Octavia's Time [The Klawinken] (Siren Publishing Allure) (6 page)

“I dream with as much order as you do. I just choose whether I wish to follow what I don’t necessarily feel is an exact science. You, on the other hand, are a blind follower.”

“If you mean do I follow our code that includes keeping the power of our people within the order of the life cycle that, in turn, keeps us within the boundaries of not only decency and propriety, but the will of our ancestors, then the answer is yes,” he answered, an edge creeping into his voice.

“Believe it or not, I value those things, too. Again, I just choose to believe that the mating ritual is somewhat archaic…much like an arranged marriage. Women also used to kill themselves when their mate died. Luckily, we saw that for the cruel farce that it was. I believe that you gather more insight from mating with many…something that also happens to be a lot more fun.” He laughed.

“You don’t have the slightest inkling about what it means to faithful to one mate or to feel the love of oneness. Thank God I’m not like you Tobias.” He saw Tobias’s jaw become rigid as his gibe hit home. “So tell me, why the sudden interest in Mathieu Lacroix?”

For a moment, Tobias just stared at him, and then with a shrug he said, “You and I have a common interest,”

“That hardly seems possible,” Mathieu quipped.

“Such arrogance for a man who knows so little about the woman he professes to love.”

Mathieu’s eyes narrowed, his heart skipping a beat.

“You see,” Tobias continued, his gaze turning razor-sharp, “the little sister has come to me in my dreams.”

Mathieu felt the blood drain from his face. “Impossible.”

“Impossible or not, she’s there, and the older she becomes, the more vivid are the dreams.”

“I don’t believe you. My dreams have already passed Council.”

“I’d heard that. And then it came to me. Possibly her sexual nature is more in line with her mother’s. And if that’s the case, she cannot only handle more than one mate at the same time, she may crave it. This could be a fun ride for both of us when she comes of age. I’ve never been averse to sharing.”

Mathieu used every bit of his control to check the sudden anger that threatened to spill over into his fists. “Well, I am averse to sharing. And for the record, her mother was ill.”

“Her mother’s illness,” Tobias said sarcastically, “is that what you call it. Marta Andreas was Beaucoup, a prostitute, a whore, a woman of the night. In times past, her kind, although rare for a Klawinken, would have been identified early and given the proper training and not mainstreamed into the mating cycle. Her mother couldn’t bear for her to bring shame to the family with her freakish desire for sex, so she hid the signs of her daughter’s need and allowed her to mate like her sisters. Her poor husband had no idea what she was until it was too late. In the end, he didn’t even know if Evenela and Octavia came from his own seed.

“I knew there was a reason why you and I don’t socialize. You, like your family, enjoy thinking you’re an authority, even going so far as to hurt others who don’t subscribe to your brand of truth.” Mathieu fought to keep his outrage within the confines of his own mind that pictured his fists smashing into Tobias’s arrogant face.

“I don’t lie, Mathieu, and I’m only repeating what everyone already knows, including you. Some say that Evenela and Octavia both could be the daughters of one of their aunts’ husbands. Some have even gone so far as to say the aunts may have even been responsible for the accident that killed Marta and her husband, James.

“It then makes sense that Marta would have documents drawn up to have her two daughters brought up by a non-Klawinken. She probably knew her sisters wanted her dead, and for that matter, her children. And the fact that the sisters and the mother let the documents stand when any family member could have easily had the custody decision overturned, well…that in itself speaks volumes.”

Tobias downed his drink and smiled. “And now here we are, welcoming at least one of them back into the Klawinken family. It does make for some interesting conversation, wouldn’t you say, Mathieu?”

“Marta and James Andreas died in a tragic car accident,” Mathieu stated, his voice a low growl. “My own father was the acting coroner and pronounced Marta and James dead on the scene. There was a deer in the road, and they had both been drinking. They were killed immediately upon impact. There was no hope of reviving them. It was an unavoidable accident. Evenela was only three years old and Octavia, an infant. The family abided by their dying sister’s wishes. Besides, most Klawinken don’t know who they are until they come of age anyway.”

