Thoroughly Kissed

by Kristine Grayson

  “You liked being tired?” he asked.

  “I earned it,” Emma said. “I would rather have had a long night’s sleep than a magical pick-me-up.”

  “The sooner we get started, the sooner we get back to our lives,” Aethelstan said. “We have a lot of ground to cover.”

  “I’m not sure I want to cover it,” Emma said. “Michael and I are getting a hotel room.”

  “It can wait,” Aethelstan said.

  “No,” Michael said. “It can’t.”

  “You’re not tired anymore, and you’ve already spent days together. I would think you’d want some time to yourselves.” Aethelstan was frowning. His wife was sitting beside him, trying and failing to suppress a smile.

  “The opposite, actually,” Michael said. “We’re taking Darnell’s advice and getting a room.”

  “Darnell?” Nora asked.

  “Long story,” Emma said. “But Michael’s right. I’m not ready to start tonight, Aethelstan. I want some time to adjust to being here.”

  His eyes had grown darker. “You’ve had plenty of time to adjust, Emma. This is the problem. You keep putting off your training. You can’t any longer. And we are going to get started.”

  He raised his arm again, but his wife caught it. “Don’t,” she said.

  “Don’t?” He looked at her. She seemed so small compared to him, but Michael was betting on her. She had a lot more power than appeared at first glance.

  “This is Emma’s life, and Emma’s decision.”

  “Emma seems to be forgetting that she has to learn her craft.”

  “I’m not forgetting it,” Emma said. “I’m just not sure I want it.”

  Michael felt his heart lurch. “Emma?”

  She looked at him. Her eyes, a richer blue than Nora’s, were filled with tears. “I want to go home, Michael.”

  “I thought Portland was your home.”

  “Madison,” she said. “I want to go to Madison.”

  “Well, we can do that, I suppose,” Aethelstan said. “Now that you’re here, I can do whatever we need to get you on the right track.”

  “Alex,” Nora said. “Just be quiet for a moment, would you?”

  He looked chagrined. Michael frowned. Was Aethelstan blustering around Emma because she made him uncomfortable? It seemed that way, and not the discomfort a man felt when he was attracted to a woman, but the discomfort he had when he felt he had treated her poorly.

  Emma was rubbing her index finger over Michael’s knuckles. She was studying the appetizers no one had eaten. “What can you teach me, Aethelstan?”

  “Control, Emma.”

  “And spells?”

  “All the ones I know.”

  She nodded. Michael didn’t entirely understand her mood shift. “This is going to take years, isn’t it?” she asked. “You can’t just put a spell on me and I’ll have it all?”

  “You can get the knowledge that way.” Aethelstan spoke softly. He seemed to sense that he had overstepped as well. “But the practice is the important thing. And you need someone like me to help you correct your mistakes quickly and easily. Like those white horses. They’re yours, aren’t they?”

  Emma nodded.

  “That’s dangerous magic to let float around,” he said.

  “They’re just wishes.”

  “People can wish for anything, Emma.” His voice was gentle. “A million dollars or the death of someone they hate. Anything at all.”

  Michael felt his breath catch in his throat. He hadn’t thought of that. And, he could tell from the look in Emma’s eyes, that she hadn’t either.

  “You’ll show me how to fix that?” she asked.

  “And we’ll make sure there’s been no harm,” Aethelstan said.

  “All right.” Emma was watching her fingers move over Michael’s. He’d never heard her sound so docile. What had changed? Or was she always this way around Aethelstan?

  Then Michael glanced up at Aethelstan and Nora. They were watching Emma with expressions of equal concern on their faces. They didn’t like how this was going either.

  Squidgy had made her way into the living room, her nose twitching at the smell of food. Darnell was sitting in the window, looking out at the city, as if this were his place and he had missed it.

  Emma’s finger was still tracing Michael’s. Her beautiful face was downcast, her eyes shaded. He squeezed her hand. She sighed, and brought her head up. “I’m not ready to start tonight.”

  “Emma, every hour I leave you alone is another hour in which something can go wrong.” Aethelstan’s voice was harsh.

  Emma’s face flushed. She had obviously heard what he said as criticism. Michael was willing to bet that the man meant it as concern. “I need to be alone with Michael for a while.”

  “You just spent three days driving with him. It’s not—”

  “Alex.” Nora put her hand on his knee. “If something goes wrong, you can fix it, right?”

  “It’s a waste of magic,” he said, but he covered her hand with his own.

  “And we can’t afford to waste magic, can we?” Emma snapped.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Aethelstan said. “You know the toll that magic takes. Why exact it if it’s not necessary?”

  “Maybe it is necessary,” Nora said.

  “Emma’s just procrastinating. She hates this kind of work. She’s had years to do it and—”

  “I’m not procrastinating,” Emma said. “I need some more time.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Aethelstan said. “You’ve used all your time and more. You’re lucky you made it here. Michael, we owe you more than we can say for getting her here. I’m sure it wasn’t easy—”

  “Emma was the one who got us here,” Michael said. Emma glanced at him in surprise. “I was just along for the ride. Added security, nothing more. I’m sure she could have done it on her own.”

