Fever (Blood Moon Rising, #1) (4 page)

Neither of the men laughed at her
attempt at humor. They looked at each other. Something unreadable
passed over Gage’s face, then it was gone. “I hope so.”

Huh? Hope for what?
Once again, she felt one chapter behind the
class.

Malcolm at once took her hand and
dropped to one knee, bowing his head low. “My lady, let me swear my
allegiance now. I gladly serve the queen of the Moonstruck
Cl-”

“
That’s quite all right,
Malcolm,” Gage said loudly, grasping the older man by his shoulders
and helping him to his feet. He leaned in, whispering something
into the butler’s ear while Danica stared, puzzled.

Malcolm’s eyes widened. “Oh. I thought
I smelled something different about her. I see.” Malcolm, without
saying another word, bowed and took off toward one of two
staircases at either end of the large foyer.

Danica stared after him, then at Gage.
“What the hell was that?”

“
What was what?” he asked
innocently.

“
The whole bowing and
swearing allegiance thing. Are you, like, some kind of foreign
dignitary or something?”

“
It’s hard to explain,”
Gage said, running a hand through his hair. She wouldn’t mind
running her hands through it herself, but she was a good girl and
kept them by her side. “Care to let me in on the big
secret?”

Gage actually looked scared for a
second before his calm, suave mask slipped back into place. “Soon.
I promise.”

“
You know, you can’t avoid
the topic forever. You’re gonna have to-” She sneezed, shivering.
Gross! Snot was the worst in front of a hot guy, dream or
not.

Gage frowned, feeling her skin.
“You’re cold as ice. You need a bath to warm up before you catch a
cold.”

Before she could argue, he had wrapped
an arm around her waist and was guiding her up the
stairs.

She looked around the foyer as they
walked, her curious nature taking over. The room looked like it
could have been used in a Jane Austen movie. Gleaming pearl floors,
silver candelabra everywhere, with fur rugs and vases overflowing
with roses adorned the place. Paintings of landscapes, particularly
those of the Arkansas landscapes, hung along the walls. Most of
them were of night scenes - moon overlooking a lake, moon shining
through trees. Most also had wolves featured in them.

“
What do you think?” Gage
asked, studying her.

“
I think it looks
expensive.”

He chuckled. “Each… leader of my, er,
business has lived in this house over the decades. We’ve had a lot
of time to accumulate junk.”

“
A lot of pricey
junk.”

He offered her his arm. “May
I?”

Secretly, she preferred the feel of
his strong arm around her waist, but it was just so flipping
romantic. It made her feel like a lady and not a hair salon
secretary/bitch who earned minimum wage and ate raman for
dinner.

As she stared into his
hopeful eyes, her heart skipped a beat. It had no business
whatsoever getting pitter-pattery with her. She still had no idea
who this guy really was. At least, that’s what her common sense
kept telling her as she let him guide her up one of the stairwells
and down a long hallway on the second floor.
It’s just a dream
, she told
herself.
Just go with it
.

You should find a phone and
call the police!
her common sense
sang.

She sighed inwardly. Honestly, her CS
was ruining her wet dream. While a good idea - you know, if the
dream had actually been real - truth was, Danica didn’t want to
wake up. She didn’t want to admit her life was nothing special, and
she was starting to slip into depression thanks to her
loneliness.

None of her family was left in
Moonstruck, not that they’d care what happened to her anyway. Her
mom certainly hadn’t when she’d run off with her boyfriend the day
Danica had turned eighteen, leaving her to fend for herself. Who
knew where her dad was. She’d given up looking for him after ten
years of no contact. Some people didn’t want to be found. She
wasn’t sure what she’d say to him if she did.

Pushing back those depressing
thoughts, she lost her breath again when Gage led her to a
beautiful room dripping in crystals.

“
We call this the Crystal
Room,” he said.

“
No kidding. It’s so
sparkly.”

Crystals were embroidered in the
silver curtains and along the silver and champagne-colored
comforter. The four poster bed was surrounded by crystal beads, as
was the huge circular whirlpool tub she could see in the adjoining
bathroom. Several pillar candles and candelabra had been lit,
giving the room a soft, feminine feel, and pitching rainbows along
the floor and walls when the light caught the crystals. Double
French doors stood at the opposite end of the room, leading to the
balcony. Malcolm knelt before the fireplace, getting a fire
started.

“
Is this her?”

Danica turned as an elderly woman
dressed in a simple black dress with red trimmings scurried up to
her. She looked about ninety, considering all the wrinkles folding
her tanned skin. She gripped Danica’s hands, tears shining in her
eyes. “Bless you, dear! I was worried our poor master wouldn’t find
his mate in time!”

“
Um,” Danica said, smiling
because she didn’t want to be rude, “I’m sorry, I think there’s
been some mistake.” She looked to Gage, raising a brow.

Gage rested a hand on the lady’s
shoulder, smiling kindly. “Mary, Lady Danica doesn’t know all the
details yet.”

Mary, frowning, turned to Danica - and
sniffed her hair.

Danica’s brows shot up. Were all these
people on crack? She’d been reading too many fantasy books
lately.

Mary gasped. “Oh. I see. How
surprising.”

Danica nearly growled from
frustration. “How? How is that surprising? Is she talking about the
type of conditioner I use? It is surprising it works so well, being
as cheap as it is.”

Gage sighed and rubbed his temples.
“I’m sorry, Danica. I’ll explain everything later, after you’re
rested. Mary’s prepared a bath for you, if you’d like to get clean
and take some time to relax. I’ll find a doctor and have him tend
to your injuries afterward.”

