Fantasy Lover

Chapter 10

Something was wrong. Grace could feel it in her bones as she drove them into the Quarter. Julian sat beside her, staring out the window.
She'd tried several times to get him to talk, but he remained tight-lipped. All she could figure was that he was depressed by what had happened in the bathroom. It must be hard for a man used to being in control of himself to lose it that way.
Pulling into the public lot, she parked the car.
"Ooo, it's hot," she said as she got out, and was immediately assaulted by the thick, heavy air.
She looked over at Julian who was truly dazzling in the dark sunglasses she'd bought for him. He'd already started to sweat.
"Is it too hot out here for you?" she asked, thinking of how awful it must be for him in jeans and a knit shirt.
"I'm not going to die from it, if that's what you mean," he said sardonically.
"Just a little testy, are we?"
"I'm sorry," he said as he joined her. "I'm taking things out on you that aren't your fault."
"It's all right. I'm used to being a scapegoat. In fact, I've made a profession of it."
Since she couldn't see his eyes, she couldn't tell if he was amused by her words or not.
"Is that what your patients do?"
She nodded. "It can get really hairy some days. I don't mind the women yelling at me so much as the men."
"Have they ever hurt you?" The protectiveness in his voice startled her. And it felt strangely wonderful. She'd missed having someone to be protective of her.
"No, they haven't," she said, trying to dispel the tenseness of his body. And she hoped it stayed that way, but after Rodney's call, she wasn't so sure that he might be the one exception who ended up hurting her.
You're being ridiculous. Just because he's creepy doesn't mean he's dangerous.
Julian's face was stern and harsh. "I think you should find a new occupation."
"Maybe," she said dismissively. She had no intention of giving up her job. "So, where would you like to go first?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Makes little difference to me."
"Then let's go to the aquarium. At least it's air-conditioned."
Taking his arm, she led him across the lot, and down the Moonwalk toward the aquarium.
Julian remained silent as she paid their admission, and then led him inside. He didn't speak again until they walked through the manmade water tunnel that allowed them to watch all the different species of sea creatures in their natural habitat.
"Incredible," he breathed as a huge stingray swam over his head. The look on his face reminded her of a child. An inner light sparkled in his eyes, warming her heart.
Suddenly, her pager went off. Grace cursed, until she saw the number.
Someone was calling her from the office on a Saturday?
How weird.
She dug her cell phone out of her purse and called.
"Hey, Grace," Beth said as soon as she answered. "Listen, I'm down here in my office. We were broken into last night."
"No! Who would do such a thing?"
Grace caught the curious look Julian directed at her. She offered him a tentative smile as she listened to Beth Livingston, the psychiatrist who shared office space with her and Luanne.
"I have no idea. They've got a crime scene unit down here taking prints. As far as I can tell, though, nothing important was taken. Did you have anything valuable in your office?"
"Just my computer."
"It's still here. Anything else? Money or anything?"
"No. I never leave valuables there."
"Hang on, the officer wants to talk to you."
Grace waited until she heard a man's voice. "Dr. Alexander?"
"Yes."
"I'm Officer Allred. It looks like someone took your Rolodex and a few files. Any idea who would want them?"
"No, I don't. Do you need me to come down there?"
"I don't think so. Basically, we're just pulling prints, but if you can think of anything else, please give us a call." He handed the phone back to Beth.
"Do you need me?" Grace asked.
"Nah. There's really nothing you can do. It's actually pretty boring."
"Okay, buzz me if you need something."
"Will do."
Grace hung up the phone and returned it to her purse.
"Is something wrong?" Julian asked.
"Someone broke into my office last night."
He frowned. "Why?"
"I have no idea." Grace duplicated his frown as she thought the matter over. "I can't figure out why anyone would want my Rolodex. Since I bought my Palm Pilot last spring, I haven't even used it. It's just odd."
"Do we need to leave?"
She shook her head. "Nope."
Julian allowed Grace to lead him around the various tanks as she read the foreign writing to him that explained the different breeds and habitats.
Gods, how he loved the sound of her voice when she read to him. There was something so comforting in it. He draped an arm over her shoulders as they walked. She placed her arm around his waist, curling one finger in his belt loop.
The gesture warmed him. And it was then he realized he lived for the feel of her body close to his. And he'd like it a whole lot more if they were both naked.
When she smiled up at him, he felt his heart pound out of control. What was it about this woman that touched him in a way no one ever had before?
But then he knew. She was the first woman to see him. Not his looks, not his body, not his warrior's prowess. She saw inside his soul.
