Twenty-Two Years Earlier—Virginia
The moist grass reflected the sunlight filtering through a partly cloudy sky, and Aedan lounged on his coven’s lawn, celebrating his nineteenth birthday. He was surrounded by family, friends and the woman he’d been dating—Medea Blair of the Blair/Casey community, located about two hundred miles away.
A pretty witch with a sociable personality, Medea was used to attention from men, and she’d held Aedan’s for two dates, both of which ended with a polite kiss on her hand. Most wizards would have sealed the deal at that point, if not sooner, but Aedan was restless when it came to women and only stopped to savor them on occasion, usually finding they weren’t the flavor he was looking for.
No, he didn’t intend to ask Medea out a third time, let alone seal the deal, so when she invited herself to his birthday party, he only agreed out of politeness. As he watched her cozy up to his family, he regretted his consent. It was time to cut her loose.
He scanned the straw colored highlights in her shoulder-length brown hair then slid his gaze down her slender cheeks, watching her defined lips chat with one of his friends. Her eyes were like warm honey—amber in the dark, yellow in the light. And it was that alone that led to their first date. Aedan was confident it would lead her to another, but with a different wizard.
When Medea caught Aedan watching her, she beamed, apparently misjudging his stare for one of fondness. “Are you enjoying your party?” she asked, scooting closer.
“Yes,” he answered, looking away. “You?”
“I always enjoy myself when I’m with you.”
Aedan’s stomach churned and tightened. “I’m glad you’re having a good time.”
“We should fly to the beach when the party ends,” she suggested. “Just you and me.”
Aedan watched a bird soar through the clearing as he considered his response. “I doubt we’ll have time. You know how these things go. It could be dawn before the last man falls over.”
“Yeah,” she laughed. “I guess you’re right. How about tomorrow? I could stay the night.”
Aedan hated lying, but unless he wanted to cause a scene, there was no way around it. Hopefully his aura wouldn’t give him away. “I’m busy tomorrow.”
Medea’s expression fell then brightened. “How about Sunday?”
“I don’t know what’s going on Sunday,” Aedan dodged. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
Medea slid her fingers to his hair, and the knot in his stomach squirmed. “I need a refill,” he mumbled, jumping to his feet. Then he walked away, not giving her a chance to invite herself along.
Aedan avoided Medea the rest of the evening, but she noticed and stuck close, growing increasingly worried with every evasive move he made. By the time the party wound down, she was practically attached to him, and her eyes were pleading loud enough for anyone to hear.
In contrast to his eighteenth birthday party, Aedan stayed sober, determined to keep his common sense. It would be an unpleasant experience—waking up the following morning with her raptly staring at him. And it would only make the inevitable let down more difficult.
When the lawn emptied of everyone save for the two of them, Aedan threw Medea a weary glance then began clearing a table, wondering how much longer she could hold her tongue.
Not long. “What’s going on, Aedan?” she demanded. “You’ve been avoiding me all evening. Even now that there’s no one around, you’re blowing me off.”
Aedan took a deep breath and turned, finding her worried face. This time a lie would be unnecessary. “Let’s sit, Medea. We need to talk.”
“I don’t want to sit,” she refused. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Okay. You’re a lovely witch, but I can’t return your feelings for me. It’s time to move on.”
“You’re breaking up with me?” she blurted, honey eyes burning bright gold.
“We’re not together,” he countered. “We went on two dates to get to know each other better.”
“I thought you had a good time,” she huffed.
“I did. That’s why there was a second date, but there won’t be a third. I like you, but not that way. It’s time to move on.”
She pouted for a moment then relaxed, closing the gap between them. “You’re fooling yourself,” she challenged, tucking her fingers in his waistband, “trying to pretend you can’t be tamed, but you’re not fooling me. Tell you what,” she added, licking her lips and wiggling her fingers, “keep your wild ways; just let me get closer to the beast. If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll show you how fun a third date can be.”
