Title: What Just Happened?

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters used in this story, and I don’t claim to own them. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Summary: Set after FDM, Before ODW. Trent tries to talk Rachel into helping him once more.

What would happen if we kissed?
Would your tongue slip past my lips?
Would you run away?
Would you stay?
Or would I melt into you?
Mouth to mouth, lust to lust,
Spontaneously combust

“I can park my own car,” I said, crossing my arms and glaring at the dark-haired elf.

“He is waiting for you Ms. Morgan,” Quen said, gesturing to the building.

Sulking, I pocketed my keys and followed him inside. I knew I had probably offended Quen by following him back here instead of getting in the limo when I had found him parked outside my church tonight, but it wasn’t Quen I didn’t trust, it was Trent. Last time I was stuck here waiting for a ride, I got called a whore by his ex-fiancée.

I followed Quen through the maze of hallways leading back towards the private living area of the massive building. I hesitated when he passed Trent’s main office and the elf glanced back at me over his shoulder. “He will see you in the back office.”

I shrugged and followed him, my footsteps silent against the thick carpet. The sound of the waterfall reached my ears and I sighed. What a day this was turning out to be. I was sick and tired of Trent thinking I was available for his every need, but it was hard to say no when thousands of dollars were being waved under my nose.

Quen stopped and opened the thick door to Trent’s private office, gesturing that I should enter first. Stepping through the doorway, I stopped and marveled again at the beauty of the room, one wall open and leading out to a porch overlooking the private gardens and small waterfall.

I turned back to the older elf to find him looking me over, a smirk on his face. “What?” I snapped, reaching down to adjust my skirt.

I was supposed to be on a run tonight. An eighteen year old witch had gone missing from her father’s house three days ago and he suspected she had run off with her vamp boyfriend. Ivy had tracked her down to an inlander club across the river and I was supposed to go talk to her and convince her to come home. My short black skirt and white blouse were club appropriate and the black sandals I had chosen were a far cry from my boots but were easier to run in. I may not fit into the elegance of Trent’s office, but the outfit was more conservative than most of my wardrobe.

“Please be seated Ms. Morgan,” Quen said, gesturing to one of the plush chairs across from the big oak desk before turning on his heel and leaving the room,

I sighed, wondering what Trent wanted this time. Crossing my arms over myself to block the chilly night air, I stepped out onto the porch, looking up at the night sky and breathing in the fresh scents.

“It’s beautiful out here, isn’t it?”

I jumped, spinning around with my hands to my chest. I hadn’t heard him come in the room, damn elf.

Trent chuckled at my startled reaction and I glared at him. “You are shivering Ms. Morgan, perhaps we should step back inside.”

I refused to make eye contact as I stalked past him, returning to the warmth of the office, rubbing my hands down my arms to warm the skin.

Trent walked around me to lean against his desk. “How are you Ms. Morgan? I haven’t seen you since the day your wrecked my wedding,” He removed his suit jacket as he spoke, and I took a moment to study him. He seemed different, his eyes were still a bright green but there was an exhaustion in them that wasn’t there before. His voice was still melodious, but the strain in it was clear.

“Why am I here?” I asked him, ignoring his pleasantries.

“I need your help, and I am willing to pay you for it,” he replied. He paused when I crossed my arms over my chest. “I need you to go into the Ever-After.”

“No,” I said flatly, shocked that he would even suggest it.

“One million dollars,” he replied and I wanted to wipe the smirk off of his face, lousy elf thought he could buy me.

“No,” I repeated. “I have a freakin’ demon target painted on my chest. Do you really think I’m going to go waltzing into the Ever-After?”

“I need a cell-sample to finish the process, and I need a ley line witch to retrieve it for me. That’s you Ms. Morgan,” he said, nodding in my direction, ignoring my protest.

“No, it isn’t. I will not do it,” I stated, shaking my head.

“Thanks to your stunt at my wedding, Ellasbeth has flown home and refuses to have anything to do with the genetic research. She also refuses to consider a union with me. This puts a stopper in all my progress; we can’t go any further without the cell-sample, and I can’t just walk into the Ever-After and pick one out myself,” he said.

“I can’t go in there..” I said, my voice sounding weak even to my own ears. “I won’t.”

“It’s your fault we need to rebuild our species. You ran from the Ever-After, allowing the demons to take over. You left us to fight on our own. You ran away, playing nice and safe while we fought and sacrificed ourselves. You owe us this,” he said quickly, his voice laced with anger.

“I’ve told you before, I didn’t do anything. You can’t blame me for what my ancestors did.” I shouted, not caring if I was ticking him off. He had already ruined my night.

I crossed my arms and glared at Trent as he leaned against his desk. His ears were red, the only visible sign that he was upset. I was certain that his casual stance and relaxed hands had taken years of self-discipline to obtain. Nobody looked that calm when they were as worked up as Trent was.

“I’m not doing it, Trent,” I sneered, my teeth clenched to make my point clear.

“You will, Rachel,” he said with equal force, “You have no choice in the matter.”

