The Warlock's Kiss

by Tiffany Roberts

  “Did you ask him?”

  “No, but he doesn’t look that old.”

  “You both realize I’m only thirty feet away, don’t you?” Merrick asked without looking up from his work.

  Adalynn ducked her head and covered her face. “Kill me now.”

  Danny laughed. “See! That’s what I expected.”

  With a smile, Adalynn raised her head and looked at Merrick. Sweat glistened on his brow as he moved along his row, pulling deep-rooted weeds with practiced ease. Adalynn picked up a fresh bottle of water and stood. Dizziness assailed her immediately; she sat quickly and closed her eyes.

  “You okay, Addy?” Danny asked; his voice, playful only a few moments ago, was now thick with concern.

  She took in a deep breath and released it slowly. The dizziness faded, but it left a cold, heavy lump of dread in her belly. “Yeah. I just stood up too fast. I’m fine.” She smiled at her brother and placed a comforting hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. Let’s get back to work.”

  Danny eyed her skeptically for a moment before finally nodding. He picked up his basket and went back to picking weeds. Adalynn walked over to Merrick; the mud was already hardening beneath the intense sun.

  She stopped next to Merrick and held the bottle out to him. “Here. You need to take a break, too.”

  “Perhaps.” Merrick turned to face her, tugged off his gloves, and accepted the bottle. He twisted off the cap and drank half the water in one go. His gaze settled upon her as he replaced the cap; his eyes narrowed slightly, and a little crease appeared between his dark, thick brows. “You’re sure you’re all right, Adalynn? You look pale.”

  “I got a little dizzy from standing up too fast. I’m feeling fine now.”

  The skepticism remained in his expression as he handed the bottle back to her. “I will finish the weeding with Daniel. You go ahead and check the tomatoes, as you’d intended.”

  Adalynn nodded. She returned to the bench to set down the water bottle and collect her basket before walking over to the tomatoes. Their strong, earthy scent enveloped her, but it wasn’t enough to distract her fully.

  She shouldn’t have been irritated that Danny and Merrick were worried about her, and she wasn’t, at least not toward them—but she hated feeling like an invalid.

  She forced those thoughts aside and focused on her work, picking the plump red vegetables—or were they fruits?—from the vines and placing them gently into the basket.

  The dizziness came and went like lazy waves rolling ashore and then slipping back into the sea. She paused each time it came on, closing her eyes and willing the sensation away before resuming her work. She didn’t want to stop; she didn’t want to stop feeling normal, didn’t want Merrick and Danny to stop treating her like normal.

  Before long, a throbbing headache joined the dizziness, but it didn’t recede. The dread she’d felt earlier solidified.

  I’m just overworking myself. I’ve felt fine for days. I…I can’t relapse now.

  She sensed Merrick’s eyes on her with increasing frequency; whenever she glanced at him, he was staring at her, his expression troubled. After what couldn’t have been more than ten or fifteen minutes, he declared their work finished for the day.

  “So long as the weather permits, we will continue tomorrow,” he said, setting the basket full of pulled weeds a few feet away from the other containers, all of which were laden with produce. “I think we’ve earned a good meal and some relaxation, have we not?”

  “I’m starving,” Danny said.

  “And I am unsurprised,” Merrick replied. “Young Daniel and I will carry our harvest to the porch. Would you go inside ahead of us, Adalynn, and decide on something we can cook?”

  Adalynn nodded, and—not wanting to concern her brother—forced a warm smile onto her lips. “All right.”

  The intensity in Merrick’s gaze made it clear that he saw through that smile. Thankfully, he didn’t call her out on it.

  “Aww. We gotta carry all these? My arms are killing me, and there’s no way we can get it all at once,” Danny said as Adalynn turned and made her way toward the house.

  “It will take several trips, undoubtedly,” Merrick said. “It should be a pleasant task, as I’m sure you’ll complain throughout.”

  “Just for that”—Danny grunted—“you won’t hear anything from me.”