“I won’t take advantage of your feelings for me,” he refused.
“What if I said I didn’t mind?” she countered.
He swallowed, undeniably tempted to allow himself a birthday romp on the lawn. “I would know better,” he resisted, steeling his resolve.
Medea’s smile fell as her forehead furrowed. “You need time to think about it,” she decided, pulling her hand away. “I’ll see you later.” She glared at him for another moment then shot into the air.
Aedan watched her go, surprised and concerned by the intensity of her disappointment. Then he sighed and grabbed a jug of wine off the beverage table, magically popping the cork as he headed inside.
Aedan didn’t see or hear from Medea for two months, so his worry and guilt ebbed, but then she returned, bringing anxiety with her.
Aedan was in the coven’s barn, grooming his horse, when Medea appeared in the doorway, twirling a piece of straw. “Hi, Aedan.”
Aedan recognized her voice and halted, taking a moment to smooth his annoyed expression before looking over. “Medea. What brings you here?”
She dropped the straw and walked forward. “You.”
“What about me?” he asked, resuming his chore.
“Don’t play dumb, Aedan. You know why I’m here.”
“Why don’t you explain? Just in case.”
“I came to see if you’ve reconsidered,” she confessed. “Have you thought about my offer?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you look at me when you lie to me?”
Aedan stopped what he was doing and faced her. “I’m not lying.”
“Then you’re in denial.”
“No. I’m not interested and I never will be. Give yourself a break and find someone who is.”
His rejection floated in one ear and out the other as she took a quick step toward him, smoothly slipping her hand into his pants. By the time Aedan looked down to see if she’d really done what he thought she’d done, she had a firm hold on his manhood. His mouth fell open as he attempted to push her away—carefully—but she stood firm, honey eyes blazing.
“You want this,” she insisted, squeezing.
“I really don’t,” he refused. Nothing about the situation was tempting. She was obviously desperate and entirely too pushy. “Get your hand out of my pants,” he simmered. “It’s not welcome.”
She remained in place, nostrils flaring as her grip tightened. “You’re a fool, Aedan. You won’t even give me a chance.”
“You can call me whatever you want,” he tensely warned, “but if you don’t remove your hand, I’ll remove it for you.”
A tinge of fear tweaked her features. Then she relaxed, tilting her chin up as she slid her hand from his pants. “I see you need more time, but don’t worry, I’ll be back.” Then she spun around, whistling as she strolled from the barn.
“Damn,” Aedan cursed, turning back to his horse.
Medea clearly hadn’t moved on, and he feared things would only get worse.
Like before, Medea kept her distance longer than Aedan expected her to. It had been a month since the unpleasant scene in the barn, and he hadn’t seen or heard from her. He didn’t dare hope she’d moved on to a different conquest; that might jinx her absence.
His mood was as fair as the weather—sunny with a cool breeze—and he was on his way to a neighboring magical community for a party. He landed outside the lawn, walked in then scanned the large crowd, spotting a few friends lounging on a hillside.
As he headed their way, Medea lithely stepped into his path, flashing a smile that would have looked coy had she a demure bone in her body.
“Are you enjoying the party?” she asked.
One would never know their last meeting ended with his cruel yet necessary rejection. “I just got here,” he answered, looking away.
“You can sit with us,” she offered, pulling on his hand.
Aedan met her stare and flexed his arm, but he didn’t say anything. Words, no matter how they were delivered, flew over her head.
Her expression pinched then smoothed, and she willingly released him. “You are stubborn, Aedan, but I like that about you.”
Aedan watched her aura for a moment then sighed, maneuvering around her and walking away. He considered looking back, but didn’t want to give her the satisfaction, so he kept his eyes on the ground, hoping she wouldn’t follow.
As he neared his friends, he looked up, and his agile steps faltered, forcing him to pause.
