Page 44 of Of Blood and Smoke

“Flirt,” I accused him, and grinned.

Changing the subject, he asked, “When did your father get sick?”

A brick landed in my belly, and I placed my chunk of bread down and took a sip of my drink. “A few years ago. He had a stroke at work, and then he had several more. No family history of strokes or anything like that, it just happened out of the blue.”

Josiah nodded sympathetically. “Is that how you ended up in New York?”

“It is. My mother left us, she met someone else right away and then one day she just said she was leaving and that was that.” I cleared my throat. “I don’t talk to her; but we were never close anyway.” I shrugged.

A flash of anger marred his face a moment before he said, “I’m sorry. Family is important. I am sorry yours didn’t fulfill their obligations.”

“It's okay, I’m over it. How did you end up here?”

He thought for a moment. “I heard of opportunities and decided I wanted a change. Micha did as well, and we purchased a failing company and turned it profitable.”

“I’d say it’s profitable for sure. You don’t have a girlfriend or wife?” It was my assumption he didn’t, but I hadn’t expected anything that happened recently.

His eyes snapped to mine. “I do now.” A pleasant chill ran down my back, but my tongue was tied.

“What, exactly, did you think my intentions were?” A hint of warning lay in the undercurrent of his voice. “If not to keep you?”

Looking down and focusing on the crust of bread in front of me, I bit my lip. “I... I don’t know. I mean, you didn’t say?”

My hand was suddenly clasped by his and his glasses were back on. “I made myself clear when I said I was going to have your love, do not take me lightly. I do not mean to disappoint you.”

Staring at his hand, I said, “You don’t disappoint me.”

“You’ll be by my side,” he said with finality, standing up. “Let’s go, I have things to attend to.”

He wrapped his arm lightly around my waist and guided me from the table. I left with five loaves of ciabatta at Josiah’s urging, and on his credit card before we left the restaurant, as well as more confusion. He never said I was his girlfriend—and he hadn’t asked me to be. So, what were we? People say things they don’t mean all the time and I was used to dramatic statements from men.

The next week, he took me to a massive bookstore with multiple levels and patiently let me browse for two hours while he sat in a chair like a mannequin. It was amazing how still he could be, without even his chest moving as he took a breath.

At one point, a child thought he was a statue and had started to climb into his lap before he deftly grabbed the little boy by the waist and swung him back down to the floor. The poor kid had a screaming meltdown while the parent glared daggers at us. They were probably angry I was hysterical with laughter; I couldn’t help it. Even the ever-stoic Josiah had looked entertained.

We left shortly after that, but not before he insisted on purchasing me a Tom Clancy novel to read to my father.

I got to see a lighter dimension of my boss, a thoughtful and occasionally mischievous side—if the statue stunt was any indication and soon, I felt myself beginning to really want a relationship with him rather than just toying with the idea.

As much as he shared with me, telling me his likes and dislikes, snippets of his childhood and all the other getting-to-know-you stuff people shared, it felt like he was holding back.

With all my own family stuff, and then Brett, I’d never truly considered having a real boyfriend or committing to anyone, but before I knew it, I began to care deeply for Josiah.

Then he told me he had to leave.

TWENTY-THREE

Josiah

It was time for me to make my appearance at the High Court, I couldn’t put it off any longer without my absence becoming an insult. I hadn’t wanted to leave Della, but I’d instructed a few of my men to unobtrusively keep an eye on her, guard her. I knew if I’d asked, she’d object, so I ordered them to do so from a distance and only intervene if necessary. She was nearly as controlling as I.

With my wealth and position she would automatically be a target—for humans and possible others here in the Third Realm. What better way to take me down than by hurting the ones closest to me? Della didn’t have a magic bone in her body that I’d yet detected, which made her especially vulnerable. She couldn’t possibly defend herself appropriately.

It struck me how little I knew of her in some ways. Did she know how to use a gun? A knife? Her addiction to horror movies wasn’t the teacher she thought it was although I appreciated how they turned her on.

I didn’t want to leave, I was thoroughly enjoying her company and discovering the little things that made her tick. Every moment I spent with her, watching a myriad of emotionsflicker through her eyes as she took in the world around her, fascinated me. She felt everything, and then compartmentalized it.

She seemed to control the world around her by examining the happenings in her environment and filing them away after evaluation. She had precise ways of behaving around everyone in her life, tailoring to them, and she did it while somehow remaining genuine in her responses. Many people did that naturally, but she did it with extra thought, taking consideration of other’s needs when they could be met rather than engaging in manipulation.

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