  “Curse you, boy. You certainly know how to punish me for my sharp tongue.”

  Adalynn’s lips curled into a genuine smile despite her discomfort. She glanced over her shoulder to see Danny carrying a basket of cucumbers, lagging just behind Merrick, who had the basket of tomatoes in one hand and the basket of squash in the other. Danny’s features were contorted in a scowl, while Merrick’s lips were upturned in a smirk—at least until he looked at her.

  His smirk fell into a frown, and that worried crease reappeared between his eyebrows.

  She turned away and left the garden.

  I’ll be fine. It’s just a combination of the heat and the hard work.

  To her relief, she did start to feel better after entering the relative coolness of the house. As much as she enjoyed sunshine, it didn’t seem to agree with her these days. She’d probably just pushed herself too hard and underestimated the heat; she’d likely been on the verge of heat exhaustion or something like that.

  She made sure to drink some more water before washing her hands and face. Then she went to rummage through Merrick’s pantry. “What to make for dinner…”

  After sliding aside several cans of vegetables, she discovered a box of spaghetti with a jar of tomato sauce conveniently close by. Bingo. It’d go perfectly with the homemade bread—which was only slightly burned—she’d made the day before.

  Grabbing the pasta and sauce, she stepped out of the pantry, nudged the door closed with her foot, and set the items on the counter. She still wasn’t entirely familiar with Merrick’s kitchen, but it didn’t take long to find a couple pots that were the right size. She got the fire going in the wood-burning stove—the sort of large, black thing she would’ve thought was just a decoration people bought in antique shops when she was young—and set a pot of water atop it. She was still learning how to deal with the altered cooking times caused by baking with a wood fire, but boiling some water and heating some sauce would be easy enough to get right.

  While she waited for the water to boil, she opened the sauce and dumped it into the other pot, pausing as an idea came to mind. There were plenty of fresh vegetables in the pantry that needed to be used. Hurrying back to the pantry, she grabbed a zucchini, an onion, and a carrot.

  Though Adalynn’s head still ached, she pushed through it. She was chopping the vegetables and adding them to the sauce when Danny came flying into the kitchen.

  “Is it done yet? What’s that?” Danny moved closer to her and peered into the pot. “No way! Spaghetti?”

  Adalynn leaned away from him, wrinkling her nose. “Ugh, you stink. Go take a quick bath.”

  Danny stared at her incredulously. “Seriously? You worked outside, too. I’m sure you don’t smell like roses.”

  “She doesn’t,” Merrick said as he strode inside, shutting the door behind him. “She smells like lavender.” He walked to the sink, turned on the water, and washed his hands and arms.

  Adalynn stared at his forearms, once again transfixed by the play of his muscles. “I do?”

  “You do.” He dried his hands on a dish towel and turned to face her.

  She snapped her gaze up to meet his, and her cheeks warmed. She’d totally been caught staring.

  Danny threw his hands up. “Can you guys at least wait until I’m out of the room? I don’t need to see you hitting on each other all the time.”

  Before Adalynn could reply, Danny snagged a couple slices of carrot and left the kitchen. She frowned but didn’t bother calling him out on the theft—or on his accusation.

  Even if it was true, what did it matter? She was a grown woman. She was allowed to flirt and
be flirted with, especially when the man who’d caught her attention was tall, well-built, dark-haired, and sexy as hell in that brooding, mysterious, bad boy kind of way.

  They’d flirted plenty over the week, though their interactions over the last several days had been tame compared to what had happened in the ballroom. She’d told him after their kiss that she had to think, but she still wasn’t sure what she thought about all of it. She knew he’d been right—she did want him—but she didn’t know what to do about it. What she was ready to do about it.

  Could it really be that easy to give in to her desire? Could it really be so simple and uncomplicated?

  The answer her heart offered was brutally honest, and it was the one thing preventing her from succumbing to her desire—it would absolutely be simple and uncomplicated…for Adalynn.

