Chapter Three
Ava
I both loved and hated the way he smiled at me. His hazel eyes twinkled, more green than brown, and the features of his face softened.
Sunshine surrounded us, the golden glow encapsulating our bodies like a glimmering shroud. We wore nothing but the light on our skin. His large body stretched over me, pinning me down in a way I enjoyed, but we weren’t making love.
Yet somehow I knew that once he entered me, that’s exactly what we would be doing. Making love. Not fucking, not having sex. There was a depth of emotion that shimmered between us, a connection that I cherished.
He leaned down to kiss me, then stopped, his smile fading. “Aveta? What is wrong?”
I reached up and cupped his cheek tentatively, fearing that the simple touch might be enough to break the delicate spell. “Nothing, Macgrath.”
He frowned. The gold that haloed the green of his irises grew and pulsed with anger. “Who is Macgrath?”
I awoke with a gasp and pressed a hand to my chest. The dream was unsettling for a variety of reasons. It felt too real, more like a memory than a dream, but that couldn’t be. It couldn’t. I had no memories of my life before the day I awoke in that field nearly two thousand years ago, pregnant and alone. I hadn’t even known my name. Nor had I known how I came to be pregnant. No amount of power or casting spells had returned my memories. I was a woman without a past… and for a long time, a woman without a heart.
And I hadn’t met Macgrath for the first time until a few months ago when he arrived with Rhiannon. He shouldn’t exist in my memories.
Then there was the fact that the Macgrath of my dreams looked at me as though he cared for me. More than that. As though he cherished me.
It changed the way I viewed him and I couldn’t allow that. I didn’t want to consider the possibility that it already had. These dreams had been plaguing me for the last few nights and today, when he followed me home, I practically invited him to stalk me up close rather than from afar.
It had to be sleep deprivation. Maybe Rhiannon had cast a spell on me.
Or maybe I was just in denial. Obviously he affected me more than I wanted to admit. Even to myself.
Groaning, I sat up in the bed and threw my legs over the side. The room was dim, but the light was changing. Dawn was only a few moments away.
I didn’t have to get up. Harrison and Savannah were opening The Magic Bean today, which gave me a rare morning to sleep in. Something I had been looking forward to for weeks.
Damn my dream Macgrath. And damn the Macgrath in the real world. They were both messing with my equilibrium and I didn’t appreciate it. For decades, I’d been content. I had my businesses and a few friends. When I met Savannah, I took her under my wing and we became our own little family. Though she would scoff if I ever told her, I considered her almost like a daughter.
Savannah and I appeared to be about the same age, but after two millennia on this earth, she seemed so much younger.
I liked to imagine that my own daughter would have been a great deal like her, though I’d never had a chance to find out for myself.
I cut off my errant thoughts, refusing to dwell on my earliest memories. My emotions were unpredictable, swinging wildly from one extreme to the next. I couldn’t allow that to interfere with my ability to think logically. I could do nothing about my daughter or my past, but I could protect Savannah and Rhys now. But only if I kept a clear mind.
I stood up, stretching my arms over my head. If I couldn’t go back to sleep, I might as well have a cup of coffee and enjoy the sunrise. Then I would focus on the problem that needed my attention most: finding Rhiannon Temple.
Macgrath didn’t belong in my dreams or in my thoughts. Not right now and maybe not ever.
Within eight hours, I was already regretting my decision not to give Macgrath any further thought.
Savannah was in the little niche off to one side of the shop, reading tarot cards for a client. Harrison was restocking paper products behind the counter while I tinkered with the arrangement of crystals and other magic paraphernalia on the small table near the front of the store.
Suddenly, I sensed his presence. A thrill raced through me. My muscles tensed and my heartbeat quickened. Several minutes elapsed before he appeared in the doorway of the coffee shop and my heart gave a single, hard thump against my sternum before settling back into a rapid rhythm. A wave of magic rose to my left but vanished quickly, emanating from where Harrison stood behind the counter.
It didn’t matter anyhow because I barely noticed it. I was frozen in place, unsure of what I should do. Should I greet him? Ignore him? Treat him like I would any other customer?
Before I could determine my next action, Macgrath took the decision out of my hands.
He nodded to me, his green and gold gaze flicking over me quickly before he turned toward the counter where Harrison stood.
Without his eyes on me, I managed to take a deep breath, but my entire body burned as though his perusal of my person had lit a fire beneath my skin.
Yes, I needed to figure out what to do about Macgrath.
