Chapter Two - Part Two

Breakfast was already set out for display by the time I entered the main dining room, so I took my usual seat at the head of a cherry dining table that was crafted to seat twelve. Before me there was a large bowl of scrambled eggs, a platter of muffins and biscuits, as well as a tray leaden with strips of turkey bacon and sausage patties. Three silver pitchers held cranberry juice, milk, and OJ, and with a deep, satisfied inhale, I smiled to myself as I poured orange juice into one of the round crystal glasses.

And it was while I was preparing my plate, that Mrs. Trentley entered the dining room.

"Naomi, Mr. Raines is in the foyer, currently dripping on the floor..." And she paused as she winced. "Would now be a good time to show him in?"

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Trentley."

And with another grimace, she retreated from the room to reappear several moments later with a grinning, and only half-dressed Ethan Raines.

He was young, but still older than I, at twenty-three. And he stood before me, with the perfect bronze tan, and dark brown hair that hung past his nose. It was also still wet, (and cold too, I imagined) so he took the time to expertly sweep it from his hazel eyes. And judging by his chauvinistic and arrogant little half-smile, I could tell that internally he was already enjoying some small victory. After all, he had dared to trespass on my property and swim in my pool but was now being rewarded with breakfast at my table. To Ethan, things could not have gone any better than if we had had sex, and he made little effort to hide it.

Silently, he handed back the towel that Mrs. Trentley had given him, but responded with a gracious smile when she accepted it with a glare. Then she walked out afterwards, leaving us alone in the room. And as my gaze drifted innocently across him again, there were several things about Ethan Raines that I just couldn't help but notice.

For instance, I noticed that he was wearing Adidas flip-flops with only a pair of black, knee-length swim trunks to cover him. And I also noticed that this left his upper half mouthwateringly, scrumptiously exposed. And though he was not extremely well-defined or overly-muscular, there was still a hardness to his stomach and the rest of his body that demanded it be touched.

But nevertheless, I cleared my throat, and resisted the urge.

"Naomi Elizabeth Noble." Ethan said, in a deep, honeyed tone that I had no doubt kept the girls blushing.

"Ethan Raines." I replied, still sitting in my chair. "I would make sure you know your full name too, but I'm having trouble coming up with a middle name."

"It's Tyler." he supplied with a grin, taking it upon himself to have a seat right next to me at the table. And still dripping slightly, he began to portion himself eggs and bacon onto a plate.

"So, Ethan Tyler, are you gonna tell me what you were doing in my pool at eight o'clock in the morning?" I asked pleasantly, making my own plate as well. "But I have to admit, that's a really creative method for scoring breakfast with a stranger."

"What can I say? I'm a really friendly neighbor." he said, still chewing through a mouth full of food.

But I had the distinct impression that Ethan wasn't just "friendly", at all. Guys like him never were.

"So. Where do you live then, neighbor?" I asked, playing his game.

"Over on Elridge. It's maybe a ten minute jog from your house to mine, if you're fast, which you like you might be..."

And as he smirked, I inhaled slightly and smelled the remnants of last's night's rain still on his skin. But more importantly, I also smelled the wolf in him.

He was like me.

"You know what?" he said suddenly, forcing me from my daze. "I bet you don't even know how famous you are, do you? I mean, you disappeared right after you were born - and nobody could say where you went. Man I still have friends who swear up and down that you don't even exist. But then, you show up after how many years, like it's nothing. Like it was always home..."

"It is my home now." I replied easily. "I belong here as much as you, don't I?"

"Yeah, but you're still covered in human." he replied, with a smile of empathy. "You don't belong here yet."

I met his friendly gaze, but I saw that his eyes were hardened. I was a new female in his territory, so the tension was only to be expected. After all, didn't they always say in those animal documentaries that the males would assert their dominance over the females?

Ethan was testing me, I could feel it.

"The great thing about nomads is that they don't have to lay down roots to live off the land, Ethan." I said slowly, using my fork to pick at my plate. "And due to how I grew up, I've never spent more than two years in one place in my life. So if I'm really good at anything, it would be adaptation."

