by test
I slumped back in my seat. I twirled my foot to the side and examined my shoe, it was my sturdiest pair of pumps, with a chunky, stacked wood heel, a rounded toe and a strong ankle strap with a largish, gold buckle. They were pretty comfortable too and I thought I could run in them if I had to. I watched as the big car maneuvered the crowded streets and I almost pulled the WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 67
door open and hopped out as we neared Powell's bookstore.
There were several buses that ran through this part of town, it would take just a moment to catch one that would take me all the way to my St. John's apartment or I could catch a bus to Patty's place. She would put me up for the night while I tried to figure out what to do next.
But what if I had an accident? What if I burnt up Patty's house or smashed in a wall and crushed her? How would I live with myself if I hurt her?
Besides, Gage would just come after me again I thought with a sigh. I looked him over objectively. He easily topped me by several inches. His legs were long and muscular, his thigh muscles strained against the fine wool of his pants and I had no doubt that if I were to run, he would catch me faster than I could say 'Hocus Pocus!'
I had 'been' with him during several of his runs. He was fast and strong. I ran a comfortable twelve minute mile, I was winded but not breathless when I was done and my heart rate reached its target beats per minute which was the goal, of course.
His average speed, I would estimate, was a seven minute mile and he kept up that pace for a grueling hour two to three times a week. Even at my most ambitious I couldn't manage more than fifty minutes before I limped home, sweaty and as tired as a toddler at Disneyland.
So, if I wanted to run again, now was not the time. Somehow I would find a way out of this mess. The key was to keep my eyes and ears open for any opportunities that presented themselves. Someday I would look back on this moment and laugh, thinking what a pessimist I'd been.
Everything about me seemed the same today as it did last week, but it wasn't. I was a ticking time bomb if Gage was to be believed. What a nightmare. I might have to spend the next couple of years away from my friends and family, in a self imposed quarantine.
I wasn't sure what kind of training he had in mind, but I was pretty sure it would be dull and involve lots of incense, chanting and deep breathing exercises. I hate incense. As for chanting, no way. I don't care what magic usually involves but I wasn't going to chant.
I looked out the window and saw the car make a hairpin turn off the Saint John's Bridge heading north towards St. Helen's. We traveled through the small town of Scappoose and I could smell the rotten, sweet odor of a paper mill as the road crept alongside the twisty Willamette River. The buildings and endless cookie cutter subdivisions of Portland were long gone and we drove along gently rolling hills in a generally northwest direction.
“Where are we going?” I asked in alarm.
I had been so lost in thought I barely noticed when we left the city. It made sense of course. He couldn't teach me magic in one of the popular downtown hotels. We needed a quiet, uninhabited area. Someplace where I couldn't hurt anyone.
“My house at Torvannen Beach.”
“You have a house at Torvannen beach?”
“I do now. I bought it this morning,” he said, giving me a small smile, while scrolling through messages on his blackberry. I almost snorted when I saw him pull the small electronic device from his pocket. But hey, I guess warlocks had to check their messages too.
I didn't have anything else to say after that and was quiet on the rest of the drive. Gage pulled a thin computer out of a side console and pulled a seat cushion out into a makeshift desk.
He used his phone to conduct several quick conversations while tapping away at the keyboard.
I heard him speaking in German, Italian and Japanese and wasn't terribly surprised by his knowledge of these languages. He was interesting, educated and gorgeous and I felt myself WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 68
wondering again why he would go to such lengths to pursue me.
I was a legal secretary at a mid sized law firm. I didn't have a fancy degree and wasn't astonishingly beautiful. I didn't have a talent for anything but bad first dates, sappy movies and eating chocolate. But, I guess he really wanted an heir and was willing to do whatever he had to to get one.
On that depressing thought, I closed my eyes and drifted into my favorite daydream, the one where Prince William stops by my apartment to use the phone and decides to stay after falling madly in love with me.
* * * *
With a crunching of gravel, the car slowly pulled into a circular driveway. With a spine cracking stretch I got out of the car and looked up and up at a monstrously large house. The house was three levels of impressive seaside architecture. The sun glinted on the multitude of large windows and I was blinded a moment as I walked forward.
I could hear the ocean close by and the air was cool and smelled of pine trees and salt.
A black SUV was already parked in front of the house and I saw several men fan out, their eyes scanning around the clearing, as we walked towards the front door.
Gage ushered me forward with a gentle hand on my lower back and with a small smile I walked into the house. It was as amazing inside as out. A sunken living room with exotic hardwood floors was surrounded by high arched windows. The furniture was soft and muted, with several large sofas and chairs arranged in a cozy conversational square in front of the fireplace. Framed artwork on the walls added a warm splash of color and fresh flowers, in oversized vases, were scattered throughout the room on every available flat surface.
A generous sized deck ran the length of the house and offered a spectacular view of the waves crashing on the beach and a distant lighthouse sitting on a rocky outcropping. A small stone slab pathway wound down to the sandy beach from the back of the house and I wasn't surprised to see a guard walk by it scanning the beach goers below with binoculars.
