Chapter Eight: Arrivals

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Alice exhaled heavily as she tied her hair up in a ponytail, pausing her cleaning routine to make sure her hair was now out of the way before carrying on vacuuming the bottom floor of the guest house...

She fluffed cushions, opened windows to air the place, changed the bed sheets to fresh ones from the cupboard and bleach-cleaned the bathroom... She'd been cleaning since eight thirty that morning to make sure everything was sparkling and fresh for when Magnus arrived that afternoon.

She was excited, nervous and impatient for his arrival all at once, going over her mental list of activities they could do so that he wouldn't get bored in her company. She was nervous about entertaining him for a week, since she would be playing host and this time it wouldn't be like the ski trip at Panorama which was mutual territory or his occasional sleepovers back in Summerland where he'd stay for the night and be gone by morning. This time they'd go to sleep together, wake up together, spend all day together without a clear path of entertainment like skiing... this time there was no schedule or purpose to his visit apart from spending time together as an exclusive couple. And the thought made Alice anxious and thrilled.

There was a brief knock on the front door to the guest house that Alice didn't hear, but as she saw the door opening out of the corner of her eye and looked up, she saw Adam walking in with a plate of fresh, steaming pastries. "I heard you were up so I brought over some breakfast," he said, speaking up and over the droaning sound of the vacuum before Alice turned it off. "How long have you been up?" He asked, seeing his step-granddaughter pink-cheeked, wide eyed, and her hair a little messy.

"Since seven, but I only started cleaning at eight thirty," Alice replied, leaving the vacuum where it was then walking over to the kitchen area to nibble on one of the almond croissants.

"Nervous?" Adam asked with a light chuckle, knowing today was the day her boyfriend was arriving from France. In a way, he was a little on edge to meet Alice's boyfriend too... the sheer presence he held even photos was enough to make Henry and himself a little wary.

"I don't know why," Alice sighed, covering her mouth since she'd just taken a bite from the croissant. "Like, I feel all jumpy and I haven't even had coffee yet," she breathed after she swallowed her small mouthful.

"You're excited, it's normal," Adam reassured her, having memories flashing back to the day before when Alice dragged both her grandparents to the mall in town to collect some gifts for Magnus. He saw them all neatly placed in a basket on the coffee table and chuckled again, thinking her gestures were sweet. "So I never asked how long you two had been dating?"

"Oh, um, like two weeks?" Alice replied casually before she took another bite of the croissant. "But we've been unofficial since January, on and off." She continued making enthusiastic gestures with her hands as she saw Adam's eyebrows raise and glance at the present basket again. "I know, I know, I went a little crazy but when you meet him you'll get it," she laughed softly before glancing down at her watch. Two more hours to go.

"I'm sure I will," Adam chuckled,

"Do you think Henry will like him?" She asked, unsure of if he would, since her biological grandfather had been slightly M.I.A the whole week. She'd seen him at dinner times, or when she'd briefly worked at the stable to help him, but even then he barely stayed in one place or made an effort to try to get to know Alice better by having lengthy conversations like she'd had with Adam.

"I think so," Adam sighed, absentmindedly thinking the same thing as Alice and wondering if Henry was purposefully avoiding his granddaughter so that they wouldn't have to have the awkward getting to know you talks.

Alice nodded, exhaling softly and finishing off the croissant then dusted off her hands into the sink. "I'm gonna head back over to fix up Henry some breakfast before he leaves," Adam said after a few moments of quietness.

"Where's he going?" Alice asked, now walking back over to where she'd left the vacuum.

"He's got some things to sort out with Caroline-" Adam replied before thinking then cursed himself silently as he saw Alice look up.

"My grandma?" She asked, "Is everything okay?" She asked, her eyes going a little wide.

"Everything's fine," Adam smiled, "I should get back," He then said, only to murmur quickly about not wanting to rush making breakfast before Henry left. Alice watched him go before furrowing her eyebrows a little, seeing the giant red flag appear above that topic of conversation. She'd noticed, in the week she'd been here, that not once had her grandmother been mentioned. Even though, every birthday and Christmas card had been signed from Henry and Caroline for the past eight years.