“That may be true, but why aren’t the Andreas’ here to welcome Evenela back? I haven’t seen one member of James’s family here tonight. But then”—he smirked—“I think we know the answer to that, don’t we?”

“This conversation is over.” Mathieu forced himself to turn his back toward Tobias before he did something he knew would embarrass his family.

Ignoring Mathieu’s back, Tobias continued, his voice guttural. “Tread carefully, Mathieu. I’m no one to turn your back on.”

Mathieu didn’t respond. He knew if he did, it would be with his fists.

Tobias leaned over to Mathieu, his face near his ear. “When Octavia comes of age, I look forward to getting to know her thoroughly.”

Mathieu turned around sharply, his face within inches of Tobias. “She’s mine. I won’t let you touch her, and if you try, I’ll make you wish you couldn’t dream at all…death will be preferable.”

“If I decide I want her, you won’t stop me. However, I might let you fuck her depending on how gracious I’m feeling.”

“Mathieu.” His father came up from behind him, placing his hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly to keep his son seated.

Tobias looked up and smiled. “Hello, Mr. Lacroix. Nice to see you again.”

“Tobias.” Mathieu’s father nodded.

He leaned toward his son. “Mathieu, your mother and I have a few people we want you to say hello to that we haven’t seen in sometime. Plus, I think Evenela and Carl are about to formally announce their engagement in the next few minutes.”

Tobias just smiled at the two men. “If you’ll excuse me, I must leave you. It was nice seeing you both. I’m sure that our paths will cross again in the near future, Mathieu. I look forward to it.”

Mathieu’s anger was palatable. He felt bile rising in his throat. He wanted to take Tobias down, right there and then. Tobias’s eyes glittered dangerously in Mathieu’s direction, but he pushed himself away from the bar to walk away toward a voluptuous redhead who giggled with excitement as he closed the distance between them. Mathieu had never felt such anger toward one of his own kind.
He’s not my kind. And he’s not going to touch Octavia or I will kill the bastard.

“Watch yourself with that one, Mathieu,” his father’s voice spoke close to his ear. “He’s dangerous…more dangerous than you can imagine. Whatever he said to you, son, let it go.”

His father need not worry. He wasn’t about to do anything stupid, but he wasn’t about to let any man, especially Tobias, get his hands on Octavia, either. It was then that he knew he needed to be close to her, not only in his dreams but close enough to protect her from Tobias.

Octavia’s parents arrived home later than planned on Sunday. They had enjoyed themselves at the car show and had even met up with a few of her father’s friends from work for dinner and drinks. She went to bed right after she knew they were home safe and sound. She was so tired. She had hardly slept since Mathieu had walked into her life. All she could think about was their mating and how afraid she was that the Klawinken hold he had on her would become stronger.

Monday morning she woke feeling somewhat refreshed. She hadn’t dreamed, and to Mathieu’s credit, he had kept his word and not contacted her. What she really wanted to do was to have one of those do-nothing days, one where she could stay home and let the day go by without her. However, if she did, her mother would think she was sick, and she really didn’t enjoy the thought of her mother hovering over her all day. She missed her first class, but arrived right on time for her literature class where Professor Barstole was getting ready to hand out a quiz to the class. She was glad she had read the chapter they were being tested on before Mathieu had arrived to pierce her nipples because she doubted she would have been able to concentrate long enough to have comprehended what she was reading after his visit. Her classes had been the last thing on her mind. Even now, she was having a hard time concentrating on the quiz.

Professor Barstole continued to give her meaningful looks during class that were blatantly flirtatious. He was making it very obvious, at least to her, that he was more than interested. She forced herself to smile and not look away. She had an obligation to find out if Mathieu was right about their mystical connection, and what better way than to flirt with another man and see if anything developed. If it did, then Mathieu couldn’t possibly be her mate.

