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He appeared to be reading his book, but he was really reading her. A woman of many sharp edges and deadly skills, but also a smile brighter than a full moon on a starless night and a laugh that warmed better than whiskey. He knew better than anyone, the pain she had been through. The agonies she had survived. No one should ever have gone through the amount of suffering she had, yet she could still joke and tease with Fiji as if girl-chat were as comfortable to her as her rifles. She looked after the Rev when he didn’t trust anyone else to be willing to take him out if he was about to hurt someone he cared about and she also helped him deal with his sullied soul in the wake of his darker nature overpowering him. She looked after everyone. Even their newest resident, despite Olivia’s initial misgivings about him, was beginning to win a spot in her heart that already held their whole little town. A deadly woman who did not shy away from the dirtier side of being a protector.
Olivia was beautiful, with those deep brown eyes and curves that made everything she wore look like a piece of art, and yet that was nothing compared to what really drew Lemuel to her. That fire. She did not know how to give up, to stop fighting. She fought her father, she fought the men who misused her, she fought her way to the top of her profession, fought her way into the hearts of Midnight’s citizens, fought the demons that hid beneath her façade of control and caged power, and she fought Lemuel from time to time.
He truly wished he could take away all her pain, just as he wished she would allow him to be more tender with her. She insisted she could take the world on and win. Most of the time, Lem was sure she was right. The world didn’t stand a chance against Olivia Charity. However, Lemuel knew her better than anyone. He knew she did not trust herself with the thirst of a vampire and she worried that feeling the pain she dealt with every day would weight too heavily if she were to live forever. She worried she could not be a vampire and that she could not have the restraint to live among people the way they did in Midnight. Lemuel was sure she would handle it the way she handled her blades. She was the most powerful person he had ever met, fragile human that she was.
A few feet away she continued to sharpen her knives, feet propped up on the edge of a display case, occasionally checking the sharpness against a rag of leather. Her back was to him, yet there were enough glass surfaces to allow him a nice view of her face from several angles. Lemuel smiled. There was something beautiful about a powerful woman handling a deadly weapon.
“You’re staring.”
Looking up from his book, Lemuel responded.
“What makes you think so?”
She tilted her blade and he could see her eyes reflected in it as she raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow. He translated, she had caught him a while ago, and only now was calling him on it. He could not deny the truth from her. He smiled wider, showing his predator’s teeth.
“It would be a bitter shame not admire a fine work of art under the soft light of this shop of wonders.”
Tilting her head back so she could look at him upside down, she gave him that look she always did when he knew she wanted to tease him but had some reason in her head for holding back.
“Sun’ll be up an hour.”
“I know.”
“I don’t have any jobs tomorrow.”
He knew an invitation when he received one.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
She got up and headed over to the Rev’s place, lingering for a moment by Lem’s side to lean and press a kiss to his forehead, her hand drifting to his left shoulder. His hand moved to rest atop hers, as a magnet towards North. He could hear her heartbeat and feel the warmth radiating from her skin. She hummed in appreciation of his touch before heading out to meet the Rev. Lemuel smiled and returned to his book. Soon Bobo would arrive and Lem could go downstairs to prepare for Olivia’s return. He would finish this chapter, leave the shop to Bobo, take a quick shower, and then be waiting for his beloved’s return in their wide, soft bed that Olivia would never admit had been her choice rather than his. He could hardly wait.