She chewed on her lip, attempting to force herself not to suspect anything shady or even just secretive was going on... but she knew by now if her instincts were telling her something was up, something usually was... and it wouldn't be long until she found out what.

* * *

A dark, freshly polished car turned into the drive way, the crackling of gravel causing some of the horses to glance up from where they were grazing in the paddocks along either side... "This the place?" The driver asked, glancing into his rear view mirror to look at his client in the back.

Magnus glanced down at the photo of the house Alice had sent him a few days prior, and looked up again, seeing the same house basked in late March, early afternoon sunlight. "Yeah." Magnus replied bluntly, glancing around the spacious property and lowering his sunglasses, getting a clearer picture of Alice's background a little more. It was clear someone in her family had money, and maybe this was where it came from...

... At the same moment Alice finished applying her lipstick in the small mirror she only just found in the stables. She was dressed in one of his sweatshirts again, and her usual black Adidas leggings, yet this time, for the first time in just over a week, she'd styled her hair and put make up and perfume on to spruce up her dressed down look.

She'd just finished helping put one of the horses out for grazing when she'd stopped to touch up her make up, only to hear the sound of crackling gravel underneath car tires and felt her heart jump. "He's here." She said out loud to herself, smiling excitedly at some of the other horses who were watching her intently...

Alice took a deep breath to calm herself before she left the stables, not wanting to give in to her excitement and run the whole way from the stables to the main house and jump on him like she wanted to. She walked up the winding path at a calm pace, flexing her hands to release some of the energy she was building up as the chilly breeze blew some of her freshly blow dried and loosely curled hair to one side.

Back at the main house, Adam wiped off his hands with a small towel as he left through the back door to welcome their new guest as the fancy looking black car came to a stop outside the house. The engine turned off as Adam smiled politely, waiting with quiet anticipation as the driver got out and opened the back door. Adam smiled, finding the whole ordeal very formal, but from what he'd heard, this seemed normal for her boyfriend...

Magnus Johnson emerged from the car, dressed in a black bomber jacket and light blue jeans, his ray ban aviator sunglasses covering his eyes since the sunlight was still quite gleaming over Quebec...

Adam raised his eyebrows as he waited quietly, watching Magnus turn around to grab something from the back seat and momentarily notice him standing there. And although he couldn't see his eyes through the reflective surface of his shades, he could tell since a sudden polite smile appeared on his lips. That energy was there almost instantly, as if he'd grasped Adam's jaw and forced him to look at him and keep looking. Magnus was tall, taller than Adam, significantly taller than Alice, with broad shoulders and tanned skin and messy golden-y hair that seemed sun-kissed from wherever he'd been in France. He had an aura about him that was intimidating but intoxicating at the same time, and as Adam examined Magnus's face... it suddenly struck him who he reminded him of.

Adam cleated his throat, stepping closer to the car as Magnus reappeared again, holding a large bouquet of various flowers in shades ranging from deep pink, white, green and some yellow. "Jesus." Adam murmured to himself, since the bouquet was larger than any arrangement he'd seen in any local store, which only confirmed another one of Alice's descriptions of him. A dramatic flare.

"You must be Adam," Magnus smiled, his charm wafting from every inch of him and drifting towards Adam who grinned suddenly, seeing Magnus's extended hand even though he could feel his heard beginning to beat nervously.

"What gave it away?" Adam laughed, causing Magnus to smile just a little more at the subtle joke. "I've heard so much about you." He continued, shaking Magnus's hand enthusiastically and noticing the confident grip.

"All good things, I hope." Magnus replied in a calm voice, balancing the large bouquet of flowers in his other arm as his driver got his bags from the back of the car.

