As they crept past Hailey’s door, he heard the girl’s quiet snores. She hadn’t woken all night long. Given her state when he’d put her to bed last night, he’d half expected her to wake screaming. But, thankfully, the screams never came.
When they reached the bottom of the steps, Nia patted her overnight bag. “I’m going to put this in my car. I’ll ring the bell when I come back,” she whispered, glancing back up the stairs toward Hailey’s door. “Although that feels sneaky and underhanded.”
“I know. I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, you wear sneaky very well.” He pressed a kiss to her smiling lips. The idea crossed his mind that he wouldn’t mind waking up to her smile every day for the rest of his life.
He released her. The lock on the door clicked when he disengaged it. The door squeaked when he swung it open, and he cast a nervous stare upstairs. Nia scooted through the opening, and Thomas watched the seductive sway of her hips as she hurried toward the car she’d parked on the drive. The cobalt blue vehicle gleamed in the light of the rising sun. The sexy, sleek lines of the car suited Nia.
Thomas’s neighborhood was coming to life. The man who lived next door exited his house. As he approached the street, Thomas noted the guy had the bottom of his sweat pants tucked into his socks. Hailey called the guy Mr. Socks, although his name was Johnson.
A jogger he didn’t recognize progressed slowly down the street. Birds chirped in the trees and the bushes. The neighbor up the street let his dog out into the yard and the retriever barked loudly. All in all, it was just another day in the ’hood. But knowing Nia was having breakfast with him and his niece, that he’d woken next to her warm body…life just felt different somehow. More hopeful.
Nia used exaggerated caution as she stowed her bag then eased the door closed. She aimed the fob at the car and it chirped prettily. Her grin rivaled the rising sun as she walked back toward the house. An odd look crossed her face as she paused at the end of the path. A large black and white bird cawed at her from the branches of a tree while Nia stood still as a sentinel.
The jogger ran past the end of Thomas’s driveway and slowed to a walk, staring at Nia. Even though she stood a good twenty paces from him, Thomas heard her whisper to the man to leave her the hell alone.
Concerned, Thomas moved out to the porch. “Do you know him?”
“No,” she stated flatly, glancing briefly over her shoulder at him.
“You sure? I swear you just told him to leave you alone.”
Confusion flitted over her beautiful face. “You’re clairaudient?”
“If you mean I can hear what you’re thinking, that’s not likely.” Thomas shrugged and watched the man pick up speed as he jogged away. “Are you sure you don’t know him?”
“Um…I don’t really. I think he’s a business acquaintance of my father’s.” She turned back to track the man’s progress down the street.
A shrill whistle pierced the morning quiet. A bird swooped from the tree, diving straight at Nia.
Thomas caught himself ducking on Nia’s behalf. She pursed her lips and looked like she blew the bird a kiss. She started when she turned and caught him staring at her from the doorway. The red in her cheeks matched her coppery curls in the early morning sunlight.
He cocked his head and sent her a questioning look. Pitching his voice low, he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Stupid birds. Such disgusting scavengers.” She moved up the steps toward him.
“You seem to draw them. That’s the second one I’ve seen with you.”
With a grin on her face but shadows in her eyes, she pressed the doorbell, as if she’d just arrived.
“Nice touch.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his lips, suppressing a smile. He raised his voice and made a production out of greeting her. “Good morning, Nia. Thanks for coming for breakfast. Hailey isn’t awake yet but you’re right on time.” He tugged her across the threshold and wrapped her in a bear hug. Her shoulders shook with laughter.
Releasing her, Thomas stepped back and waved her across the large open space toward the kitchen. He followed, pausing at the foot of the stairs. “Hailey!” he shouted. “Ms. Nia is here. Wake up, sleepy head.”
“You want me to run up and wake her?” Nia asked.
He put a foot on the first step. “I’d better do it. You could start the coffee, if you want. Everything you need is on the counter.”
“I’ll take that deal.” Nia continued on to the kitchen.
