Butterfly and Flame - Alina and Evan

Istanbul

Showered and changed Alina was quiet as she descended the stairs of the jet stepping onto the tarmac. It was just after daybreak and the feel of the warm breeze hitting her skin made her feel instantly comforted. She loved the sun and the sea and although she wasn't exactly sure where they were she new she could was safe with Evan. He walked just ahead of her making his way to the SUV that was waiting for them. She heard him speak in a foreign tongue and waited for him to explain. She felt awkward just them, somewhat out of her element. Actually she had been out of her element for a while now if she was honey. They had spent almost the entire flight saying few words to one another but devouring each other with their mouths and bodies. She felt shaken and vulnerable and a flush spread across her face and chest and yet she knew he was everything she could ever hope to have in a partner. She knew that the problem lay with her and that if she ever wanted to have a normal relationship, she would need to completely open up.

She was safe with him even if she still was angry. Perhaps angry wasn't the right word. She had behaved immaturely. She had wanted him so desperately and his rejection ignited something deep within her that she had never fully addressed. She had issues but they were not with him. She wasn't repressed sexually but she had repressed the feeling of being victimized by Kyle. That she knew without a doubt. The trouble was that she fought herself with her own moral code, desire for freedom and fear of being wrong and deceived again. To top it off she had a it that in Evan and he was as far apart from Kyle as the earth was from the sun. She needed to speak with him, talk and apologize. He was right and she needed to admit not just to herself but to him as well.

As they drove, with the beautiful scenery unfolding before her she began to use her imaginative mind to determine exactly where they were. He had yet to tell her. The words on the street signs made no sense to her but she immediately knew they were in the Mid East or Asia. He told her that they were about an hour outside their destination which explained the private airport. Of course she knew that his family was wealthy but she could never have imagined exactly to what level that was. He began to tell her about his grandfather and their family history. His grandfather had made his fortune in business but at the root of it was the family business of diamonds. His grandfathers mother was Turkish and their family had generations of jewelers and diamond cutters and dealers in the mix. When his great grandmother died his grandfather and his father moved back to England to live with his side of the family but continued to be a part of his lost wife's diamond business eventually seeing to its growth and continued success. As his own grandfather was introduced into that world he too increased the families wealth and bought properties in Europe and Asia and the Middle East.  Their wealth was not only from the galleries they had across the globe but also from the diamond business. Finally she saw a sign she could read, "Istanbul? We're in Turkey?" He turned to her and gave her a half smile but his eyes were hidden behind his Rayban aviators and she couldn't read him completely. They drove on until he merged off the busy highway onto a separate two lane highway. It was another twenty minutes before they turned into what looked like a long private drive.  It hugged the coastline weaving closer inland and then back toward the sea. Finally they made a sharp turn and head up into the hills until they arrived at private estate in the countryside. To hear him speak of it, it was just another house in the country but as they drove up to it, she was floored at the beauty of the home. It was constructed of what looked like stone, and brick and just old world enough with a touch of modern. She was mesmerized as it looked like something from a movie set. The house stood at the edge of the mountainside with the hills behind and below them and the Bosphorus Sea to her right. It was simply breathtaking. She opened her door as he came around to let her out and gave him her hand as he extended his own to help her out. She looked up at Evan and nodded her head expressing her awe. "Evan this is amazing. I can't believe I'm in Turkey, but how were you able to get us hear, we haven't even gone through customs. How is this even possible, did we break some international law Sc?". He smiled at her but when she raised her eyebrows at him he realized she was serious and he became more forthcoming "Alina my family has a lot of connections. My grandmother saw to it that our passports were readied and I gave them to the pilot to turn in to the customs officers upon our arrival. We will get them back later today. My grand doesn't do anything by halves and she has a very good relationship with the Turkish government as we also have quite a few investments in this region of the world as well as the diamond business. Our passports were handled shortly after we first arrived at our family home. It was a precaution that I felt we needed. I'm glad now that I took it. He looked at her with a wary smile as he wasn't sure how she would take not being consulted about it. She smiled back at him currently lost by the magnificence of where they were. He wasn't one to flaunt their wealth by any means but he decided to live in the moment as she was not fighting him right now. "Come on let's head up to the house, and get settled in. They're expecting us so we should have a late breakfast or an early lunch waiting for us by now". She held his hand as they walked up the steps into a gorgeous open air home.  Everything about it spoke understated elegance and wealth and he saw his grandmothers hand all over it. She was pleasantly surprised to come across some of his photography. She walked along the floor to ceiling windows in living area as it curved along the far walk facing the sea only then realizing that the house was more curves than angles. It had a beautiful interior courtyard that could be accessed off the room below and the formal dining room. They had actually entered in through the second floor as she soon realized the house was three stories. He walked her through the kitchens as their were two on the different floors, the library, the music room, and play room with pool tables and and a huge fireplace with theatre seating for the immense flat screen along the opposite wall. He told he would take her out to the courtyard after settling in and have something to eat. He walked her to the top floor where his and Christians bedrooms were and opened the double door to his. He told her he hadn't been there in about three years but as she soon learned it only took a phone call from the family to have everything ready for them. And by everything she meant everything. "Evan we will need to go into town and pick up some toiletries and a couple of articles of clothing for me as we brought nothing with us." He smiled at her and she quickly said. "I will buy my own clothing. I have enough money for that and I won't have you ....." she didn't finish her sentence because he grabbed her hand and guided over to the walk in closet that was filled with clothing. Men's and women's. She clasped her hand to her mouth and looked at him with eyes wide "please tell me all those clothes are someone else's". When he nodded "no" she looked back and took in the insanity of it all. Dresses, jeans, sweaters, t shirts, some incredibly fancy evening where, jackets, and shoes and purses and in the far corner, on a small bench for sitting and dressing several beautiful leotards of royal greens and baby blues and ballerina pink. She picked them up and laid them agains her and turned back to him with a stunned look on her face but before she could say a word he broke in "Please don't be mad, we left so quickly and without warning and well you can exchange anything you want ......." she quickly walked over to him and threw her arms around him hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and pulled her even closer enjoying this warm and soft Alina. She slowly pulled out of his embrace but stood close to him looking up into his face "Evan. I don't know what to say. This is too much. I could never wear half of these clothes. Please tell me you didn't spend a fortune, I couldn't stand it, it's way too much". He cupped her face looking into her chocolaty cognac eyes "Alina, nothing gave me greater joy than doing this for you. Now I can't say I picked out every outfit but we have an incredible assistant here. I sent her a picture of you and your measurements and she got straight to work. Alina stared at him like he had grown a second head "you sent her my picture and my measurements, are you serious?" Evan nodded and slowly wrapped his hands around her waist showing her he was sizing her up and then his hand ran over her back and up her side coming to rest under her breasts as he gave them a squeeze "I was always pretty good at numbers" he teased her as she flushed red in the face and then punched him in the arms. "Ouch!". She smiled at him again and said "thank you, it's really too much. I could never repay you for this and everything else you have done and are doing ....." he kissed her. Softly at first and then deepened the kiss as he pulled her in further. When they broke away they were breathless. "I would do this and more for you. I meant every word I've said to you. I love you. I'm in love with you. I will never leave your side unless you don't want me." He looked at her with so much intensity it made her heart flutter. He realized he was overwhelming her and so he gave her a peck on the cheek and told her to relax and make herself comfortable. He grabbed a change of clothes from his side of the closet and told her he would leave her while he showered in Christians room. He would check in on her in a while to go downstairs for lunch. Before she could say anything to him he was out the doors and gone.