WB

by test

  What we had now couldn't last, we were two ships passing, or whatever that saying was about ships and people, or maybe it was people steering ships in troubled waters? Anyway, we were strictly temporary. It was best this way, no one could get hurt as long as we were honest and he let me leave when my training was done.

  He was gathering up the supplies from our magic practice and with a surprised

  exclamation I realized we only had a few minutes to get everything off the beach before the tide swept in.

  Two of his bodyguards rushed down the narrow winding stair to help us carry the table and the bigger items and I felt a red blush sweep over me. Had they seen anything? In the excitement of the moment I had completely forgotten that the guards had positioned themselves at the top of the stairs and on the rocky point overhanging the beach to the west. Both of those guards would have had a perfect view of Gage and me.

  A sick feeling burned in my stomach and I cast a quick glance at Gage. Did he realize that we might have been seen? Would he care? He was laughing over something one of the guards, Aaron, I think his name was, had said. In my excitable state I thought they were laughing at me and I had a sudden urge to hit them both over the head with the copper bottomed pot I was carrying.

  I took a deep breath to calm myself. The last thing I needed right now was to lose control again. I thought about the bedroom door exploding and Lillian's office window and felt my heartbeat ratchet up a pace. Not good, I needed something calming. Something good and sweet and relaxing. A distraction of the soporific kind.

  “I need Pride and Prejudice!” I didn't realize I had said it out loud until I saw the guards staring at me curiously and Gage giving me a concerned look.

  “Um, the Jane Austen book … it was made into a miniseries ….” My voice trailed off uncomfortably and I saw the guards exchanging grins. Wow, did I feel like a dork now. This was becoming an epidemic with me lately.

  WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 78

  “Aaron will get you a copy then.” Gage said and I saw the guard Aaron give me a quick nod and a loopy grin. Well, at least I provided a laugh for everyone.

  The house was warm and cozy. I made my way to the kitchen and after a few minutes of opening and closing cupboards I found coffee, filters, a bag of sugar and a carton of cream (the same brand I bought at home). Gage was nothing if not thorough. I had to marvel at the fact that I didn't feel angry about him knowing so much about me. I wished I knew more about him.

  I heard a sound and looked up to see Gage standing in the doorway. His short hair was windblown and he had pulled on a dark gray sweater and changed into form fitting jeans. He looked so good I wanted to tumble him to the kitchen floor and explore every inch of his hard body again. With an effort I stopped myself from getting up and going to him.

  “Do you want some coffee?” I asked.

  He shook his head and strode forward. His hands were warm as he worked them under the collar of my shirt and began to gently knead my tension away. I could feel the tightness in my shoulders loosening and he made a pleased humming noise in the back of his throat as he swept my hair to the side and using gentle pressure worked out the knots.

  I felt a soft kiss on the top of my head and turned to look at him. “You're beautiful Anna.”

  “Um, thanks, you're nice to look at too.” He laughed and spun the stool I was sitting on around so that he could look me in the eyes.

  “I can't decide what I like better; the kitten or the tiger,” he said with a slow grin. I gave him a playful slap on the shoulder and he stepped away quickly with a laugh.

  “I'm going to call your mother and brother tomorrow morning.”

  He had a serious look on his face as he said this and his hand was unconsciously rubbing my palm in a circular pattern.

  “Okay, why?”

  “To invite them here for the wedding. That way you can invite your friends too. I know your mother would like the wedding to take place in France, but there will be time enough to introduce you to her friends and family. We could spend some time there after the wedding. I have business in Australia next week, so the wedding will have to wait until I get back …”

  “I can't marry you Gage.”

  The sexy soft look on his face dissolved and he leaned away from me with an angry growl. Here was the Gage that I didn't like. His face looked carved from marble and the look in his eyes said, 'beware, this way lies danger.'

  “Look, we hardly know each other. Be real, I've seen the women you usually go for and I'm not one of them. I can't fit into all of this,” I waved my hands at the professionally appointed kitchen with its eight burner stove and industrial size refrigerator. In my earlier explorations I found seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, a cedar lined sauna that seated eight, five fireplaces, a wine cellar and a wet bar for heaven's sake! This was a rock star's hideaway, not the home of a lowly legal secretary like me.

  He looked really angry now. Gage smiling and laughing was breathtaking, like a fallen angel or one of Michelangelo’s statues come to life. But when he was mad, like he was now, he looked almost demonic and I felt myself shrinking back against the counter. His eyes were chips of ice and I felt a shiver race up my spine as I watched his face harden in reaction to my rejection. To cover my nervousness I took a long sip of coffee and scooted back in my seat.

  “You are mine Anna. Since the day you showed up in my dreams, from the moment I WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 79

  touched your hand at Celeste's apartment. Soon you will come to accept this and stop fighting me at every turn.”

  Women had been turning down men's offers of marriage for centuries. But, I had the feeling that he hadn't been turned down for anything, ever. A part of me felt happy to be the first. He was entirely too arrogant for his own good and it was long past time for him to encounter someone who was less than happy to go along with his carefully laid out plans.