The house was furnished in neutral tones with a natural rock fireplace tall enough to stand in and a well equipped pecan kitchen with granite countertops, a double oven and a professional sized glass door refrigerator. We passed a dining room with an oak table that could seat sixteen comfortably, a breakfast nook painted a cheery apricot and cream and a home office with built in bookshelves, filing cabinets and enough computer equipment to keep a nuclear power plant running full stop.
Gage was speaking with his guards in the living room and I slowly walked through the house admiring the furniture and the view from the windows. The bedrooms upstairs were each more beautifully decorated than the next. I mentally assigned decorating schemes to each one; seashore, for the pale blue room with a Sahara sand colored bedspread and framed paintings of lighthouses and ships, maiden aunt for the room with a flowery bedspread and walls of the palest pink, Zen garden for the room with a low platform bed, potted bamboo and a hand painted silk screen in the corner.
There were six bedrooms in all. Each room had a television and stereo and all the linens were soft as a butterfly's wing and too expensive to be bought at the local mall store. A huge master suite was at the corner of the house,.
The master bedroom held a large, four poster bed of flame mahogany. A built in cabinet held a flat screen television and stereo, both looked brand new to me. The walls were painted a masculine brown and the bed was covered in a fluffy, pale celadon comforter with mountains of WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 69
cream pillows and a cashmere throw draped casually on the end of the bed. I pulled the cabinet doors open on the armoire with a curious look inside.
They were empty save for a lavender scented sachet. I wrinkled my nose and dropped the sachet, I hate the smell of lavender. I shied away from the massive bed, wondering where I would be sleeping tonight and was just backing out of the room when Gage walked in.
Suddenly, the large room seemed cramped and overly warm. He leaned against the door jamb, one foot crossed over the other, blocking m
y exit. “Do you like the house?”
“It's beautiful, amazing. I can't believe you bought it today.”
His eyebrow lifted in inquiry and he said, “We could live here for a while if you like.”
I didn't say anything to that. We had already covered this today. He straightened up from the doorway and I watched nervously as he walked forward. I took a cautious step back, but I was slow and could feel my curiosity for him warring with the lesser felt need to escape hold me stationary. I know why the mouse doesn't run when the snake approaches I thought when he was close enough to touch.
He was taller than me and I had to tilt my head back a little when he stopped in front of me and placed his warm hands on my shoulders. His head was getting closer and closer and I felt myself sway as he held the back of my head steady for his kiss. His lips were warm and dry and he nibbled a moment on my lower lip. His calloused hand fondled my earlobe in a distracting way and then moved to the nape of my neck, rubbing the pulse point in the dip of my throat as he deepened the kiss.
His tongue was hot as he swept inside and I trembled. His mouth tasted like caramel and brandy. His hand slid down my arm and his fingers twined with mine and I secretly craved his hands on my breasts and, as if he heard me, his hand brushed lightly across my erect nipple.
I moaned and he pushed my coat from my shoulders and his hand shaped and pinched my nipples until I was shaking with need. He ground his hips against me and I could feel his cock hardening and lengthening in his pants and then I felt the bed against the backs of my knees.
With a gasp, I tumbled backward onto it and felt him crawl over me with an intent expression on his face. His pupils were dilated making his gray eyes look black as he settled on top of me and made a place for himself by shoving my legs apart roughly.
My eyes widened in alarm as I felt my skirt sliding upward and I gulped in nervousness and laid my head back on the pillows only to meet my own frightened eyes. The ceiling was mirrored.
Gage looked like a fallen angel as his hands slowly opened the buttons on my shirt and his blond head dipped to take a lace covered nipple into his mouth. I moaned in excitement and struggled, weakly, to pull away.
This was going too fast for me. I hardly knew him and the problems I had with his plans for me were still there. Not to mention I wasn't ready to lose my virginity while partially dressed under a mirrored ceiling. On the other hand, no one else made me feel this way. All yearning, swollen lips and tingling breasts. I wanted to explore these feelings, to find out what it would feel like to give in.
Gage pulled one side of my bra up freeing my breast and it's throbbing pink nipple to his avid gaze and I had to beat on his shoulders several times while practically shouting his name to get him to stop and look at me.
His eyes cleared of lust as he realized I was no longer willing and with a pained groan he rolled over, onto his back, next to me. His face was tense and I saw a vein pulsing in his temple WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 70
as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. His cock was hard and thrusting up against the material of his pants and I swallowed hard thinking that if I hadn't stopped him when I did, he would have been thrusting inside of me in a couple of minutes.
Wow, the thought of that made me feel excited and vulnerable at the same time. I clenched my thighs together tightly to stop the pulsating feeling I had between them. It didn't help, I felt hot and melted inside and it hurt to push him away from me.
“Why?”
I didn't know what to say and my thoughts were random and confused. I never had a boyfriend before and the farthest I had gone with a boy was kissing and a few fumbled caresses of my breasts. I could understand now why people became so obsessed with sex. Before, I felt vaguely sympathetic for the way my friends got so involved with men and seemed so adamant that they have someone in their lives, now I could understand their need.
