by Ciana Stone
“Will do. See ya!”
Nikki left the office, glad to have been able to talk to Cat. Admitting her feelings about the handsome stranger relieved some of the anxious excitement. To her surprise, it had also made her evaluate what she was feeling a little more, and it was something of a shock for her to realize that for the first time in her life, she was completely spellbound by a man.
It was both exhilarating and intimidating. She was scared that when she saw the man again, she’d realize she’d been wrong about him. That he wasn’t the man from her dreams. Then again, what if he was and he had no interest in her?
For the first time, Nikki felt as if she was walking on foreign soil. She was always in control when it came to affairs of the heart. What was so different this time? And did she really want to find out?
She climbed into her car and found herself transported into another realm. Instead of sitting in a beat-up old Toyota on a city street, she was seated on a padded divan in a room that looked like it belonged in the sixteenth century. Thick rock walls adorned with tapestries and lined with heavy wooden cases filled with scrolls and artifacts that made her hands itch to touch.
An opened door across the room from her gave her a view of a wide parapet and a sky laden with clouds as if a storm was gathering. A fire burned in the massive fireplace that dominated one wall.
Nikki waited, expecting to see her dream man enter the room. Her eyes widened in surprise when instead an ethereal beauty of indeterminate age glided into the room. Dressed in a gown out of a fairy tale—low-cut bodice, sleeves that fit tight to the elbows then flared out into a graceful sweep of gossamer, and a skirt that trailed behind her like the foam on the sea—she was a vision of beauty that was almost indescribable.
“Who are you?” Nikki asked.
“I am Danu.”
“Daahn-ou?” Nikki pronounced the name as the woman had. “Well, hello. Who are you and why are you in my dream?”
Danu laughed and the sound seemed to echo through the room, a musical sound that inspired thoughts of harps and lutes and magic. “My dear, this is no dream.”
“Okay, fantasy.” Nikki was puzzled. In all of her other dreams and fantasies, it was just her and the dream man. And never had they spoken. Not one word had passed between them. So why had things changed?
Danu smiled and lowered herself gracefully onto the divan beside Nikki. “No. This is all quite real.”
Nikki laughed. “Sorry, but that ship won’t sail. It has to be a dream, or fantasy…or…or cerebral stroke.”
“I’m afraid not. This,” she paused and gestured around them, “and I, are quite real. Here…” She reached out and took Nikki’s hand. “Does this not feel real?”
“No more than any of my other dreams.”
“Hmmm, I see.” Danu withdrew her hand. “Well, how shall I prove this to you?”
“You tell me,” Nikki replied, thinking this fantasy had to be the strangest yet.
Danu smiled again. “Perhaps I shall tell you of your meeting with Gaspar.”
Nikki shook her head. “Sorry, that’s in my head so I’d already know it and could dream about it.”
Danu nodded. “I see that you are going to be difficult to convince.”
“Color me stubborn,” Nikki said, looking around the room. “This is amazing. So much detail. Tell me, Danu. What exactly is this place I’ve dreamed up and why did I conjure up a beautiful woman instead of my dream man?”
With a laugh Danu leaned back on the divan. “Why don’t I tell you a story?”
Nikki made herself more comfortable and grinned. “I love stories.”
“It all started…”
—
Twenty-four hours after she’d accepted the job, Nikki arrived back at the Weston estate to pick up her gate card. Osgood Gaynor, the butler, had called and left her a message that she could pick it up any time. Eager to see if she would run into the handsome stranger again, she called and told Osgood she would come on over and pick up the card.
She was still unsure if what she’d experienced with Danu on the Isle of Rescue was real or just an elaborate fantasy. If it was possible that it was real, then the job she’d lucked into was the most important of her life.
Maxwell Weston’s life was in danger. From what she didn’t know. Danu wouldn’t reveal that bit of knowledge, but claimed that it was Nikki’s destiny to save him. Nikki liked the idea of having a destiny that involved being someone’s savior, but failed to see what could possibly threaten a boy who lived in a proverbial ivory tower, surrounded by luxury.