As Thomas climbed the steps to Hailey’s room, he wondered what Nia would make of the pale green walls and dark quartz counters in the spacious kitchen. The room definitely had a manly feel to it, down to the steel gray pans hanging from the pot rack over the stove and the black farmhouse sink. No bowls of lemons, no cute little knick-knacks on the counter. For him, it was just a streamlined room in which he’d learned to cook. Couldn’t let his niece starve, so building on the basic bachelor diet of frozen pizza and Chinese take-out had been a necessity.
He pushed open the door to Hailey’s room and found her yawning and stretching. He jiggled her toes as he passed the bed. “Morning, munchkin. Our breakfast guest is here. Time to get up.” He snapped off the brightly colored lamp on the bookshelf, then crossed to the window and opened her blinds.
“Ms. Nia is here already?”
“Yep. I let you sleep late this morning.” Her yawns were contagious and he barely managed to suppress one of his own. Not that he regretted the reason he’d lost sleep last night. Quite the opposite.
“Can I go down to breakfast in my pajamas?” Her green eyes were round as she looked at him hopefully.
“Better put some clothes on. As soon as breakfast is done, I have to run you to your dance lesson. You’ll head from there straight to the Kiddie Campus and I’ll go to work.”
“You won’t go to work. You’ll come home and work in your office here,” Hailey corrected him. The child was as cute as a bug, but took everything literally.
“Fine, I’ll come back here to go to work. Happy now?” He bent over and tucked his shoulder into her mid-section, then straightened, lifting her squiggling body in the air.
She squealed a high-pitched laugh as he toted her down the hall to the bathroom. “Put me down! I have to pee.”
“As you command.” He dropped her to her feet on the plush rug in front of the sink. “Wash up, get dressed, and then come down. I’m going to start the French toast.”
Hailey grasped his arm, stopping his departure from the room. “Be sure to use cinnamon. No plain toast, okay?”
He huffed out a breath. “Fine. Fancy French toast for everyone this morning.”
Her giggles followed him as he trotted down to the kitchen. The aroma of brewing coffee filled the air as he walked through the doorway. “Good, you found everything.”
She turned from looking out the window into the back yard and gave him a slow smile. “Right where you said it would be.”
Moving across the room, he rested his hands on the counter on either side of her body. He leaned in and possessed her velvety soft lips with a searing, stolen kiss. He shifted and held her cheeks between his hands and kissed his way over her mouth, and her jaw, and her brow, until he’d kissed every part of her face. She rested her palms on his chest, and stared into his eyes as he pulled back. Her smile was gentle.
Little footsteps pounded down the stairs. Thomas jumped away from Nia. He reached for a pan from the hanging rack as Hailey skittered into the room.
The girl skidded to a stop in front of Nia. “Good morning, Ms. Nia.” Good, she’d put on her company manners along with the stretchy leggings and T-shirt. She wore two different colored socks on her feet.
“Good morning, Hailey. Thanks again for inviting me to breakfast.”
“Uncle Thomas told me you didn’t get to eat dinner last night on account of my being upset. I wanted to make it up to you.” Hailey patted Nia’s arms, as if to soothe her.
Thomas noted Nia tucking her hands to hid
den pockets on her skirt. It bothered him a little that she seemed to shy away from contact with his niece. Based on his own experience, Nia was a tactile person. His body still throbbed with the memory of her hands exploring every inch of him. Upon viewing the engaging grin she offered Hailey, he shrugged the thought away.
Eyes alight with curiosity and a gentle smile on her face, Nia asked, “Are you feeling better this morning?”
Aside from the non-contact thing, Thomas knew Nia had a genuine interest in whether Hailey had recovered from her meltdown the night before.
“Yes, thank you,” Hailey replied, putting her hands behind her back and stepping a respectful distance away from Nia. But judging by the expression on her face, it didn’t bother Hailey that Nia didn’t seem inclined to coddle her.
“Then I don’t mind missing dinner with your uncle at all.” Nia shot him a sultry look then rubbed her belly. “But I’ve been looking forward to breakfast with you.”
Hailey opened the dishwasher and pulled out a clean cup, then handed it to Nia. “For your coffee. Do you need cream or sugar?” His little Hailey…the consummate hostess. “Uncle Thomas takes his manly.”