He'd never known such a person existed.
Grace treated him like a friend. And she was genuinely interested in helping him. Or at least she seemed to be.
It's part of her job.
Or was it?
Could a woman as wonderful and kind as her ever really care for a man like him?
She stopped at another plaque. Julian stood directly behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She idly stroked his forearms as she read.
His body on fire for her, he leaned his chin down to rest on top of her head as he listened to her voice and watched the fish swim. The smell of her skin invaded his head as he longed to be back at her house where he could strip her clothes from her.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Grace. In fact, he didn't think he'd ever wanted one the way he did her. He wanted to lose himself inside her. To feel her nails scoring his back as he made her scream in release.
May the Fates have mercy on him, but she was under his skin.
That's what truly scared him. For she held a place inside him that could hurt him in a way he'd never been hurt before.
She, alone, could finally break him.
It was almost one before they left the aquarium. Grace cringed as soon as they went back outside where the heat assailed her. On days like this, she wondered how anyone had survived before air-conditioning.
She looked over at Julian and smiled. Now he was someone who could finally answer that question for her. "Tell me, what did you guys do to survive days that were this hot?"
He arched an arrogant brow. "This isn't hot. If you want hot, try marching an army across a desert, wearing armor with only half a bladder of water to sustain you."
She cringed for him. "Now that sounds hot."
He didn't respond.
Grace glanced over to the square, which was packed with people. "Do you want to see Selena while we're out and about? She should be at her stand. Saturday is usually a big day for her."
"I'm just following you."
Taking his hand, Grace led him down the street, over to Jackson Square. Sure enough, Selena was at her stand with a client. Grace started to walk past without interrupting them, when Selena waved her over.
"Hey, Gracie, you remember Ben? Or rather Dr. Lewis from school?"
Grace hesitated as she recognized the portly man in his mid-forties.
Remember him? He'd given her a D, and brought down her entire average. Not to mention he had an ego the size of Alaska, and loved to embarrass students in class. In fact, she remembered one poor girl crying when he handed out his sadistic final exam to them. The man had actually laughed at the girl's reaction.
"Hi," Grace said, trying not to let her distaste show. She supposed the man couldn't help being obnoxious. A Harvard Ph.D., he thought the world revolved around him.
"Miss Alexander," he said in that same snide tone she remembered and loathed so much.
"Actually, it's Dr. Alexander," she corrected, delighting in the way he widened his eyes in surprise.
"Forgive me," he said in a voice that was anything other than apologetic.
"Ben and I were talking about ancient Greece," Selena said, casting a devilish grin at Julian. "I'm of the opinion that Aphrodite was the daughter of Uranus."
Ben rolled his eyes. "I keep telling you that the accepted opinion is that she was born of Zeus and Dione. When are you going to give in, and join the rest of us?"
Selena ignored him. "So tell me, Julian, who's right?"
"You are," he said to Selena.
Ben raked a haughty look over Julian. Grace knew he saw nothing in Julian, except a very handsome man, who most likely knew only beer commercials and cars. "Young man, have you ever read Homer? Do you even know who he is?"
Grace stifled her laughter at the question. She couldn't wait to hear Julian's response.
Julian laughed out loud. "I've read Homer extensively. The tales attributed to him are an amalgam of legends told and retold until the true facts are lost to antiquity, whereas Hesiod wrote the Theogony with the direct aid of Clio."
Dr. Lewis said something in ancient Greek.
"It's more than just an opinion, Doctor," Julian responded in English. "It happens to be fact."
Ben took another look at Julian, but she could still tell he wasn't quite ready to believe someone who looked like Julian would have a clue about his chosen field. "And how would you know?"
Julian answered in Greek.
For the first time since she'd met the man a decade before, Grace saw the doctor look amazed. "My God," he gasped. "You speak as if you were born to it."
Julian cast an amused smile to Grace.
"I told you," Selena said. "He knows the Greek gods and goddesses better than anyone on earth."
Dr. Lewis noticed the ring on Julian's hand. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked. "Is that a general's ring?"
Julian nodded. "It is."
"Would you mind if I looked at it?"
Julian slid it from his finger and handed it to him.
Dr. Lewis sucked his breath in sharply. "Macedonian? Second century B.C., I would presume."
"Very good."
"It's an incredible reproduction," Ben said, handing it back.
Julian returned it to his hand. "It's not a reproduction."
"No!" Ben gasped in disbelief. "It can't be an original. It's far too pristine."
"It was held by a private collector," Selena inserted.
Ben looked back and forth between them. "How did you get it?" he asked Julian.