Still, even as she fought not to believe, a secret part of her said what she’d experienced was real. And that small kernel of belief was enough to make her want to succeed and save Maxwell from whatever threatened. The big question was, how was an average woman like her who couldn’t even keep a decent roof over her own head supposed to save anyone?
Osgood greeted her at the door. “Ms. Morgan, good day.”
“Hi, I thought I’d drop by and pick up that card.”
“Yes, please follow me. Mr. Weston asked that I notify him when you arrived.”
Osgood left her waiting in the library while he went to tell Mr. Weston she was there. Nikki looked at the massive bookcases, filled with expensive leather-bound editions on a wide variety of subjects.
“Nikki, hello, my dear.”
She turned at the sound of Richard Weston’s voice. “Hi, I hope I’m not bothering you. Mr. Gaynor said I could stop by and pick up a gate card.”
“Yes, I have it right here.” Richard pulled what looked a lot like a credit card from his pocket.
“Thanks.” Nikki looked at it. “So I just swipe it through the thing at the gate?”
“Yes. Tell me, when do you estimate you’ll be moving to the estate?”
“I thought maybe tomorrow or Thursday.”
“Excellent.”
At that moment Helen walked into the room. “Richard, have you seen—” She fell silent for a moment when she saw Nikki. “Ah, Ms. Morgan. I didn’t expect you.”
“I came to pick up a gate card.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Something you wanted, darling?” Richard asked.
Helen cut a look at Nikki before answering. “Actually, I wanted to know if you had seen Maxwell.”
“No.”
Helen blew out her breath in exasperation. “Honestly, sometimes that boy tries my patience to the very brink.”
At that moment Osgood appeared at the door. “Excuse me, Mrs. Weston. I’ve located Maxwell.”
“Well it’s about time!”
He disappeared for just a moment then reappeared in the doorway, holding onto someone’s arm. “Come, Maxwell, your mother wants to speak with you.”
Nikki thought she was going to faint when instead of a young boy, her dream man stepped through the door.
“Holy shit!” she breathed without thinking.
Helen and Richard both whirled around to look at her. She didn’t even notice. All she could see was the man she’d been fantasizing about. His eyes met hers and she felt like someone who was free-falling through space.
The whisper of sheets sliding across bare skin and a breath of cool air from the opened window had her tingling. Moonlight fell in shafts across the room, casting harsh contrasts between darkness and light.
He stood at the foot of the bed, watching. She could not see his eyes. With his back to the window, he was silhouetted against the light. She extended one hand to him and he came to her, crawling onto the bed and stopping when he was poised above her.
His eyes gleamed in the dim light. She reached up to run her hand along the side of his face and into his thick hair. Fisting the silken strands, she pulled his face down to hers. He came to her willingly, lowering himself down on her, supporting the weight of his upper body on his forearms.
Her tongue flicked at his lips and they parted, allowing her to explore the sweet depths of his mouth. But only for a moment, then he assumed con
trol, rolling over and taking her with him so that she lay on top him, her breasts pressed into the firm swell of his chest.
His hands moved down her back, cupping and squeezing her rear, fingers questing into the cleft to caress her anus and move lower, teasing the lips of her sex.
She shivered in delicious anticipation and pushed herself up, hands braced on either side of his shoulders.
He captured one breast in hand and mouth, hand squeezing as his tongue traced the puckered areola, drawing a moan from her.
Fantasy faded as Osgood pushed the man farther into the room, breaking their eye contact. Nikki’s legs nearly gave out. She’d been moments from climax. But thoughts of herself vanished at the sight of emotions dancing across Maxwell’s face. It was like watching an emotional kaleidoscope.
“Maxwell, get in here and sit down this instant,” Richard barked.
