WB (15 page)

Well, I knew Lillian wouldn't be happy with me. It was a miracle that I hadn't been fired, so I wasn't too worried about what she had to say. Someone upstairs was looking out for me, literally. Mr. Whitley's office was a couple of floors up.

That must really drive her nuts, someone above Lillian had decided I should stay. I couldn't believe it myself. I wasn't sure what I would tell her by way of explanation. I felt oddly protective of my family and Gage. I didn't want to tell her anything about them. I had barely gotten a chance to get used to it myself and I didn't want Lillian with her witch hunt ways trying to ferret out information about my family. She would love to know all my secrets and find a way to use them to her benefit, it was her modus operandi.

Within fifteen minutes housekeeping had wheeled up to my cubicle with the coffee cart.

I checked the sugar and cream dispensers, shined the spoons on the front of my shirt and made sure there were enough napkins and saucers before slowly wheeling the cart to Lillian's office.

I knocked twice and after hearing her call out 'entre!' I opened the door and headed for the small couch and coffee table in the corner of her office. I was just setting out the cups and saucers when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the back of a blond head sitting in the chair in front of Lillian's desk.

The shape of the head, the strong tendons of the neck and the relaxed way the man sat, with his hands resting on the arms of the chair and his legs stretched out to the side was familiar.

With a feeling of impending doom, I walked slowly toward the man seated in front of Lillian and with a gasp of shock, he turned his head and looked at me with that crooked grin I had come to love in all the years of seeing him in my dreams.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I semi shouted at him.

WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 60

This was maddening. Why was he at my work? In Lillian's office of all places! He was supposed to be in England scratching his head in admiration over my daring escape. I still felt bad that I hadn't left a message for my mother or Laurent, but, I could do that later I reasoned.

After I explained my reasons for leaving they would understand.

Arrrgh! How did he get here so soon?

Lillian gasped in outrage and said, “Anna, apologize at once to Lord Hawthorne! How dare you speak to him in such a familiar manner. I don't know what Mr. Whitley was thinking to give you a second chance here! As far as I'm concerned you should have been fired when you didn't show up for work the first time.”

She turned to Gage with a mortified expression, “I am so sorry. I don't know why she acts like this. I think she has mental problems. She comes from a bad family and isn't very smart, totally sub strata if you know what I mean. It’s so hard to find good employees.”

I shook my head in exasperation at her rude explanation, but I was too mad at Gage to get worked up over Lillian's description of me. Besides, I'd heard it all before.

With a narrow eyed look she turned to me, “but I assure you, she will be disciplined this time.”

Gage laughed and moved towards me with an athletic stride, sweeping me up into his arms. I struggled to get away but it was like trying to move a mountain. His lips traveled across my cheek, nipping the lobe of my ear before settling on my mouth with a deep, soul stealing kiss.

Involuntarily, I breathed in deep of his manly scent a combination of exotic spices and bracing lime soap. He was warm and hard and I could feel the leashed strength in his arms where they held me to him with casual ease.

The world faded away as he kissed me and I felt a rushing in my head as my blood raced through my veins and a tingling started at my lips and traveled all the way to my groin. The pleasure pooled between my legs and I moaned under the onslaught. With a casual caress of my face, he set me on my feet again and with a firm hand round my back, he turned to face Lillian.

Lillian's jaw was hanging open in shock and she looked like she wasn't sure whether to cry or scream as she took in the sight of Gage and me, embracing.

“My fiancé, Anna, is very feisty, isn't she? She has led me a merry chase, but, I always find her in the end.” He gave me a squeeze and a meaningful look and I barely resisted the urge to kick him and run off again.

“We are not engaged!” I said with a furious look in his direction. He chuckled and gave my shoulder a squeeze.

“You two …. are a couple?” Lillian asked with an incredulous look. Her eyes were round as saucers as she looked us over. That kind of pissed me off. Was it that unreasonable that someone like Gage could be interested in me?

