by T. M. Cromer
They rode in silence to the clearing, and when they arrived, Spring had to rub her eyes to make sure she hadn’t imagined the table and chairs. Covering a round table was a white tablecloth, and in its center was a potted rose bush already in bloom. It was covered by a glass dome which Spring assumed was to keep the plant warm on the chilly day.
“Is that a Dragon Rose plant?” She urged Macy into a trot to get closer. “Oh, Knox. It’s beautiful.” And it was. The variegated petals of white and royal blue were gorgeous.
He dismounted and held up his hands for Spring to do the same. She fell into his outstretched arms, confident he’d catch her like he always had when she was younger. For a brief moment, he held her close before he released her.
“I’d hoped you’d like it,” he said softly. “It’s the least I could do for being such an ass lately.”
She wanted to trust this new side of him, but she didn’t see how she could. He’d spent too many years keeping her at arm’s length and piling on the insults. The about-face was perplexing. “I do. Thank you,” she said carefully. “What’s all this though?”
“Lunch?”
Spring watched in silence as Knox removed the tack from the horses to allow them to wander the clearing. There was little concern of them running off. His magical connection to the creatures assured his control.
With little fanfare, he held out her chair and waited as she took a seat before he moved to his side of the table.
“Are we conjuring food?” she asked with a half-smile.
His expression was sheepish. “Other than the dessert the other day, I have no clue what you like. I figured we could play it by ear.”
“I’m a vegetarian, but I’m not picky.”
“Italian?”
“Perfect.”
With a simple swirl of his hand, Knox morphed their table into a picture-perfect Italian feast. Garlic bread rested in the spot where the rose bush had been. A dark, ruby wine in Waterford crystal glasses was within reach for each of them. A small silver tray with a domed lid sat before Spring with a matching setting in front of Knox.
“Where did my plant go?”
He laughed. “Need you ask? I sent it to your workshop.”
Mollified, Spring lifted the lid and inhaled deeply of the lasagna dish underneath. “God! That smells like the stuff your Aunt Keira used to make!”
His deep laugh struck her right in the chest. When was the last time she’d heard him laugh? It must’ve been close to eight years or more.
“It’s exactly the same,” he confessed. “I learned to cook it a long time ago. Or in this case, conjure it.”
Wasting no time, they dug in. She closed her eyes and moaned her pleasure. “Oh, Goddess! It’s better than I remember.”
When she looked up, Knox was frozen in place, his fork halfway to his mouth.
“Knox? Are you okay?”
He cleared his throat and chugged the wine he’d conjured for them. “Fine,” he barked.
She blinked her confusion over his gruffness. What had she done this time? Knowing she’d never figure out his mercurial moods, she shrugged and went back to devouring her meal.
* * *
Knox shifted in his seat. Spring’s enjoyment had caused a visceral reaction in him. Her throaty moan and orgasmic expression were the stuff of dreams. His dreams to be exact. Now that he’d seen the real thing, he realized his imagination hadn’t come close.
Christ, the fact that she could turn him on with a simple moan troubled him. He didn’t want to want her. Certainly, he didn’t want to love her. But he’d spent the better part of ten years fighting his inappropriate thoughts and feelings for her, and he doubted it would end anytime soon.
He took another sip of wine as he recalled her words from yesterday. She was right. He’d been treating her like a child for far too long. It was his fallback. A safety measure of sorts. If he thought of her as an adult, he’d no longer have an excuse to keep her at a distance. He might have to do something about his unnatural obsession for her.
Last night, he hadn’t been able to sleep. He kept picturing her face as the orgasm took her. Even rubbing one out hadn’t done the trick; he’d maintained a semi-hard-on the rest of the night—like the one he was sporting now. It seemed he stayed in a constant state of arousal around her. Thank the Goddess that Spring was too inexperienced to notice.
Knox was tired of fighting the pull. Maybe he wasn’t deserving of her, but he wanted her with an ardor that was rivaled by nothing and no one else.
“What are you thinking about so hard over there?” Spring asked softly.
He lifted his gaze from her rosebud mouth. Their eyes connected and held across the expanse of the table. “You.”
Surprise lit her lovely face. “What have I done this time?”
She was always quick to go to a negative place. His fault to be sure. He’d spent too many years deriding her at every turn to keep her at a distance.
“Nothing.” He set down his glass and moved to squat in front of her. Taking both her hands in his, he tried to relay what was in his heart. “You’re perfect, sweetheart. You always have been. I never meant for you to question your worth, Spring. I need you to know that.”
She withdrew her hands from his and rose gracefully to her feet. “I think it’s time I got back.”
He sat back on his heels. “Don’t go. Stay for dessert.”
“What is the point of all this, Knox? Are you trying to butter me up about the South America trip?” She shook her head even as he opened his mouth to deny it. “This…” She waved a hand. “…is overkill. All you had to do was speak to me like a decent human being for a change.”
He rose and crossed to where she stood, arms folded over her chest as if she were hugging herself—or protecting herself from him.
With the tip of one finger, he smoothed a wayward, coppery strand of hair from her cheek. “I’ve been ugly to you for far too long. It makes you question my sincerity now. I get it. But it never had anything to do with who you are as a person.”