Coughing a little, Nia covered her mouth, as if to hide a laugh. “I guess I drink mine manly as well.”
Thomas cracked an egg and dumped it into the bowl with a half dozen others. He splashed in milk then whipped the contents with a whisk, the wire clattering against the ceramic bowl. The coffee maker beeped, signaling the brewing was complete.
Hailey plucked a bottle from a slide-out drawer next to the stove and handed it to him. “I told Uncle Thomas to be sure to add cinnamon and vanilla. The toast is yummier that way.”
After pouring rich, dark coffee into her mug, Nia grabbed another cup from the open shelf over the machine. She poured Thomas a steaming portion, and then handed it to him. Heat shot up his arms at the brush of her fingers as he accepted the coffee. Her eyes flared wide, signaling him that she’d felt it as well. The pleasant warmth lodged under his solar plexus, heating him in a most erotic way. Willing his dick to calm down, he walked past her to place the griddle on the gas burner. The stove clicked as he ignited a flame of a different sort.
Tipping her head to the side, Nia asked Hailey a question. “Is that his secret recipe?”
“Sillyhead. If I told you it wouldn’t be secret anymore. Then you could make your own and you’d never come here again to eat breakfast with us.” Hailey opened a drawer, and then retrieved silverware. “This way, Uncle Thomas has to make magic happen in the kitchen for you.”
Dull heat flushed into his face. He was pretty sure he’d already done that for Nia. Although the magic they’d made hadn’t been in this exact room. But if she were interested he’d be willing to experiment. Fighting to control his body’s reaction, he stored the idea in the deepest recesses of his mind.
He caught Hailey’s eye. “Munchkin, remember, we’ve discussed this. There is no such thing as magic. It’s all illusion.”
“Oh pooh, Unk.” Hailey clapped her hands together. “You have to believe in the power of abracadabra.”
“Wait a second. Are you telling me Uncle Thomas is a, a…a disbeliever?” Nia’s eyebrows rose on her forehead as she teased. “Say it isn’t so.”
“If you can’t see it, or touch it, it isn’t real.” Thomas’s tone was matter-of-fact flat. He dropped a piece of soaked bread onto the griddle, where it sizzled. “Okay, that sounds over-the-top skeptical. But it would take a ton of effort to convince me something is magical. Like, if you could produce a unicorn, for example.” He smiled at Nia then continued. “But you can’t, so I declare them totally made up. And, therefore, not in the least bit magical.”
“I had a unicorn as a pet once.” Nia squinted at him as she lifted plates from a glass-fronted cabinet, her gaze intense. She turned away, mumbling under her breath about showing him, and proceeded to set plates on the counter where they’d eat.
“You did?” Hailey’s voice rose.
Suddenly, an image popped into his mind of a graceful horse-like creature with a long mane and a shiny metallic horn protruding from its forehead. A large brown spot that looked like the British Isles appeared on the center of the animal’s whitish back.
“Let me guess. This unicorn had a coppery horn and a splotch on its fur in the shape of England.” Thomas teased, but as he uttered the words, the image took firmer hold on his imagination.
“Exactly. My pet’s name was Amyntas, but I called him Tassie for short.” She looked at Hailey as she spoke, and then lifted her eyes to him, as if daring him to dispute what she said. When he remained silent, she continued. “I loved Tassie so much. He was the best pet ever. Never had to clean up after him and,” she lowered her voice, “he pooped ice cream.”
Hailey giggled, then outright belly-laughed at Nia’s silly statement as she laid forks on one side of the massive kitchen island where they’d eat. Thomas couldn’t keep the grin from his face at the child’s sweet laughter. So very different from last night’s desolate tears. When she finished, still giggling, she slid into the fan-back barstool on one end of the oversize island.
Nia joined in the laughter, as though it was a big joke on Thomas. She arranged their cups on the pale yellow placemats, and then dropped onto a chair next to Hailey. But as he scooped a piece of toast from the pan to a plate, another image, one of Nia riding the unicorn in a field of wildflowers, popped into the forefront of his brain. An entrancing picture.
