Dani Harper - Storm Bound

She said none of that, however. “Depends, G.” Brooke rubbed her eyes and each of her sinuses. “What is this, Wednesday? Thursday?

“Wednesday.”

“So the time period in question is a week and a half away. I can’t think that far ahead. Hell, I can’t think , period—I haven’t even had coffee yet.”

“You don’t have to think, hermanita . Look, we got those boxes of colored glass in the back of Carmelita, right? And I need some room for luggage because I’m heading to Seattle with Felicia that weekend. So I thought it would make a great road trip if you and Mr. Death Dog drove up to Morgan’s place with us. We’ll drop the glass off, say hello, and carry on our way. You can catch up with Morgan while your buddy visits Reese to his little Welsh heart’s content.”

“It’s Rhys ,” she corrected. “The way you say it makes him sound like a peanut butter cup.”

“Rhys, Reese, whatever. There’s more, you know—turns out that Reese built a blacksmith’s shop on the farm a few months ago. He’s got a couple of guys trying to make swords and stuff. Isn’t that what Aidan did for a living?”

“Yeah. Yeah, he did.” Excitement woke her up despite the lack of caffeine. This could be perfect for Aidan. “You’re brilliant, G.”

“I know.”

Of course he then had to tell her every detail he’d learned about the operation. She’d never remember it all when she told Aidan, but that didn’t matter. She’d remember enough.

“I’d have to check with Morgan of course, make sure she’s up for company,” she said.

“Done and done. Called her last night after Felicia and I made our plans. I mean, we could just drop the glass off ourselves, but I thought you’d like to come along. You’d have to bring your little SUV, though, because I’m not sure when I’d be back to pick you guys up.”

She frowned. “Didn’t you just meet Felicia at the gym? Like recently ?” Like yesterday?

“Yeah, well, she’s something special. Everything clicked, you know?”

Brooke had heard that one before but didn’t say so. Being a supportive friend, she expressed as much of the required enthusiasm as she could muster and wished him well. Of course, she also agreed to the weekend excursion—not only did it make as much sense as anything could before coffee; she also owed G big time for all the work he’d done to clean up the catastrophic mess in her spell room. If he wanted her to go to Disneyland in Tokyo with him this afternoon, she’d do her best to make it happen. And of course he wanted the glass out of his beloved truck—it was above and beyond for the tricked-out Carmelita to be used for such lowly pedestrian purposes as hauling debris, the fact that she was a heavy duty pickup notwithstanding.

Then there was the fact that George, as always, was keen to get his party started with his latest girl. It would be interesting to see if the two were even still together by the weekend in question…

Brooke hung up, spared a longing glance for her coffee maker, then dragged herself into the shower. When she emerged, she heard footsteps in the stairwell heading for the roof. There was no disguising the racket, as she knew from experience. In the empty echoing shaft with creaking metal stairs, even her small cats sounded like a rampaging herd of elephants. So rather than an invading army, it could only be Aidan—he liked her garden, maybe he had gone up to enjoy the morning there.

Without stopping to say hello to me first? That can’t be good.

She finally ground some beans, put on a pot of coffee, got dressed in fresh clothes, and wished like crazy there were at least a few more things she had to do before going upstairs. She could sneak out, run those make-believe errands first, couldn’t she? But she wasn’t a coward, and she believed in grabbing the bull by the horns when necessary. She absolutely refused to be uncomfortable in her own home, and her garden was an important part of that home. Still, she couldn’t help but feel that the Universe had a warped sense of humor after giving her that lusty vision. On the roof? Really, that’s where she had to confront Aidan first thing this morning?

She sighed, poured the coffee, and went upstairs to give Aidan the news about George’s road trip.

Brooke passed by her garden, relieved to see the green futon was still safely in the greenhouse—that damn sexy vision was going to be tough to forget—and located Aidan at last. He was sitting at her table and chairs on the far side of the roof. She’d been concerned that she wouldn’t know what to say but discovered she needn’t have worried.

His eyes were deeply shadowed beneath a furrowed brow.

“You look terrible, like you didn’t sleep a wink,” she said with real concern, as she handed him a cup. “Didn’t you tell me to put the stones down for a while? From your face, I’d say you’ve been carrying mine as well as yours, plus everyone else’s on the block.” She could sense some monstrous weight pressing down on him.

“Perhaps I am not accustomed to human sleep yet. It did not visit me, and at dawn I decided to go walking.” He had no smile for her and continued to look out over the city rather than at her. Not that she expected a parade or anything, but this was ridiculous considering how good together they’d been last night. Hell, they’d been spectacular .

Time for the direct approach.

“Look, is this about the sex last night? Because I really enjoyed it, Aidan, and I’d hate to think you were sitting here regretting it.”

His gaze snapped to hers immediately. “No! Not at all. It was—it was indescribable, cariad . I never felt anything like it in my life, never imagined anything like it. And you were right about the magic too, but our coming together was powerful long before our magics mixed.”

Okay, at least he’d agreed it wasn’t ordinary sex. “So what’s cariad mean? You called me that a couple times in the night.” Dear goddess, don’t let him say buddy, pal, or friend, or I’ll have to kill him.

“ Darling one , of course. Love. I think you say sweetheart in this time.”

She blinked at the unexpected endearment. “If that’s so, then why the hell did you disappear this morning? It looked an awful lot like you were avoiding me, and right now you’re acting like you’re not glad to see me at all.”

He was on his feet almost faster than she could track the movement, and he held her tightly to him. “Nay, it isn’t so. I am poor company this morning, Brooke, but not because of you. Never because of you.” Aidan nuzzled the top of her head and kissed his way down her face to her lips, where he lingered. When he drew back, he shook his head and took a step back, although his big hands continued to rest on her shoulders. “It is as it was last night. I held you and then it wasn’t enough. Last night I had to have more. I did not plan what happened, but it would not be denied. If I continue to hold you now, I will want you all over again. I already do.”

“Sex is supposed to be spontaneous,” she said. “You’re human again, with human needs and feelings. And you’ve been celibate for a thousand years. Don’t you think that has something to do with it?”

He snorted. “ Celibate is when you feel the urge and you deny yourself. Trust me that I felt not the urge while I was a grim. You feel little or nothing in that state—not hunger, not cold or heat, not weariness. And never desire. Only emptiness and anger.”

Emptiness and anger. Brooke closed her eyes for a moment. What a horrible way to exist—yet how much of that rage still burned in him? There was something more she had to say too, and she might as well get it over with. “You must still be grieving your fiancée. It has to be hard that I constantly remind you of her.”