Page 21 of The Champion
“Would you ever consider leaving France?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Again, her face turned down, and this time she stepped back. I felt the physical distance as a painful throbbing in my chest and fought back my need to pull her close to me.
“Freya.” My emotions were right behind the wall of taught behavior, like a powerful stream of water crashing up against a dam. She was standing on the dry side facing a wall that I had spent a lifetime fortifying. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel things, but where would I start if I were to explain everything to her? How would I avoid drowning her if I allowed my wall to fall?
“It’s late, Victor. I’d better go.”
My tone was soft. “What if I don’t want you to?”
Her right shoulder lifted in a tiny shrug. “We don’t always get what we want.”
When she left my apartment, I stood back with a heavy feeling of despair. My hopes that Freya’s visit to France would be the release I’d been longing for since I was twenty now felt out of reach again. Our situation wasn’t that different from the trade negotiations between our nations. I had asked for a temporary loan and she wanted a long-term commitment.
For someone with a genius mind, I wasn’t able to find the solution to our impasse.
CHAPTER 5
Umbilical Cord
Freya
The summit was over much too fast.
Before I knew it, I was waving goodbye to Thor, Mason, Indiana, and Linea, who flew back home without me.
It felt surreal to watch them leave. For twenty-nine years I had been under the protection of large and fierce men, but now I was on my own.
As Zola, Isaac, and Simon walked off, Celeste hooked her arm under my elbow and leaned her shoulder against mine. “Isn’t it a nice feeling to finally be free from their watchful eyes?”
My brow creased. “They are my friends and family. I’ll miss them.”
“Tsk. You won’t have time to miss them. We’ll make sure you are busy having the best time of your life. Victor and I will introduce you to everyone at the lab tomorrow and before you know it, you’ll have new friends. Perhaps, you’ll follow Aubri’s example and experiment with your sexuality.” She grinned. “Victor and I can tell you which of the scientists and research assistants are the best lovers.”
My gaze met Victor’s, but as always, his face revealed nothing in public.
Emotionally, this summit had been harder for me than any of the previous. My confrontation with Victor in the nightclub and our talk on Sunday night had brought us nowhere. Fueled by our frustration that we couldn’t be together, our arguing this week had been worse than ever before and sure enough, Victor had a sharp reply.
“Celeste, you can stop selling sexual liberation to Freya. The patriarchy she grew up in did a fine job of indoctrinating her. She wants to save herself for a husband.”
Celeste looked at me with pity in her eyes. “Maybe in a few weeks when you get used to freedom, you’ll change your mind.”
Victor snorted. “By then, her next protector will have arrived. She won’t have much sexual liberation with Marco breathing down her neck.”
Celeste shrugged but I understood the message Victor was giving me. He saw a window of time for us to do as we pleased, and he was angry with me for wasting an opportunity.
What he failed to understand was that it wasn’t my protectors who held me back. It was my fear of the soul-ripping heartbreak that would follow when Victor had had his fun and moved on.
“I’m taking Freya to the lab. She’ll need time to catch up on the details of the project,” Victor announced. It made Celeste give me another sympathetic smile.
“Don’t let Victor boss you around too much. His brilliance makes him impatient with us mortals who don’t always follow his genius thoughts right away.” She lowered her voice to a loud whisper. “He can be rude, but I guess you know since you two always argue.”
“I’m used to men with large egos. I’ll be fine.”
“It’s me you should worry about,” Victor told Celeste and gestured for us to start walking. “Arguing with Freya can be entertaining during summit meetings, but it would be a distraction in the lab. We’ll need to focus on the project.”
As we walked out of the port area of France, I looked to the sky again for a last glimpse of my father’s drone in the distance.
