready to become involved, seriously involved, with any guy.  Not now.  Not yet.”

His grin dropped a moment and he gave his head a quick tilt, but quickly recovered. “Sure.  That’s understandable. I mean, I’m young too. I know how important it is to think these things through. I have time, and I want to give you plenty of time. Although, I have to admit, I do know what I want… or rather who I want, and that is you. The day you're ready, the day you get tired of going home to an empty apartment, of going to sleep in a big, cold bed, I’ll be there.”

He shifted his chair closer to mine and put his arm around me. Smoldering and intense, his gaze held mine. Somehow, somewhere in that gaze, I could see he’d not really understood everything I’d just said.

“I want to be there for you, Annette,” he said as he brushed a lock of hair off my shoulder. His gaze dipped to my lips and he leaned closer until his lips brushed tenderly against mine.

The soft and innocent kiss was sweet, but it quickly turned into something completely different.  Ignoring the other patrons in the coffee shop, he pulled in close and kissed me deeply. My body surged for a titillating moment, drawn in by the intensity of his emotions, but I put my hand to his chest and gently reminded him of our surroundings.

“Chace, I really think we should keep things casual for a while.  There’s just too much going on around me now and I just can’t see myself getting serious… about anyone.”

He backed away and straightened his shoulders with a soft but distinctive huff of indignation.

“Please understand where I’m coming from Chace. This is nothing personal… nothing against you.  I just need to find myself.”

With a firm, if not aggressive, hold of his coffee cup, he took a big sip and set the cup down with a clatter. His gaze swept across the coffee shop, though clearly he saw nothing.

“This has nothing to do with Aaron, Chace.  It has nothing to do with his proposal or Paris or any of it.  It’s all me.  I’m not ready.  I’ve already told Aaron that we should remain friends, and I think that you and I…”

He swung his head around to me. “Friends?  You want us to be friends? No. I can’t, Annette.  The way I feel about you?  How can I see you as simply a friend when I feel so strongly for you?”

I smiled, at once touched by his affection and devotion, but concerned by his impatience. “Chace, if we’re meant to be, we’ll come together one day, when it’s right. You know as well as I do that we’re not ready for a serious commitment.  As much as I care for you, as much as I enjoy being with you, if you proposed right now I would turn it down, just as I did Aaron, and it wouldn’t be because I don’t feel anything for you, but because I’m not ready to think about marrying anyone right now.”

As I spoke, my mind flickered with images of Eric.  Though my words held some truth – I was too young – deep down I knew my reservations regarding a relationship with Aaron or Chace were because of Eric.