Gage nodded and patted my butt in a proprietary way and I pulled away as far as his arm across my shoulder would allow.

“I didn't know you were engaged,” Lillian said with an accusing look at me and a snake charmer's smile for Gage. Her eyes roamed from me to him and I could practically hear what she was thinking; 'How did my secretary land a man like that? Why can't I?'

Gage laughed again and said, “Anna is so closed mouthed about her private life. She really is a mystery. That is just one of the many reasons I find her so adorable.”

He pinched my ass and I gave a squeal of surprise and jumped. His grin was unrepentant and I pulled back a leg to kick him, but he saw my intent and blocked me by pulling me up and WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 61

into another bone crushing hug, laughing loudly with delight. My legs hung limp and my arms were crushed between his chest and mine and I squirmed trying to get away.

“You are a violent little thing, aren't you, my love?” He whispered hotly in my ear. I shivered and turned my head away, absurdly enjoying being called a 'little thing' for the first time in my life.

He turned back to face Lillian and set me on my feet, “I really am very jealous of you Lily, you get to work with her, all day, while I languish at home, alone, twiddling my thumbs, waiting to see her again.”

Lily? No one called Lillian Lily unless they wanted a tongue lashing that would turn their hair white. But Lillian didn't even blink at his shortening of her name and seemed struck dumb by the idea of us as a couple. Actually, now that I thought about it, Lillian struck dumb was a pleasant change from her usual evil overlord act.

“If you would excuse us, I would like to speak with Anna …” We all stood silent for a moment and I watched as comprehension crossed Lillian's face as she realized that he wanted to be alone with me. With a blush and an inaudible murmur she left her office, shutting the door carefully on the way out.

I was alone with Gage again. I felt an insane urge to giggle at the thought of Lillian kicked out of her own office, but more important matters had to be discussed. I straightened my back and turned on him with a furious expression.

“You arranged all of this, didn't you? The ride to London, the Consulate General's help, the sweet little old lady in the park, the plane ticket, even the money for a cab! Why? If you knew I was leaving you …” I sputtered into silence. His treachery, the sheer gall of the man left me speechless.

“I don't know anything about a little old lady in the park. But, all the rest, of course I did it. I had to make sure you made it back here okay. I want you to be safe Anna. Everything turned out well in the end. So no harm done, right?”

“Turned out well? For whom? Me or You? Because, I have been trying to get rid of you, in case you didn't know!”

That came out harsher than I intended and I felt a momentary flash of shame at my rudeness. But he didn't bat an eyelash at my accusatory tone. His handsome face was polite and interested. I felt like ripping my hair out at his deliberate obtuseness.

With a graceful movement, he sat on the sofa and patted the place next to him with a little smile. I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest with a growl of impatience. He didn't seem that surprised when I refused to sit with him. He crossed his legs at the knee and leaned back to watch me with a mildly curious look.

“Were you there? Did you watch me walk around Mayfair? Did you see me sleep in the park?”

I was so mad I couldn't stand still, I stalked across the room and back again. Each time I met his eyes, I gritted my teeth with a combination of anger and despair.

What did I have to do to get rid of this guy? Why wouldn't he take a hint and leave me alone? Why did my mother and brother leave me with him? Was I going to spend the rest of my life running away from him? Why did I feel a tingle of excitement and relief when I looked at him?

He answered my question with one of his own, “Which did you prefer; the emerald

bracelet or the pearl necklace? I couldn't really tell which of the two held your interest so long, WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 62

so I bought you both.”

“Arrggh! You are rotten! Do you know that?” He was talking about the super expensive jewelry store I window shopped at on Bond Street. I remembered the bracelet he was talking about. Who wouldn't? Emeralds as big around as marbles interspersed with glowing pearls, diamonds and sapphires so deep a blue they were almost black.

The bracelet was something royalty would wear to a coronation and was so expensive there was no visible price tag on it or any of the other jewelry on display. The only piece of jewelry I owned was a beaded necklace I bought from a cancer society thrift store two years ago and the gold locket Celeste gave me for my birthday.

