by Lucy Fear
“I know how to fix this,” he said, smirking. He stepped through the doorway again, taking her hand to lead her over to the house phone. “Dial a seven and ask someone to bring you a sandwich. At least that way you’ll have done it already, and it won’t feel quite so weird when you want to try it later on.”
“What, right now?” she asked with a worried frown. “But we just ate.”
“Well, ask for something to drink then,” he said, grinning. “I’m not officially dividing our rooms for the night until I know you’re going to be okay in here on your own.”
Rhi laughed. “Then I suppose you could always leave the door open.”
“Do you want me to?” he asked, his gaze growing decidedly jaded all of the sudden.
“Of course not,” she said, her blush darkening exponentially.
“Your mouth says one thing, but the rest of you says another,” he pointed out, chucking her under the chin. “Is that a habit of yours?”
She watched his face for a moment before she admitted, “Yes, I suppose it is.”
He nodded as he picked up the phone receiver and set it into her hand, raising one eyebrow meaningfully.
Figuring out that he meant business, Rhi reached down and pressed the seven. A woman answered on the other end. “Um, hi, this is Rhiannon Woods. I’ve just been installed in the suite of rooms adjoining Mr. Drake’s, and I wondered if you might have any diet cola around? No? What sorts of drinks do you have? Preferably not too sweet. Oh, tea and artificial sweetener, that’s not a bad idea. Sure, piping hot peppermint? Great, that sounds perfect. Thank you.”
She set the phone receiver into its cradle again.
“Better?” he asked, his eyes still teasing her.
Rhiannon rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine, anxiety diffused. You were right. Does that make you happy?”
“Yes, it does,” he replied. He bent down and kissed her forehead. “I want you to be happy here, okay? Now have a good night.”
Stunned, she could only stare after Brendan as he once again stepped through the door and closed it this time with a resounding click. Her heart was hammering in her chest as an assault of questions assailed her mind. The most prominent of them was, of course, ‘why did he do that?’
Her hot drink arrived within a few minutes, and she took it with her into the fancy bedroom she’d examined only briefly before. The bed had looked inviting, but she hadn’t been about to go near it with Brendan standing so enticingly near her. Now that she was alone, she set the drink down, opened her suitcase to find her night clothes, and quickly put them on. She sat on the bed to sip at her drink, but it was so comfortable she couldn’t wait to finish the tea before she was ready to sleep.
Laying on a bed that must be softer than a cloud, she soon drifted off with a contented sigh.
***
Brendan never would have believed he could feel so distracted by the close proximity of a young, beautiful woman while he was trying to fall asleep. Usually he prided himself on being able to meditate away any such distractions, but apparently, that must have been because nobody had ever been quite so distracting before.
Rhiannon Woods was a different breed entirely. From the moment, she had fallen right into his arms, he’d had an unaccountable desire to drag her off to his bed, caveman style, and rut with her there. It was most unbecoming in a man like him, usually so controlled and composed. He wondered briefly if the dragon he’d elected to take into him was at last beginning to exert a bit of force now that it had come into proximity of something it truly desired.
No, he wouldn’t be able to pin this on his dragon, not completely anyway. Because this desire didn’t belong only to that entity, but to himself as well. His only choice was to accept his carnality completely and embrace it. It obviously was not going away.
Having come to that decision, he laid in his bed with half-open eyes, allowing his imagination to run rampant as he gave himself a casual stroke or two. It wasn’t enough. Eventually he opted to tame his beast the old-fashioned way just so he could get some sleep.
***
Rhiannon may have passed out last night, too exhausted to even remember her dreams, but her habit of habitually waking up early for a jog did not seem to have suffered from the time shift as well. She was up and into her sweats just as soon as her eyes popped open.
She hadn’t gotten a close look at the surrounding flora and fauna inside the huge, fenced-in area that comprised the Drake estates when they’d arrived. Her mind had been too much on other things. Now, she realized there was a miniature sequoia forest right there in his back yard, with a few outbuildings nestled periodically among the trees.
Birdsong greeted the rising sun as she started to run along the footpath, starting at one end and winding her way around to the other side. Near the back of the property she spotted an old cottage with a thatched roof on top. A man was just emerging as she arrived.
“Where did you come from?” he asked brusquely. “And who might you be?”
“Me? Sorry, I’m Rhiannon Woods. A new employee up at the castle. I didn’t mean to startle you, sir,” she said, stopping in her tracks. “And who might you be?”
“I’m the caretaker,” he said, continuing to walk toward a large barn to the back of his home. “It’s time to feed the animals and then run a sweep of the grounds. You didn’t happen to spot anything needing repair on your run, did you?”
“No, nothing,” she shrugged. “You do a very nice job of keeping this place looking nice. Surely you can’t be doing so much work all alone.”
“You’re right,” he confirmed with a nod. “Got two grown sons who help with that. Though, I’m thinking it would be a good idea to keep a pretty little thing like you well out of their sights. What is it exactly you’ve been hired to do at the Manor, anyway? You don’t seem much like a servant to me.”
