“You all take such good care of us, it’s the least I can do,” he said, returning the bow.
He pulled Sarah out the back door and into the warm evening, then toward the village. She was stumbling along behind him, staring at him as if she’d never met him before, and he realized that he’d just shown her a side of himself she’d never seen before. He felt a little exposed at first, like he’d revealed too much, but then he felt her hand grip his and warmth spread through him.
***Sarah***
Sarah had been watching Reese closely since he’d suggested they have dinner in the village, waiting for him to pounce, but all he’d done was hold her hand. Now she’d witnessed a side of him she’d never expected, and it was making it very hard to stay wary of him. She wanted just to relax and enjoy the evening, pretend that they were two friends out for a quiet evening, but she felt the electricity flowing between them, and even as innocent as she was, she knew what that meant.
She was tired of fighting what she was feeling, not that she was going to lose control and do anything shameful, but it might be fun to flirt a little. Now that Reese had stopped pestering her like a rude teenaged boy, she found that she liked him a little more, almost enough to give in to a few of the fantasies she’d engaged in that morning as he’d slept. But she quickly pushed the thought away; they were just out for a nice dinner in a unique setting, that was all.
When they were seated at the table on the patio, the river gurgling melodically next to them, a candle burning merrily on the table, she was suddenly nervous, and the silence that settled between them became uncomfortable. Reese was studying her intently like he’d been doing since they met, but this time, the look in his eyes made her heart began to beat faster.
Finally, the silence was broken by a woman calling out a greeting to Reese, and she tore her eyes away from his. The woman bustled up to the table. “You must be Sarah. Professor Stephen told me all about you. We’re so happy to have you here,” she said, but she was looking at her as if she were a specimen in a zoo. “How has your stay been so far?”
“Fine,” she answered. “This is a beautiful place. I’m lucky to have the chance to visit. Reese says you have the best food in town, and I’m looking forward to dinner.”
The woman puffed up, clearly pleased with the praise. “Don’t let Millie hear you say that,” she said. “I’m Georgia, by the way.”
“What’s for dinner tonight?” Reese asked, a look of relief on his face she didn’t quite understand.
“Oh, you are going to be so surprised,” Georgia trilled dramatically. “I’ll be right back.”
“Did I just pass some kind of test?” she asked, staring at the door Georgia had disappeared through.
Reese shrugged. “Kind of. You know how it is in small towns; people like to create a little excitement and you coming here got a lot of rumors started,” he said, sounding like he was choosing his words carefully.
“Like what?” she demanded, embarrassed. “I haven’t done anything.”
“It’s not that big deal, but they just got it in their heads that you were going to be different, I guess, pushy or rude or something,” he said, but she could tell he was leaving something out.
Before she could ask, Georgia emerged from the kitchen, two steaming plates in her hands. She set them down in front of them with a flourish, then stepped back and watched as the enticing aroma reached them, grinning when they both groaned in anticipation. Sarah leaned over her plate, unable to stop herself, took a deep breath, then sat back in her chair.
“That smells incredible,” she said. “What do you call it?”
Georgia looked over at Reese, then back at Sarah. “It’s deer pot roast, made from a local animal that’s only found here.”
Sarah was sure that she expected her to push the food away, but instead, she picked up her fork and took a bite, closing her eyes when the meat melted in her mouth. When she opened her eyes, they were staring at her, and she felt her cheeks flush. “Does everything taste better here?” she asked, a happy grin on her face.
Georgia chucked. “Well, then I’ll leave you two alone to finish your dinner,” she said, then disappeared again.
The silence that fell between them as they ate was a comfortable one, but then Reese said, “I’m sure you got a good history lesson about the castle, but the village was here before the castle. Would you like a quick lesson on the town?”
Soon, their plates were empty, and Sarah was even more in love with the quaint place she’d stumbled upon, Reese’s stories sparking her imagination. “I’d love to have a tour of the town,” she said, leaning back in her chair as a serving girl took their empty plates.
“Well, there’s no time like the present,” Reese said, getting to his feet. “That is unless you’re too stuffed to move.”
She grinned up at him, not missing the challenge, and got to her feet. “Lead the way,” she said.
He took her hand in his, and she let herself enjoy the burst of pleasure that traveled up her arm and into the very center of her body. As they walked, he pointed out the oldest of the buildings, most still used for their original purposes, then they strolled through several of the stores, finishing the tour at the ice cream shop. Beyond the point of caring how much she’d eaten that day, she let Reese order her two scoops without much resistance.
They sat on a bench in the little park in the center of the village, the stars twinkling above their heads, and ate their ice cream, the comfortable silence of earlier descending again. When he put his arm around her, she scooted a little closer and snuggled into his arms, forcing herself not to think about what she was doing. She spent too much time examining everything she did; tonight, she was just going to feel for a change, she decided as the sweet flavor of the ice cream filled her mouth.