Julian paused as he remembered the day it had been awarded to him. He and Kyrian of Thrace had been promoted together after they had single-handedly saved Themopoly from the Romans.
It had been a long, brutal, and bloody fight.
Their army had broken and left the two of them alone to defend the town. Julian had expected Kyrian to abandon him as well, but the young fool had just smiled at him, grabbed a sword for each hand, and said, "It's a beautiful day to die. What say we slay as many of these bastards as we can before we pay Charon?"
A complete and utter lunatic, Kyrian had always had more guts than brains.
Afterward, they had drunk each other under the table in celebration. And in the morning, they had awakened and been promoted.
Gods, of all the people Julian had known in Macedonia, he missed Kyrian most. Kyrian was the only man who had ever stood at his back and defended it.
"It was a gift," Julian said.
Ben glanced at Julian's hand, his gaze filled with covetous awe. "Would you consider selling it? I'd be willing to pay quite a bit for it."
"Never," Julian said as he thought over the wounds he had received during the battle for Themopoly. "You've no idea what I had to go through to get this."
Ben shook his head. "I wish someone would give me a gift like that. Have you any idea how much it's worth?"
"My weight in gold, last I checked."
Ben laughed out loud, and smacked his hand against Selena's card table. "Good one. That was the ransom to get back captured generals, wasn't it?"
"For those too cowardly to die fighting, it was."
A new respect shone in Ben's eyes as he regarded Julian. "Any idea who it belonged to?"
Selena answered for Julian. "Julian of Macedon. Ever heard of him, Ben?"
Ben's jaw dropped. His eyes widened. "Are you serious? Do you know who that was?"
Selena made a strange face.
Assuming she didn't, Ben continued speaking. "Tesius wrote that Julian was going to be the next Alexander the Great. Julian was the son of Diokles of Sparta, also known as Diokles the Butcher. That man made the Marquis de Sade look like Ronald McDonald.
"Rumor had it, Julian was born of a union between Aphrodite and the general, after Diokles had saved one of her temples from desecration. The modern accepted opinion, of course, is that his mother was actually one of Aphrodite's priestesses."
"Really?" Grace asked.
Julian rolled his eyes. "No one cares who Julian was. That man died a long time ago."
Ben ignored him as he continued to flaunt his knowledge. "Known to the Romans as Augustus Julius Punitor..." He glanced to Grace and added for her benefit, "Julian the Great Punisher. He and Kyrian of Thrace cut a trail of slaughter through the Mediterranean during the Fourth Macedonian War against Rome. Julian despised Rome, and vowed he'd see the city fall to his army. He and Kyrian damn near succeeded in bringing Rome to her knees."
Julian's jaw flexed. "Do you know what happened to Kyrian of Thrace?"
Ben let out a low whistle. "His wasn't a pretty end. He was captured and crucified by the Romans in one forty-seven B.C."
Julian flinched at the words. His eyes troubled, he toyed with his ring. "That man was probably one of the best warriors who ever lived. He loved battle like no one I've ever known." He shook his head. "I remember Kyrian once drove his chariot up and over a shield wall where he broke the backbone of the Romans. It allowed his soldiers to defeat them with only a handful of losses." He frowned. "I can't believe they ever captured him."
Ben shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, once Julian disappeared, Kyrian was the only Macedonian general worthy of leading an army, so the Romans went after him with everything they had."
"What happened to Julian?" Grace asked, wondering what the historians had to say about the matter.
Julian glared at her.
"No one knows," Ben said. "It's one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world. Here you have this general who can't be defeated in arms by anyone, and then poof, at age thirty-two, he vanishes without a trace."
Ben tapped his hand against Selena's table. "The last anyone saw of Julian was at the battle of Conjara. In a brilliant move, he tricked Livius into giving up his impregnable position. It was one of the worst defeats in Roman history."
"Who cares?" Julian groused.
Ben ignored his interruption. "After the battle, Julian was reputed to have sent word to Scipio the Younger that he was coming for him in the name of vengeance for Scipio's defeat of the Macedonians. Terrified, Scipio gave up his military service in Macedonia and volunteered to fight in Spain instead."
Ben shook his head. "But before Julian could carry out the threat, he vanished. His family was found slaughtered in their home. And that's where it gets interesting." Ben looked at Selena. "The Macedonian accounts say he was mortally wounded by Livius during the battle, and in incredible pain he rode home to kill his family to keep them from being taken as slaves by his enemies. Roman accounts claim Scipio sent several of his soldiers to attack Julian in the middle of the night. Supposedly, they killed him with his family, then cut up his body and hid the pieces."