“Oh, no, I suppose not,” she had to agree. “Actually, I guess you’d call me more of a secretary, or perhaps an assistant. You see, Mr. Drake has recently decided to write a book, and he’s asked me to help him out by typing it out and such. Though I have no idea if I’ll be around to see him finish the thing.”
“Is that right? Why, are you from a temp service or something?”
“Nothing like that,” she said with a grin. “I’m—well, I suppose I’m just an enigma. My story is much too difficult to explain. And anyway, I ought to be heading back before Drake wakes up anyway. He wanted to start work at ten, but it’s likely he’ll want me to eat breakfast with him too. It was nice meeting you, sir. What did you say your name was?”
“I didn’t say,” he pointed out irritably. “It’s Bob Morgan. You have a good day, Miss Woods.”
“Thanks,” she said, and turned to go back the other way.
*
When he woke the next morning, his very first coherent thought was of Rhi—not his bank account, not the thousands of people he was trying to help, and not any of the employees he’d had for years. No, his only thought was for a mere slip of a girl he barely knew, and the fact he’d get to see her again very soon.
“Gods, you’re just disgusting, aren’t you?” he told himself in the mirror. “Pull it together already. She hasn’t even decided to stay.”
His little pep talk obviously did him no good, because within the next five minutes he was rapping on the dividing door. Rhi opened it fairly quickly, and she was already dressed. “Well, you must be a morning person, am I right?”
“I’ve been getting up at six every morning for so many years, I couldn’t make myself stay in bed today. I’ve already been out for a jog, and the grounds are breathtaking here. Nothing like I would have expected to find.”
Brendan grinned. “Oh no, there’s plenty of plants and trees, and plenty of animals too. I hope you remembered about the scorpions and snakes. They can sometimes travel up this far even though they mostly stay in the desert below.”
“The thought never crossed my mind,” she said, her eyes going wider. “Thanks for the
warning.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “If you attune to your surroundings, most of those types of dangers won’t harm you. Harmonizing with nature is one of the things I hope you’ll be willing to learn. I’ve decided to teach you the things I’ll be putting into the book as we go along—if you want to learn them, of course.”
“I’d love to,” said Rhi excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to know more about spiritual stuff, but I’ve never had time to study such things before. I’m a very fast learner, by the way.”
“I can sense that about you,” he said, smiling. “Well, look at me, standing here with no shirt on. It’s absolutely shameful. I only came to make sure you were awake before I head in for a shower. I’d like to go down to breakfast with you once I’m ready, and then we could head in and get started on the book today.”
“It sounds great,” Rhi nodded. “Anything you want me to study while I wait?”
Brendan laughed. “Definitely a morning person. Here, see if you can figure out what this is for. That ought to keep you busy for a while.”
He handed her a small bag of red silk, which had red drawstrings at its top. Inside, all she found was a small brown bean. She glanced up as he walked away, and her eyes glued themselves to his anatomy until it could no longer be seen.
It didn’t take Rhi long to recognize the mojo bag for what it was, since she’d read about them before. However, she’d never held one in her hands, and this one felt as though he’d already imbued it with some power.
Knowing well enough that he wouldn’t hand her an empty mojo unless he wanted her to use it, Rhi brought a little rock she’d plucked up from home before coming out here and slipped it inside, giving thought to her parents and her hopes for their continued happiness even after she officially left their home. A small part of her wondered if she ever intended to return to Virginia.
She’d only been here one day, and she was already having such thoughts? There was definitely more going on here than what clearly met the eye. She just hadn’t worked out yet exactly what it might be.
***
Breakfast was a surprise for Rhi as one of the servants set a plate of food in front of her. On it were some hash browns and a breakfast sandwich which turned out to be vegan.
“What’s this, rabbit food?” she teased as she looked the thing over.
“Something like that,” said Rory from where he was seated nearby. “That patty is one of the meat substitute products Brendan stocks in his Druids and Dreams stores. He developed it himself to be the best damn meatless sausage on the market. Give it a try, and you’ll see what I mean.”
She took a tentative bite, and realized he was right. It tasted so good, she was sure she could easily become addicted to the things. “Damn, this thing’s so good it almost makes me want to become a rodent myself.”
“No, Miss Woods, you wouldn’t want to do that,” said Brendan, giving her hand a little squeeze. “Just because I developed vegan food for some of my consumers hardly means that I am vegan myself. Don’t forget that I joined with a dragon, and I now must feed him as well as myself upon occasion. Fluffy rodents are one of his favorite treats, so if you were actually one of those he might think you were a tempting treat indeed.”
“Shut up, Brendan,” she scolded him. “I know you’d never harm one hair on my head. I can sense that about you. Don’t think that you’re the only one who knows things around here.”
Brendan chuckled warmly as he took another bite of his meal. “No, I never thought that. It’s very clearly not the case.”
Rhi’s stomach did a nervous little flip. Had he figured out already who and what she was? If he’d realized what Rory had done, would he be angry with her brother for trying to interfere? More importantly, would he be angry with her? She sincerely didn’t want him to be.