"Very good, Alice is very fond of you." Adam smiled as they let go of each other's hands and Magnus reached up to take his sunglasses off, revealing his bright golden eyes momentarily, which were exactly like Alice had described, before he looked away and scanned the property, probably looking for her now. Adam stared at Magnus's face, almost shocked at how... unemotional his eyes had been. Like there had been nothing there. "Alice is just down by the stables, she'll probably be-"

"Magnus?" A voice called just as Adam was about to finish his sentence, and both of them looked up to see Alice waving happily with a bright smile on her face as she appeared at the top of the pathway leading down to where the stables were, past the guest house...

A more genuine smile appeared on Magnus's face as he turned towards Alice, now stepping away from Adam as Alice got closer, her arms opening up to show her intentions moments before they touched. Adam watched, keeping the subtle smile on his face as Alice wrapped her arms around Magnus's neck, and his free arm went round her body, and they seemed to lean into and wrap around each other in a synchronised, affectionate way. And although the action seemed simple, even Adam could see the chemistry jumping between them and sparking like a live wire.

Alice beamed from the inside out, her heart thumping heavily and excitedly in her chest as she breathed in, smelling his subtle and familiar cologne and his skin that made tingles travel through her body. She leant back, her eyes now on his face, "Hi," she smiled, her eyes seeming to twinkle with affection.

"Hi," Magnus replied, wanting to kiss her but he was aware it might be awkward for Alice to do so in front of Adam. "These are for you," He continued, his voice low and gentle which only made Alice want to melt as he offered her the bouquet of spring flowers wrapped in white matte paper with a pink bow to hold them all together.

She smiled more, taking the flowers and smelling them, feeling her heart turn twice it's size at the sweet scent as she glanced from the flowers to Magnus's face again. "Thank you," she murmured, wanting to kiss him too as her veins filled with lust and affection, a dangerous combination, but Adam was watching still. They watched each other for a few seconds, feeling the warm energy beginning to dance between them and Alice smiled more. "So you've met Adam," she said, as if to change the subject in her brain but her body didn't listen.

"Yeah." Magnus replied, still intently watching Alice's face for a few moments as his own body began to warm. It was as if seeing her again flicked a switch inside him, and seemed to flood inappropriate thoughts about her into his mind at the wrong moment. He looked away from Alice and back to Adam and smiled, trying to distract himself too although the way both Alice and Magnus were now subtly behaving gave the game away.

"Yes, we've met," Adam smiled. He could tell almost instantly, as Alice turned pink and Magnus swallowed... they were young, a new couple and hadn't seen each other in almost a week, which in their minds was a week too long. Adam wasn't naive either, and chuckled quietly to himself since he knew Henry wouldn't approve but Henry wasn't here. "So alice why don't you show Magnus where he'll be staying and get him settled? I've made dinner reservations for five in town, maybe you can show Magnus around before then? Give him a tour?"

"Okay," Alice breathed, hugging her flowers to her chest and swallowing subtly as she glanced over at Magnus. "So, um... follow me..." she mumbled, turning away and walking away carefully. Magnus chuckled too, aware that Adam was aware of what they were exactly going to do, and they exchanged eye contact before Magnus walked away, following Alice towards the guest house where his driver had put his bags. "This is the guest house," Alice continued, opening the door and revealing its gleaming interior that had been fleshly cleaned.

"It's nice." Magnus murmured, watching Alice intently as he smirked, listening to her giving him an actual mini tour whilst she put his flowers into a vase and added water.

"And upstairs-" Alice continued, glancing out the window to see if she could see Adam or Henry, but saw neither... and felt her desire suddenly triple. Magnus followed her closely behind, his smile filtering down to a determined expression as he glanced over Alice's body from behind. "- is the bedroom, the bathroom is over there," Alice explained, pointing to the bathroom door as she walked into the room... "And that's really it. I cleared out some drawer sp-" she wasn't able to finish her sentence before she was spun around gently, and brought up close to Magnus's body... only seconds later she felt his lips against hers, and seemed to melt in his arms, feeling his soft, plump lips pucker against hers.

Alice moaned with appreciation, feeling her skin warm as she felt Magnus's hands grasp her hips then caress over towards her ass and back... their mouths moved together, creating deep, sensual kisses that began to make Alice believe they'd been apart for much longer than a week. Magnus groaned quietly, pulling up his sweatshirt she was wearing and diving his hands underneath her leggings, wanting to grasp her flesh as tightly as he could.

