Phabel couldn't think of anything nicer than to lay on the bed with Olive in his arms. The patter of her heart against his body, the feeling of her curling the end of his hair in her finger and the soft warm breath across his neck. He held her tight to his body, fearing to let go of her, fearing it was a dream. Phabel had watched Lucian and Danika fall in love and eventually marry, stood beside them as the best man at their wedding. He was immensely happy for them but couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness and jealousy. Wishing that he had his own such luck in finding the right woman. He never could have believed that he had found her, that only a few years previous he had come across the perfect woman and then destroyed the memory of her. Phabel thought that the stones should come with warning labels on them. At least this time he knew that he could rely on his family to remind him of her, if his memory should fail him again. He doubted it would, it seemed the memories he did have were sticking, he silently prayed that the rest of them would come soon.

'It pains me to do so, aui leabu but I think it would be wise to ready for bed.'

Olive sat up and rubbed her weary eyes.

'Are you going to stay with Lucian and Danika?'

She nodded sleepily.

'I suppose it would make life a little easier. How much is the rent?'

'Rent?' Phabel scoffed 'You can not be serious Olive. As if Lucian would ever take money from you.'

'Phabel.' she softly chastised him 'I can not expect to eat and live there for free.'

'Well you won't have much money, I don't think you will have time to be working any more.'

'Really?' she looked at him concerned 'I'd need to go and see Frannie tomorrow then.'

'Of course.'

'Still not living there for free, you need to think of something or I ain't moving.'

Phabel cheekily scowled at her, shaking his head.

'Alright then.'

He tidied the kitchen as Olive readied for bed. When she exited the bathroom she was a little nervous. Her bed time attire consisted of very thin night dresses with kittens on them which made her feel like she was five. She climbed into the bed and waited as Phabel showered and readied for bed as well. Her heart was hammering, he might have said he would force himself upon her but it didn't mean he wouldn't ask. She didn't know what she would say if he were to ask. Olive knew that she wanted to be with him, there was no one else that would make her this happy but she still felt that it was too soon. When they had discussed the plans for the weekend, she didn't really think about what he was saying. He asked her if she wanted him to pick her up in the morning and continue onto the castle and she shrugged, stating that she didn't mind if he stayed. They had discussed what she would take, being that the apartment came with most of the furniture there wasn't much she needed. Olive didn't pay much attention to the conversation he had with Lucian when he phoned him, it resulted in the agreement of her changing address and that Danika would be there to collect them in the morning. But now that she had stopped to think about it, reality hit her. He was staying the night, in this tiny apartment with this tiny bed. Olive was more than just nervous, she was freaking out. Being his student no longer mattered to Olive but she knew that the university would come down on them harshly if they found out what was going on. As the door swung open and a puff of steam wafted out of the room, Olive lifted the sheet up to her neck, watching with very wide eyes as Phabel exited. In his arms was the jacket and shirt, all he wore was the pants.

His back was to her which she thought was the best thing, he couldn't see that she was staring at him. He was very defined but not over done, his skin seemed to be luminous in the light that hung above him. A droplet of water dropped from his wet shaggy hair, trailing a line of water down his spine. Olive thought that if he were to turn around at that very moment, all he would see is her with her mouth agape. She clamped it shut and tried in vain not to ogle him. Phabel turned around, the front was just as nicely shaped, on his sternum was a smattering of hair with more that trailed from his navel downwards. Olive was enthralled and wanted to trace her fingers down that line.

'Tucked in tight enough?'

'Uh, yeah.'

Phabel sat on the edge of the bed, leaning down to kiss her softly.

'Now bed time. I shall turn the lights out and you stay put young lady. I don't want you peeking at me when I remove my pants.'

'Pants?' she whispered.

'I promise no further than my boxers. When the lights are out I will have a surprise for you.'