“I told you Anna, you are my woman. You can deny it all you want, but we are meant to be together. Now, I want you to go and gather your things and I will take you out for a late breakfast, hmm? A traditional American breakfast of flapjakes and all the trimmings.”

“Flapjacks.”

“What?” He turned to me with a questioning smile.

I repeated, “they're called flapjacks, not flapjakes.”

He nodded wisely, “thank you, American slang is very hard to remember.”

He had a stuffy English look about him now and I almost smiled to see him looking like an aristocrat of Victorian times, but then I remembered why he was here and my back stiffened again. I glared at him in a ferocious way.

“I can't go to breakfast with you. I have work today, in case you hadn't noticed! I don't get off until five. And, 'no way,' that's my answer to going out to dinner with you after work in case you were thinking of asking!”

“That's okay, I'll call Jonathan and set up some time for you to be off, maybe the rest of the week? You could show me around Portland. I could charter a boat or a helicopter to see the sights, what do you think?” He gave me a look that seemed to indicate I should be jumping for joy at this unexpected treat.

Jonathan? Jonathan, who?

“Are you talking about Mr. Whitley?” I said cautiously.

I'd never actually seen the founding partner of the firm. Even his paralegals, Jocelyn and Edmund, rarely strayed from the fiftieth floor. Everyone admired him to pieces and whatever Mr. Whitley said was sacred at the firm. I couldn't imagine calling him to ask for time off. It was doubtful that he had anything to do with staff, especially a secretary to one of his junior partners.

“Yes, Jonathan Whitley, he wont mind, he's a werewolf I have had dealings with from time to time.”

A werewolf? The senior partner of the firm was a werewolf! Like a record caught on a scratch I kept replaying that word; werewolf, werewolf, werewolf. There were real werewolves in the world. The man whose name was tops on the letterhead at the firm turned into a furry, four legged animal. I didn't even try to deny it to myself, what was the point?

I tried to imagine what that would look like. There was a photo of him in the forty seventh floor conference room. He was a tall, lean man, with thinning gray hair, glasses and big ears that stuck out from the sides of his head in a comical way. Of all the people in the world I could imagine turning into a hairy beast, he would be near the bottom of the list.

Wow, I almost felt like I was going to pass out from the shock. A part of me scoffed that I could still be surprised. After all, I saw my brother floating in midair, my mother made flowers WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 63

rain from the sky and my betrothed juggled fireballs. What was so shocking about a shape shifting attorney? I mean, in the grand scheme of things, turning into a canine wasn't as fantastic as say mermaids or ghosts, right?

Gage was still talking and I had to forcibly concentrate on what he was saying now, “So come on, there's a nice restaurant at my hotel. Do you like champagne or if you feel up to it, we could try out the pool?” In a daze, I was just stretching out my hand to take his until he said the word hotel. I froze and snatched my hand back with a curse.

Hotels had beds and showers and people who could get all naked and sweaty and tangled up in the sheets … damnit, he was trying to seduce me again!

“Uh uh, I'm not going anywhere with you. I think you should leave now,” I crossed my arms over my chest and gave the door a meaningful nod.

He smiled winningly and gave me his best innocently beseeching look. But I wasn't having any of it and I did my best to frown at him. I wasn't as immune to him as I pretended and a small part of me, a part I was doing my best to smother, was whining for me to give him a chance, get to know him a little better.

We could have a meal, find out more about each other. I could discover for myself if he was as exciting in bed as he seemed in the dreams I had of him. But I ruthlessly shouted down that voice.

But that was the rub. Every time I looked at him I saw women. Lots of women ....

Blonds, brunettes and redheads, tall and short, curvy and thin, he didn't have a preference that I could see. They were all beautiful, sexually adventurous and confident. I didn't know any of the tricks they did and it seemed unlikely that I ever would. They had an intuitive sexuality that lit up the night like a torch. Mine was more like a glow worm.