Julian scoffed at that. "Scipio was a coward and a bully. He would never have dared to attack m-"
"So," Grace said, interrupting Julian before he could give himself away. "Nice weather, eh?"
"Scipio was not a coward," Ben said to Julian. "No one can argue his successes in Spain."
She saw hatred flash across Julian's eyes.
Ben didn't seem to notice. "Young man, that ring of yours is absolutely priceless. I would love to know how someone got a hold of it. For that matter, I'd kill to know what happened to its original owner."
Grace exchanged an uncomfortable look with Selena.
Julian smirked wryly at Ben. "Julian of Macedon incurred the wrath of the gods and was punished for his arrogance."
"That's another explanation, I suppose." His watch alarm went off. "Damn, I have to go pick up my wife."
He got up and held his hand out to Julian. "We didn't meet properly, I'm Ben Lewis."
"Julian," he said, shaking his hand.
Ben laughed. Until he realized Julian wasn't joking. "Really?"
"Named for your Macedonian general, you might say."
"Your father must have been like mine. In love with all things Greek."
"His allegiance was actually to Sparta."
Ben laughed even harder. He glanced back at Selena. "Why don't you bring him to our next Socrates club meeting? I'd love for the guys to meet him. It's not often I find someone who knows Greek history almost as well as I do."
He turned his attention back to Julian. "It's been a pleasure."
"Later," Ben said, waving to Selena.
"Well," Selena said to Julian once Ben had vanished into the crowd. "You, my friend, have accomplished the impossible. You have just impressed one of the leading ancient Greek scholars in this country."
Julian didn't seem to care, but Grace did. "Lanie, do you think it's possible that Julian could be a professor once he breaks the curse? I was thinking he'd-"
"Don't, Grace," Julian said, interrupting her.
"Don't what? You're going to need something-"
"I'm not staying here."
The cold, emotionless gaze was the same one he had worn the first night she'd conjured him. And it sliced through her.
"What do you mean?" Grace asked.
He averted his gaze. "Athena has offered me a way to return home. Once the curse is broken, she'll send me back to Macedonia."
Grace struggled to breathe. "I see," she said, even though inside she was dying. "You'll just use my body, then leave." Her throat constricted. "At least I won't need Selena to drive me home afterward."
Julian flinched as if she'd slapped him. "What do you want from me, Grace? Why would you want me to stay here?"
She didn't know the answer to that. All she knew was that she didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay.
But not if he didn't want to.
"You know what," she said, growing angry at the thought of his leaving her. "I don't want you to stay here. In fact, why don't you go home with Selena for a few days?" She looked at Selena. "Would you mind?"
Selena's mouth opened and closed like a fish gulping for air.
Julian reached for her. "Grace-"
"Don't touch me," she said, wringing her arm away from him. "It makes my skin crawl."
"Grace!" Selena snapped. "I can't believe you-"
"It's all right," Julian said, his voice empty and cold. "At least she didn't spit in my face with her dying breath."
She'd hurt him. Grace could see it in his eyes, but then he had hurt her, too. Terribly.
"I'll see you later," she said to Selena, then left Julian standing there.
Selena let out a long, slow breath as she looked up at Julian while he watched Grace walk away from them. His entire body was rigidly still, and she saw the fierce tic in his jaw.
"They shoot, they score. A direct hit straight through the heart and into the raw nerves."
Julian pinned her with a hostile glare. "Tell me, Oracle. What should I have said?"
Selena shuffled her cards. "I don't know," she said wistfully. "I guess you can never go wrong with honesty."
Julian rubbed his eyes as he sat down in the chair before Selena's table. He hadn't meant to hurt Grace.
And he would never forget the look on her face as she spat those words at him. "Don't touch me. It makes my skin crawl."
He struggled to breathe through the agony in his chest. The Fates were still mocking him.
It must be a boring day for them up on Olympus.
"You want me to do a reading for you?" Selena asked, dragging his thoughts away from the past.
"Sure," he said. "Why not?" She couldn't tell him anything he didn't already know.
"What's your question?"
"Will I ever..." Julian paused before he asked her the same question he'd once asked the Oracle at Delphi.
"Will I ever break the curse?" he asked quietly.
Selena shuffled her cards, then laid three of them out. Her eyes widened.
He didn't need her to read them. He could see for himself, a card with a tower being struck by lightning, a card of three swords piercing a heart, and a demon holding the chains of two people.
"It's all right," he said to Selena. "I never really thought it would come to pass."
