Lucky Charm (30 page)

“And then what happened?”

“The nobleman married his true love.”

“And the queen did not object?”

“She was impressed by the purity of love between the nobleman and the girl
. Y
ou see, the story of the underground passage only became known much later.” Etienne smiled. “Of course
,
some say that this is nothing but a story and the secret passage was put in by one of the later chateau owners to see his many lovers behind his wife’s back
.
I guess people choose to believe the story they like the most.”

“I prefer the first story.”

“Me too.”

They walked through a succession of rooms, each more opulent than the next
,
until they reached a dining room.

At first
,
Annabel proceeded to examine the room’s interior as she did with all the other rooms until she noticed that the long, rectangular dining table was set with food. She looked up questioningly at Etienne.

“I thought you’d never notice.” He grinned. “Shall we?” He motioned for her to take a seat at the table.

“You mean to tell me that this is for us?” she exclaimed in half disbelief.

“Guilty as charged.” Mischievous sparks danced in Etienne’s eye
s. H
e was clearly enjoying the effect of his surprise.

“But is this even allowed? There are historical artifacts all over this place
. W
hat if food gets spilled or something?”

“Then we’ll just have to be very careful.” Etienne pulled out a chair for her and took his seat beside her. “First things first.” He reached for the bottle of champagne in the ice bucket and expertly popped the cork. Then he filled Annabel’s glass as well as his own. “To a wonderful night.”

Annabel nodded, blushing slightly as she raised her glass to the toast. As she took a sip of the golden, bubbling liquid, her eyes met Etienne’s intent gaze, and she felt her body quiver all over.

“So how long do we have in this place?” Annabel asked after they finished their meal
. I
t was a delicious supper: duck pate for appetizer, elk for main course and profiteroles for desert.

“We have all night.” Etienne’s eyes looked at her intently as he drained his champagne glass. “Would you like to see the rest of the place?”

They walked into the next room, which must have served as the master bedroom at one time
. T
he walls were lined with exquisite tapestries
,
and in the middle of the room stood a vast bed with a tapestry canopy of royal blue.

“Look at how magnificent the tapestries are,” Annabel murmured, sensing Etienne’s hands around her waist.

“Yes, they are absolutely magnificent,” he whispered.

Annabel felt Etienne’s lips on the nape of her neck and turned around.

“You are not even looking!” she exclaimed in playful indignation.

“Guilty.” He nodded. “But in my defense, I was distracted by a much more beautiful view.” He leaned in closer, his lips running along the right side of her neck and then the left.

Annabel gasped for breath as Etienne’s hands swept over her body.
It’s too bad we are in a museum
, she thought, wishing they could make love right here and now on this vast, magnificent bed.

Etienne’s caresses became more intense, and now he was kissing her on the mouth, his rock-hard body pressing against her. It was getting hotter by the minute
,
and Annabel’s head was swimming
. A
ll she could think of was how much she wanted Etienne. A distant voice inside her reminded her that at any minute someone could walk in on them, but she no longer cared.

“I want you,” she whispered. “Make love to me now.”

“I thought you would never ask,” Etienne’s voice was hoarse with desire. With one swift motion
,
he lifted her into his arms and carried her onto the bed.

What if we get caught?
T
he last remnants of reason rang in Annabel’s mind, but the urges of her body drowned out the caution of her mind, and she gladly gave in
to Etienne’s caresses.

The next morning
,
Annabel woke up alone. At first she almost panicked when she saw the canopied bed and the tapestried walls, but then she remembered everything. With a groan, she leaned back into the soft mattress and burrowed her head in the pillow. What was she thinking
,
jumping into bed with a man she barely knew? Which led her to another question – where was Etienne? She jumped up on the bed
,
looking for signs of her companion from last night, but neither Etienne nor his clothes were anywhere to be seen.
Oh
,
no
, she thought, her pulse quickening with alar
m
. H
e left me here all alone! What if someone walks in on me? I could get arrested for indecent exposure. Is it even legal to have sex in historic landmarks?
she wondered, her mind racing feverishly.
And what sex it had been
, Annabel thought dreamily
. T
he intense memory was powerful enough to distract her from her current predicament: wild, passionate, all-consuming sex. Her lips curved into a smile of satisfaction as she remembered the heedless, fiery abandon that
had
consumed her last night.
It was t
he same abandon that now caused her to wake up naked in an unknown bed
in
an unknown house
. T
he sobering thought quickly brought her back to grim reality.

Where were her clothes? She had to get dressed and get out of there as soon as possible, hopefully before someone walked in on her and asked her what she was doing there, lying on
a
thirteenth century bed, albeit with a very modern, comfortable mattress. With relief
,
Annabel saw her clothes on the bench by the end of the bed. She was just about to grab her dress when she heard the door squeak open and
,
seized with panic, could not think of anything better to do than jump under the covers.

“Annabel? Are you under there?”

The sound of Etienne’s bemused voice filled her with relief
. A
s usual, she had overreacted.

“Annabel, what are you doing under there?” Etienne pulled the corner of the coverlet.

“Hiding.” She
blushed. “I didn’t know it was
you
.
I was afraid of getting caught.”

“So you hid under the covers?”

“At the time it seemed like a good idea.” She shrugged. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I’m sorry, I wanted to surprise you with breakfast.” Etienne motioned at the breakfast tray that he had put on the bed table.