  “That’s not what Sancho said.” Nora moved the silver tray. Squidgy was sitting beneath it.

  “Sancho?”

  “Merlin,” Emma said. “You know, the Ghost of Christmas Present.”

  “He told you about the Dickens thing?” Aethelstan said.

  “No, actually,” Emma said. “Michael had a visitation.”

  “Sancho did that?” Nora looked at Aethelstan for confirmation. “I thought that wasn’t allowed.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Michael was getting annoyed himself. Who were these people to treat Emma like this? “I don’t care what your friend said. Emma did just fine. She saved us more than once. She’s going to be one of the most capable magicians around.”

  Emma’s finger had stopped moving over his. Her entire body was still, like a rabbit’s scenting danger on the wind.

  “She needs to start work immediately,” Aethelstan said.

  “She will. But let her get settled first. We had a long drive and we’re—well, we were tired. Give her a few more hours, and I promise she’ll be back here, ready to work.”

  Aethelstan studied Michael for a moment, clearly reassessing him again. Then he turned his gaze to Emma. “Will you be here?” he asked. “You won’t spend days avoiding this? It’s important, Emma. It really is.”

  “I know,” she said in that same meek tone she’d been using.

  Aethelstan sighed. “Look, you and I, we have our problems and I might not be the best teacher for you. I can get someone else. There are some good people in Europe right now.”

  “And there’s Sancho,” Nora said.

  Emma nodded. “I know. I’ll be all right.”

  “Emma, please.” Aethelstan’s voice lowered. “We’re getting off on the wrong foot again, like we always do, but I owe you this. I’m the reason everything is so messed up for
you. I’ll help in anyway I can. If I can’t teach you, then I’ll find the best person to do the job. So don’t delay this because of me.”

  “I’m not,” Emma said. “Believe it or not, Aethelstan, this isn’t about you.”

  Then she glanced at Michael. He couldn’t read the expression on her face and he felt himself grow cold. Was she going to send him home? Had she decided that her world was no place for a mortal?

  Suddenly there was a loud crash. They all turned. The silver serving tray was on the floor, the coffee spilling out of the pot. Squidgy was standing on the tray so that the coffee wouldn’t touch her delicate paws, and she was eating appetizers as if they had all been made for her.

  Nora cursed and picked her up. Aethelstan grabbed the coffeepot and headed for the kitchen. Emma choked out a weak laugh. “Thank God for Squidgy,” she said.

  “That’s why we went for silver,” Nora said. “She’s broken more dishes than any other cat on the planet.”

  Darnell hadn’t even turned around. Michael bent down and began to clean up. Nora put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Leave it,” she said. “Go with Emma. You two clearly have something to settle.”

  Michael glanced at Emma. She was already standing. She wasn’t looking at him, but at Nora. “Can you take care of Darnell for a while?”

  Nora nodded. “He won’t like being away from you.”

  Emma’s smile was small. “After this week, he just might.”

  She headed for the door, and let herself out. Michael stood and started to follow her. Nora caught his arm.

  “My husband isn’t really unreasonable. He loves Emma. It’s just that for a thousand years, she was helpless and he was her protector. He can’t seem to get beyond that.”

  “Emma doesn’t need protection anymore.”

  Nora smiled. “Once she woke up, she never did. She’s a strong woman.”

  “Yes, she is,” Michael said.

  “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

  He glanced at the door. It was ajar, but he couldn’t see Emma. She was probably waiting in the hall. “How do you do it?” he asked. “How do you live with someone who was born before William the Conqueror?”

  “It creates problems,” Nora said. “But we work them out. You will too.”

  He shook his head. “My life is so short compared to hers. I’m a mayfly and she’s damn near immortal.”

  “I don’t think I’m the one you should be talking to about this.”

  “Emma assures me that it’s not a problem.”

  “Then maybe you should trust her,” Nora said. “She loves you too.”

  “How can you tell?” he asked.

  “I’ve known her for a long time. She’s never leaned on anyone before.”

  “She hasn’t leaned on me either.”

  Nora’s expression softened. “Then you haven’t been paying attention.”

  Chapter 15

  Emma had never checked into a hotel in the morning before. She wasn’t used to the hustle and bustle of the front desk, dealing with people in a hurry to leave, while she waited alone in the check-in line.

  Michael stood near the suitcases. He looked pensive. The energy that Aethelstan had given both of them still had them bouncing, but it hadn’t erased the circles from Michael’s eyes.

  Ever since his short conversation with Nora—which he wouldn’t share with Emma—he seemed worried. Maybe Emma hadn’t explained things well enough to him. Or maybe he was finally facing the reality of what she was.

  Emma sighed deeply and found herself wishing that Darnell was with them. Darnell was her security, and she wasn’t used to being without him. He was a constant, and she needed him more than she had realized.