My heart was pounding and I felt breathless as I lay next to him trying to figure out how we ended up on the bed together. How I was so close to having sex for the first time with a man I just met. With a man who kidnapped me!
With a sigh, he sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed. I felt the bed dip as he stood up and with a feeling of apprehension I turned to watch him. He was standing by the side of the bed and staring at me with a grim expression. I hastily pulled my shirt closed and tugged at the hem of my skirt.
“This can't last forever, you know?”
“What do you mean?” I said, feeling my stomach drop as I waited for his answer.
“My patience. I have waited a long time to be with you I can't wait much longer. If your aunt hadn't kidnapped you, we would have gotten married a year ago, maybe more.”
“That's not my problem! You don't own me and the sooner you figure that out the better.” My voice came out louder than I intended.
I was mad and could feel a burning pain in my chest that increased as he took a step closer to me. With a crash and flying splinters, the door to the bedroom tore in half and I watched in horror as he turned quickly with an arm upraised and a gray cloud sprang up between him and the jagged shards of wood. My mouth was open in a soundless cry of shock and fear and I was frozen on the bed. With a sound like pebbles hitting a wall, pieces of the door hit the gray barrier before falling, harmlessly, to the floor.
Unlike the broken window in Lillian's office, I was aware of what happened this time. I felt the burning pain in my chest that hadn't registered the last time and a feeling of release as the magic escaped from my body.
I felt shaky and a little tired and slumped back onto several fluffy pillows pulling my legs up towards my chest with a low moan. I looked up at Gage with apprehension, really, I didn't want to hurt him, I was just so out of control.
Gage looked at me with an annoyed expression, “You have to learn some control. The shards from the door would have sliced right through me and into you if I hadn't been here to stop it.”
“Well, I wouldn't have gotten so angry if you weren't here!”
Hey, I worked with attorneys, I couldn't help using circular logic to respond to his accusation.
He took a deep breath and appeared to be fighting with himself to remain calm as he said,
“I know this is a big change for you. I am sorry, but you need to trust me and let me help you WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 71
control your powers.”
“I can't trust you if every time I turn around you're trying to get into my pants!” I blushed as I said it, but if we were going to be all trusting and friendly, I had to speak my mind.
He had an adorably vexed look as he thrust his hands into his pockets and rolled his eyes.
“Look, if I promise to leave you alone for lessons, can you try to trust me? Could you give me a chance to help you?”
He looked earnest to me. He had a small smile on his face and his hands were in his pockets. In fact, he looked positively non-threatening now. His offer was a good one too.
I could learn to control myself and when I was done I could go back to my normal, boring little life and try to forget about warlocks, witches and sex with incredibly hot British men …
.No! I wasn't going to obsess about sex with Gage. It was never going to happen and the sooner I got that through my perverted little brain the better.
Gage would be disappointed, naturally, when at the end of my training I told him I didn't want to marry him and bear his children. But, this wasn't the dark ages after all, I had a choice in the matter.
With a smile, I held out my hand and I tried to control the shiver that raced up my spine as I felt my hand engulfed by his much larger one.
* * * *
By the next afternoon, I was tired, breathless and angry enough to kill someone. Gage and I were standing near the ocean, this part of the beach was deserted and I was practicing Ley Line manipulation, yawn.
“Again Anna, you have to learn how to mold the power to your will. Right now it is like trying to hol
d water on the back of your hand. You have to shape it into something useful,” he said in a perfect imitation of a British schoolmaster. If he had a pointer and black robes I would swear he was an Oxford Don.
This was the third variation of the same speech and I was tired of it. My forehead was sweaty and I had tendrils of hair sticking to my nape and straggling down inside of my shirt to tickle my upper back unbearably.
Gage on the other hand was gorgeous. The thin fabric of his khaki pants outlined the muscles of his thighs, his hair gleamed in the sunlight and the mirrored lenses of his sunglasses lent him a mysterious air. Even the man's feet were sexy I noticed with a frown of annoyance.
“I know you're tired honey, just a little more today and then we can take a break, hmm?
Maybe watch a movie, eat some dinner?” He had a winning smile on his face and I couldn't help but smile back.
I felt my annoyance wash away like so much sea foam. He really was a nice and
thoughtful man when he wasn't trying to kidnap me and ruin my life.
I held my hands out to my sides, my palms face down and closed my eyes. I felt my feet on the beach and the sand tickled my toes in a pleasant way.
The waves crashed behind me and watery sunlight warmed my upturned face. A gentle breeze cooled my sweaty brow and I took a deep breath to calm my thoughts.
I felt a pulsing in the ground. Like a giant slow heart beating and I matched my breathing to it. The pulsing rhythm grew louder until it was all I could hear. I felt the world slide away and I nearly staggered to the side as I struggled to connect with the earth. My body felt light and insubstantial as I drifted closer to a glowing river that ran parallel to the human world. The earth was like a giant apple and the river ran under the skin, a glowing power stream right under my WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 72