Remembering her earlier panic attack, Annabel felt her face color.

Etienne poured two cups of hot chocolate and handed Annabel her cup. “I’m sorry I scared you
.
I hope this makes up for it.”

Annabel took a sip and felt the rich liquid warm her body. “It’s delicious. Thank you. I’m sorry for being such a scar
ed
y cat.”

“It’s my fault entirely
.
I should have woken you up.” He offered her a plate of croissants.

Realizing how hungry she was, Annabel bit into the flaky croissant, savoring its buttery flavor. She took another sip of the hot chocolate, her mind struggling to process everything that was happening to her
. L
ast night she had the best sex of her life with an incredibly handsome man who was now serving her breakfast in bed. This sounded too good to be true
. S
omething would have to go wrong eventually, but then maybe it would not. Maybe, just maybe
,
her streak of bad luck was over. Annabel patted the golden heart pendant around her neck
. S
he was not superstitious, but a little magic never hurt anybody.

“That’s a beautiful pendant,” Etienne remarked. “I meant to ask you about it.”

“It’s just a gift from a friend,” Annabel stammered
. S
he was not about to tell Etienne about her newly found belief in palm readers and charms.

“Well, it’s very becoming.”

“Thank you.”

They both fell quiet
,
and Annabel was overcome with sudden unease. Raking her mind for something to say, she finished the rest of her hot chocolate. What was wrong with her? Last night she had cried out with passion in Etienne’s arms, and this morning she was scraping for bits of conversation as though she were a gawky teenager. Why did she feel so ill at ease? She knew the answer only too well, but was afraid to admit it. Despite her resolution to keep things light, she had fallen for Etienne
. L
ast night was more than just casual sex for her
,
and Annabel dreaded the possibility that it was different for him.

“I had a great time last night.” Etienne reached for her hand.

“So did I.”

Etienne leaned in to kiss her, wiping away the earlier awkwardness between them. Etienne’s hands swept over her, and without a thought of hesitation
,
Annabel responded to his caresses. She stroked his broad torso, his muscular arms
,
and the taut muscles of his stomach. His lips kissed her hungrily
,
and she sensed the urge of his body to reunite with hers. Her desire for him was like a drug
,
and she had no idea how
she would ever recover from it,
as every fiber of
her being throbbed with desire
.

Shortly afterward, w
ith a sigh of satisfaction Annabel leaned against Etienne’s shoulder. Up until now, she had no idea that her body was capable of experiencing such ecstasy
. I
t was like being high on the most powerful and addictive of drugs
-
not that she had much experience with drugs aside from an experiment with mushrooms in college, which had left her nauseous for two days. Well, she was certain that sex with Etienne was way better than any drug invented and way more addictive.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“It’s half past eleven. Are you in a rush to be somewhere?” Etienne traced his finger along her collarbone.

“No.” She shook her head, thinking that she could make love to him all day. “But what time do we have to get out of here?”

“Oh, that…I have a confession to make.”

“Yes?” Annabel held her breath, certain that bad news was to follow
. E
verything had been way too perfect.

“We can stay here as long as we want
.
I own this place.”

At first Annabel remained quiet, unsure of what to make of Etienne’s announcement
. S
he was both surprised and a little hurt by his charade.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I don’t know
. I
t was stupid of me
,
and I’m sorry. I guess it’s just that I find that people often are more interested in what I do than in who I am.”

“And what is it that you do?” Annabel asked quietly
. T
hat was another thing that had been bothering her since she
had
met Etienne – his reluctance to talk about his work. Meanwhile, she had told him everything, baring her body and her soul.

Etienne took her hand and pressed it to his lips.

“Please let me explain. This chateau has been in the family for hundreds of years, but while my ancestors
were
wealthy at some point, there is nothing left of the fortune now. For years
,
my family had been struggling to keep the property, until I inherited the property
when my father died
and found it was mortgaged up to the hilt. Everyone told me that I had no choice but to sell it, but I refused. Now, thinking back, I’m not sure why I was so adamant about it
.
I never lived here as a child
. I
t was not as though this place had any sentimental value to me. I guess it was more the challenge itself that got me fighting. At the time I was fresh out of college
,
and I could not wait to try out everything I’
d
learned in school in real life. I wanted to go into property management
,
and what better opportunity than to manage
my
own property?

I thought I had it all worked out
.
I would first start by renting the place out for special events with a goal of eventually turning it into a hotel. Well, I learned quickly that it took more than reading a few books on finance and marketing to know how to run a business. At the time, the property was in great disrepair
,
and to fix it
would
cost a fortune, which I did not have, but at the same time
,
I could not start renting the place out without fixing it first. At some point
,
I almost threw in
the
towel, which was when Simon came to the rescue. He was just starting out in finance then
. H
e was a junior associate on a loan deal for a small movie studio. The director was looking for a place to shoot a scene about an impoverished count or some such thing
. I
t turned out that the dilapidated state of this place suited them just fine. With the proceeds
,
I was able to make a few repairs
.
I sta
rted
by fixing one room at a time, and gradually I was able to pull in some income from special events. The first few years were a struggle, but then the demand started to pick
up,
and pretty soon I booked the calendar for a year ahead. Now the movie business makes up the majority of the clients
. T
here is always one historical drama or other being filmed
,
and word of mouth is the best referral one can ask for.”