A New Place to Stay (Edmund)

[Claire Weiss]

Claire laughed. "That is true," she said leaving her shoes on the edge of the beach and rolling up her pants legs a little so she wouldn't step on them. "I haven't been to a beach in awhile, so I might come down here from time to time, that is if you don't mind of course."

She thought about tying her hair back, but then decided against it since she didn't have anything to pull it back with. Claire pushed her hair behind her ears. "A walk sounds good to me," she said with a light smile. Even though he didn't offer his hand, Claire slid her hand in his without really thinking about it.

[Edmund Fairfax]

Edmund's smile seemed to glisten in the sunlight. "Of course I don't mind," he said. "You're a guest in my home; you are free to go anywhere you wish. Except the East wing, of course... that's where I lock up all the girls who turned me down." He winked again, letting her know that he was joking.

"But seriously, you can go anywhere. I wouldn't invite you to stay or show you around if I didn't want you to have the freedom to go where ever you wanted."

He smiled as she placed her hand in his and he began to walk slowly across the soft sand, which was surprisingly cool under their feet.

[Claire Weiss]

"Well, I'll try to keep that in mind," Claire said back teasingly. So far, everything had be surprisingly, easy. There was no bad tension between them or anything of that sort. They were teasing and joking with each other, which was a nice change. She hoped that it would be like this for the duration of her stay.

"You're house is already quite the adventure and I haven't even really seen much of anything. Just the foyer, parlor, library, and now here." Claire liked to discover things and it seemed that thsi was going to be the perfect place for it.

She like the way he smiled, it seemed to suit him better. The sand felt great underneath her feet as they walked down the beach. "So what other kind of hidden things do you have in your house?"

[Edmund Fairfax]

Edmund gave her a mysterious look. "Oh, nothing much. Just the Lost City of Gold, the Fountain of Youth, and the Garden of Eden," he teased. "No... honestly, most of the house is fairly ordinary... I'm sorry to say I don't have a ski slope hidden behind the kitchen or anything like that. This is the one really unique room I have... Although there is a movie theatre down in the basement. And I can't wait to show you the grand ballroom. And the room I chose for your bedroom... well, I think you'll like it." He smiled as they reached the edge of the water line, and a cool wave lapped against their feet.

[Claire Weiss]

Claire laughed at his teasing. "Well, there is nothing wrong with ordinary. I happen to like ordinary." It didn't make a difference to her if he did have other secret rooms or not. Ordinary was what she had always known, that was what she liked. Claire also liked simple, but Edmund's house was far from simple. However, she did like it here already. Even if he didn't have this room or a movie theatre, or whatever else, she would enjoy it.

"I'm sure that I would like it." Claire smiled again. After all, Edmund knew her better than anyone else ever did. She wasn't going to complain while she was here. She wasn't going to be rude either. Things were going good at the moment, and that was how she wanted to keep things.

[Edmund Fairfax]

They continued to walk along the water's edge, feeling the warmth of the enchanted sun beating down on them from above while the cool water lapped at their feet.

Pointing ahead along the shoreline, Edmund explained, "It looks like it goes on as far as the eye can see, and if you keep walking, you literally could be walking forever, but you're really not going anywhere. It's a magical illusion. The room is really only as wide as the library. The ocean is the same way... it doesn't go back very far, but it looks like you're looking out at the real ocean."

[Claire Weiss]

As far as Claire was concerned, this was perfect. "So, does it always stay like this with the sun beaming down like that, or does it reflect what time of day it really is?" She was curious and sometimes that was alright.

While they continued to walk in the water's edge, a mischievous smile spread across Claire's face. Today, she was feeling playful like. Looking up to Edmund, closing one eye to block out the sun, she showed him that she was smiling and then she used one of her feet to splash water on him, only to give him an innocent look after.

[Edmund Fairfax]

"Actually, it's self-adjusting. If you want it to be daytime, it will be. If you want a romantic night on the beach in the moonlight, well... it'll do that, too. But it never rains on this beach, and it's always perfect beach weather. Sometimes I can adjust it to be breezy, if I want to."

He liked answering her questions, and he loved seeing the look on her face at each new revelation that his house had to offer. He hadn't brought many women to his home in the past, because he knew how overwhelming it could be. But Claire needed to know... and he needed to share it with her. From the first smile, he had known that bringing her here was the right thing to do.

As he was reflecting on these thoughts, she suddenly splashed him with her foot, and he laughed. "Oh, you want to play, do you? You know, I can control the strength of the waves with a flick of my wand..."

[Claire Weiss]

"You'll have to show me how to do that so I can change it if I wanted to whenever I come down here," she said looked head of them.

After she splashed him, Claire maintained her innocent look. "You wouldn't," she said. "That wouldn't be all that fair if you change the wave strength, however, you are closer to water than I am." She smiled gently, yet playfully. Claire was happy that things had been going smoothly. Plus, Edmund seemed to be reacting to whatever she did, and she was enjoying that.

[Edmund Fairfax]

Edmund smiled. "This is true," he said. "I am closer than you are. But I could change that, too." He began to move closer to her, a wicked smile on his face. He had missed this, the more playful aspects of their relationship. He wanted to tease her and make her laugh, to see her beautiful eyes sparkle in the enchanted sunlight.

He ran towards her and swept her up into his arms, carrying her like a child. "Fancy a swim?" he said mischievously.