  Merrick was the one who’d have to carry on afterward. Merrick was the one who’d have to deal with the hurt, with the loss, unless their relationship was purely for pleasure, purely physical. And she didn’t think that was possible.

  But oh, she wanted him.

  “What do you need help with?” Merrick asked, drawing her attention away from the doorway Danny had disappeared through.

  “Nothing. I’ve got it all handled.” Her eyes trailed over him, stopping at his feet, which were now bare except for his socks. For some reason, she found that funny, and couldn’t hold back a giggle. It was the first time she’d seen him without shoes.

  Merrick tilted his head, leaned his hip against the counter, and folded his arms across his chest. “Is something amusing?”

  “No,” she said, turning back to vegetables on the cutting board, but her grin lingered. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye.

  “Your lips suggest otherwise, Adalynn.”

  “I’ve just never seen you without shoes on. It makes you less…intimidating.”

  He arched a brow and glanced down at his black socks. “So it was my footwear making me intimidating all along? I wish I’d known that sooner.”

  Adalynn dumped the carrot slices into the sauce, set the knife down, and turned toward him. “Why sooner?”

  “It might’ve saved me some trouble in the past. I could’ve simply upgraded my shoes, and people would’ve been too frightened to cause issues.”

  Though she knew he was making light of it, Adalynn frowned. “What happened?”

  Darkness fell across his features for an instant. “A great many things over many years. Suffice it to say, my past experiences with…people have driven me to live here, in the middle of nowhere.”

  Adalynn pushed away from the counter and closed the distance between them. His eyes remained locked on hers. Slowly, she reached up and lightly touched the scar on his forehead and cheek. Faint energy hummed beneath her fingertips. “And this?”

  He caught her wrist. His grip was firm, and she could feel the tension in his muscles, but he did not pull her hand away. “I received it when my parents died,” he said in a low, strained voice.

  Adalynn’s eyes flared. His tone implied that something horrible had happened—and that he didn’t want to discuss it further—but he didn’t tighten his hold on her wrist or hurt her. She curled her fingers into her palm. “I’m sorry, Merrick.”

  He searched her face for a few seconds, lips downturned, before something in his eyes softened. “You were not responsible for what happened.”

  “Doesn’t mean I’m not sorry about what happened to you, or to them.”

  Merrick shifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Thank you, Adalynn. It means more to me than I can express.”

  Adalynn smiled up at him. However chaste his kiss seemed, it had sent a rush of heat through her, which pooled deep in her core. With Merrick this close, she could smell the scents of dirt, vegetation, and sweat clinging to him—the latter was an alluringly masculine smell—but there was more. Hints of leather and cedar underscored the other smells; she’d come to associate those aromas with him.

  She wanted nothing more than to move closer, to press her face into his neck and breathe in those scents, to feel his hands—his mouth—upon her. But the ache in her head insisted now was not the time.

  “I should get dinner finished before the human garbage disposal returns,” she said, taking a step back.

  For a moment, he didn’t relinquish his hold, and Adalynn wondered if he meant to draw her against him, to take her in his arms, to make her tell him what her decision was now that she’d had days to ponder it. But he did let go; she was at once grateful and disappointed, despite the way her head felt.

  “You can go sit, Adalynn. I’ll finish dinner.”

  Though her instinct was to object, she resisted it. Nodding, she pointed at the pot behind her. “The sauce is ready to heat up, and there’s some leftover bread we can warm to have with it.”

  He set to work without hesitation, and Adalynn sat at the table. She found herself transfixed; even in this—a task so mundane, so simple—he moved with purpose and confidence. Once he saw to the sauce, he dumped the pasta into the boiling water, sliced the bread, and seasoned it.

  “We’ve more than enough vegetables,” Merrick said, turning toward her after he’d slipped the bread into the oven. “We’ll have to make our own sauce next time.”

  “I’d love to learn how.”

  “And I would love to teach you.”