After the dream this morning, his proximity was enough to make my body go haywire. And it was clear he intended to take me up on the invitation I’d so carelessly thrown at him last night.
I turned back to the table in front of me and went back to rearranging the objects on top, only this time I did so without seeing them. My attention was focused entirely on the vampire who was currently ordering coffee from Harrison.
I was vaguely aware of Savannah emerging from behind the curtain that divided the reading room from the rest of the shop. I even heard the low murmur of her voice as she walked her client to the door and bid her good-bye.
Still, I jumped when her hand landed softly on my shoulder, my hip nudging the table just hard enough to make the crystals, jewelry, and bottles on top shimmy and clatter.
“Whoops,” she murmured. “I’m sorry I startled you.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “It’s fine, I was woolgathering.” I whispered my reply, hoping that Harrison and Macgrath wouldn’t hear my words yet understanding that hope was futile. They were both creatures with preternatural senses and they would be able to hear my heartbeat from twenty feet away. Shit. I was so flummoxed that I hadn’t even thought to cast a spell to hide my body’s reactions. There was no doubt that both males were very aware of exactly what was happening within me.
Still, I cast a spell anyway.
“So your distraction has nothing to do with—”
I pointed a finger at Savannah then pointed it again, only this time toward the reading room.
She grinned mischievously but didn’t finish her sentence. Instead she followed my silent direction and walked back toward the niche.
I herded Savannah into the reading area, sliding the curtain closed behind us. With the spells I’d cast on the room, no one would be able to hear us speak, even if they had the supernatural hearing of a vampire or a shifter.
Savannah’s grin was huge when I turned to face her.
“Why do you look so pleased with yourself?” I asked. Anytime Savannah smiled like that it meant she was up to no good.
She shrugged. “Because I am pleased with myself.”
I narrowed my eyes as I studied her face. “You meddled, didn’t you?”
Her shit-eating grin didn’t diminish in the least. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I shook my head. “That wasn’t necessary,” I stated.
“I disagree, the two of you need to stop dancing around each other. Even if I wasn’t an empath, I would still be able to feel the tension between you.”
“That’s not why it wasn’t necessary,” I replied. “I talked to him last night and told him that if he insisted on stalking me, he might as well come into the shop and buy some coffee or something. If he’s going to lurk, I might as well profit from it.”
Savannah gawked at me. “You what?”
It was my turn to shrug.
Suddenly, a laugh burst from her. “So I shouldn’t have bothered, huh?”
I sighed, no longer amused. “I don’t know what in the hell is wrong with me. I shouldn’t want him anywhere near me. Not after what he did to you.”
Savannah’s smile faded. “Macgrath may have done a few bad things—”
“A few?” I asked, interrupting her.
She gave me an impatient look. “He’s made mistakes. We all do. When he realized that what he was doing was wrong, he stopped. And don’t forget that I can see into a person’s heart. He’s not evil. He’s lonely and desperate.”
I scowled at her. “There are two things wrong with that. First, he’s as old as I am, he should fucking know better. Secondly, lonely and desperate? I don’t think so.”
“He may be a vampire, but vampires have emotions too,” she argued. “Haven’t you ever done something you regretted because you felt like you didn’t matter?”
I couldn’t argue with that statement. There was so much that Savannah didn’t know about me. Though she was right. I was in no position to judge Macgrath. Centuries ago, I had done things that haunted me now, my heart as cold and hard as stone.
“You’re right,” I relented. “I’ll give him a chance.”
Savannah’s brows lifted in surprise. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
I rolled my eyes. “You heard me.”
“Well, I can’t be sure. You’ve never said anything like that to me before. I might be hallucinating.”
“I said you’re right, you witch.”
“No, you’re the witch. I’m an empath,” she shot back dryly.
“You’re also a smart ass,” I grumbled.
Savannah laughed again. “That’s true too, but only because you corrupted me.”
“And I’ve taught you well. Now, we have work to do.”
She was grinning again when I pulled back the curtain and two intense male gazes turned toward us. She even chuckled quietly.
“Shut it,” I whispered as I stepped out of the reading room.
The soft giggle subsided at my words, but I knew she was still smiling.
I nodded to Harrison and Macgrath and went back to the table I’d been arranging. I could feel the weight of their stares on my back and suppressed a shiver.
Only time would tell if I made a mistake in choosing to interact with Macgrath.
Hopefully it wouldn’t be a fatal one.