"That's not what they say," she whispered. "But you have one hell of a battle to come."
He laughed bitterly. "Battles I can handle." It was the ache in his heart that was going to kill him.
Grace wiped the tears from her face as she pulled into the driveway. She clenched her teeth as she got out and slammed the door shut.
To hell with Julian. He could just stay trapped in that book for eternity. She wasn't some piece of meat to serve his needs.
How could he-
She fumbled with the key to her door.
"How could he not?" she whispered as she found the right key and opened the door.
Her anger drained out of her. She was being unreasonable, and she knew it. It wasn't Julian's fault Paul had been a selfish pig. And it wasn't his fault that she had a fear of being used.
She was blaming Julian for something he had no part in, and yet...
She just wanted someone who loved her. Someone who wanted to stay with her.
She'd hoped that by helping Julian, he would stay around and...
Closing the door, she shook her head. No matter how much she wanted it to be different, it wasn't meant to be. She'd heard what Ben had said about Julian's life. The story Julian, himself, had told the children about his battle.
She remembered the way he had darted across the street and saved that child's life.
Julian had been born and bred to lead armies. He didn't belong in her world.
He belonged in his own.
It was selfish of her to try and keep him like some pet she'd rescued.
Grace trudged up the stairs, her heart heavy. She would just have to guard herself from him. That was all she could do. Because deep inside she knew the more she learned about him, the more she cared for him. And if Julian had no intention of staying, then she would end up getting hurt.
She was halfway up the stairs when someone knocked on her front door. For an instant, her spirits lifted as she thought it might be Julian-Until she got to the front door and saw the outline of a small man on her porch.
She cracked open the door, then gaped.
It was Rodney Carmichael.
He wore a dark brown suit with a yellow shirt and red tie. His short, black hair was slicked back and he offered her a beaming smile. "Hi, Grace."
"Mr. Carmichael," she said coldly, even though her heart was pounding. There was something indefinably creepy about this little, wiry man. "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I thought we could-"
"You need to leave."
He frowned at her. "Why? I just want to talk to you."
"Because I don't see patients in my home."
"Yeah, but I'm not-"
"Mr. Carmichael," she said sternly. "I really need you to leave. If you don't, I'm calling the police."
Unaffected by the anger in her voice, he nodded with saintly patience. "Oh, so you must be busy. I can relate. I have a lot of stuff to do, too. How 'bout I come by later? We could have dinner tonight."
Dumbfounded, she stared at him. "No."
He smiled at that. "C'mon, Grace. Don't be that way. You know we're meant for each other. If you'd just let me-"
"Leave!"
"Okay, but I'll be back. We have a lot of things to talk about." He turned around and headed across her porch.
Her heart hammering, Grace shut and locked the door.
"I'm going to kill you, Luanne," she said as she made her way to the kitchen. As she passed through the living room, a shape in her window caught her attention.
It was Rodney.
Aghast, Grace picked up the phone and called the police.
It was almost an hour later before they came. Rodney stayed outside the entire time, moving from window to window to watch her through the closed slits of her blinds, and it wasn't until he saw the police car pulling into the driveway that he ran across her backyard and vanished.
Grace took a deep breath to calm her raw nerves, then went to let the officers in.
They stayed only long enough to tell her there was nothing they could do to keep Rodney permanently away from her. The best she could do would be to swear out a restraining order, but since she was required to treat Rodney until Luanne returned, that was useless.
"I'm sorry," the officer said in the doorway as she showed them out. "But he didn't break any laws that would allow us to really get him out of your hair. You could swear out a warrant for trespassing, but unless he has priors, there's not a whole lot they're going to do to him."
The young officer gave her a sympathetic look. "I know it's not much comfort. We can try to patrol the area a little more, but the summer is a really busy time of year for us. Personally, I'd advise you to stay with a friend for a while."
"All right, thanks." As soon as they were gone, she rushed through the house making sure all the doors and windows were locked tight.
Apprehensive, Grace looked around the house, half expecting Rodney to enter through a crack in the wall like a cockroach.
If only she knew whether or not Rodney was dangerous. His report from the state hospital mentioned his routine deviant behavior of butting into women's lives, but he'd never harmed anyone physically. He'd just terrified his victims with his blind persistence, which was why he'd been sent to the hospital for evaluation to begin with.
The psychologist in Grace said there was nothing particularly dangerous about Rodney, but the woman in her was scared anyway.
The last thing she wanted was to become a statistic.
No, she couldn't stay here waiting for him to come back and find her alone.
Rushing upstairs, she went to pack.