“Now then, if we’re finished here we may as well head into the study,” he said after a time. “Rory, do see to it that Mrs. Cummings sends coffee there shortly, won’t you? And if you’re not busy, could you step over to the school and let them know that I won’t be by there until later this afternoon? I’m sure they must have heard about my return home by now.”
“Consider it done, sir,” Rory said, giving his head a little bow. “Happy writing.”
As they walked toward the study, Rhi asked Brendan, “So, you make vegan food even though you’re not vegan? What’s the point in that?”
“That’s no great secret,” he said with a laugh. “It’s good business to give the customers what they want. And a percentage of each sale also goes into the fund to help people who can’t afford my seminars to learn things through my stores.”
“Yes, it sounds like a really good idea.”
After their food was eaten, Brendan stood up and offered Rhi his hand, which she took shyly. He walked her to his study hand in hand, and she was sure that everybody in the house noticed. It was difficult to keep the pink out of her cheeks, especially since the physical contact was even more stimulating than her embarrassed thoughts.
Rory was in the sitting room when they came in, and their eyes met briefly before Rhi looked quickly away. Not quick enough, though. She still saw the reprimand in his eyes.
But why should he be giving her such a look, when it was his idea to bring her out here in the first place? Just because she’d managed to quickly get a lot closer to the subject of her investigation than she’d intended didn’t mean she wasn’t going to investigate at all. Really, being in a position to interact with Brendan every day could do nothing but make it easier for her to sense what was really going on.
She’d tried to pay attention to her dreams last night, but what with a bit of jet lag and all the events of the day jumbling up inside her head, if she did dream anything significant she didn’t know about it. Besides the fact that she hadn’t had a decently prophetic dream in well over four months, thanks to Todd. She’d be lucky if she got another useful dream at all.
*
“Do you always think so much, Rhi?” asked Brendan as he opened the study door.
“I do,” she confirmed with a nod. “I can remember thinking like this even when I was four. Thoughts most four-year-olds would probably never have entertained.”
“Got straight As in school too, didn’t you?”
Rhi smirked. “Something like that.”
She didn’t want to tell him that they graded students differently when they were child prodigies. She’d said something like that to someone before, and the person had complained that she was bragging. To her, the concept of bragging was completely alien, and she’d simply been stating a fact, but apparently bragging was something very bad that made people hate you and throw eggs at your head. After that, she had always refrained from mentioning such things.
“It’s all right if you tell me about it, Rhi,” he chuckled. “Just looking at you, I already know a great deal. Other people can be quite cruel sometimes.”
“That, you can’t possibly know.”
“Then tell me anyway, and I’ll see if I’m right.”
She gave him a stubborn look.
“Indulge me. Please?”
“I was in accelerated learning classes,” she finally said with a sigh. “I don’t tell people that very often because they always end up picking on me, saying I’m bragging when I’m not. It gets really old.”
“I wouldn’t pick on you for something like that,” he scoffed. “I think it’s amazing. It’s a gift shared only by very few people. Even I can’t say it about myself. And what about your other abilities? Clearly you have psychic skills, even though they’re a bit buried right now under all that resentment. I felt them the first time we met.”
“I think you might be a little too good at your job,” said Rhi when he said that. “Yeah, that was something else the other kids hated about me. They hated that I always knew things they never thought I should. They called me nosy and too smart for my own good, and one of them even tried to push me out a window.”
“
Because you’re a bit on the small side, no doubt,” Brendan said, looking incensed on her behalf. “But trust me, once I’ve helped you let all that out, there’s nobody who would ever do that to you again. I want to show you my world.”
Rhi realized she had crossed her arms and started to hug herself when he stepped over and grasped each of her hands, gently tugging her into a more open stance.
“Wha—?” she complained.
“If you need a hug so much, I’ll be more than happy to oblige,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. “I know how rough life can be for a sensitive soul. Believe me.”
“I’m fine,” she lied, neither moving away nor hugging him in return.
“If you were fine, you wouldn’t be so afraid to open up to me,” he pointed out. “Did you know that not everyone in this world is nice? Some people are downright horrid. So you met a bad apple or two; does that mean that you have to let yourself be spoiled?”
“It wasn’t really up to me,” Rhi pointed out as she relaxed into him, laying her cheek on his chest and sliding her arms around his back. Her heart fluttered at the contact, and she found herself wishing she would never have to let him go.
“No, it wasn’t your fault,” he agreed. “But what you do about it now is. You would be much better off, and much happier, if you realized one simple truth.”
“What truth?”
“Ugly people deserve each other,” he said, giving her a tighter squeeze. “Let go of the ugliness in the past, Rhi, and realize that you, yourself, are very beautiful. You deserve to surround yourself with beautiful things. Just let all that stuff go and look at all the life you still have left to live. Don’t even feel sad about the man who cheated on you, either. That guy is going to look up one day and realize what he lost, and trust me it will make him completely miserable when he does. But you don’t have to be, because now that you know what he is, you can rejoice in breaking free. It’s time to spread these here folded-up wings and use them to fly.”
Rhi chuckled when he let her go and stepped behind her, grasping each of her wrists and spreading her arms out wide.