Literally breathtaking, the stranger before him was more beautiful than the moon and sun combined. The stars and planets had nothing on her. Her thick, golden hair spiraled past her slender waist, and she wore a pale pink gown that clung elegantly to her svelte body. She moved like fluid, her flawless skin glittering like the surface of a sun-kissed sea. And her aura… it was the most magnificent he’d seen—more colors than he could count swimming with glittering strips of silver, gleefully vibrating, enthusiastically swirling. He had to know her. The sparkling beauty before him was the one thing missing from his blessed life.
As he approached, she turned, looking at him with eyes so blue he could swim in them, drown in them, and he forgot how to breathe as his heart raced. “Hi,” he greeted, unsure how he’d managed it.
With that one word, Rhosewen’s heart hammered against her ribs, lurching toward the most exquisite man she’d ever seen. Tall, dark and handsome with a lively aura boasting distinct and resplendent colors, he bathed her in both shadow and luminous light. She had to tilt her head back to observe his face, finding first the sun glinting off his straight, black hair, then his emerald gaze, which seemed to bore into her soul.
She took a deep breath to steady herself, truly hoping he wouldn’t notice. Then she lightly cleared her throat. “Hello.”
So, Aedan thought, his gaze unwavering, that’s what an angel sounds like.
One of Aedan friends, a lifelong acquaintance named Keith Ballard, attempted to gain his attention. “Hey, Aedan. Just get here?”
“About five minutes ago,” Aedan answered, keeping his eyes on the golden stranger.
Keith must have noticed the exchange, because he promptly introduced them. “This is Rhosewen—my cousin from Oregon. That’s Aedan—a fellow Virginian.”
Rhosewen smiled, wreaking further havoc on Aedan’s heart.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, sending fantastic chills across his flesh.
“The pleasure’s all mine,” Aedan returned, taking her extended hand, but he didn’t shake it; he pulled it to his lips, brushing a kiss across slender knuckles. He knew others were watching, but didn’t care. He couldn’t look away from her. Her ivory skin had flooded with color, intensifying her radiance.
A shiver ran from Rhosewen’s fingers to her spine, and her knees trembled. She’d never had such a strong reaction to a man and struggled to maintain composure. Her heart thumped so hard and fast, the thick material of her satin dress noticeably fluttered over heaving breasts.
Aedan didn’t want to let her go, but feared he was embarrassing her, so he let her fingers slide away. “I’m going to find the wine,” he said. “Will you join me?” He wanted to get her away from prying eyes, so he could learn more about her, everything about her.
Rhosewen glanced at Keith, who merely shrugged, so she turned back with a smile. “Sure.”
Aedan offered his arm, and Rhosewen accepted, letting him lead her along the outskirts of the crowd.
“What’s your last name, Rhosewen?”
“Conn,” she answered. “Yours?”
“Donnelly.”
Aedan spotted the beverage table and aimed a palm at it, summoning two glasses of wine, which soon floated into their hands.
“I want to get to know you, Rhosewen Conn. Will you sit with me?”
“Yes,” she agreed. “As long as you reciprocate.”
Aedan smiled and led her to an empty spot on the hillside, letting her get comfortable before jumping to the point. “What would you like to know?”
“I get to go first?”
“Sure.”
“Okay.” She thought for a moment. “What’s your element?”
“Fire.”
“And your second?”
“Water.”
She raised a suspicious eyebrow, and he curiously tilted his head. “Have I said something wrong already?”
“Are you telling the truth?”
“Yes,” he laughed. “Why do you ask?”
She appraised him for another moment then shrugged. “It’s just quite a coincidence that we’re both fire children with water as our second.”
“That is quite a coincidence,” he agreed. “Maybe we have more in common.”
“Maybe. What’s your sign?”
“Pisces. I turned nineteen on March 5th.”
“You’re not lying?” she asked, and he laughed again.
“Why would I lie about that?”
“I don’t know, but this is too weird.”
“I guess you’re a Pisces?”
