“Yes, it is.” He leaned an elbow against the bar. “Except age is irrelevant to me. I’m essentially the same as I was when I was charged with the duty of Guardian.”
Everything about this situation was hard to believe. From being on the island to listening to his rich voice with a hint of a Scottish accent—she needed to learn more about that—to these incredible tales he was spinning. It couldn’t actually be true.
Could it?
But with what she’d witnessed with her own eyes, something inside her knew what he said was somehow possible. Even though she couldn’t comprehend how it could be, and as much as she wanted to deny it, she was in the presence of an immortal shape-shifter.
Unable to sit any longer, she rose and moved randomly about. On the wall above the bar hung a clock comprised of large metal gears. It looked custom designed with its intricate overlaid metal pieces, and she wondered if he had made it. She admired the work and glanced around, wondering how he had gotten all these magnificent decorations to this remote island.
Then she shook herself as the magnitude of everything she didn’t know slammed into her. She moved back to the chair, ready to hear all the wretched details. “All right, give it to me. Tell me the whole story.”
He stared at her, his jaw set firm, his tone dry. “I was sent here as a Guardian of the Divine Tree. There are many beings out there that will do anything to get their hands on the secrets of the universe, which the tree holds, and it’s my job to see that doesn’t happen.”
“Wow. That’s a weighty responsibility.” She smiled, but then it abruptly faded.
He nodded once. “Very.”
“And the . . . the woman chasing us?”
“Theodora. She rules over Riam, an alternate universe to ours. She won’t just let you go.”
Rhia furrowed her brow. “But why would she even want me?”
“Think of her as a ruler in the Ancient Roman Empire. She kidnaps people to be her subjects, her gladiators of sorts. And the more people she rules, the more entertainment she gets. Plus somehow her power grows.” He held Rhianna’s gaze, his voice warming. “And you’re clearly a fighter. She will most definitely be interested in you.”
•
To say that Theodora was a bad sport was an understatement. She stood on the highest peak on the southernmost tip of the island looking out to sea. That Guardian asshole wouldn’t give her the female. Aidan Hearst actually hid her. He’d never cared what she’d done with her captives before!
However, it didn’t matter. He had no control over what she did. Period.
Theodora made a tsking sound. They cannot stay underground forever.
For now, at least there was a ship about five miles from the shore. The people’s voices had drifted to her last night while they were drinking and carousing. It would make a nice diversion.
She disappeared, riding on air until she was close to the yacht. There were three men aboard—two up top, one down below. From where she stood, she used her magic to untie the ropes that held the dinghy in place and set it free. There would be no escaping by that little boat. Not that she wouldn’t get them, regardless. It quickly drifted away.
The men were drinking coffee. She recognized the pleasant aroma. Extending her scepter toward the men, she wrapped them like a package in a clear net. They didn’t know what hit them. She smiled. Giftwrapped for the games.
“You like games, don’t you?” she asked.
The men stared at her, their eyes huge, confused, disbelieving, and full of fear. They pushed against the bonds, climbing over one another trying to escape. The slender, handsome man scrambled on top of the bald man’s head and face, giving him a bloody nose.
Theodora smiled. With a steady hand on her sorcerer’s staff, she opened a porthole to Riam. The blue orb at the head of the staff glowed, showering energy in front of her. She floated the men up through it.
She sighed. She’d grown bored of late with her fighting games. Perhaps it was time to add a new element. But what would up the excitement? She tapped a finger against her chin.
Spectators!
Oh yes. That was it. She would send out some invitations to those she knew in the Dark Realm. It had been a long time since she’d had any company.
* * *
A lengthy silence filled the kitchen as Aidan realized he had a guest for the first time in hundreds of years. Archangel Seth and his delegato were the only people who had been in his home.
“Would you like something to eat?” he finally asked.
Her eyes lit up. “Yes, please. That would be nice.”
He smiled while internally kicking himself. Of course she’d want to eat.
Minutes later, he was in the kitchen digging through the refrigerator to find something he could make. He scrambled a few eggs to serve with some smoked fish and a portion of rice.
“Thank you,” she said with sincere appreciation.
“You’re welcome.”
He looked at her briefly. She lounged at a small table, watching him cook. Her chin rested on the heel of her hand as she leaned over the table. She looked tired. But what had she expected coming to a deserted island?
He scolded himself. She’d been through a lot today. He needed to cut her some slack. “This will be much better than what you had for breakfast.”
She squinted at him. “How would you . . . ?” Her eyes grew rounder, wider, as recognition sparked. “It was you . . . The tiger watching me swim in the pond.”
He tried to hide the wicked smile that tugged at his lips but failed miserably. “It was the best entertainment I’ve had in centuries.”
“Well, this is the only time I’ll probably ever hear that line.” Her mouth pulled up at one corner into a cute lopsided smile.
He raised a brow. “Line?”