“I have every choice in the matter. I can walk out of here right now and leave you to save your own damn species. Besides, based on the experiences I’ve had with elves, I don’t believe they are worth the effort to save,” I told him, excluding Ceri from the rest of the elves in my mind.

Trent’s eye twitched as he stared at me. “You’ve said that before,” he stated, his tone deadly.

“And I’ve meant it every time,” I replied, pulling my car keys from my pocket with a metal jingle and spinning on my heel.

“Ms. Morgan, your father thought this was worth risking his life for, doesn’t that mean something to you?” Trent asked, his voice tight.

I spun around, angry at him for bringing my dad into this. Did the manipulative bastard really think he could play on my emotions that easily? . “My father got killed trying to help your father, do you think I’m stupid enough to follow in his footsteps?”

“Your father understood the importance of the situation. He valued his friendship with my father and he knew that sometimes you risk yourself for those you care about,” Trent replied.

I studied the elf carefully; his face was tight and a single drop of sweat beaded his forehead. His hands were fisted, the whites of his knuckles showing. He was getting desperate, and I needed to get out of here quickly.

“Your forgetting one thing Kalamack,” I said, tossing my hair over my shoulder. “I don’t care about you or the rest of the elves, so I don’t feel the need to risk anything. You can all go turn yourselves.”

I spun on my heel and began to stalk out, feeling triumphant. I couldn’t wait to take a hot shower. I hesitated when I realized Trent hadn’t made a sound. That was getting me a bit worried and my steps faltered, the air seemed heaver around me.

I slowly turned back to face him. He was still in the same position, but his eyes seemed darker and his hands were visibly trembling.

His steps were quick and he was on top of me before I realized he had moved from his desk. I took a step back from him and felt the hard wall against my skin.

Trent put his hands on either side of my head, trapping me between the cold plaster and his warm body. I shivered as the scent of fresh leaves washed over me.

“You will do this for me Rachel,” he whispered in my ear, his voice dangerously low.

I took a sharp breath and felt my knees shake. My forgotten car keys fell from my hand with a soft thump on the carpet.

“Will not,” I muttered, raising my hands up and pushing against his chest. I regretted the action instantly as I felt his warmth thrumming under my fingertips.

“Will,” he said, his voice soft, his lips brushing my ear as he spoke.

My throat tightened at his touch. I began to panic. What was he doing? This was not the Trent I knew. I wondered if I had finally pushed the elf to far.

“Let me go,” I said, my voice showing my fear.

Leaving his hands against the wall, Trent moved, closing the distance between us. I could feel his chest against mine, his heartbeat oddly steady when compared to my racing pulse.

His face was mere inches from mine. “I will when you agree to do this. Just say you’ll work for me Rachel.”

“Go turn yourself Trent,” I muttered.

The heat of his breath tickled my ear and I shivered - from what, I didn't want to know.

My heart was racing and vision was spinning. What the hell was going on? Trent became still and I couldn't move, for fear that it would break the deadly silence between us.

Trent lifted his head to face me, an action that was agonizingly slow. I held my breath, waiting to see what he was going to do. His green eyes were slightly glazed and I felt his stare penetrating me to the core. My fingers twitched in nervousness against his chest; I felt naked under his gaze.

His lips parted sensuously. "I will not repeat myself, Rachel Mariana Morgan." My breath hitched when he used my full name, something only Al had done up to this point. “You will work for me,” he stated, and I could feel his voice all the way down to my toes as he empathized each word.

My throat closed; I couldn’t think, let alone form words. My only thoughts were of his hands trapping me, his body above me, those hypnotic lips speaking to me, and those piercing eyes of the brightest green bearing into me.

The alarms in my mind were screaming, Get away get away run run run, but my body was frozen, my feet refused to move and my hands had stopped pushing against him, instead they rested against his shirt, his hot skin burning them through the fabric.

I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from slowing shutting as I felt his breath, hot against my lips.

Suddenly, the warmth of his body was gone. I gasped at the sudden absence of heat, my eyes flying open. The blaring alarms in my mind had stopped, but still I couldn’t move from the wall. The eminent danger may be gone, but the air was still thick with tension.

Trent was standing back by his desk again. He was motionless, his eyes staring through me, searching. He slowly blinked, closing his mouth, Trent looked just as stunned as I was. Just what the hell was going on? I wondered.

I lowered my hands, bracing myself against the wall to keep from sliding to the floor.

Trent jumped when the office door opened, and we both turned to see Quen step through the doorway, his dark eyes taking in the scene, from my trembling hands to Trent’s confused gaze.

“Excuse me Sa’han, Ms. Morgan’s car has been brought around to the front,” the older elf said, his hands folded behind his back.

Trent looked back at me briefly before spinning on his heel and leaving the room, the faint scent of autumn leaves following him out.

I pushed away from the wall and met Quen’s gaze, shrugging my shoulders when his eyebrow quirked, asking a silent question that I didn‘t have an answer for. What just happened?