“Yes. I turned twenty on March 15th.”
Aedan considered the similarities as he watched her, fascinated by how perfect she was. “Does it bother you that we have these things in common?”
“No,” she replied. “It’s just weird.”
“I’m sure we’ll come up with dissimilar attributes eventually,” he surmised, searching for something unusual about himself. “I have one. I’m a bonded child.”
Rhosewen froze with her wine halfway to her mouth, flipping her gaze to Aedan’s aura. And he froze as well, focusing on the haze around her. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t already figured it out. No wonder she glittered so brightly.
They stayed that way for several seconds, wondering what to make of their remarkable likenesses. Then Aedan smiled and broke the stunned silence. “You’re a bonded child.”
Rhosewen took a drink and cleared her throat. “Yes.”
“This is interesting, Rhosewen Conn.”
“Very,” she agreed, smiling as well.
They sat in silence for a long time, reading each other’s auras while sipping their wine, incredibly content to do so. Then Rhosewen emptied her glass and continued the interview. “What’s your favorite animal?”
“Would you feel better if I said cats?”
“Would you be lying?”
“Yes.”
“Let me guess, the truth would be dogs.”
“Yes.”
Rhosewen laid her glass on the ground and turned toward him. “I have another one, but I think we should answer at the same time.”
Aedan set his glass aside, in awe of her vivaciousness and amused by her game. “Okay, shoot.”
They stared into each other’s eyes for five seconds. Then she smirked and asked her question. “What’s your favorite color? On three. One . . . two . . . three . . .”
“Green,” she answered, right as he said, “Blue.”
“See?” he teased. “We’re as different as night and day.”
She laughed, and it sounded like a heavenly choir singing his favorite song.
“Will you share another glass of wine with me, Rhosewen?”
She nodded her approval, so he refilled their goblets and handed hers over. “Do you work?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she answered. “I’m an ecotourism guide. I lead hikes around Mount Hood.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, but my passion is art. Painting more specifically.”
“Do you sell your work?”
“Some of it; my parents own a gallery. But the majority of my work stays in the family. What about you? Are you a painter slash ecotourism guide?”
“No,” he laughed. “But I do work with nature. I make wooden furniture for my parents’ shop.”
“Do you like it?”
“Sure. Woodworking comes naturally to me, so much so a lot of people wagered I’d be an earth child. I carved my first rocking chair at three.”
“Did your parents sell it?”
“No. It’s on their porch. Mom loves to tell the story of how it was made.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Moms tend to be that way,” he agreed.
Their privacy depleted as a crowd gathered on the hillside to watch a game of flame-away—thirty magicians tossing around a fireball as another group of ten tried to extinguish it with water spells. A nearby group of rambunctious children quickly decided to play their own game, but their fireballs fizzled prematurely, and those spraying water aimed at their neighbors more than the puny target.
Rhosewen laughed as she adoringly watched the children, and Aedan’s heart stuttered as he intently watched her.
As sunset approached, the flame-away participants lost interest, and only then did the hillside’s occupants begin to scatter.
“Do you know that woman?” Rhosewen asked, pointing down the hill.
Until Aedan followed Rhosewen’s gesture, he’d forgotten Medea existed, but there she was, glaring at him with burning eyes and pursed lips. He turned his back on her, slightly worried she might literally burn him with those golden eyes, but she was smarter than that; too many witnesses around.
“Her name’s Medea,” he answered. “She lives about a hundred miles southwest of here.”
“Well that’s not the first time she’s looked at us that way,” Rhosewen noted. “Is she an ex?”
“Not by my standards,” he replied. “We went on two dates last February and it didn’t work out.”
Rhosewen raised a curious eyebrow, so he quickly changed the subject. “Would you like to go for a walk?” he asked, vanishing their empty glasses. “There’s a river on the other side of the hill with a good view of the sunset.”
“Sure,” Rhosewen agreed, taking his hand.