Chapter Eight
***Reese***
As they finished their ice cream, the lights in the village began to go off, one by one, until the street was dark. But the stars were shining brightly, and a nearly full moon illuminated the night with a glow that only it could provide. Reese had never been a romantic kind of man, but even he couldn’t miss the magic of the night as he sat with his arm around Sarah, nor could he ignore that feeling that it felt right sitting there with her.
He would have been happy sitting there for hours, the simplicity of the moment a relief after all the time he’d spent worrying and watching. But Sarah yawned, reminding him that it was getting late, so he got to his feet and held his hand out to her, wondering if he dared kiss her.
“Sounds like it’s time to go home and go to bed,” he said, waiting for her to take his hand.
She stared at him for a moment, then took his hand. “I guess it has been a long day,” she said, getting to her feet. “Thank you for taking me to dinner and the tour of the village. I didn’t realize how much I needed a break.”
“It was my pleasure,” he said, wondering if he should kiss her.
But they’d had such a nice evening, and he had a feeling that it would spoil it. Instead, he started for the castle, Sarah’s hand still in his. Her hand was warm, and that warmth seemed to spread up his arm and through his entire body, leaving him a bit surprised that something so simple could bring him such comfort.
When they got to their rooms, they hesitated in the hallway, neither sure what to say. “When will your patents be back?” Sarah finally asked. “You never said.”
“They weren’t sure, but Dad said he’d call us in the morning when they know for sure,” he said. “You’re probably anxious to get started on whatever it is you’re going to do.”
Sarah laughed. “Yes, I would like to get started with whatever.”
“Well, then I guess I’d better let you get some sleep so you’re well-rested for whatever tomorrow,” he said, grinning at her.
She opened her door. “Thank you again for a wonderful evening. This is definitely going into my journal,” she said, then blushed. “That probably sounds childish.”
&n
bsp; He grinned at her. “There’s nothing childish about you, Sarah,” he said.
She looked up at him, her eyes wary, and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning down and kissing her. It was just a quick peck on the lips, but he felt the pleasure of those few seconds deep inside him and knew that he had to get away from her and fast. But neither of them moved as the attraction between them made the air around them crackle with its own energy.
Sarah finally broke eye contact. “I guess I’d better go,” she said, her voice husky with desire, and he nearly grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
Instead, he said, “Sleep well,” and let her go into her room.
Once in his room, he started getting ready for bed, thinking about how different he felt tonight, then he remembered Simon. He hadn’t been that worried about Simon, had assumed like everyone else, he’d show up when he calmed down, but he hadn’t been seen in over twenty-four hours and it was hard to disappear for that long in Loughmore. What had at first been just a casual worry about Simon began to build into something bigger the more he thought about it; it wasn’t that easy to leave Loughmore, even for Fae, but the man had clearly done that and without being seen.
Until now, he’d been treating the whole thing as a good excuse to watch Sarah, but now he wondered if he was looking in the wrong place. The truth was he hadn’t done much looking for Simon himself; he’d delegated it to servants, who had other things to worry about, who might not have been as thorough as he would be. It might be time for him to do a little looking himself, and Simon’s room was the perfect place to start, he decided.
With Sarah safely locked in her room, probably already asleep, it was the perfect time to slip into his room and see what he could find. Cracking open his door, he looked up and down the hall, not sure why he was sneaking around, then crept down the hallway and up the back stairs to the third floor where Simon had always had his rooms. He expected the door to be locked, but when he turned the knob, it opened easily to reveal a room that looked like it had been ransacked.
Thinking that someone had gotten there before him, he crept into the room quietly, but as he looked around, he realized that no one had been there: Simon was just a colossal pig. Luckily there wasn’t any food in the room, but it was musty and smelled of dirty clothes and sweat. It was clear that searching Simon’s rooms was going to be more of a chore than he imagined, and he wished he’d brought a pair of gloves with him.
He didn’t know what he was looking for but could understand why none of the staff had investigated much farther than they had. Picking his way through the debris, he poked his head into the bedroom, grimacing at the mess, then retreated the way he came. The desk in the corner caught his attention, it seemed like the most logical place to start, and it wasn’t long before he was rifling through the drawers, looking for anything that might help him find Simon.
***Sarah***
Sarah sat up and closed her eyes, making them sting and water. It was stupid to be up in the middle of the night dismantling the prototype, but she’d been so keyed-up after Reese kissed her that she hadn’t been able to sleep. When she’d tried to banish him from her mind by thinking about the prototype, it had backfired, and now she was sitting in the lab in the middle of the night.
Her plan had been simply to grab the blueprints and take them back up to her room, but once she had them in her hands, she’d absently mindedly sat down. It wasn’t long before she found herself taking the prototype apart, and now she was exhausted, but couldn’t leave without putting it back together. She had found what she was looking for, but she could have waited until morning, she realized, wanting to kick herself.
Stretching to ease the pain in her neck and shoulders, she took a deep breath, then picked up the screwdriver again and began putting the last piece back in place. She was just tightening down the first screw on the cover when she thought she heard the sound of footsteps, but when she looked, no one was there, so she went back to work.
