Twenty minutes into the game, she gave up her last shred of hope that she wouldn’t eventually strangle Piper. “That one doesn’t count.”
Piper stomped her foot. “I’m little. I have to throw the cube with both hands.”
“Understandable,” Mara said between gritted teeth. “But you didn’t throw the cube. You freakin’ set it down and nudged it over with your elbow. Eight times. Until it landed on the winning square.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“Know what I’m imagining right now? Your scrawny neck between my fingers.” Glaring, Mara scooped the cubes into her palm and tossed them back into their plastic dish.
“Hey, we didn’t finish the game.”
Mara slapped the dish’s lid in place. “Yes, we did.”
“In that case, I won. You owe me two merca. But I’m feeling generous—you can pay me in the morning.”
“Thank you, O Munificent One.” Mara gave a mock bow and wandered into the kitchen. She couldn’t bring herself to rummage through the pantry, despite Dash’s assertion that it would be okay if she did. It just didn’t feel right helping herself to someone else’s food when she hadn’t even met them. Straying to the large window that overlooked the expansive back lot, she sighed and pressed her palm against the glass. Unfortunately the Shimba game hadn’t done anything to improve her mood.
“Why is he suddenly acting like I’ve got some contagious disease?” Furthermore, why did his behavior make her chest feel tight and heavy, like an invisible vise gripped it? Swallowing hard, she traced a pattern across the glass. When she realized they were a series of small connected hearts, she jerked her hand away.
Determined not to think about Dash a second longer, she returned to the main room. A stack of books was propped near the couch. She went to investigate their subjects. Several art books, a couple volumes of classic and more recently penned literature. She grabbed one of the modern writings and flopped onto the couch.
Time crawled by. The words she read streamed in and out of her consciousness, making little or no sense due to the fuzzy state of her concentration. The third time she passed over the same paragraph, she admitted defeat and tossed the book on the couch cushion.
She knew she was really in a bad state when she abandoned the couch to search out Piper. Following the loud snores to one of the bedrooms, she found the sprite curled up on a pillow. How such a tiny thing could produce such thunderous noise remained a mystery.
Tiptoeing into the attached bathroom, she fetched a washing cloth from the linen closet. Returning to the bed, she tucked the cotton square around Piper before backtracking to the main room. The creak of footsteps sounded on the porch just as her butt resettled on the couch. Scrabbling for the book, she opened to a random page and relaxed into the cushions’ downy embrace.
The door swung open and Dash stepped inside. Though she didn’t look up, she felt the heat of his stare.
“How’s your book?”
She thumbed to the next page. “It’s not bad.”
“Ever thought of reading it right side up? Might improve the experience.”
Crap. No wonder the sentences all read like Saurtonian gibberish. Trying to keep the movement inconspicuous, she flipped the book the other way. Dash’s silence proved vexing. Her willpower pushed well past its breaking point, she peeked to see what he was up to. The space where he’d stood seconds ago was empty.
He’d ducked out on her. Again.
Choking back an irritated huff, she sprang from the couch and stormed down the hall to the lone closed door. Too incensed to knock and wait for admittance, she twisted the knob and burst inside. “This avoidance tactic of yours is really immature.” Practically hyperventilating from her bottled fury, she glared at Dash when he turned from the small desk leaning against the wall.
He continued eyeing her mutely and she shoved her arms over her chest. “Why aren’t you talking?”
“I wasn’t certain your tirade had ended.”
She clenched her jaw. “I meant in general. You’ve barely spoken to me since yesterday afternoon, and when you do, it’s mostly regarding dull stuff.”
“Pardon me for boring you.” He kicked out the seat in front of the desk and settled in it before dragging a micro-thin computing tablet towards him.
Gods, he was so damn infuriating! “In case you forgot, you’re the one who started that kiss on the walkway. So get the bee out of your butt and stop giving me the cold shoulder.”