As they climbed the hill, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, and she looked up in surprise. But she didn’t resist; the weight and warmth of his arm felt perfect. When they reached the top of the hill, she glanced back, and a shiver ran down her spine. Medea continued to stare, eyes and aura burning.
Rhosewen turned away, looking to the man beside her. Then they were on the other side of the hill and completely alone. Medea didn’t exist anymore. In fact, nearly everything was wiped from Rhosewen’s mind. All she could concentrate on was Aedan—the arm around her back, the fingers squeezing her shoulder, the hip brushing her side. She swallowed hard, wondering how she would keep her head with him. She’d never been so thoroughly and immediately attracted to a man. The tidal wave of emotions unnerved her.
The river came into view, so Aedan stopped walking, scanning their surroundings as he pulled her closer. “How long will you be in Virginia?”
“A week,” she answered, marveling at the coral sky.
“Hmm…” Aedan mumbled. Though he never intended to commit to a woman so soon in life, Rhosewen had him reconsidering. Maybe he could let her leave in a week and move on, but the thought made him nauseous. To think this night would be his only chance to look at her golden hair, ivory skin, and sea blue eyes had his stomach in knots. He was shocked by his immediate attachment to her. He barely knew her, yet she was the reason his lungs transported air. Without her, the vital organs would surely deflate. He needed more of her, all of her, forever. He would have to act fast. If he had any hope of keeping her in his life, he’d have to convince her he was worthy, and he only had a week to do it.
“Stunning,” Rhosewen whispered, still watching the west.
“Yes,” Aedan agreed, keeping his eyes on her.
Rhosewen looked up at him and had to stifle a gasp. The burst of color on the horizon was beautiful, but he was better. His emerald eyes brimmed with affection as they slowly admired every inch of her face, and the corners of his sensual mouth were turned up, as if he was immensely pleased with what he saw. His warmth emanated through her dress, licking at tingling flesh, and his scent called her name, tempting her to cuddle his neck. When he rested a hand on her hip, she moved closer, like her muscles had a mind of their own. Then he leaned in, sharing the air she breathed, and all her hesitation floated away. She was putty in his hands.
Aedan paused an inch from her face, searching for unwillingness, but there wasn’t a refusal to find, only a subtle parting of the plump, pink lips he could no longer resist.
Their first kiss was unhurried, intense and more meaningful than any before it. Eager to accept and prolong, they held each other tightly, memorizing and savoring every taste and feel, every second of every sensation.
By the time they stopped to breathe, they were bathed in moonlight.
“I want to see you again,” Aedan whispered, keeping his fingers buried in soft spirals. He wanted to see her everyday for the rest of his life. He wanted to kiss her like that every morning and every night. He wanted to wake up to her aqua eyes forever.
“I’d like that, too,” Rhosewen replied, “but I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s the best idea I’ve ever had,” he countered.
“We barely know each other,” she argued.
“I’m trying to remedy that,” he returned.
“I’m leaving in a week, Aedan.”
“Are you trying to convince me?” he asked. “Or yourself?”
She didn’t answer, and Aedan took her silence as a good sign. “Have you ever been to the Devil’s Den Nature Preserve?” he asked, keeping her pressed against him, terrified to let go.
“No, but I hear it’s beautiful.”
“It is,” he confirmed. “We could make it there in about an hour and a half. Will you let me take you?”
“When?”
“Tomorrow. We could fly over before sunrise and spend the day there.” He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
Rhosewen laughed, laying a hand over his expanded chest as she caved. “Okay, as long as my family doesn’t mind if I skip out for the day. We only visit once a year.”
Aedan was thrilled. Getting her to say yes was the hard part. He’d known Keith’s coven his entire life and was certain he’d get their permission. “Good. I’ll pick you up at four in the morning, providing, of course, your family can spare you for the day.”
“It’s a date,” Rhosewen agreed, flashing a smile that stole his breath, but his heart soared.