She shook her head and glanced down. “It doesn’t matter.” After a beat, she lifted her chin and met his eyes. “Look, tiger or not, you should have walked away and given me privacy. If you were a gentleman, you would have.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of a wooded forest, six hundred miles from civilization. There are no gentlemen anywhere near here.”
She laughed. It felt like rain falling after a severe draught. He longed to reach across and touch her hand. Just to see how soft her skin was. Just to feel her pulse beat beneath his fingertips. Just to confirm she was a real, live woman here in his quarters.
While she ate, he noted everything about her—her scent drifting over to him, the way her fork clinked and scraped over the plate, her hair brushing her cheek when she tipped her head forward to take another bite.
He gave a controlled inhale and exhale. Gritting his teeth, he stood and stepped away, taking the now-empty dishes with him. As he cleaned up, he resisted looking back at her and taking in her loveliness.
Alone. Alone. Alone. He reminded himself that was the kind of life he was meant to lead. But for the first time ever—maybe because two of his brothers had recently found their mates—he wondered, just for a moment, that perhaps he might have that same kind of companionship someday.
Swallowing, he shrugged off the foolish thoughts. He couldn’t condemn anyone to the life of solitude that was his existence. But regardless, he wanted to keep her from the clutches of Theodora even more than he had before.
A puppy’s bark brought him out of his thoughts. “Takeshi,” he said. He glanced at Rhianna apologetically. “I forgot about the pup.”
Quickly, he set about rectifying the situation. He headed down the hall, out of sight, and opened the door where he heard the dog. Takeshi sprung out the door immediately vaulting to their visitor.
She allowed the pup to leap into her lap where he licked her face. A soft laugh bubbled from her as she petted the animal.
“Takeshi, off,” Aidan commanded. When he didn’t obey, Aidan went over, removed the pup from her lap, and set him on the floor, repeating the instruction. “I’m sorry. I’ve only had him a few days so he has y
et to learn.”
Her smile practically reached her ears this time. “Of course. He’s just a puppy.” She leaned forward and stroked the dog’s head. “Takeshi. I like that name.”
For a second, he thought he glimpsed her genuine personality, free from the worries of her current dilemma.
“It means warrior,” he explained.
“I like it.”
He felt lightness inside his chest, a pleasant hum. “Since I live alone, my dogs aren’t exactly trained to live with people.”
“You have other animals?”
“Only this one right now.”
She scratched Takeshi’s head. “Well, he’s adorable.”
Aidan didn’t say anything, simply watched her interact with the dog. She was enchanting. Could this be the same female who had landed him on his back a short time ago?
With a mental shake of his head, he stood. He had her safe inside his home now.
So what was he going to do next?
•
“Would you like a tour of the place? Aidan asked Rhianna.
She looked into Aidan’s hazel eyes, which held deep green and gold tones. Tiger eyes. “Yes. That would be nice.”
Plus, she might discover the ins and outs of the place for when she left. While he may have come to her aid in regards to the sorceress, Rhia had no delusions that she wouldn’t eventually have to find her way back to camp and contact the TV crew.
Takeshi jumped up and put himself in front of Aidan. She laughed. “Looks like someone would like to come along.”
Aidan moved his hand forward, signaling the dog to come along. “This is the living area,” he started. “As you can see, it’s kind of just one big room but there are separate designated spots for the kitchen, living room, and bar.”
She nodded, then looked up the center of the space to a stained glass skylight window far above them. The hues of red, gold, green, and blue reflected off the walls. “What’s up there?”
“A library. It’s the only room that’s situated aboveground and has a window.”
With a sweeping glance, she noticed a fairly new TV and a stack of movies sitting on a table. It occurred to her then that lights were on. “You have electricity?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s generated on the island and stored in large battery cells.”
“Interesting. How does it work?”
He smiled. “I’ll show you when we get to that area. Since I live here alone, I do everything myself. I have nothing but time, and I love to tinker with things.”
They kept walking. “The sleeping and bathing quarters are down that hall.” He pointed to the right but continued forward.
Next they came to a large area where the floor was cut away, revealing a lower level. She peered over the railing. A circular staircase wound down to the next floor. The space around the stairs was filled with stuff sitting on tables, and chairs, and on the floor. An easel with paints and brushes was set up, and there was a workbench with pieces of metal, nuts, bolts, and other tools, including a ban saw and table.
“My goodness. How did you get all that in here?” she asked. “And . . . well, where did it all come from?”
“You’d be surprised what washes ashore. Some of it came from abandoned ships, too, and other things came from Amazon.”
She jerked her head around to stare at him. “Really?” Given where and how he lived, she had assumed he didn’t have modern access to things, especially the Internet. It was a quite naive guess on her part. “Can I go down there?”
He held out his palm. “Be my guest.”
Together they tromped to the bottom of the deep room. She looked around, taking everything in. “The room looks as if it’s carved out of the stone.”
“You’re very observant. That’s exactly how it was formed. A little at a time, over several centuries. As my collection grew, so did the room.”