“So you’re denying this is a trick to get me to cave and accept help?”
“I’m completely denying this is a trick. I only wanted to do something nice for you for a change. An apology.”
“Don’t play me for a fool, Knox. You may think I’m sweet and innocent, but I swear by all that is holy, if this is a game to humiliate me, you’ll wish you’d never set eyes on me.”
Spring’s anger was palpable. But Knox suspected it was born of desperation and fear. He’d done nothing to earn her trust, but he intended to rectify that. “I’ll never play you for a fool, sweetheart. That’s my promise to you.”
She nodded once. “I have to get back. I’m sorry to decline dessert.”
“Thanks for sharing lunch with me.”
Still they stood, less than a hair’s breadth between them; Spring’s confused eyes gazing up at him as if trying to figure him out.
He lowered his head and gently placed his lips to hers. Her response was instantaneous, and her lips clung to his. But Spring—contrary as always—jerked back and scrubbed her mouth with a scowl.
“I gotta go,” she muttered.
He stood staring at the space she’d occupied long after she’d teleported away. How did he reverse the damage he’d wrought to their friendship?
“Nicely played, son.”
Knox jumped and spun around. Alastair sat at the table and picked through the garlic bread for exactly the right slice. How the hell had Spring’s uncle gotten the jump on him? He’d been trained from the time he could walk to be alert to his surroundings. It had saved him multiple beatings.
“I don’t need your approval.”
“I didn’t think you did. All I’m saying is that this was a nice touch as far as seductions go. She’ll come around.”
“I have no intention of seducing her,” he lied to Alastair as easily as he lied to himself.
“Keep telling yourself that, boy. But I think you’ve
reached the end of your proverbial rope where she’s concerned. Your suppressed feelings have all ganged up on you, and now you don’t know if you are coming or going. Am I right?”
Alastair spoke the truth, but Knox would be damned if he’d admit it. “Why are you here?”
“I miss Keira’s garlic bread. Nice re-creation on your part. It takes me back.”
“I’m glad I could provide your trip down memory lane. At your age, it must be all you have left.”
Alastair lifted Spring’s untouched wine and toasted him with a sardonic smile. “Touché.” After he took a sip, he carefully set the glass down. “Great vintage. Now, on to things that matter. Have you decided to remove your head from your ass and pursue my niece?”
“That’s none of your damned business.”
“I disagree. Everything Thorne related is my business.” Alastair tilted his head and smiled like a cat that got the canary. “You love her.”
Knox didn’t dignify the guess with an answer.
Alastair rose and straightened his cufflinks. “What I don’t understand is why you won’t go after what you want. If I’m not mistaken, she professed her love to you eons ago.”
“She was a kid. She didn’t know what she was saying.”
“Thornes only love once. My dear Summer set her sights on your cousin Cooper when she was barely out of diapers. My family members are blessed to recognize their soulmates with a single glance.”
Knox’s heart increased its pace, and sweat broke out on his lower back. Somewhere along the way, Spring had said something similar. The memory of that day when she was only eight and determinedly dogging his footsteps flitted through his mind. Her words came back to him. “Thornes only love once, Knox. I choose you.”
At the time, he’d thought she was a lonely child who dreamed about unicorns and happily ever after, but based on Alastair’s revelation, perhaps she’d known her own mind from the start.
It wasn’t until she grew into a teenager and became aggressive in her pursuit that Knox had to get firm and deflect her advances.
He had never discussed Spring with anyone after meeting her. Hell, he wasn’t sure the others knew she existed. The Thornes didn’t remove the cloak from their property or start their pretense of “moving to town” until the older girls were ready to start high school. But he’d always known they lived at the manor since he’d moved in with his aunt and uncle. He’d stumbled across the sisters playing in the clearing once, and from that moment on, he’d made it his mission to find out more about their family.
The first time he’d seen Spring, she’d been a four-year-old, running about the woods unsupervised. He’d stayed to watch over her. As he looked on, she used her magic to change the flowers to the colors of the rainbow. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen. In that moment, he understood that she was the Thorne Jewel—bright and precious—and he treated her accordingly.
“She’s like a princess, and I’m the equivalent of a stable hand,” he told Alastair roughly. “I have no business pursuing her.”
“Then you’ve condemned not only yourself to a life of unhappiness, but Spring as well. Or perhaps you don’t feel you deserve to be happy?”
Knox cut the other man a sharp glance. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. I know Robert Knox wasn’t a good man. I also know your mother, Marianne, was no better. They were two bad seeds, and you suffered at their hands. I’m here to tell you, you can break the cycle. You aren’t destined to be a horrible person.”
“You have no idea what type of people they were. What they’ve done,” Knox snarled.
“I do, son. I knew them a lot longer than you. You’ve forgotten more than you’ve remembered. But answer me this, you don’t honestly believe I’d let someone unworthy near my family, do you?”
Knox’s shock must’ve been evident because Alastair cast him a wry half-smile.
“You’ve done nothing wrong. You’ve been the model child both to the two half-wits who abused you and then to your Uncle Phillip and Aunt Keira. You’ve treated everyone around you fairly and always had the backs of your cousins. What more do I need to know?”