“
I’m fine,” she said, not
wanting to be a bother. Which was stupid, because this was a dream,
anyway. My, how polite her fantasy men were!

He frowned, not looking like he
believed her, but he didn’t push the topic. “I also believe you
said you wanted water, am I right?”

“
Um, sure. Please.” She was
parched.
Must be the
happy-beer
.

“
Miss Mary,” Gage said,
“would you please get Lady Danica a glass of ice water?”

Mary smiled. “Sure.” She patted
Danica’s cheek before scampering out of the room.

Lady Danica. Hmmm… must be
part of some weird custom rich people do
.

Malcolm, having finished the fire,
left with Mary. Gage turned to Danica. “I know this is a lot to
take in, but know while you are under my roof, you will come to no
harm.”

“
Sure. That’s why you
kidnapped me, to protect me, right?”

“
You didn’t seem to object
back in the car,” he said huskily.

No, she sure hadn’t. Her cheeks heated
at the reminder he hadn’t kissed her. Clearing her throat, she
looked away, thankful the lighting was dim so he wouldn’t see her
blush. Licking her lips, she said, “So, are you going to watch me
undress, or give me some privacy?”

“
Which would you
prefer?”

There was that teasing,
sultry tone again. Why was he flirting if he wouldn’t take
advantage of what she was putting out? It was
her
dream, dammit! The sound of his
voice made her sex quiver; it hadn’t stopped tingling since that
weird Mark appeared on her hand. “A gentleman would leave.” It was
the wise response. All she wanted to do was invite him to join her,
but she knew so little about him.

Didn’t stop you from
wanting to tongue him in the car
.

Good grief, her conscience was
super-chatty tonight.

Gage smiled, looking wicked and sexy.
“As you wish, my lady.”

Nodding, he turned and closed the
doors behind him, his gaze roving down and back up her
body.

That suggestive gesture alone was
almost enough to make her run after him, but she stood firm. A bath
did sound amazing, and whatever oil was scenting the water made the
whole suite smell like roses, her favorite flower.

Undressing, she gingerly lowered
herself in the tub and sat back, trying to relax. She had no idea
why she was dreaming about a bubble bath, but whatever. It was like
a collection of her favorite things - bubble baths, hot men, a huge
freaking house….

Popping bubbles with her toes, she
smiled. All in all, not a bad dream. Sure, the earlier part had
been pretty shitty, more of a nightmare, really, but this was nice.
If every dream were like this, she never wanted to wake up. This
was every little girl’s fantasy, to be swept away by the handsome
prince and live happily ever after. She had no idea why she was
thinking of “happily ever after” with a make-believe guy, but she
felt a strong pull toward him she’d never felt with Seth. Sad, but
true. She’d also thought he’d been the love of her life, that is,
until he ripped her heart out by saying she wasn’t the type of girl
a future doctor would marry. As if.

Asshole
.

Irritated with herself for breaking
her cardinal rule - never spend time thinking about jerks who
wouldn’t spend a second thinking about you - Danica laid her head
back and closed her eyes.

Something delicate tinkled beside her,
and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she opened her eyes and
found Mary offering her a glass of water.

“
Jeez!” Danica said, heart
hammering against her sternum. “You’re like a ninja.”

Mary smiled pleasantly. “It comes with
being a wolf.”

The hell?
“A wolf?”

“
Oh, yes. Stealth is one of
the attributes all werewolves share.” She said it as if she’d been
merely commenting on the weather.

Danica stared at her as if her hair
had caught fire. Maybe she had Alzheimer's and didn’t realize what
she was saying. “I see.”

Mary, still smiling, dipped into a
little curtsy and scurried out of the room. A moment later, Danica
heard the doors to her suite close, signaling she was
alone.

Werewolves. A secret mansion in the
middle of the woods. Strange markings on her hands and on that guy
Onyx’s neck. Golden eyes, mates….

She giggled. She always
thought the best part about all those
Twilight
movies was getting to see the
shirtless werewolves. And considering she’d just read a werewolf
romance the other night, it made sense she was dreaming about
them.

Sipping on her water, she leisurely
rinsed herself off, feeling sleep coming on.

Which was weird, since she was already
technically supposed to be asleep.

Odd
.

Brushing it aside, she finished up her
bath, toweled off, and found a change of clothes had been laid out
for her on the bed. It was an elegant red silk nightgown that was
perhaps a little flashier than what she would regularly wear to
bed. She admired the way the firelight bounced off the silk. It was
so pretty. She’d always wanted to wear something as sexy as this,
but showing so much skin always made her self-conscious. As Seth
got older, he tended to favor more athletic types, always bringing
up her curves and the topics of “diet” and “exercise” as often as
he could.

But he’s not around
anymore. What’s the harm in trying it on?

She chewed her lip.
It
was
her favorite
color. Not seeing any other options, she pulled it on, liking how
it dipped low to show off her breasts. Pulling on the matching robe
lying on the bed, Danica went over to the mirror, admiring herself.
She looked different, bolder.

Wilder.

Moonlight spilled in through the open
sheer curtains, landing on her skin and making it
tingle.

She felt it build in her throat first,
then her mouth stretched in a yawn.

She paused, a sliver of fear creeping
into her chest. Why was she yawning? Never once had she dreamed
about yawning. Then again, she usually couldn’t remember those
dreams.

Chewing on her lip, she slowly reached
up and pinched herself as hard as she could.

“
Ouch!”

She stared at the red mark on her arm
in disbelief. Then pinched herself again. And again, until her arm
was red with the truth of the matter.

That she wasn’t really
asleep.

And she really had been kidnapped by a
gorgeous, mysterious stranger.