She walked around, noting the antiques intermingled with present-day items, including several examples of assembly line machines on timers. Her jaw dropped, and then she snapped her mouth closed. She’d never seen anything like it in her entire life.
“Wow, this is . . . just wow!” she said. “How did you learn how to make all this?”
He shrugged. “I read a lot of books.”
“I can’t wait to see your library, then,” she said on a laugh.
They leaned toward each other, and their eyes met. A warmth swept over her, and she looked away, a thought occurring to her. “Has anyone ever seen this before?”
“No.”
The straightforward answer made her nervous—he wasn’t used to being with people. Wild...the word flitted through her head. Like the wild dog she’d first thought Takeshi was. She eased as nonchalantly as she could to the other end of a counter filled with metal parts. Here she was, alone with a shape-shifter. She couldn’t believe she was even using that word. Why wasn’t she huddled in a corner shaking in her shoes?
Because he’d been nothing but kind to her. And his voice was quiet and soothing and sexy.
She blinked at that last part.
“Come this way and I’ll show you where the electricity is generated,” he suggested.
She nodded and followed him down some damp stairs and into another large, open area. She studied the room. “This one is only partially man-made,” she noted aloud. “On the other side it looks like a natural cave.”
“Very good.” He smiled. “This is located near the waterfall, where another hole in the earth allows water to flow into a subterranean pool. I use a microhydro power to generate power.”
“Hydro? So you use water to make electricity?”
He leaned his massive shoulder against the wall. “Exactly. And I also pump the water to the kitchen and bath.”
“It looks like you have the perfect setup here.”
“If you have to live on an island in the middle of the ocean, you can’t get much better than this.” He flashed her another smile.
“I think you’re right about that.”
They turned together, and he waited for her lead the way back to the living area, or so she presumed. As they went, she noticed the echo of their footsteps off the walls this time. She retraced her steps to the staircase and ascended to the living floor.
As she returned to where they had started, she made a mental note of everything. There were probably a lot of things that would surprise her in the world and what she’d encountered today would surely rank among them. And as kind as Aidan seemed, she may only have one chance to get out of here and make her way home.
“So . . .” She turned to him. “Now what?”
He shrugged. “You should stay here tonight. Tomorrow I’ll get your things so you can contact your people to pick you up.”
She nodded. She hated giving up on the whole If You Dare thing, but given the circumstances, she didn’t see an alternative any longer. As unbelievable as this whole day had seemed, she could feel deep in her gut that Aidan wasn’t lying to her about Theodora and her kidnappings. She was dangerous and obviously running the show.
Rhianna swallowed, hard. She had come here to figure out why her great grandfather had disappeared. Now she had a pretty good idea.
* * *
“Where will I sleep?” she asked. “I’d like to freshen up.”
Aidan twisted to peer at her. “You can have my room,” he said over his shoulder. Since he never had guests, he’d had no need for a guest room. His was the only bedroom. He could easily sleep on the couch.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.” She licked her lips nervously.
He looked at her and felt completely out of his element, even though he was in his own home.
A series of tapes, movies, and videos skated through his head as he searched for the right response. Well, she was putting him out. But he hadn’t had much practice in dealing with people. Sure, he spoke to his brothers, four times a year he traveled to the mainland, and he had a few ham radio and computer friends. T
he satellite communication system he’d bought had been worth every penny. He occasionally chatted with an old angel named Seth, as well, and every once in a great while he fought a demon or two, but that was the extent of his experience with communication.
“I’m tough. I can handle the sofa,” he said with a wink. It was beyond true. Back in the beginning when he’d first come to the island, he’d slept on the ground and used whatever he could find on the island to make himself as comfortable as possible. “Don’t worry about me.”
Her brow furrowed, and she nodded slowly.
He could handle just about anything. But the thought of a female in his bed . . . ? That was a different matter.
•
When Aidan heard water running in the bath, he wondered if he should retrieve Rhianna’s things now instead of in the morning, if for no other reason than so she could have a fresh change of clothes. The sun had already set as his eagle flew out of the opening near the waterfall and soared over the island. It felt good to expend the energy that had been coiled inside him all day. He executed a wide circle around the area, surveying it for any sign of Theodora. He saw none.
As he landed near Rhianna’s satchel, he changed seamlessly into his human form. Still no sorceress, but that didn’t mean she’d left. He grabbed the bag and slung it over one shoulder. It only weighed about twenty pounds or so, he guessed, and he wondered what she’d brought with her. His mind conjured up the image of lacy underthings like the ones he’d seen in movies, and the thought of her in them awakened a sleeping giant within him.
He growled. He was still a man, after all, even though he’d worked mighty hard to deny that part of him. Trying to scrub the thoughts from his mind, he lumbered through the grotto passageway between the mountains toward home. As he leaped down to the ground from a huge rock, the Divine Tree signaled him through the tattoos on his back and wrist, which were now suddenly burning. He immediately burst into a run. The tree only reached out like that when there was danger nearby.
Awakening Storm Page 6