After class, she walked to the front of the room and approached his desk. He looked up, and she could tell he was pleased to see her standing there. “Professor Barstole,” she began, “I was wondering when you would have some time that we could talk about the project you gave us on Willa Cather. I find her very interesting as a woman and an author, but I have some questions about the direction of the project and exactly what you’re looking for concerning her comparison with Sarah Orne Jewette.”

“I’m always available to my students to answer questions. But I think you’re right. We’ll have to schedule a time to discuss your questions. It’s important that you begin with the proper thesis. Both women were ahead of their time, and their stories are not only a reflection of where they grew up but of the obstacles they faced as women in a man’s world.”

“I know. It’s just that I’m having trouble finding my focus. I was hoping you might help me do that.”

“That’s what I’m here for. How about tomorrow, say around seven o’clock. We could grab a bite to eat while we discuss your paper.”

“That works for me. Do you want to meet somewhere here on campus?”

“Ordinarily I would say yes, but I’m not sure we would have much privacy because students would be coming up to me all through dinner. Have you heard of the Country Squire? It’s not far, just up Route One.”

“I know where it is. I could meet you there.”

Octavia’s insides were in turmoil. Leading a man on was not something she had ever done before. It didn’t sit well with her, but hers were not ordinary circumstances, and she had been attracted to him prior to meeting Mathieu. For a moment, she seemed to slip into a waking dream as she imagined herself in a room by herself. Mathieu wasn’t there, but the man from the shadows was. Of course she couldn’t see him, but she could sense him watching her. She felt her nipples harden. She desperately wanted to see this man who hid himself from her. She closed her eyes and felt his lips lightly touch hers before she opened them with a start. Professor Barstole was looking at her expectantly. She had not heard one word he had spoken to her. Breathing deeply, she attempted to slow the beating of her heart before she smiled sweetly and asked him if he would mind repeating himself.

* * * *

The Country Squire didn’t look too crowded when she walked in the entrance and up to the hostess stand. She mentioned Dr. Barstole’s name and was shown to their table where he was waiting for her.

“Octavia. Right on time. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too, Professor Barstole. Thanks so much for taking the time to see me.”

“As I said before, that’s what I’m here for.” He smiled. The waiter came to their table to refill his glass and to pour Octavia a glass of the same wine he was drinking. “Oh, and do call me Eric. Professor Barstole is so formal and quite unnecessary when we’re away from the classroom.”

She smiled and took a sip of the wine. It was sweet, exactly the kind she liked. Most people liked very dry wines, but she loved the dessert wines and those with a fruity base. “This is very good, Eric.”

“I’m glad you like it. I also took the liberty of ordering for us. It’s a variety platter that I think you’ll enjoy.”

“Okay.” Relieved, she surmised that he was probably anxious to return home and ordered to speed up their meeting. However, what he said next made her think differently.

“You look quite lovely, Octavia. You have the most beautiful hair, and your skin is luminescent.”

“Why thank you,” she said, feeling slightly uncomfortable when his eyes lingered on her face and then casually lowered to her breasts.

The food arrived, and still there was no talk of Willa Cather. He entertained her with some not-so-funny stories that he thought were hilarious about other professors that she found completely inappropriate. He also made sure her wine glass was never empty. However, she held her tongue and just smiled and listened politely. They had just finished dessert when she excused herself to visit the ladies’ room. She stood up and immediately felt the effects of the sweet drink. When, she returned, he was leaving a tip for the waiter.

“Octavia, I was thinking as I watched you walk to the ladies’ room that possibly you may have had just a little too much to drink. I believe it would be for the best if I drive you home.”

She hated to admit it, but she knew she was in no shape to drive, and calling her parents wasn’t an option she wanted to pursue. They would be mortified by such behavior, especially if they found out she was with one of her professors.