Alice gasped into the kiss, feeling her body warm with desire even more as Magnus took the opportunity to bite her bottom lip gently... igniting his own fiery lust as he heard her whimper at the pressure of his teeth against her skin. Alice kissed him hard, now wrapping her arms around his neck as he used his grasp on her ass to lift her off the ground. Her legs wrapped around his waist instantly, pressing their bodies together as Magnus turned and began to walk over to the bed... Before even reaching it, Alice leant back from the kiss, knowing she was secure in Magnus's arms to lean away from him to take off her sweater and tank top, revealing her bra to his greedy gaze before she leant in to kiss him again.

He laid her down, dropping her gently down onto the mattress before he shrugged off his jacket and threw it to one side just as Alice reached for his t-shirt and excitedly began to pull it up, revealing his tanned skin to her own greedy gaze. "You tan so well," Alice breathed, licking her lips as Magnus pulled of his t-shirt and dropped it onto the bed beside them,

"Thanks." He smirked, leaning down to kiss her neck and suck on her skin, causing her to moan in delight as her palms now smoothed across his strong shoulders.

"I just go red," Alice breathed, then released a soft giggle as Magnus lifted his head from her neck and looked into her eyes,

"Do we talk during sex now?" He asked, his tone gentle and serious but it still made Alice smile.

"You've barely got my underwear off, we haven't started having sex yet," She teased, causing Magnus to tilt his head and fight off a smirk. He leant away from her suddenly, standing up and pushing his hair out of his face, "What?" she asked,

"You distracted me," He replied, glancing around himself before realising his bags were downstairs. He walked off, making his way towards the bedroom door as he remembered something.

"Hey," Alice called softly, now sitting up also and wondering if she'd pissed him off with her conversation. She ran her own hand through her hair, moving the wavy strands out of her face and sighing softly... "Magnus?" She called again, suddenly hearing him coming back up the stairs and tilted her head to the side, feeling confusion seep into her bloodstream, until she saw the large blue gift bag in his hand.

"You reminded me of something I got you," Magnus explained, pushing his hair out of his eyes again since he'd left it un-styled.

"Oh, we're doing presents?" Alice asked excitedly, getting up off the bed and hurrying off and past Magnus, out of the bedroom and down the small staircase, leaving him to be the confused one now. He opened his mouth to protest, but instead decided to let her do her thing, since she seemed excited.

"Since you're down there can you bring up my duffel bag?" He called, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed, peering into the gift bag to see the lingerie he'd picked up from the little french boutique. He waited a few moments until he heard Alice coming back up the stairs, now appearing with her basket of gifts and Magnus's duffel bag on her shoulder. "Jesus," he chuckled, seeing her grinning happily.

"Shut up," She smiled, walking over to the bed and sitting down a little further into the middle of it. "Since you're my guest, I get to give you your gifts first." She continued, tucking her hair behind her ears and watching Magnus as he turned to face her, moving further into the middle of the bed too, so that they could sit opposite each other.

"Okay, so what did you get me?" Magnus asked, feeling a strange spark of something in his chest as he looked from Alice's face to the basket and then her hands as she pushed it towards him. She'd wrapped each little gift in brown paper and seemed to begin to start blushing already as Magnus picked the smallest to open first. It felt strange to him, to open gifts like this, since his parents didn't really do Christmas or birthday's in the traditional sense like many other families did. He glanced up at Alice again, seeing her watching his hands as he peeled open a very obviously shaped present, revealing a large mug for Trois-Rivières that she'd gotten from the tourist store in town.

She laughed as Magnus smirked, holding the mug up that was a comfortable size for his hands but too large for Alice's. "Cute," he chuckled, turning it over and seeing the name of the city on the side, and on the other side was a list of the best attractions. "The best is an old prison?"

"We could go have a look if you want? Apparently the guide was actually a prisoner and lived there when it was an actual jail," Alice grinned and Magnus watched her smile, and found himself agreeing.