BXBX NOVEL Chapter 136: Why Wasn’t It Me?
"Okay," Evian said as he stepped aside to allow her in while giving the Baroness a pointed look.
"Oh," Carleine said, taken aback by the presence of the sultry woman in Evian\'s bedroom, and as she looked from Karenssa\'s scanty and accentuating outfit to Evian\'s slightly open Bathrobe, her mind reeled with the possibilities,
"I didn\'t know you had company."
"The Baroness was just leaving," Evian said and then raised a brow at Karenssa, "Right?"
The Baroness smiled lightly and then walked to the door, paused to place a hand on Evian\'s chest and stare into his eyes, leaving behind a confident promise before she left, "We\'ll continue this later."
Carleine watched her leave... She watched as the woman\'s hips swayed provocatively, only causing the scenarios her mind was already coming up with to run wild.
Once the Baroness was out, Evian shut the door and turned to smile warmly at Carleine,
"So to what do I owe this visit?"
Carleine looked from him to the door and then back with her lips twitching,
"Why was she here?" she gestured with her head in a move that was immediately understood by Evian who waved that aside,
"Not important," he said.
"You\'re already in bed with the Baroness?" Carleine asked with her brow aggressively raised.
"As I said," Evian told her calmly, "Not important."
"Oh but I think it is," Carleine said, "We\'ve been here a DAY! I know she was throwing herself at you but some self-control at least?"
"Self-control?" Evian repeated and then snickered, "Funny. But my relation or lack thereof with the Baroness is not really your business and thus not important to the reason you are here.
Let\'s get to that, shall we?"
Carleine furrowed her brows and then relaxed them with a sigh,
"I wanted to talk to you," She said, "A-a-about me..."
"Oh," Evian said, "I see. Carry on."
Carleine took a deep breath,
"Whydon\'tyoulikeme?"
Her words came out in a rush without a break in between and Evian blinked as he inclined his head toward her,
"What?" he asked, "I didn\'t quite catch that."
"Why-don\'t-you-like-me?" Carleine said with her words spaced out enough to be coherent,
"I\'ve seen the way you were with Ember- I\'ve the way you are with her. It was so sudden... Not really expected... Why wasn\'t it me?"
"Are you proposing a replacement?" Evian asked, making it clear how outrageous such a request would be.
Carleine shook her head,
"No, no. That\'s- That\'s not what I meant-" she said and stepped closer to Evian, his manly scent enticing her to take an even closer step forward, "*Sigh* I liked you first- I mean, I didn\'t clearly state it but I flirted enough-- I think.
I don\'t know where things changed but they did and I pulled back- I became suspicious that your intentions towards the Crew and the resistance might not be as pure as we hoped... Was it then? Was that when I became undesirable to you?"
As she got out the last sentence, Carleine brushed aside the partition of hair that was over one of her eyes and stared at Evian, trying her best to look steely but failing in the face of the attraction his presence roused.
"No," Evian said calmly, "I\'ve just never given it much thought."
That was partly true...
Evian was not so dull to be unaware of the glances he got from Carleine, and he had definitely thought about it but had not lost sleep on it. There was usually much going on- Existing partners to satisfy and he did not yet feel the need to reach out and pull in another.
"So-- I\'ve become an afterthought?" Carleine said with a hurt frown.
"Not what I meant," Evian said but Carleine shook her head,
"No, no, I get it. I\'ve not been attractive enough to catch and hold your gaze- Not enough to stir you to pursue--"
"Carleine-"
"No, it\'s fine," Carleine said and took a step back, "I came for an answer and I got one. Thank you."
Carleine turned around and walked toward the door only to stop when a few knocks sounded against it,
*Knock* *Knock*
"Evian, it\'s Ember. I\'m coming in."
Believing herself well past needing an actual invitation when she was there to see her lover, the Lockheart Redhead pushed the door open ready to throw herself into Evian only to stop short in face of Carleine\'s fairly distressed face.