"Ok, sure, but that still doesn't say anything about why you would show up now. Something had to bring you back, right?"

"Well, I turned eighteen in January, and I just floated out of state for a few months. And then I got this letter in the mail a few weeks ago, and it had my father's will in it. And after I read that, I found out that I had inherited everything when he died. So, here I am."

"No offense, Naomi, but Jack passed away a year ago, so how is that you just found out about your inheritance in..."

Ethan did some quick math.

"April. You just found out that you own all of this back in April?"

"Turns out, there are some people who were actually pretty determined to keep me from getting the manor. I found out that my mother waged this private war with my father's lawyer right after the will was released. So she ended up slightly hindering the process."

"Well, I'm really sorry that happened." Ethan said, looking genuinely sympathetic. "Because who knows, maybe you would have gotten here sooner and we could have met in a more... conventional way."

"Right," I said, allowing myself a small chuckle.

"And? What else are you here to do, Naomi? Besides moving into the neighborhood overnight like a serial killer?"

"Oh I don't know, a little fishing maybe?"

And although we both laughed, there was still tension between us; he was asking too many questions and I wasn't giving enough serious answers. So after that, I worked to keep most of the conversation centered on him instead, purposefully asking him questions to keep his mind off of cross-examining me.

So we had breakfast together, amiably, and amidst polite banter, where I learned several interesting things about Ethan Raines and his family. For instance, Ethan had a younger brother named Eric, who was a little closer to my age, and they both lived in the guest house on his parent's property. Ethan also enjoyed sailing out at the Piney Bluffs in his spare time, and although he didn't have a job, he did have his associate's in business. But as it turned out, continuing college wasn't really big on his list of future decisions, so now he was just doing some "floating too".

In short, Ethan Raines was a good-looking bum still mooching off of his rich parents, and spending his free time partying. And yet something had drawn him here, this morning, and I knew it had nothing to do with flirting.

"So, Naomi, why are we still talking about me?" Ethan said, after we had both finished our meal. "I think it's time you started answering some questions now too? Hmm?"

But before I could answer, I was saved by Mrs. Trentley, who entered the dining room with a white folder in her hands and a rather harassed and irritated look on her face.

"Naomi, you don't know the trouble I had to go through in getting this -"

But Mrs. Trentley flushed slightly when she saw Ethan, realizing that she had bitten her tongue too late. And she had also unwittingly arrived with the front of the folder presented in plain view. It had the Harbor Village Police Department logo stamped clearly on its front with the name "Jack Noble" scrawled in large, uneven block letters. Quickly, she slipped the folder behind her back, but it was too late. And judging from the mixed look of interest and surprise upon his face, Mrs. Trentley and I both knew that Ethan had already seen it.

"Uh, thank you, Mrs. Trentley." I said, pushing my seat back from the table. I crossed the room and she handed me the folder mouthing "sorry" before she excused herself again and left.

"Well, it was really nice meeting you, but I should go." I said, after turning back to the dining table, where Ethan was now sitting, alone. "I'm sorry, it's just, this is kind of important."

"So I see." he said, rising now as well. "But hey, thanks for breakfast, Naomi. The eggs were really good."

"Oh, well, thanks for... swimming in my pool? Bye." I said, awkwardly, before walking out.

* * *

I sprinted up a flight of stairs to the second floor, and crossed to one of the pillars on the balcony that looked down on the foyer. Presently there were the sounds of movement coming from the hall, and then Mrs. Trentley and Ethan were walking into view. And from above, I watched as she opened the front door for him. But Ethan paused before fully crossing the threshold.

"I don't know. Something tells me I didn't make the best impression of myself to Naomi, did I?"

Mrs. Trentley sighed.

"She's the not the type of girl that you're used to, Mr. Raines. She's different."

"You know, I think you're right, Mrs. T..."

With a suppressed gasp, I whipped around and pressed my back to the cold stone of the pillar, silently begging my pounding heart to be still. I knew that he was looking up at the balcony then, and most likely at the spot I had just been. With my eyes closed, I bit my lip, not daring to breathe.