Dark annoyance kindled in his eyes. “You’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then explain it to me so that I will understand.” The pleading quality of her voice only vexed her further. Another awful ache squeezed her chest and she winced. “On second thought, forget it.” She spun towards the doorway, refusing to let him see the extent of her hurt.
“I love you.”
The bleak words that Dash ground from his mouth made her stop dead in her tracks. She slowly turned, certain she’d misheard. “What?”
“I’m out of my head in love with you. And I mean that quite literally.”
Her heart took a traitorous small leap of joy. He loves me. The news was wonderful…and scary as hell. Neither one of them could afford to let their emotions get in the way. Not with everything that was at stake. “This isn’t good.”
“You’re telling me.” Dash’s tone held a wealth of misery. “My life is going to hell in a rocket-powered handcart and all I can think about is you. The sweetness of your lips. How the patch of skin right beneath your earlobe smells exactly like luna flowers.” His voice dipped into a husky whisper. “The way your soft breasts fit perfectly in my hand.”
A flash of heat grazed her skin.
“When you smile, my chest fills with sunshine. And when you cry I want to take you in my arms and kiss away every one of your tears. But mostly I want to kill Nalia and Finian Artronté for dooming us and making it impossible for you to fully trust me.”
He cut off her tiny bleat of distress. “Don’t. Any denial you make is only shading the truth. Deep down, you’re still frightened of my powers and the passion that boils inside me every time I touch you.” His expression became one of self-disgust. “Like you said, I was too intense yesterday—I couldn’t control it.”
Mara belted out a laugh. “Oh man. Could you be any denser?” The question earned his fulmineous glare. Ignoring it, she shook her head. “Dash, that kiss was hot. It made me want to rip your clothes off and lick you from head to toe.” An embarrassing admission, but hell, for the sake of honesty she needed to come clean.
Thick silence wrapped around them.
Dash scraped his fingers through his hair. “You shouldn’t have told me that.”
“I told you so you’d know I wasn’t frightened.” She stepped towards him.
The chair rocked as he leapt from it and edged around the desk. “Stay. Put.”
“Why? Worried your uncontrollable passion might get the better of you?” she teased.
Dash’s jaw flexed. “I don’t advise baiting me right now. Not unless you’re prepared to be tossed on that bed and fucked senseless.”
His gruff, crude threat should have tripped the fuse to her temper. It didn’t.
Her head floating with forbidden temptation, she slid her gaze to the bed. A rough growl broke from Dash.
“Mara, get out of here. Now. Before I break every promise I made you.”
Returning her stare to Dash, she noted the funnel clouds of steam rising from the sweat on his forehead. Gulping, she sprinted from the room.
~ * ~
Jerrick arrived at the house before the sun snuggled down for the night. After settling a satchel that Mara presumed held a change of clothes on the floor, he glanced at her. “Where’s my brother?”
“Sequestered in his room.”
A grin spread across Jerrick’s face. Chuckling, he ambled down the hall. Minutes later he returned, Dash trailing him with a dark glower. Jerrick murmured something low b
eneath his breath, making Dash’s scowl deepen.
“Bite me,” Dash muttered.
Another chuckle fell from Jerrick. “I’m not the one who should be providing that favor.” He nodded towards Mara. “Feel up for a drive, Blondie?”
She jumped from the couch. “Where are we going?” Not that she cared. Any opportunity to get her mind off things for a while was a welcome distraction.
“The area around Baggins’ estate. We want to get a better lay of the land.”
Goose bumps pricked her skin, but she resisted the strong desire to rub her arms. Any hint of her fear might convince Dash to call the mission off. “Good idea.” She reached for the sweater she’d draped over the back of the couch. Steadying her nerves with a deep breath, she pushed her arms through the sleeves and turned back to them. “Guess I’m ready.”
The three of them piled into Jerrick’s Air Racer—a wiser choice of vehicle because of its tinted windows. They drove approximately twenty martroneters outside the city limits of Skalage. A herd of grazing Foini bulls lifted their bulky heads and cautiously eyed them as the Air Racer slowed to a crawl near the laser-patrolled fence penning the beasts.