  The hotel was a modern upscale chain right in the heart of downtown Portland. The lobby was done in blacks and marbles, the ceilings were high, but the attitude was refreshingly friendly. Oregonians didn’t seem to understand the word “snooty.” Even the desk clerk, who was astonished that someone would check in at the strange hour of 7:00 a.m. was polite about it. He even managed to find them a newly vacated, newly cleaned room.

  When Emma got the key she beckoned Michael. He dragged their luggage cart to the elevator and said nothing as they got on. Her heart was pounding.

  “There’s a lot of homeless near the river,” Michael said.

  “Hmm?” Emma glanced at him. He was staring at the door, almost as if they were strangers.

  “All the white horses. Didn’t you see them?”

  She had. The river was only a few blocks from here. They had driven by it after they left the loft. There had been a lot of horses, and a lot of homeless, although not nearly as many as ten years ago. Portland was working on helping its poor, unlike other cities.

  “I saw them,” she said. “Aethelstan didn’t approve of them.”

  “He didn’t seem to be in the mood to approve of anything.”

  “I know,” Emma said quietly. A lot of that was her fault. Aethelstan had never been able to figure her out, even though he tried. Sometimes she thought it was because she didn’t know her own mind, either.

  Although he wasn’t that far off about her training. She was postponing it, and not just for some time alone with Michael. The whole idea of using her magic made her stomach twist. She had liked her world small, liked the house with its garden, her teaching position, her modern education.

  What she had realized on this trip was that it would all vanish one day, no matter what she did. No matter how hard she worked. Aethelstan had been awake for that thousand years she slept. He opened a restaurant because a lot of the meals he loved weren’t available anymore. Recipes, he once told her, survived centuries. Little else did.

  The elevator doors opened, and Emma took the luggage cart. Michael grabbed an end, as if he still had to be useful. They pushed the cart to the room, which was on the far end of the floor. Emma used her keycard to let them inside.

  The room still smelled of lemon polish. It was smaller than their Montana hotel room, but it had as lovely a view of the city as the loft did. Emma pushed the cart to the walk-in closet, unloaded the bags, then shoved the cart into the hallway and closed the door.

  Michael leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching her. “It seems that the mood is gone,” he said. “I guess driving for two days’ll do that to you.”

  Emma walked to the windows. Sunlight fell across her, warm and comforting. The river sparkled, a dazzling blue. Mount Hood looked cool and regal in the distance.

  “What are your plans?” she asked.

  He was silent for a moment. “We—um—had a date. I thought.”

  “I know,” she said.

  “And then I thought, I don’t know, that we’d spend some time together.”

  She nodded. Originally he had planned to go home right away. He had done her a great favor.

  “But it seems that your friends have a different agenda.” Michael sounded calm. Emma worried when Michael sounded so calm. “They think it’s dangerous to let your magic remain out of control much longer.”

  “They’re right.”

  “So why come here, Emma? I won’t hold you to that obligation. It was the heat of the moment.” His voice grew wry. “And I’ve never found sex enjoyable when one of the parties looked on it as a duty.”

  “Is that how you see it?” The words came out of her before she could stop them.

  “No,” he said. “I thought that’s how you did.”

  She shook her head. She wanted to go to him, but she couldn’t. She was too confused inside. The training loomed ahead of her—the new life, which she couldn’t change.

  “Michael, if I ask you a question, promise me you’ll be honest.”

  “All right.”

  She tu
rned. He was still leaning against the wall, arms crossed. But he was frowning now, as if he couldn’t figure out what she was going to do.

  “Do you think I could have been a good teacher?”

  He blinked as if that weren’t what he expected, and then he smiled. “You already are. Those students loved to hear what you had to say. That’s ninety percent of the battle.”

  His response was unexpected. She sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. He crossed and sat, pulling the mattress down. He didn’t touch her.

  She took his hands. They were strong hands, good hands. Comforting hands. “You’ve never been involved with anyone either, have you?” she asked.

  “I’ve had relationships.”

  “But you never married.”

  “No.”

  “Never lived with anyone?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why not?”

  He shrugged. “Always waiting for the right woman, I guess.”

  “And what would you do when you found her?”

  His thumb covered hers. “Hope she felt the same way I did.”

  “What if she did?”

  “I’d make a life with her, if she wanted me.”

  “I want you, Michael,” Emma said softly. “I love you.”

  He didn’t move. She had thought he would kiss her, hold her, maybe lean her down on the bed as he had done before. Instead, his eyes were empty.

  “I’ll live a fraction of your life, Emma,” he said. “You’ll just be getting used to your magic when I’ll look old enough to be your father. Then I’ll look like your grandfather. And then I’ll die. You’ll still be a new mage.”

  “I know.” Her voice trembled.

  “Feo, he said that there are spells to make me look the same age as you.”

  Emma nodded, feeling sad. “But not ways to lengthen your life, Michael.”

  He bowed his head.

  “And,” she said, “our life together would always be like this drive. You’d never know what sort of magical thing would come our way.”