Elijah Mikaelson & The Dragon's Quest

Chapter 20

Charlie Dragonetti was a professional voyeur. He was a security and surveillance expert and his constant vigilance on the security of his sire and those around her placed him frequently in a position to exercise discretion at the more intimate activities that were now a frequent occurrence in the six years since Elijah and Angelica reunited. But in that small safe house, Charlie didn't need his security system or his vampire link to his sire's emotions to know what was happening, his vampire hearing caught everything and that was difficult to shut off. He put in earphones and turned up the volume on his Lynard Skynard album to replace the sounds of intimacy with the sounds of southern rock. It worked for the most part, but Elijah and Angelica were in rare form this evening and Charlie needed to get some distance from their room. He grabbed his tablet, walked to the kitchen and poured coffee into two cups. He walked to the back room where Freya had been working non-stop to find Davina's missing magic using locator spells and consulting the grimoires that Charlie had loaded onto a tablet for her. Esther and Mason's grimoires were in the Dragonetti vault along with every other grimoire they acquired, but Charlie had scanned each of them onto a secure tablet to make it easier to consult them when needed.

Freya looked up at him as he walked in, earphones in and volume blaring. She looked at his face, then looked past him toward the open door and then back to him. "Are they at it again?" she asked, grinning at the expression on Charlie's face. Charlie waved her off, clearly uncomfortable with even talking about it, as he set the coffee cup down next to her. She thanked him for the coffee. He pulled the earphones from his ears and asked her about her progress. She told him it was slow. The Coven of the Pentadeae had accomplished the impossible and now she was trying to find something that should not exist separately from the witch within which it is supposed to reside. And she had no idea what the extra item was that was taken with Davina's magic. "Maybe you just need a break, Freya," Charlie commented, clearly noting that she had been at this for quite a while.

"Perhaps you're right, Charlie," she admitted, as she picked up the coffee cup and took a long sip of the refreshing beverage. She smiled at him and thanked him again. He looked at the table and asked her what avenue she was pursuing as he reached out to touch the map. She grabbed his hand quickly before he made contact with it, explaining to him that it would disrupt the spell that was still in progress. Charlie apologized as Freya turned to face him, still holding his hand.

Freya admired Charlie Dragonetti and saw him as a kindred spirit. He had a dedication to protection of the family that rivaled her dedication toward that same end, and she found that to be an attractive quality. He worked tirelessly and without complaint, being comfortable with being alone with his technology the same as she was comfortable being alone with her magic.

Charlie felt the same way toward Freya. She was intelligent, strong, beautiful, driven and unwavering in her dedication toward the family. He was attracted to her, but Charlie was a humble and quiet southern man, who thought himself unworthy of the beautiful, refined Nordic goddess that stood before him. But here she was now, holding his hand, and the electricity of the physical connection was intense. He looked into Freya's eyes and she smiled at him. But Charlie would not move a muscle, frozen with indecision. So Freya made the first move. She kissed Charlie Dragonetti, gently at first, and Charlie pulled back slightly, stammering about adrenaline and missions and steam. Freya smiled at him and said, "So what?" then kissed him again more passionately only this time Charlie reciprocated. The intensity of their encounter began to escalate and she peeled off Charlie's collared shirt then pulled his t-shirt over his head. Charlie was a very muscular and fit man; a trait he kept hidden under layers of clothing and a baseball cap that made it easy to forget that he was a former Marine, a former Navy Seal, and a former CIA intelligence operative. He was in peak physical condition that was preserved when he turned to vampire nearly thirty years ago.

Freya pulled her own shirt off over her head and the two wrapped themselves around each other, enjoying the passion that comes with the excitement of first intimacy. Various remaining articles of clothing signaled their path to the bedroom as they fell together onto the bed, caught up in a tangle of arms and legs as they relished each other well into the night.

Angelica was the first to emerge in the morning and passed Charlie's empty chair that sat in front of his computers. She headed toward the room Freya had been working in and found it empty as well. She noticed the tell-tale collection of clothing on the floor that pointed toward the rear bedroom. Angelica smiled at the thought that Charlie and Freya had found each other and hoped it would be a lasting relationship since both seemed perfect for each other, and Charlie was quite shy and introverted, but that was between them. Regardless, they all had earned a much-needed break and last night seemed the best night for them all.

She turned heel and headed toward the kitchen, making a fresh pot of coffee and putting the tea kettle on. She made a large breakfast of scrambled eggs, fried bacon, country potatoes, toast, cut melon and berries. She set the table and laid out the feast as Elijah, Charlie and Freya each eventually made their way to the kitchen following the enticing aromas.

Elijah greeted Angelica with a gentle kiss, holding her face in his hands as he looked into her eyes. A gesture intended to communicate gratefulness beyond the meal she had made for them all. Neither of them had any awareness of the strange encounter that took place in his spiritual mind. They stood there for several moments until they heard, "Ahem," as Charlie cleared his throat to get their attention then asked while holding up his empty mug, "Coffee?" Elijah released Angelica after another kiss then took Charlie's coffee mug from his hand and turned toward the coffee pot.

Angelica said nothing to Elijah about Charlie and Freya, but Elijah took one look at the two of them as they tried not to look at each other, suppressing grins and stealing glances, and he knew. He looked knowingly toward Angelica who grinned ever so slightly back at him. Elijah grabbed a second coffee cup, filling both and setting them down in front of the new lovers. He sat down at the table as the four of them ate a hearty breakfast. There was much work to be done to find the missing magic and time was critical if they were to save Davina Claire.