“This is where Baggins’ property line starts.” Jerrick nodded towards the menacing bulls. “It stretches two hundred kindrics deep, past that stand of trees, and about three hundred kindrics wide.”
Dash leaned closer to the window. “Is the road in blocked by the same system of lasers guarding the pasture?”
Jerrick nodded. “But it’s triple the power. There’s enough juice to disintegrate your innards from a foot away. Baggins’ vehicle is the only thing that’ll trip it.”
“Looks like we’ll have to go in by means of the pasture.” Dash grimaced. “The lasers I’m not too worried about, but the Foinis are another story. Any ideas?”
“An enormous bag of bull chow?” Jerrick’s mouth tipped into a grin.
“No, I’ve got it.” Dash snickered. “We’ll rent a Nartock cow costume.”
“Who gets to be the ass end?”
“Is there really any debate?”
She couldn’t believe they were joking about something of such deadly magnitude. “Those bulls can kill you.”
A snort shot from Dash. “Everyone wants to kill me. They’ll have to stand in line.”
“You’re taking none of this seriously.”
Dash gave her a narrow-eyed stare. “I bloody well am. If I weren’t, we wouldn’t be out here.”
His chastisement hit home, both relieving and infuriating her. “Fine, point taken,” she snapped. “Are we done with this section of Baggins’ property or would you like to get out and proposition one of the bulls? The one with the broken horn over there looks in need of a good time.”
Jerrick choked on a strangled laugh before maneuvering the vehicle down the road. Visibly struggling to keep his face straight, he pointed to a stone archway in the distance. “There’s the entrance to the estate. We won’t linger past this point because a visio security system monitors the gate.” He accelerated, cruising them past the remainder of the property. Once the laser fence gave way to dense forest, he braked to a complete stop.
Crooking his arm around the back of his seat, Jerrick pinned Mara with his stare, his mirth noticeably absent. “Don’t worry about Dash and I. You’re the one with the difficult job.”
Mara slipped her gaze from Jerrick’s pensive expression and looked at Dash. His face resembled carved granite as he stared mutely out the front windshield. Her own ire vanished. How could she criticize his lack of levity when he clearly struggled with the part she played in the whole scheme?
“If you have the slightest doubt about going through with this, now’s the time to say it.”
She returned her attention to Jerrick and shook her head. “I don’t.” Saying it was one thing, admitting the truth to herself—whole other story.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“It’s a go.” Jerrick stepped out of the kitchen and clicked off the micro-communicator resting in his palm. “According to Leo’s source, Baggins is meeting a client at Zupello’s tonight for dinner.”
Heart thudding, Mara swallowed her mouthful of porridge. The cereal congealed in a thick lump inside her throat. “But I’m not ready.” She felt Dash’s alert stare across the dining table and quickly amended her statement. “I haven’t put together an outfit yet.”
“What about the dress you wore the night you and Dash tried to lure me out?”
She wrinkled her nose. “It doesn’t go with the shoes Avily gave me.”
“What difference does it make? A dress is a dress.”
“Hello.” Slapping her hands on her hips, Piper sashayed between the breakfast dishes. “You can’t mix gold and black. It’s so last year.”
Jerrick grunted. “Fine, I’ll drive you in to the city center. The variety of shops is limited, but one of them is bound to cough up a dress.” He looked slightly queasy. “This is my worst nightmare come true. Shopping with two females.”
“I’ll take them.” Dash scraped his chair back, his face tight. “Where’s the disguise Leo put together?”
“Hold on, I’ll go grab it.”
While Jerrick strode outside, Mara fidgeted with her spoon.
“Stop trying to put on a brave front.”
Mara jerked her head up and met Dash’s stare. She let go of the spoon and tucked her hands between her thighs. “I’m not.”
“Bullshit. I can practically hear the blood pounding through your veins.”
Unable to stop it, she released a shuddering breath. “Okay, I admit it. I’m definitely scared.”
“Good.”
She glared at him. “No need to be an asshole about it.”
