by Lucy Fear
*
Now that she wasn’t completely freaking out, Rhi began to realize that she had just agreed to get into the bed of a virtual stranger. She wasn’t the sort of girl who had ever done that sort of thing before, but there was a first time for everything, and if she was going to do it, why not do it with a really hot guy, right?
Besides, she had a feeling that Brendan wasn’t likely to try anything. Well, except maybe some kissing if she was willing. He was a man, after all, but he was also an honorable one. That was one of the things she particularly liked about him.
“Don’t be nervous, Rhi,” he said as he drew her with him into the bedroom “I’m bringing you in here to keep you safe, remember?”
“I know,” she answered softly, blushing hotly under his gaze.
Brendan chuckled and drew her knuckles up to his lips, brushing a kiss over them. Her flush deepened. “Your side of the bed, my lady,” he said with a playful bow as he indicated the right-hand side with a flourish.
Rhi dutifully stepped over and took her place there, and then she tried not to watch avidly as Brendan stepped over and laid down on the left. He pulled the covers up over them, and then reached down to grasp her hand.
“If he enters your dreams again, try to wake up immediately,” he said. “Interacting will only give him strength. All right?”
“Yeah, okay,” she agreed, surprised by the huskiness in her voice. If Brendan noticed it too, he was too polite to say anything.
“Hopefully we can sleep for another three or four hours before we get back to work,” he said, rolling over to face her. “I really appreciate your help, by the way.”
“I came here to do some work,” she shrugged.
“You didn’t have to accept, and you know it,” he said, smiling softly. “I’m thinking it’s because deep down you really want to know.”
“Know what?” she asked sleepily.
“You want to know what I know, of course. I think you actually find it fascinating.”
“You could be right,” she agreed. “I think you’re a good man to know.”
***
A few hours later, the bedroom door suddenly burst open to the sound of a young, feminine voice. Rhi startled awake and stared as a girl in her teens continued to shout. “Dad, I’m here! Why are you still asleep? I thought we were going hiking. Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know you had company.”
Brendan looked at his daughter with bleary eyes, then over as Rhi as realization dawned.
“She’s not ‘company,’ we just fell asleep together,” he grumbled. “This is Rhiannon Woods—the woman I’ve got helping me to write a novel. I hired her while you were at your mother’s.”
“Oh, I see,” she chuckled. “And you just happened to be collaborating about the book in your bed when you dozed off. I get it.”
“Aren’t you a little too smart for a fourteen-year-old?” he complained.
“I’m your daughter, aren’t I?” She stepped over and shook Rhi’s hand. “My name’s Luna, since my dad doesn’t appear to have any plans to provide it.”
Rhi blushed slightly as she took the girl’s hand and gave it a shake. “I didn’t know Brendan had a daughter,” she commented dryly. “We’ve only just met, and contrary to what it may seem, we really weren’t doing anything but sleeping in here. He was actually trying to rescue me from—well, from a dream that wasn’t a dream, I suppose.”
“That sounds like something he would do,” she agreed. “Why don’t you two get dressed for a hike, and then we could all have some breakfast. I’m famished. See you downstairs. And don’t take too long—you won’t have any excuses if you linger in that bed now that you’re both awake, will you?”
With a mirthful cackle, Luna burst right back out the way she’d arrived, slamming the door closed behind her.
“That was—unexpected,” Rhi commented.
“I forgot it was Sunday,” Brendan excused himself.
“So it would seem,” she agreed, and the two of them chuckled as they got out of the bed. She began to head for the door, but then hesitated. “Do you think my room is safe enough now to find something to wear?”
“I’ll come with if you’d like. You could change in the bathroom, and then we could bring your things in here.”
“Is that a good idea?” she asked shyly. “You do know what everybody will think.”
“Rhiannon, what makes you think Luna isn’t down there telling everybody who will listen that she found you in my bed just now? Because I can guarantee that she is,” he pointed out. “Let them think anything they’d like, my dear. Until you’re ready to defend yourself, it’s up to me to keep you safe.”
Rhi sighed softly as she watched Brendan pull on a T-shirt, and then the two of them headed for the door, returning to her bedroom. The dark presence seemed to have gone away, but she had no delusions that it would not return. So far, she’d been living out of her suitcase, so it was a small matter to pull out an outfit and head for the bathroom.
They took her things to Brendan’s room, then quickly headed down to meet with Luna. The teen was seated with Rory, and he looked less than pleased when he saw them come in hand-in-hand. Rhi hadn’t thought anything of Brendan catching her hand in his in the hallway until she’d come into the dining room and saw her brother’s face.
Luna noticed too, and a happy grin literally split her face in two as she stared. Both of them let go at the same time, each of them blushing a little. Rhi looked up into Brendan’s eyes, but she couldn’t tell at all what he was thinking just then.
“You two look good together,” Luna told them. Rory’s scowl deepened, and Brendan noticed.
“Yeah,” he agreed, smiling as well. “I suppose we do.”
“Luna tells me the three of you are going hiking today,” Rory commented then. “I’d love it if you’d let me tag along. I could really use the exercise.”