  I hopped down from the stool and walked around the side of the center island hoping to put a little space between us. But, either he didn't get the hint or chose to ignore it and he followed me as I made my way from the counter to the doorway to the living room.

  I didn't see any of his bodyguards in the room and a quick glance at the stairs and open dining room showed they were similarly empty. I really didn't want to be alone with him when he was in caveman mode, but his guards were doing their guard thing somewhere else.

  “Where's the muscle?”

  His mouth twitched in a reluctant grin, “They're outside, patrolling the edges of the property. Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?”

  His abrupt change of subject had me turning to look at him. His shoulders were hunched a little and he had a wary expression on his face and I had the feeling if I turned him down for dinner he would turn back into an angry beast.

  “Okay, but not anywhere fancy, these are the only clothes I have.”

  My pants were dirty and wrinkled, the same as my shirt. But I was sure I could clean up a bit before heading out, maybe there was a store nearby that I could stop at to pick out a few things. A couple pairs of socks and panties would be good until I could get back to my place to pack a change of clothes.

  Before I could ask him about the possibilities, he said, “I brought your clothes with me from England, they're upstairs in the master bedroom.”

  I gave him an annoyed look at that reminder of my harried and stressful trip from London to Portland. I was still pretty mad at him about that and it took all my self control to keep from snapping at him again.

  In the bedroom later, I stood in front of the closet trying to decide what to wear.

  Obviously, the emerald evening dress was way over the top I thought, holding the beautiful dress up and swaying gently in front of the mirror before putting the dress back into the closet. But the pants seemed too office casual for dinner.

  Then again, I didn't want him to get any ideas, perhaps a businesslike look would be best.

  Damn, I never spent this muc
h time thinking about clothes. For a moment, I was struck by the absurdity of making a wardrobe choice for dinner with a warlock.

  Not only a warlock, but my fiancé from birth if my family's antiquated thoughts on the subject were taken seriously. What was I doing? If I had any sense at all I would open the window, shimmy down the drain pipe and run off into the balmy Oregon night.

  But, the thought of flying chairs and exploding doors stopped me as I started to turn for the window. I didn't want to leave and not just because of my out of control witchcraft. I liked Gage. That is to say I liked him most of the time, he was smart, handsome, funny and fascinating, I wanted to know all about him and I wanted him to like me. He was demanding, arrogant, pushy and downright infuriating too.

  After all the years I spent watching him in my dreams I felt like I knew him already, like reuniting with an old friend. I knew he preferred coffee to tea. He watched soccer and read WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 80

  mysteries. He was a nice boss, who never yelled at or berated his employees. He listened to rock music and sang out of key to his favorite songs.

  I also knew some pretty intimate details about him and not just from the sex on the beach we shared not more than an hour past. He slept naked, sprawled out on his belly and always woke up with a huge erection. He made sure his lovers came before satisfying himself and he was pretty inventive when it came to sex.

  There was still a lot I didn’t know, like what he really thought of me.

  I squirmed at the thought of what we had done on the beach. To say I had never done something like that before was a given, I mean in all my fantasies, and believe me, I had a few, I never imagined I would have sex with someone I had known less than a week.

  Although, technically, I'd known him a lot longer, I just didn't know that I knew him or that he knew me, er, it was getting to be a real muddle. This entire week was one surprise after another.

  After a quick shower and an even quicker hair style job, I was ready to get dressed. In the end, I settled on the red silk skirt with a matching blouse, a mandarin collar jacket and soft leather slippers that felt like they were made for me.

  I walked down the stairs enjoying the feel of the silk brushing against my legs with each step. Gage was waiting for me at the bottom. For a moment I stared, his hair glowed in the dim light and he was tall and broad shouldered enough to make the cover of an erotic romance novel.

  His head turned with a jerk as if he felt my stare and with an inward quake I met his piercing gray eyes and watched as a satisfied look replaced the grim expression that had fleetingly been there.

  He had high, aristocratic cheekbones and a long, almost hawkish nose, with skin that was freckle free and had no dimples or softness to lessen the look of a Viking prince of old. But when he smiled he seemed younger and more approachable.

  My hand lifted to pat my wildly curling hair back into the neat chignon I had pinned it up in. My hair had long been the bane of my existence, it was too curly and if I didn't keep it's length at my shoulders I ended up with a huge bouffant hairdo that would make Tina Turner blanch with fear.

  With a smile, he tucked my arm under his and we strode out from the house to the waiting car. I had to admit that I could get used to the limousine, but the ever present body guards were wearing on my nerves.

  I looked back and saw headlights following closely behind. “How many bodyguards do you have?”

  “Just six, only three of them are coming with us tonight,” he said absently, his hand was rubbing lightly on the inside of my wrist and I gasped as he pressed a sensitive spot on the middle of my palm.

  He smiled at my response and leaned in for a kiss. His hands were warm as he slid them under the collar of my jacket and rubbed lightly at the nape of my neck. The kiss was all sliding tongues and nibbling lips and I could feel heat spreading from my lips down to the bruised petals of my sex making me squirm and tighten in response.