“I’m not.” His expression remained fiery. “But it’s good you’re scared—it’ll keep you on your toes. You’re less likely to make a costly mistake if your guard is up.”
What he said made a lot of sense. “Where’d you learn this stuff? Thief school?”
His fierceness cracked, allowing in a faint smile. “Didn’t realize they had schools for thieves. Might have saved my grandfather years of frustration training me.”
Jerrick stomped back into the house and tossed a plastic bag on the table. Without peeking inside at its contents, Dash grabbed the bag and strode to his room. A few seconds later, his booming curse echoed all the way into the dining room.
“Here come the firesparks.” Muttering, Jerrick hiked down the hall.
Curiosity mounting, Mara waited to see what had managed to get Dash so riled. The door the two brothers had disappeared behind opened. Jerrick stepped out first, his face a mask of barely contained jocular restraint. Behind him stalked Dash—wearing the most ridiculous getup known to faekind. Or humankind, for that matter.
The one-piece ocean blue jumpsuit was fashioned from some kind of stretchy material that made a weird frippp whenever he moved. Synthetic, fluffy white fur lined the cuffs and high neck. If that weren’t bad enough, the long blonde wig and platform boots put him well over the edge.
Piper rolled on the tabletop, her wings flapping as she dissolved in a fit of laughter. She pointed at Dash. “You look like Mara’s ugly sister.”
Dash started to pivot back down the hall but Jerrick clamped a hand around his shoulder, stalling him.
“No way am I going out in this.”
“You have to.” Jerrick shoved Dash towards the exit. “Look at it this way—no one will ever recognize you.”
“They bloody better not. I’d never live it down.”
Jerrick glanced at Mara. “Ready? I want to get him in the vehicle before he starts really throwing a hissy fit.”
After rushing for her coin purse, Mara galloped outside. While she and Piper ducked into the Cloud Chaser, Dash gripped the steering wheel in a chokehold and glared at his brother.
“Payback’s a bitch. Might want to remember that.” Dash left Jerrick’s chuckle in the dust as he sped off.
They spent a
good hour combing the shops of Skalage. Mara didn’t have any luck finding a suitable dress, but Dash received three offers for a date.
“Do I look easy or something?” Scowling, he led the way back to the vehicle.
Mara’s lips twitched. “Um, I think it must be the stubble. It’s quite sexy.”
He smiled, apparently mollified by her assessment.
“Too bad you were subjected to a bunch of lecherous old men for no reason. Who would have thought finding a dress would be so difficult?” Mara sank back in the passenger seat with a grumble. “Guess I’ll have to settle for what I’ve already got.” She shot him an apologetic look. “Not that there’s anything wrong with the dress you bought me. It’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s just…”
Dash held up his hand. “I know. The shoes.”
Piper jumped onto the center console and peered up at Mara excitedly. “Why didn’t I think of this before? I could make you a dress!”
Sprites were master fashion designers, but Mara didn’t see how Piper would be able to pull it off. “We don’t have any fabric or thread.” She glanced at the compu clock on the windshield. “Or time.”
“We don’t need any of those things when I’ve got plenty of sprite dust at my disposal.”
Mara blinked at Piper. “You can make clothing out of that stuff?”
The sprite gave a cheeky smile. “It’s the ultimate in versatility.”
Who knew? Mara tapped her fingers against her knee. “Okay, go for it.”
Piper plopped her butt on the console. “We have to wait till we get back to the house. You’ll need to take all your clothes off.”
Lifting her head, Mara met Dash’s smoky gaze.
“Or you could just strip down right now,” he said, his voice husky.
Forbidden temptation once again tingled under her skin. She released a shaky breath. “I think I’ll wait.”
His mouth curved in a sardonic grin. “Wise choice.”
When they reached the house, Mara followed Piper into the room they’d shared the previous night. She unbuttoned her pants and wiggled free of them before tugging her pink top over her head. Piper studied her with a critical eye.
Lover Enslaved: Thieves of Aurion, Book 1 Page 22