He leaned down and kissed her again, then rose silently and turned off the light. Just as he promised he went down to his boxers and looked upon Olive. She was still tightly tucked in, her eyes were scrunched shut. He didn't think it was a very good sign, his mate was scared that he was going to seduce her and force her into giving herself away so soon in their new found relationship. It also wasn't good that she was so hesitant, he wondered if she was scared about it. Phabel decided that he would have to ask Danika to have some girl time with her, reassure her that it isn't as bad as what she clearly thinks it is.

Olive waited and waited. She heard him take his pants off, she heard him lay them over the chair with his jacket and shirt. But that was the last thing that she heard until there was a light thump on the bed. A light weight walked up her body, purring as it drew closer. That light weight suddenly got heavier as it stopped at the top of her stomach. She opened her eyes as the purring got louder, sitting on her stomach was the cutest cat she had ever seen. Phabel had turned into a Persian cat, but not just any Persian cat, it was an adult version of the ones on her night dress.

'Surprise.' the cat said.

'Oh Phabel.' she grinned as she sat up.

She picked him up and smooched him against her cheek, feeling the soft fur.

'Who is a cute kitty?'

'Me.'

'I like your surprises. Tomorrow I'm going to put a bow in your fur.' she said as she put him onto the bed beside her.

'I'd rather you didn't.'

'You are no fun.'

'I am fun, I just don't think bows would suit me. Now, off to sleep.'

Olive rolled onto her side, watching as Phabel curled into a tight ball beside her. She grinned, rolling back to stare at the ceiling. All this time she thought he was going to make her have sex with him, instead he behaved himself, showing his sweet and innocent side. He wasn't the bad guy yet she was trying to make him out to be one. Sure he didn't make contact with her or return the next night, but she now knew that wasn't his fault. He was cold towards her in the beginning but again, she knew why now. And so many times he has had the opportunity to insist that she takes their relationship further, not only to regain his memory but to gratify his own needs yet he has not. She wanted him to have his memory return, to remember their love but his father's words rung through her mind. The passion has to be there for it to reverse. If they were to start with the physical element of a relationship, would the passion return? It was possible. She had never truly stopped her love for him and his was developing rapidly for her. Olive thought of that night, wondering how it could have developed so quickly. Was she so naïve that she was ready to fling herself into the arms of the first man that walked past her, declaring him as the love of her life? Was it because she yearned for the love that he could give her, that she was so sorely lacking from her long lost mother and alcoholic father? Or was it fate that he happened past her in the stream, thought she was beautiful and wanted to get to know her, finding out they had more in common than he had ever dreamed? Olive hoped it was fate, not wanting to be naïve or desperate.

***************************** 

Olive woke in the morning to the smell of breakfast being cooked. Her eyes fluttered open, the sleep that she had was the best that she had for as long as she could remember. She knew why, it was because of Phabel, the man cooking breakfast for her. Olive wondered if he would always be like this or if he would become something like her father when the fun of a new relationship had worn off. She didn't want to be running after another man, even though she would for Phabel. Olive sat up on the bed pulling the sheet with her as she leaned back on the wall. Watching as he moved around the kitchen with his back to her. Even though he would have endless money, she knew he would be happy right here if that was what she wanted. Living in this no bedroom hole in the wall with it's lacklustre amenities, minimal heating and the rising damp problem. No, this place was not fit for a prince. It was a crazy thought, he shouldn't be cooking his own meal, Olive wondered if he had servants where he lived. She thought about their love, he had been so chaste with her last night. Never more than a kiss, not even a stolen glance. He changed into a cat so they could share the tiny bed without becoming cramped or putting Olive into an embarrassing situation. Phabel had respected her and behaved like a true gentleman. But now thoughts were lingering in Olive's mind, as long as he behaved like a gentleman and they refrained from pushing their relationship to the next level, he would only ever get snippets of their night together. She wanted him to have more, she wanted him to remember that night. It occurred to her that he might find it upsetting that he cannot remember something that means so much to the both of them.

