Euann and Margareta appeared to be waiting for them near the main entrance. The second the door opened, their conversation stopped.
“You’re back,” Margareta said. “Good.”
“What happened to ya two?” Euann asked, his gaze moving to the top of her head.
Jennifer self-consciously reached for her hair and began smoothing it.
“I think it’s about time we cleared the gremian problem out of the woods,” Rory said. She noticed his hair was a little messy from the gremian, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Why? They’re harmless, mostly. The humans can’t see them,” Euann said, pulling out his phone as if not concerned. “Plus, they usually only torment Uncle Raibeart.”
“They’re multiplying,” Rory said.
“Are ya sure Raibeart’s not the father?” Euann held his phone toward them and laughed as he walked closer so they could see it. A video played showing a gremian with a miniature wedding dress snuggled next to a passed out Raibeart. “I think one of them has a crush.”
“What?” Margareta snatched the phone. “Who gave that hideous thing a—is that Cait’s antique doll dress?”
“I’m human,” Jennifer interrupted. “You said humans couldn’t see them, but I saw them.”
“Well, ah…” Margareta frowned and looked at Rory.
“I am human,” Jennifer insisted.
“Ya look pretty human to me,” Euann said. “Now, Rory, not so much. Ya know, Jenn, I have other cousins if ya are in the market for—”
“Aunt Margareta, Euann gave the gremian the doll dress,” Rory interrupted, clearly to get his cousin into trouble.
“I did not,” Euann protested. “Ma, he’s lying.”
“Why don’t ya show your friend someplace to lay down,” Margareta told Rory. “She looks like she’s about to fall over. We can sort everything out in the morning.”
Jennifer liked the idea of getting away from Margareta the cheese ball pusher, so didn’t protest when Rory motioned for her to go upstairs with him. She also didn’t want to go back outside in the dark with those creepy little monsters running around. As they reached the second story, she whispered, “Seriously, though, I am human. They know that, right?”
Rory led her down a hall and opened a door. “Ya can stay in my room.”
At that, she looked inside to see a king-sized bed. Jennifer arched a brow. “I’d be suspicious that this was your intention all along, but I don’t think there was any way you could fake those gremlins.”
“Gremians,” he said. The smile that curled his lips invited her back for more kisses. “I’ll sleep elsewhere if—”
Jennifer pulled him by his shirt to bring him into the room with her. “There is no way in hell you are leaving me alone in this place. If those gremians come back, I’m feeding you to them and running for my life.”
“And here I was worried ya didn’t like me,” Rory teased.
Chapter Twelve
Jennifer more than “liked” Rory. Liked seemed too tame of a word. When it came to Rory, her emotions ran hot—rage and lust. Neither state of being lent itself to rational decision making. Until she dropped that knife on the driveway, anger had been winning. Now with it dissipated, passion took over.
The world no longer made sense. Before Rory, she’d settled into a mundane routine of survival. She worked to pay bills. She paid bills to live. She lived to work so she could afford to pay bills. Round and round it went—paycheck to paycheck. Jennifer focused on what needed to be done right in front of her. In that way, her world had become very, very small.
Rory’s world was enormous. Family money clearly took away the live-work-bill cycle, but it was more than that. He had different responsibilities. He had family and magick and gremians to worry over. After seeing those hideous creatures, she wondered what else was out in the woods that she didn’t know about. The possibilities seemed endless.
“Why are ya looking at me like that?” Rory stood in front of the bedroom door. The polished wood contrasted the white of the walls. That single bedroom was bigger than her entire trailer. A private bathroom could be seen in through the shadows of an opened door. The overhead lights’ low-watt bulbs added to the intimacy, which would only be romantically outdone if he lit the fireplace.
The mattress was high off the ground, and she had to give a little hop to sit on the foot of his bed. “You don’t find it weird that your parents live in the same house as you?”
He shook his head. “Why would I? Many extended families live together.”
“I meant when you bring women home.” Jennifer gave a nervous laugh.
“I don’t generally bring women home,” he said.
“I wasn’t fishing about your dating life.” Even so, Jennifer liked hearing he wasn’t in the habit of entertaining women in his bedroom.
“Fish all ya like, love.” He grinned, closing the distance between them. His voice dipped with meaning. “I’m sure you’ll catch something.”
Jennifer’s tone matched his. “I don’t think that’s as seductive as you think it is.”
His smile didn’t falter. The man did not lack in confidence. He traced the tip of his finger along her jaw.
Jennifer felt a shiver work its way over her. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll try to hurt you again?”
Rory leaned in and shook his head in denial. His eyes stared intently into hers. “I’m more afraid of what will happen if I don’t kiss ya again.”
“That sounds like a line,” she whispered.
“It is,” he agreed. “Is it working?”
Jennifer nodded. It was working. She wanted to kiss him again.
No, she needed to kiss him again.
At first, the depth of her desire frightened her, and she worried that it might be like the anger—something put inside her by magickal forces.
And yet, this felt different. When he touched her, she felt every nerve stand at attention. Her skin tingled with anticipation. All other concerns fell away until there were only the seconds flickering past as his mouth pressed against hers. Her eyes drifted close. His hands cupped her face.
Unlike on the driveway, this kiss was gentle, probing, testing. Rory brushed his lips along hers several times before parting them. With each stroke, the kiss became more profound. The tip of his tongue swept her bottom lip, enticing hers to join him.
“I should take a shower,” she whispered against him.
His hand left her cheek seconds before she heard the water running in the bathroom.
Jennifer broke the kiss and turned her attention toward the noise. “How…?”
He lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers. Blue lights wove over them before disappearing. “Magick.”
“What else can those fingers do?” Only after she said the words did she realize just how provocative they sounded.
“Do ya want me to show ya?”
How could she say no to the promise in his eyes? The idea of magick both thrilled and terrified her. It was those warring emotions that caused her heart to beat faster. There was danger here, but she didn’t care. She wanted to jump into the deep end.