  With a gasp I felt his hand on my thigh and it was moving up towards the apex of my legs. With a sob I tore away from his mouth and placed my hand on his to stop him, “No, not in the car Gage, the driver might see us!”

  He smiled in a devilish way and leaned forward again to kiss me, but he didn't move his WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 81

  hand any higher and within a few minutes I had relaxed enough to move my hand up to touch his head. I felt him shiver in response as I ran my fingers through his crisp hair and tickled the edge of his ear the way he did to me.

  I heard rather than saw as the car slid to a stop and a gentle knock on the glass had us pulling away from each other. I hurriedly checked my clothes and leaned forward preparing to leave the car when with a little chuckle, Gage said, “I like you like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “Your mouth is puffy from my kisses and you have the look of a woman who has been well loved.”

  I blushed and he laughed again and pulled me out of the car with him. His hand was on the hollow of my back and I liked that. One of the bodyguards opened the door to the restaurant for us and I frowned. Why did they have to come with us everywhere?

  The restaurant was small and dimly lit. We sat in a small alcove and I watched as his three bodyguards took up positions near the door and windows.

  We ordered dinner and drinks and afterwards the silence pulsed between us. I didn't know what to say and he had a brooding look on his face as he watched me while tapping the edge of his wineglass with a pensive motion.

  I knew what I wanted to say, but embarrassment kept me from saying it. With a

  desperate sigh I looked around the restaurant. It was surprisingly full for a Thursday evening and with a jolt I saw, that with the exception of Gage's bodyguards, all the other diners were watching us and whispering.

  “They're staring.”

  “Who is?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of me.

  “Everyone!” I said.

  Gage turned his head and I saw several eyes fall to plates and women’s hands fluttered to their hair as his eyes fell on them for a brief moment.

  “Do you want to go somewhere else?” He didn't seem to care but his look told me we could leave now if I wanted.

  “No, this is okay.” Silence again and I blurted out what was on my mind before stopping to think about it.

  “Why did I have all the dreams about you?”

  For a moment he looked baffled and then he laughed with a carefree abandon that drew the eye. With a last chortle he leaned towards me across the table and reaching for my hand he smiled as he said, “Because you wanted to be with me.”

  “I don't understand? Why would I want to me with you, I don't know you.”

  “The first dream you had of me, do you remember it?”

  I had to concentrate to bring the memory back. We were living in Little Rock, it was a hot night and I remembered having a hard time getting to sleep. The sound of the ancient air conditioner running full blast in my small, cramped bedroom struggling to keep up with the humid heat of an Arkansas summer was jarring.

  I must have fallen asleep some time after midnight because I felt a presence in my bedroom and jerked awake. My eyes scanned the room and I drew back in fear when a tall shape stepped out from the shadows in the corner of the room. The light from the street lamps outside backlit his dark clad form.

  He was like a fallen angel, all silver and darkness and I felt a strange yearning as he WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 82

  walked slowly to the side of my bed. With a moan of longing I held my hand out to him and just as our fingers were about to touch he disappeared. I woke up, for real this time, with a jolt of my heart. My room was empty, the man was gone.

  “Yes,” I said slowly.

  “What's the one thing that was different about that dream as opposed to all the others you had over the years?”

  “You were in my room!” I gasped in shock as I realized that what he said earlier was true.

  “I did it, I visited you all t
hose times. It wasn't you it was me.”

  He nodded and I took a deep breath trying to slow my racing thoughts.

  “I don't understand, how did I do that, why, would I do that?”

  “The first dream was my visit to you. I was desperate to find you, you were sixteen and I knew you must have come into your powers by then. Most witches do during puberty. But I never found a trace of magic from you. I knew you as a child, I touched your hand and we were bound by a magical oath. This was a strong bond and I used it to try and find you. But, you were frightened. Your conscious mind fought mine during the dream sharing and you thrust me away. But you were curious and over the next seven years you visited me over and over. But every time I tried to talk to you, you would disappear.”

  Okay, so I was a subconscious voyeur, it could be worse. I thought about all those sleepless nights, how I had been so worried I was going crazy, if only I had known. Crazy could be treated, but this, this was a whole other kind of problem. I wasn't even sure what to worry about first.

  Our food arriving was a welcome distraction. With half a mind on what I was eating I watched as Gage cut his food into neat bites and sipped at the glass of wine he ordered with his dinner. We both commented on our dinner and spent the rest of the meal talking about food and travel. Gage had, of course, been everywhere and I listened, with growing envy to his tales of floating down the Nile, diving for pearls in the South China Sea and eating roast goat in a yurt.

  Too soon, we were ready to go and with a silent signal I saw his body guards rise as one and they flanked us as we walked from the restaurant to the waiting car.

  “Do you really need them? All of the bodyguards with you all the time, everywhere?” I didn't mean to sound accusatory, it was just so strange, the way he traveled with an entourage like a superstar or something.