Phabel turned with the pan filled with scrambled eggs, looking upon Olive who seemed deep in thought. The toast popped out of the toaster, frightening her.

'Morning.' he grinned. 'Sleep well?'

'Very much so.'

Phabel brought out the plates of food, sitting on the bed beside her. Olive frowned as she looked down at her plate, then to the kitchen.

'Uh where did the toaster and hotplate come from?'

'When I woke I felt like scrambled eggs so I went to the shops and bought the eggs, then I remembered that you only had the microwave so I bought the other things needed.'

Olive picked through the fluffy egg on the plate, the answer still made no sense.

'How could you buy these things, it's only seven in the morning. What shop is open at this hour?'

'None around here.' he said dryly.

She frowned at his peculiar statement.

'Mid jump.'

'Oh.'

Her thoughts from before were still prominent in her mind, anxiety was swimming through her making her disinterested in the meal before her. She picked through it slowly so he didn't think she was fussy or rude but Phabel could see the look on her face.

'Olive? What's wrong?'

She looked up at him, taking a deep breath to harden herself for the approaching conversation.

'I think I'm ready.'

Phabel thought that his heart had just dropped into the pit of his stomach as those four little words blurted out of her mouth.

'I think we should, I want your memories to return.'

'We will, do not be so insistent on rushing this. Maybe when we are at Lucian and Danika's?'

Olive could feel the colour draining from her face, the thoughts of the past hitting her hard.

'You have said that before, that another day would be ours but it never happened. I don't want to be broken hearted again because something happened to you, again. I can not risk it Phabel, I can not wait for another moment to pass. Do you not want my love now?'

'Of course I do but I don't want you to regret not being patient.'

'But what if something happens between now and then?'

'Now is different Olive, my family knows of you. If there was some catastrophic event where I happened to lose my memory again, I know that I would have them to remind me that I love a woman.'

His words did little to reassure her, in fact all it did was make things a little worse. Now he was rejecting her. Even though it was only a temporary rejection and wasn't really a rejection, it was enough to sting. Olive said nothing as she got off the bed and took her empty plate to the sink. Phabel watched with dismay, his plan for taking things easy on Olive was backfiring. She was slipping from his grasp and he had to do something. He climbed off the bed and stalked quickly to the kitchen, which was about two strides for him. Olive jumped slightly as his plate hit the bench, she could feel his warm breath on her shoulder as his fingers pulled the collar of her nightdress back slightly.

'You want more?' he whispered, gently placing his lips on her bare shoulder.

'Yes.'

As he turned her around, he could see the stone was glowing the brightest it ever had. He pushed her against the bench, kissing her hard. His hands lifted her legs around his waist, sliding up them to the soft cotton material stretched over her backside. Olive moaned within the deep kiss, feeling the burn from the intensity, the scrape of his stubble against her delicate skin. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting to feel the broad shoulders and the muscles, the heat of his skin against hers. As he pressed her hard against the bench, she could feel how much he wanted her. There was hardly anything between their moment, the soft cotton of her underpants, the silky material of his shorts. His hands moved the material of her nightdress over her hips, higher and higher he pushed it over the material. She gasped as he kissed her neck passionately, his hands pushing her dress over her ribs. As his fingers traced the underside of her breasts someone knocked on the door. Both of them stopped, not daring to even take a breath, their eyes darted to each other.

'Olive?' Danika called out 'Are you in there?'

Phabel's shoulders slumped as he sighed, they couldn't ignore her. They had to open the door.

'Soon.' he whispered his promise.

Ruefully she nodded as he let her legs down to the ground. Phabel watched with amusement as she pulled the nightdress down over her very fine backside and pulled a dressing gown out of the tiny wardrobe. He quickly rushed to his pants, not wanting to be found in such a state in front of the queen. Phabel knew the king would punch him for even looking at his wife the wrong way and as for being in such a state of undress, well that would earn him quite a few punches.