“Sure, why not?” Brendan agreed.
Disappointment dropped like a ton of bricks into Rhi’s feet. “Yeah, that sounds fun,” she liked sweetly.
“Could you two stop being mad at each other?” Brendan asked. “I don’t know what your fight was about, or why you’d even be fighting at all, but the negativity between you is really starting to harsh my vibe.”
“Sorry, sir,” Rory said. “It wasn’t anything important, I was just trying to find out her intentions, and she didn’t particularly like me to pry. As long as we’re all good, I’m good.”
Rhi smiled outwardly, but she was fairly certain Rory had just lied. She knew her brother better than that. He thought he had a duty to protect her even more than he had a duty to protect his friend. Right now, he must be fuming. Until she had proof, she would never think otherwise.
CHAPTER FIVE
Trekking up into the mountains of the Sequoia National Forest was invigorating for all parties concerned, but it was also a somewhat risky thing to do, in Rhi’s opinion. With that psycho lurking around somewhere, up to no good, it may well be the perfect playground for trying to wreak some havoc, should the man choose to do so.
Rhi couldn’t bring herself to keep that in mind, though. Not when it was a fine, warm day and she was surrounded by birds and trees and people she truly enjoyed. They had taken the car up part of the mountain to make it easier to reach their destination, and now they were quite a way up the north ridge.
“It’s beautiful up here,” Rhi called as they topped the rise. Before them, the whole forest panned out in waves of green. She giggled and spun around a few times, looking in every direction.
Brendan laughed and caught her hand, dragging her to his side. “Yes it is, Miss Woods, but if you keep doing that I don’t think I can keep you safe from yourself. After all, if you can’t even carry a cup of coffee. I don’t give great odds on your footing here.”
Realizing how right he was, Rhi’s face fell as she grasped his arms, her eyes widening with surprise. Brendan smiled, poking her nose so she would look at his finger instead.
; “Don’t go all womanish now, Rhi,” he teased. “I don’t intend to carry you home. Come on, let me show you how to attune to this place. There’s energy all around us, just waiting for you to make use of it. You only have to know how to draw it in, and you’ll never run dry.”
“Come on, Rory, let’s leave those two alone,” Luna suggested. “We already know that trick, and there’s one more trek to reach the top. We could get lunch ready while we wait.”
Rory seemed reluctant to go as he stared at the two of them. Luna pulled him along with her until he finally followed on his own.
Brendan led Rhi over to sit by some trees, each of them leaning their backs on one of them so that they faced each other. He crossed his legs and laid his hands, palms up, on top of his knees, taking a few deep breaths as he cast Rhi an enigmatic gaze.
Smirking slightly, she looked right back at him as she copied his movements precisely. He smirked too when he saw what she did.
“Now what?” she wanted to know.
“Do you know how to acquire a meditative state?” he asked.
“Yes, of course.” Rhi straightened her shoulders and loosened up her neck by turning her head from side to side.
“Then you’re already most of the way there. Once you’re in that state, you reach out with all your senses. When you find the energy of the tree, you draw it into yourself. And when you’re done, never fail to thank the tree for the help. Give it a try.”
The two of them each reached outward, looking for trees. As they moved through the ether, their spirits suddenly brushed one another instead. The sensation slithered gently through Rhi’s body, arousing her in a way she had never experienced before. Mentally, she moaned as her essence curled more fully into his, making him moan mentally as well. They both returned to their physical presences.
“What was that?” Rhi asked softly.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Maybe we should keep going up now,” she whispered. “I can always practice gathering energy another time.”
She got to her feet and started to move, when suddenly the foliage began to slither around her ankles and grab hold. She screamed as her body pitched forward. Brendan caught her before she fell fully, his energy surging again for another reason.
“Bastard!” Rhi hissed, pushing with her own energy as well.
“Let her go!” Brendan growled fiercely.
Rhi felt rather than saw his essence change as the dragon surged out of him, using his excess strength to rip her free and his wings to fly up into the air, moving her with him away from the spell. He landed with her at the rise and retook his human form again.
“Dad? What the hell is going on?”
“Language, baby,” he scolded.
“Fine,” she sighed. “What happened?”
“Looks like our energy search got some unwanted attention,” he said. “I’m going to have to fly Rhi back home. You two go ahead and enjoy the rest of the day.”
“Hey, are you ditching us?” she complained.
Rory looked concerned. “Would you care to explain?”
“It looks like our troublemaker may have changed his focus,” Brendan said. “I’m not taking any chances here. Somebody trying to mess with me is one thing, but I refuse to be the reason Rhiannon is now in danger. We need to discover what we’re dealing with here.”
“It’s about time,” said Rory. “When I get home, we’ll discuss what we may be able to do.”
***
Brendan and Rhi ate their lunch before he transformed again and flew her back home. They landed just inside the courtyard outside the swimming pool before he became a man again. He looked at the water longingly as he said, “I’d suggest we take a swim, but with our luck, the water would start trying to drown us too.”
“This is so crazy,” said Rhi. “What are we supposed to do?”