Nikki was surprised by the change that came over Maxwell when he looked at his parents. The swirling eddy of emotion vanished. It was like a carved, expressionless mask had been dropped over his face.
“Please.” Richard gestured for Nikki to sit as he ushered Helen to the divan.
Nikki took her seat, keeping her eyes on Maxwell who remained rooted in place by the door.
Richard looked over his shoulder. “I said now, Maxwell.”
Maxwell started slowly across the room, his movements like those of a person who has to think about the act of walking. Nikki noted the movements and lack of facial expression, but also the emotion that blazed from his eyes. She wished she could read it. He stood in front of the divan, facing Nikki, with his back to his parents who were seated on the divan.
“Maxwell, this is Nikki Morgan. Nikki, this is our son Maxwell.”
Nikki was still in shock. From the way Richard and Helen had talked she’d expected to see a nine- or ten-year-old boy. The person standing in front of her definitely was not nine or ten, nor was he a boy. He was a grown man. A very handsome, well-built, grown man who was easily in his mid-thirties. And the man she’d been dreaming of for the last year.
Oh god. This is not good, not good at all. Get a grip. Come on. Okay, he’s not what you thought. But you can deal with it. Remember, he’s not normal. He’s not a beautiful, well-built normal man, he’s a kid trapped in that gorgeous body. He’s not the man you dream about. He’s…oh god, he saw the way I looked at him.
Trying to compose herself, she looked up at Maxwell. It was a big mistake. His eyes were like wells of emotion. She immediately fell into those endless wells and could do nothing but submit to captivity. At length he released her from his gaze to move his eyes over her. Freed for the moment, she did likewise, studying him. His face was like a living screen on which emotions danced in rapid-fire abandon. What was it she saw? Hurt, anger, confusion, nervousness?
What’s wrong with you, Maxwell Weston? He didn’t look mentally handicapped or slow. What exactly was his problem?
As she looked back into his eyes, it happened again—a sensation that nearly overwhelmed her. She didn’t know what it was, but she did know it was coming from him, from his eyes.
Abruptly, words she had spoken to Cat came back to haunt her, proclamations of how her dream man was the stranger she had met at the Westons’. No, it couldn’t be. She was not destined to have her heart held captive by a man who was emotionally and mentally little more than a child.
Maxwell slowly extended his hand to her. She took it and tried to smile naturally. “Hi, Maxwell, it’s nice to meet you.”
The smile she received was so swift and unexpected that it was gone almost before it registered. Then the mask was back. Maxwell released her hand and moved stiffly to take a seat off to one side.
Nikki looked from him to his parents. They were watching her. She looked back at Maxwell, whose eyes were locked on her. Nikki felt they were all waiting for her to say something and she had no idea what it was supposed to be. Forcing back the knot in her throat, she smiled at Maxwell. He didn’t return the smile but she saw a change in his eyes. It was almost a calculating look, as if he was weighing or judging her.
Richard broke the silence. “We’ve invited Nikki to spend the summer here while your mother and I are in Europe.”
Something in Maxwell’s eyes told Nikki he was surprised at the news. She felt the need to let him know that she didn’t want to be intrusive.
“If that’s okay with you, that is,” she added quickly.
Maxwell’s eyes seemed to change expressions but nothing registered on his face. Helen leaned forward, speaking to him as if he were either hard of hearing or stupid.
“Nikki is going to be staying here to keep an eye on you, Maxwell. I want you to be on your best behavior and not test her patience. Do you understand?”
Maxwell did not react in any way to his mother’s words, but Nikki thought his eyes seemed to convey resentment at the condescending tone. Then again, she could be wrong. Maybe she was projecting her feelings onto him. She wouldn’t want to be spoken to or treated in such a way, and maybe she just imagined she saw a look in his eyes that indicated he felt the same way. But surely he had to be embarrassed? Then again, maybe not. If he needed a baby-sitter at his age, he couldn’t be normal.
Richard stood and gestured to Maxwell. “You may go now.”