  As seemed the case so often, there was more in his expression—unspoken words gleamed in his eyes, highlighted by a fiery spark. But he simply turned back to the food, and they chatted casually as he cooked. He’d once described himself as an eccentric millionaire, but he didn’t fit the image those words brought to Adalynn’s mind. She would never have expected anyone with such wealth to cook for himself—much less know how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch—or tend his own massive garden.

  Danny returned with his hair hanging damp around his face as Merrick was dividing the food between three plates. Danny sat in his usual spot beside Adalynn and dove into the food as soon as Merrick placed it before him, shoveling forkfuls of pasta into his mouth and slurping noodles noisily.

  Merrick shook his head before walking into the pantry. He returned a few moments later with a green container of parmesan cheese. He unscrewed the lid, removed the seal, and replaced the lid before setting the container at the center of the table. He took a seat across from Adalynn.

  “This is awesome. Thanks,” Danny said, reaching for the cheese.

  “I think we’ve earned it today,” Merrick replied. He looked at Adalynn, and when he smiled, a hint of mischief danced in his eyes. “Of course, this does count against your meal allotment for tomorrow, Daniel.”

  “What? No way!”

  Leaning his elbows on the table, Merrick turned his palms upward. “My apologies, but rules are rules. I suppose you’ll have to do extra work if you want supper tomorrow.”

  Danny groaned. “I guess so.”

  Adalynn failed to hide her smile.

  They talked amongst each other as they ate, but, as the meal wore on, Adalynn spoke less and less. Exhaustion settled over her heavily, and her headache worsened by the minute. Those symptoms were accompanied soon enough by a touch of nausea. She’d only made it through a quarter of her meal when she finally set her fork down; as much as she hated the thought of wasting food, it felt like one bite more would send her over the edge.

  “Here, Danny.” She slid her plate toward her brother.

  Danny frowned, glancing first at the plate and then her. “You okay, Addy?”

  “I’m just going to take a quick bath and go to bed. I think…I think I might have overdone it a bit.”

  He hurried to his feet. “What’s wrong?”

  “Stay and eat, really. I’m just feeling tired.”

  Merrick placed his hands on the edge of the table and rose, sliding his chair back as he did so. “At least allow me to help you upstairs, Adalynn.”

  “I’m fine. Please. Stay and enjoy dinner.” She smile
d; the expression felt strained. “I just need some rest.”

  Worry gleamed in their eyes, and she could almost sense words of protest forming on their lips, but Danny and Merrick kept quiet.

  After several seconds of silence, Merrick nodded. “Please be careful. We are close, should you require anything.”

  Adalynn nodded, tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, and stood up. “Thank you.”

  She exited the kitchen, made her way down the hall, and went upstairs to her room, where she gathered her things to take into the bathroom. She took a quick bath, scrubbing away the sweat, dirt, and grime of the day. She still couldn’t believe there was hot water here. But, as much as she would’ve loved to soak in the tub and let her muscles be soothed by the heat, her body felt heavier with each passing moment, as though her strength were being drained by some unseen force. Her lightheadedness only intensified; all she wanted to do was get to bed.

  Once she was dressed and back in her room, she dropped her belongings next to the bed, crawled on top of it, and slipped beneath the covers. The moment her head hit the pillow, she passed out.

  She felt like she’d only just closed her eyes when a burst of agony in her skull forced them open. She cried out, lifting her hands to clamp them around her head, and gritted her teeth against the overwhelming pain. It was far worse than anything she’d ever experienced.

  I’m dying. Oh God, I’m dying.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned onto her back. The movement, usually so insignificant, triggered a debilitating wave of vertigo that was accompanied by a fresh spike of pain; it was like a screwdriver was being hammered into her head.

  She struggled to sit up, but the room—which was much dimmer than when she’d lain down—spun wildly around her, and she toppled over the side of the bed. She landed heavily on the floor and barely had enough time to push herself up on her elbows before she vomited. The pressure in her head increased; her skull felt like it was about to split in two.

  Chapter Eight