[Claire Weiss]

"You wouldn't," Claire said smiling and with a gasp. Her eyes were shining with amusement. She liked the way playfulness was worn on Edmund's face. It might her continue to be in the mood she was in.

As he ran towards her, Claire let out a squeal of laughter. Her arms went around his neck once he picked her up. Everything felt right at the moment. "Only if you go," she said with laughter.

[Edmund Fairfax]

Edmund's eyes were dancing with laughter. "Oh, darling, I wouldn't dream of making you swim alone," he replied. He carried her out into the water, wading against the waves.

"The water is always a perfect 72 degrees," he continued in a voice as professional as a tour guide's. "There's no undertow, but there is a high tide and a low tide, in a matter of speaking. "You never have to worry about jellyfish or seaweed or anything like that."

When he was in water up to his waist, he gave her another smile, then gave her a very quick kiss on the lips before allowing her to slip out of his arms and into the water.

[Claire Weiss]

A smile had set itself on Claire's face. "Good. It would be kind of odd if I came out alone with you still on shore."

Laughter escaped Claire as he used a tour guide like voice. "You know, you would make a wonderful tour guide somewhere," she said with a teasing tone. "But that's nice not having to worry about those things."

Even though that Edmund kissed her quickily, Claire could have swore that her heart skipped a beat. A light tint appeared on her face, and she smiled at him, showing no resistance or change of attitude. She slowly slipped from his arms and slowly released her arms from his neck while as she entered the water. Once she was standing up, Claire smiled again and splashed him before moving away with a teasing look.

[Edmund Fairfax]

Laughing, he waded through the waves toward her. "You're quite the little minx, aren't you?" he teased. "Let's see if you're still laughing now."

With his two large hands, he swooped through the water, sending a miniature wave in her direction.

Having her here was dangerous, he realized. She fit here so perfectly, like she was meant to be the lady of the house. He could almost hear Derek's cynical comments right now. He just couldn't allow himself to care. He wanted this... wanted her here. He wanted her.

[Claire Weiss]

Claire only gave him a mischevious smile and a wink before continuing to back away. She wasn't exactly sure what to expect.

After she was hit with the water that he sent toward her, Claire stopped and started laughing. She wiped at her eyes for a moment. "That was not fair. Your hands are twice as big," she said still smiling. An idea passed through her mind and she wasn't sure if it would work or not, considering that he was bigger than she was. However, she waited until she thought that he was unguarded in anyway and launched herself toward him, in attempt to knock him over.

[Edmund Fairfax]

But he saw her coming and, as she launched herself at him, he reached out and pulled her up against his chest. Her feet were not touching the ground, and he held her in his arms so that her face was just level with his. "You didn't really think that was going to work, did you?" he teased. "But you really are adorable, you know that?"

Then the smile faded from his face and his blue-green eyes turned sleepy. "Do you have any idea what you do to me, Claire?" he whispered. Then he leaned in and kissed her.

[Claire Weiss]

Once he caught her, Claire let out a laugh. The feeling of being in his arms was indescribable to her, but for right now, she was highly amused. "Well, it was worth the try, was it not? I just have to make sure I catch you off guard and move faster. Trust me, I will end up catching you off guard soon, and you will be going under," she said with teasing. "And thank you. I do try." She gave him a grin.

Her expression faded as his did. Claire could feel her heart start to beat a little faster and that odd, yet good, feeling in her stomach returned. "I might have a slight idea," she said whispering back. Once he leaned in and kissed her, Claire's arms went from his shoulders to around his neck. She kissed him back with no hesitation. This time she wasn't going to be the one pulling away. This time she was going to let herself give in to what she had been denying herself of.

[Edmund Fairfax]

Edmund felt the lack of hesitation in her kiss and it shocked him, but for only a second. He quickly deepened the kiss, holding her closer against him.

They'd been dancing around this for far too long. And all of his attempts to replace her with another had failed. He still wanted her, no... he needed her. He thought about her when he woke up in the morning, when he went to sleep at night, when he was with another girl... He was practically obsessed.

Zachary was right... he was in love with her.

The realization scared him, and he broke the kiss, slowly lowering her back onto the ground. His eyes locked onto hers, searching. But for what, he wasn't sure.

[Claire Weiss]

Claire felt at home right where she was at. For the first time she wasn't denying herself of what she had been trying to for so long. It was a hard job to keep herself close, yet so far. She was tired of it and her defenses were weakening whenever he was around. Edmund made it hard to keep up her defenses whenever he haunted her in every part of the day.

There was no doubting that she more than just cared about him. She had even hinted around to it before. After he pulled away and lowered her to the ground, Claire's arms didn't move from around his neck. She didn't bother to look away, but to only look questioningly at him. All of her defenses were broken and she knew that she couldn't hide anything anymore.

[Edmund Fairfax]

For a moment, Edmund couldn't breathe. He just kept staring at her, trying to figure out what to do with this new realization. He thought of Zachary and of Derek and their opposing viewpoints of love. Derek didn't believe, didn't approve. Zachary, however, had also fallen in love and had encouraged Edmund.

And Edmund... couldn't believe he was thinking about Derek and Zach at a time like this, when Claire was in his arms, her chest heaving and her sparkling blue eyes locked onto his in an almost pleading expression.

Instinct took over, and his decision was made. He bent down and began to kiss her again. As he did so, he swept her into his arms and began to carry her out of the water.