He set a plate loaded with fragrant toast in front of Nia and then sat next to her, shaking his head. “You know, I almost believe you could have had such a pet. I get such a clear picture of you as a child riding a unicorn.”
Nia smirked. “Is it possible there is magic in your imagination? Maybe you believe in magical inspiration after all.”
“Or, I believe you can tell a wonderful made-up story to make me laugh,” he countered.
Propping her elbow on the quartz surface in front of her, Nia presented her back to him as she spoke to Hailey. “Young lady, we have our work cut out for us to make him believe.”
Thomas trailed his fingers along her spine, from a spot just south of her shoulder blades, to the curve of her waist. All out of sight of Hailey’s young eyes. He believed Nia was magic, charming and enchanting both him and Hailey.
“We most certainly do,” Hailey said around a mouthful of French toast. She chewed, swallowed and smiled around Nia to him. “But his food is magical.”
Nia forked up a bite. Closed her eyes as she chewed. After she swallowed, she pinned him with a simmering glance and moaned quietly, reminding him of their time in his bedroom. “Yes, it certainly is. And so is he.”
Chapter 13
Nia couldn’t believe how much she enjoyed breakfast with Hailey and Thomas. How easily they’d welcomed her into their little family. For the first time in all her lives, she could actually see accepting a child as a daughter.
And that scared the crap out of her.
She’d be a fool to allow an attachment to the girl. A daughter she’d remember and sorely miss in each successive lifetime. And most especially now, when they all faced an uncertain future. If she failed her challenge, all their worlds would be forever changed. And a failure by her would spell doom for all her sisters. The world would devolve into a colorless shell of its current Technicolor state. A tragic, censored existence for mortals…dictated by Pierus and enforced by his daughters. Nine hideous women bent on revenge.
Even after an incredibly bewitching night spent in his arms, Thomas had proven resistant to her inspirations to embrace magic. So far. But she was just getting started. Hinting at her first beloved pet, Tassie, had been divine. But he’d stubbornly refused to accept the idea that unicorns had actually lived at one point. Sure, they’d been rare, and restricted as pets to the gods, but they had been real. In his heart, Thomas had accepted the visions of Tassie Nia had sent. He’d described the animal with the exact detail of the image she’d planted.
/> Unfortunately, his analytical, doubtful mind discounted the possibility. And what was she to do about that?
She took her coffee, and a cup for Polly, to the Muses’ favorite table by the window to wait for her sister. The Daily Grind was in the center of one of the blocks comprising Delphi Square. Currently, the regular Wednesday morning farmer’s market was happening. Tables and tents of fresh flowers and produce dotted the area around the fountain. Pedestrians meandered across the grassy areas and the cobblestone paths. Something about the scene didn’t look right to Nia, but she struggled to determine what was wrong, or missing.
Polly tapped the window by Nia’s head, distracting her from the oddity she couldn’t define. A gust of warm air caressed Nia’s skin as the door opened, then banged shut behind her sibling.
“You ordered for me. You’re a good friend, little sister.” Polly lifted the cup and slurped down a mouthful. She raised her brows and fanned her hand in front of her mouth. “Hot!”
Nia laughed. “Next time, I’ll have them cook it in the sink.” It was an old joke from a childhood three lifetimes ago. But it brought a smile to Polly’s pretty face.
Polly tucked a strand of her straight, strawberry blond hair behind her ear. Her look turned serious. “Have you been following the news this morning?”
Guilt riddled Nia like holes in Swiss cheese. “I’ve been busy this morning. Haven’t had the news on at all.” Tuning into the news of mayhem this morning would have been rude, and probably would have induced more hysteria from Hailey. Especially if the reports were as bad as she suspected, based on Polly’s frown. “What have I missed?”
“A not-so-peaceful demonstration in Detroit, a dockside melee in London where the offenders slashed and cut longshoremen on the legs and arms.” Polly shuddered. “And my least favorite, a bomb threat at the Eiffel Tower, which created a stampede of tourists from the area. That sent fifty people to local hospitals.”
Mayhem: Goddesses Of Delphi Page 10