“Yes, wait for me in the conservatory. I have some things to say to you, young man,” Helen added.
Without looking at his parents, Maxwell got up and left the room. He stopped outside the door and looked back. No one paid attention except Nikki.
Her heart went out to him. He looked so desperately unhappy and dispirited, like a dog that’s been kicked around all its life. Resentment welled up inside her. No one should be made to feel that way. She smiled at him and called out, “See you in a couple of days.”
He did not respond but disappeared from view. Nikki looked back at his parents who were standing. Apparently the meeting was over.
“Well, I better go.”
“Yes.” Helen moved toward the door. “Richard, if you’ll please show Ms. Morgan out?”
As Helen sailed out of the door, Richard moved over beside Nikki, placing his hand in the small of her back as he ushered her through the house to the front door.
She moved away from him and extended her hand. “Thank you, Mr. Weston.”
“Please, no more thanks.” He smiled and took her hand in both of his. “I only hope the relationship will prove mutually beneficial and rewarding.”
She disengaged her hand with an uncomfortable smile and walked outside. Once at her car, she looked back at the house. What the hell am I getting myself into?
As she got in the car, she decided it really did not matter. For all the money they were paying, she could put up with just about anything. Or could she? What about Maxwell Weston, the man who until ten minutes ago had been her dream guy come to life?
She groaned as an image of his face popped in her mind. She looked back at the house but did not see the face that watched her from a darkened window on the third floor.
—
Nikki started on Gaspar as soon as he took a seat across from her in the booth. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth about Maxwell Weston? I went there expecting to find a kid and instead I find a…” Her face reddened as she remembered her initial reaction to Maxwell and the feeling that came over her when their eyes met.
“You were saying?” Gaspar folded his hands in his lap and regarded her.
“You set me up!”
“Then you refused the job?”
She looked down at the tabletop, furious at him for lying to her and ashamed to admit that she had jumped at the offer.
“No, I took it.”
“Ah.” Gaspar nodded.
“But not for the reason you think!” She leaned forward and glared at him. “I think you’re full of shit about the Westons but they’re offering too much for me to turn it down.”
“Yes, of course,” Gaspar agreed.
Nikki glared
more fiercely at him. He endured it for several seconds before he smiled. “I take it the real problem is Maxwell.”
Immediately she averted her eyes. She had not been able to get over the tempting sensation that claimed her when she looked into Maxwell Weston’s eyes. She flopped back in the booth. “You should have been honest with me.”
“As you are being with me now?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
There was no way she was about to admit to Gaspar that her dreams had suddenly sprung to life and now she wanted to change them, forget them or deny the feelings they inspired. It was not at all what she’d wished for or imagined. If this was fate then it was indeed cruel.
She jumped up and went to the counter to get two cups of coffee. She returned to the booth and sat down. “Look, I already told you. I need the money. In case Christian didn’t tell you, I’m not exactly what you’d call affluent. I can’t afford to pass up a thousand a week and fifteen grand at the end of the summer.”
“If you make it the entire summer,” Gaspar said.
“That’s an odd statement.”
“It’s an odd position. But back to our original conversation. I sense something happened during your interview aside from surprise at Maxwell’s age.”
Nikki sampled the coffee and added more sugar before replying. “Something’s really strange about those people. Here they are with more money than most small countries, and they can’t find anyone to take care of their son? And it’s not like he’s a kid or even a young adult. He’s got to be…what, thirty-five or so? Come on, it doesn’t add up.”
Gaspar shrugged. “Perhaps, but that is not my concern.”
“Yeah, right, you only care about the Stones. I forgot. Which brings me to another point. What makes you think that even if there is one there I’d ever find it? Have you ever seen that place? It’d take months to search it and that won’t be easy since they have god knows how many maids and servants milling around. Not to mention I wouldn’t know this damn thing if I found it.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
The last thing she expected was for Gaspar to agree with her. “What?”