Knox was speechless.
“You are the smartest of the lot, son. I have high hopes for you. Don’t mess this thing up with Spring. She deserves the very best, and I believe that’s you.”
So saying, Alastair teleported away, leaving him trapped with his own thoughts and fears.
5
As Spring was ending her workday, a knock sounded on her shop door. The man on the other side of the glass set her heart racing—as he’d always done.
“Knox. What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d bring you the dessert you missed from yesterday’s lunch.” He held up a pink and white striped bakery box with a bright white bow.
As far as gestures went, it was romantic as hell. Yet, she couldn’t allow herself to hope. She couldn’t deal with another rejection.
She stepped back to allow him entrance to her flower shop.
Knox studied the setting as if he’d never seen it before. She didn’t need to struggle to recall if he’d ever set foot in her place; he hadn’t. He’d never wanted anything to do with her before, and as a result, he’d avoided being in the same vicinity. That included her business.
“This is great.”
She lifted a brow. The struggle to hold back her sarcastic comment was real. “Did you think it was only a hobby shop?” she asked instead.
When Knox turned those all-seeing eyes on her, Spring swallowed hard.
“No. But based on your continued work in restoring expired species to their natural habitat, I’d thought the flower shop was an afterthought. I didn’t realize you had such a large, viable place. Does that make sense?”
She couldn’t help but smile. His reaction was normal. When most people saw the inside of her shop on the Thorne estate, they were stunned. In comparison to her space downtown, this one seemed enormous. “Common mistake if you’ve ever seen my retail shop.”
“I did see it once when I sent flowers. Robin was manning the counter.”
He referred to her full-time employee. But what struck Spring was that he’d been inside her business and that he’d sent another woman one of Spring’s arrangement. The wind was knocked from her. Talk about insensitive. “I see.”
Knox frowned at her tone. “The flowers were for my aunt Keira’s birthday.”
Color flooded her cheeks, and she ducked her head to avoid his penetrating stare. “It’s no concern of mine who you send flowers to, Knox.”
“Isn’t it?”
The question was delivered as if it were a given that she’d be all up in his affairs, as if she were a stalker who spied on his every move. Her temper flared to life. “No, it isn’t. If you want to send flowers to a dozen women, it’s no skin off my back.” She shoved the dessert box back into his hands. “Please leave.”
“You’ve mistaken my comment. We care about each other. It’s only natural that you’d be salty if I sent gifts to someone else.”
“I’m not salty. I’m not anything where you are concerned. You made your thoughts on the subject crystal clear. This about face? Yeah, it doesn’t wash. I’m not a player in your games, Knox.” She was careful to keep her voice neutral. The live plants surrounding her were sensitive to vibration and mood. With her magic, an angry atmosphere could shrivel the foliage.
“Spring, I’m trying to tell you that I’m not an asshole or insensitive to your feelings.”
She snorted and headed toward the exit. “I’m getting ready to head out, and I’d like you to go. I have a date tonight, and I don’t want to be late.”
“Who?” he barked.
The hard edge in his tone took her aback. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say it was laced with jealousy.
“Tommy is taking me to the movies if you must know.”
“I told you, he isn’t for you. Why are you continuing t
o give him hope for the long term?”
“When you figure out who my perfect match is, you let me know. Until that time, I’ll continue to enjoy Tommy’s company. He’s a nice guy.”
“He’s a non-magical human,” Knox stated as if it said it all.
“Witches and warlocks marry non-magical humans all the time.”
A dark, dangerous emotion entered his eyes. “You will not marry him.”
Her brows shot to her hairline. “Wow! You have a shit-ton of nerve.”
“You are being deliberately obtuse. I’m trying to tell you that I care for you!”
Her heart rate doubled its speed. He cared? As in romantically or as a friend who didn’t want to see her hurt? It was difficult to tell, and she was too afraid to ask. If she embarrassed herself in front of him again, she’d have to move to the other side of the planet. The best course of action was to remain silent, and she did.
“What about you, Spring?” he asked softly. “Do you still care for me?”
“As a friend, sure. But the silly girl who professed her feelings for you? No, I’m beyond that now, Knox.”
Confusion clouded his face before a firm resolve took its place. “I don’t believe you. I don’t think you’ve moved on at all.” He shifted to stand in front of her. “I think you do care. More than care. I think you love me, and a Thorne only loves once.”
“Maybe my feelings were hero worship. You were handsome and different. You treated me like I was important to you. I guess it went to my head. As a lonely little girl, I was drawn to it. But it wasn’t love, Knox. I could never love someone who doesn’t respect me.”
“I do respect you, sweetheart. You have to understand, at first, you were too young. As you got older, I didn’t trust you wanted me and not this.” He waved his hand around his face and down his chest.
“What’s changed?” she scoffed. “I’ll tell you, nothing. Nothing except I’ve moved on. You can’t seem to handle the fact you’ve tumbled off of that pedestal I’d put you on.”
“That’s what’s changed. You finally see me as a real person. Not some make-believe hero.” He dipped to meet her gaze. “You’re seeing me as one grown up sees another.”