Only a few seconds later, the sound of Reese’s voice broke the silence. “What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” he asked.
She threw the screwdriver into the air and screamed, then jumped to her feet and faced him. Her heart was thudding in her chest so hard it was difficult to breathe, let alone speak for a few seconds, and in that time, she saw suspicion come to life in his eyes. Still fighting for control, she put her hand over her heart and sat down in the chair again.
“I... couldn’t sleep,” she finally managed to croak out. “You scared me to death.”
“Well, I didn’t expect to find you here,” he said. “I thought it was Simon.”
When he saw the prototype on the desk, his eyes got big. “What are you doing with that?” he asked, his face taking on a hard look she didn’t like.
“I was just looking at it,” she said. “That’s why I came down here. I mean, I came down to get the blueprints, but I didn’t make it back out. I was just looking at it, trying to see if the idea I have will work.”
He studied her for a second. “It couldn’t have waited for the morning?” he asked, his face hard.
She couldn’t help but sigh. “I couldn’t sleep. I came down here to get the blueprints, and then I kind of got lost in the prototype. I didn’t do anything to it,” she said. “I put back together and I’d like to go to bed now.”
Feeling like a child caught doing something wrong, she got to her feet, only then realizing that she was dressed in only the tee-shirt she liked to sleep in. Slouching down, hoping it would cover her legs just a little more, she slipped by Reese and headed for the door, but she didn’t make it.
“I’d better walk with you and make sure you get there okay,” he said.
She expected a comment about the way she was dressed, but his face was still hard, still full of distrust, and her heart sank. “Okay, so we’re back to this,” she said, standing up straight, no longer caring what he saw.
“Back to what?” he asked.
“Never mind, I just want to go to bed,” she said, feeling close to tears.
The next morning, she came down to breakfast, a mixture of anger at Reese and anger at herself still brewing inside her. She still thought that Reese had completely overreacted, but she also knew that she’d overstepped her bounds, that she’d broken the rules. There was no way she’d admit it to him, but she knew that what she’d done had been wrong, and she wasn’t going to set foot into the lab until Stephen and Patience were home.
As she’d expected, Reese was waiting for her at the same table they’d shared with his parents, and she had no choice but to join him. “Good morning,” she said as politely as she could.
“Good morning,” he replied, a smile on his face, but his eyes hard. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you,” she said.
Silence fell over the table, and she wished someone would come with her coffee so she could escape to the buffet. Reese looked as handsome as ever, his broad shoulders straining at the material of his shirt; his dark, wavy hair had fallen over one eye and she wanted to reach over and push it back. But the look in his eyes reminded her that whatever had passed between them after dinner, her little escapade the night before had ruined it.
Shocked by the depth of what she saw in his eyes, she decided right then and there that she was done with Reese. He’d played enough games with her, she was done, and if he tried to kiss her again, she was going to punch him. She was here to help with the hydrogen engine, and that was all: romance wasn’t part of the deal, wasn’t even important to her. In fact, romance was so far down her list of priorities, going to the dentist and cleaning out her closets came first.
But then in one of his usual about faces, Reese’s face softened, and he said, “I’m sorry about last night. After I thought about it, I realized that you had every right to be in the lab. Will you accept my apology?”
She knew that she was stuck, that she had no choice but to accept. “That’s okay. I probably shouldn’t have been
messing with the prototype, but sometimes I just lose track of what I’m doing. It’s like I’m trying to solve a problem and I can’t stop until it’s solved,” she said, then realized she’d given too much away.
He studied her for a second. “You know, I think I know exactly what you mean. I’ve been going through a very similar experience lately,” he said.
The look in his eyes made her heart do flip flops in her chest, and she began to tingle deep inside, but she reminded herself that she wasn’t interested in romance. “I think I’ll go get some breakfast. I’m starving,” she said, desperate to get away.
Chapter Nine
***Reese***
Reese watched Sarah practically run to the buffet table and wondered how she always managed to chase his suspicions away with just the right words. It felt like she was telling the truth about the night before, in fact, when he thought about it, he’d seen it happen to her himself. But he wasn’t quite ready to trust her; something still didn’t feel right. He couldn’t figure out what it was, but something about Sarah was off.
As he was watching her fill her plate from the buffet, his father’s junior assistant slipped up next to him and handed him a note. As he read it, a plan began to form in his mind, the perfect way to keep Sarah out of the lab and keep her close so he could watch her. He had to find the crack in her shell and open it quickly before his parents returned and exposed all their secrets to her.
When she got back to the table, he picked up the note and said, “My parents won’t be back until later this afternoon.”
He could see the disappointment on her face, but that told him nothing. “Oh, that’s too bad. I have some ideas for the conversation chamber that I can’t wait to show them,” she said. Then her face reddened. “That’s why I was looking at the prototype last night.”
Rescued By The Fae Prince (Fae 0f Ballantine Book 3) Page 5