“The first thing we need to do is make you stronger,” Brendan decided as they walked together toward the front door. “I may not always be there to save you. You’re going to need to know how to fight. Besides, I wanted to train you as part of writing the book, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember,” she agreed. “Maybe sooner rather than later, huh?”
“Definitely. Let’s take this to the study, shall we?”
Brendan reached down and took Rhiannon’s hand, almost as if he couldn’t stand for the physical contact between them to be broken. Somehow, she could feel that need in him through the simple touch as they headed into the west wing and on down the long hall. One of the maids stepped out of the study pushing the cleaning cart, and greeted them along the way.
“All cleaned up sir, just as you ordered.”
“Very good, Victoria. Thank you.”
“Have a good afternoon, sir,” she replied, and continued on her way.
They stepped into the office and headed for the desk, where the two chairs still sat side by side from their previous visit there. Sitting down together, Brendan booted up the computer and scooted over to give Rhi some room to type.
“I want you to take this down, Rhi,” he said. “It’ll be an outline of your training regimen, from start to finish, which I hope to begin with you immediately after we’ve finished inputting the plans. To start, you’ll need to learn to gather energy and store it for later use. Then, you’re going to need to learn the uses for it. To be ready for a true psychic battle, you’re going to need to learn about quite a few techniques. I hope you’re ready for it.”
A surge of excitement welled up inside of her, and she smiled. “I’m more than ready, Brendan Drake,” she told him. “I believe I may even have been born for this.”
*
When Rory and Luna returned to the castle, they found Brendan and Rhi in the study sitting in the middle of the floor, facing each other. It was obvious that they were in a meditative state, and the energies pouring off them were very strong. He nodded with approval at the idea of teaching Rhi how to power up, and decided not to disturb them, motioning for Luna to follow him back out of the room.
“Okay, what’s really going on around here, Rory?” Luna demanded as they headed back up the hall. “First, he’s got her in his bed, then he says they’re writing a book together, then he says he needs to take her to safety, and now he’s in there giving her the fast-track on enhancing her personal power. What gives?”
“Has anybody every told you you’re too smart for a fourteen-year-old?” Rory asked, repeating her father’s words.
“All the time. Now spill.”
“Your father was psychically attacked while we were in Paris,” he admitted with a sigh. “But don’t tell him I told you that, or he’ll turn back into a dragon and devour me himself.”
“Seriously?” she asked, staring back down the hall with a look of horror. “But he seems to be all right. And that doesn’t explain what he’s doing with her. Isn’t she your sister?”
Rory gasped. “How do you know that, you little snoop?”
Shrugging, she said, “I always read your emails.”
“When?” he growled.
“While you guys were in Reno,” she admitted. “I assume my dad doesn’t know?”
“Luna, this isn’t something you should become involved in,” Rory scolded. “I won’t be able to keep you safe in the same way your dad’s decided to protect Rhi.”
“Too bad,” she teased him. “I really wouldn’t mind.”
“Back off, Luna, I’m not into jail bait,” he complained.
“I’m kidding,” she chuckled. “And anyway, I don’t need to be protected in the first place. I already know how to shield.”
“You’d need more than a shield to fend off whoever is doing this,” Rory warned her. “I may not be as psychic as the rest of you people, but even I can see this attacker is more powerful than I ever could have believed.”
“You must be exaggerating,” she insisted.
“No, if anything I’m trying to tone it down.”
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“Haven’t you learned yet that you don’t need to do that with me?” she complained. “Just because I’m fourteen doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”
“Nobody is accusing you of stupidity,” he replied. “I’m just not supposed to get you involved. Your dad will have my head on a silver platter if I do.”
“Look, I’m doing you a favor by not telling my dad about your sister,” she pointed out. “The least you could do is let me help. Unless you’d rather have me tell him the truth.”
Rory sighed. “Fine, what do you have in mind?”
“I’m not sure just yet. Give me some time.”
***
Rhi really felt like she’d been put through a mental wringer by the time she and Brendan emerged from the study in search of dinner. Holding hands as they traversed the hallway seemed to have become second nature between them, and she once again wasn’t even thinking about the contact between them when the pair entered the dining room until more than one pair of eyes happened to notice it as well.
The servants and the other people who came up to the castle had definitely begun to talk about them, and Rhi spotted them whispering amongst themselves and watching her frequently. In fact, it was very rare for her to be away from Brendan’s side, and he had even mentioned the idea of bringing her along with him tomorrow when he went to visit the school.
Though she knew his primary reason was to keep her safe, Rhi had begun to entertain the notion that there was a great deal more beginning to grow. She thought about how they’d reacted when their souls had touched, and just the memory of it sent a warm, sensual shiver down her spine and straight into her groin. There could be no mistaking the nature of that desire. And it didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out the fact that Brendan was feeling the same.
The only real question was, should she act on it? After all, wouldn’t it be foolish to form an attachment to a man she’d only be with for a couple of months before it was time for her to return to Virginia? How would that work out when she went back to Langley and Brendan flew off to who knew where before coming back here again?