"Carleine," she said with a smile that immediately shifted from lascivious to neutral, "Didn\'t know you were here."
"I was just leaving," Carleine said and made to leave but Ember stopped her with a gentle tug of her arm,
"Hold on," she said, "What\'s wrong?"
"It\'s nothing," Carleine and once she had shaken her head, she properly observed Ember\'s outfit.
The Redhead had changed out of the garment she had worn to do battle against the roaming beasts and what she now had on was a bit sheer as it clung to her body, emphasizing her shape for the benefit of the man she came to see. She had a long robe over the sheer gown to give her a bit more cover on the journey over.
Carleine also observed that Ember\'s hair was very nicely tidied as she done it in a braid almost especially meant to keep locks out of her face in case of certain-- activities.
Thinking of these activities caused Carleine\'s cheeks to go red but it was hard to stop the thoughts considering what she had been made privy to at the Hot springs.
Gently, she pulled out of Ember\'s hold and turned toward the door to pull it open only to be forced to stop when a pounding caused her to flinch,
*Bang* *Bang*
"Evian," Zayda called, "You had better be awake."
"I\'m awake," Evian said with an exasperated hand over his face, "You don\'t have to hit the door that hard!"
Whatever lock kept the door closed, Zayda easily overrode and pushed the door open to glare at Evian with a sneer,
"I was forced to-- Oh hey, Carleine, did not know you were here," She said as the black-haired lady was the first to appear in her sights.
"Becoming a common theme this night," Evian mumbled.
"I\'m leaving," Carleine said as his words made her feel unwanted and although, again, this had not been Evian\'s intention, he was not sure if now was the time to stop her and explain things to her.
\'What would I even explain?\' he asked himself not particularly sure how best to approach the situation.
Carleine was a foot from the door when Zayda reached out and pulled her back with a raised brow,
"What have I walked in on?" she asked and then looked over at Evian to see Ember complete the final few steps to be close enough to her lover to wrap an arm around his waist and snuggle her face into his chest.
"I see what\'s happening here," Zayda said and as she spoke, she pulled Carleine until the black-haired lady was turned and observing the Evian-Ember duo just as she was,
"You two were going to get it on behind my back!"
"Oh you mean like normal people, Commander?" Ember asked with a pointed glare and a semi-aggressively raised brow.
"Oh \'normal\' is boring!" Zayda said with a snigger, "Besides, you knew what you signed up for when you agreed to join my command."
"Actually," Evian said as he raised his hands and placed them on Ember\'s breasts, squeezing the two with barely a care for whose eyes were on them or a dip or change in the normalcy of his tone, "Your perverse intentions were an ulterior motive that you conveniently left out of the negotiations."
"It was implied."
"Was it?"
Carleine looked between them all with a light frown,
"My goodness, You\'re discussing this matter way too freely," she said and then she paused as a wave of understanding blew over her.
Things then made sense...
Why Zayda looked like she enjoyed the show in the Hot Spring without even an inkling of surprise or disgust-- It finally made sense.
\'They have some perverse agreement in place. All three of them-- And I- I, Gillert, and Gryon are just meandering along without actual understanding!\' Carleine pieced together in her mind.
"I need to leave," she said out loud as Evian dipped his face into the crook of Ember\'s neck, suckling and licking at the redhead\'s delicate flesh.
"Oh, Okay," Ember said, "I\'ll- I\'ll- come talk to you when- when I\'m- we\'re done. Mnghh-- We should discuss why you\'re -Nghhh- so troubled."
\'It\'s already starting up again,\' Carleine realized, \'And I\'m about to be stuck watching.\'
She placed a hand on the doorknob and made to pull only to have herself pulled back by Zayda once again,
"Where do you think you\'re going?" the Squad commander asked.
"Away from here," Carleine said as though that should have been obvious.
"Oh come on," Zayda said, pulling her back and turning her around to better look at Evian and Ember whose activities were increasingly getting more heated,
"Why would you leave when it\'s about to get good?"