Page 7 of Charmed

"No, thanks. We can wait for the others."

The maid appeared from a room to the right wearing a standard black uniform, blonde hair neatly pulled into a low bun. She clasped her hands in front of her and smiled. "Dinner is prepared for whenever you and your guests are ready, sir."

"Thanks, Beth. How's Max? He lose the tooth yet?"

Her smile transformed into a grin. "Yes, sir. Last night."

A chuckle, and he nodded. "Awesome. Go ahead and take off. We're going to hit the gym and eat afterward. Give the little guy a high-five for me."

"Will do. Thank you, sir." The woman gathered her things from a front hall closet, then quietly left.

Fiona had been in and out of the Meath Mansion for a few months now, but she hadn't seen any other employees besides the maid, though a cleaning crew came in every Friday. A place this huge, someone had to. Privileged as they were, the guys treated the woman kindly and, for the most part, rarely asked her for anything. Riley in particular was friendly and appeared interested in her life.

Fiona faced him, brows raised. "How old is her son?"

He leafed through the mail again. "Ten. Goofiest lopsided smile, that kid. He looks just like her, too. I had him convinced the Tooth Fairy would..." He did a double-take at something in her expression. "What?"

"Nothing." She shrugged in a nonchalance she didn't feel. How a man treated his employees said so very much about his character, and Riley was not only considerate, but sociable. Much as she hated to say it, her respect for him upped several notches. "The Tooth Fairy would what? Finish what you were saying."

He stared at her a beat, then cleared his throat. "Uh, that she'd play with all his toys while he was asleep before she took his tooth from under the pillow."

Stupid, adorable, sexy man. "Is that what she did to you? Played with your toys?"

"The Tooth Fairy didn't visit our house."

She stilled as anger rammed her skull. Their mother had bolted shortly after delivering the boys and their father had died in a boating accident when they were eight. They'd been raised by their uncle—the very one who'd turned out to be "the" Minister—and the guys had hinted at the cruel way they'd been treated. For research purposes, Kaida had read through all the Meath journals a few months back, and the first-hand accounts written by Riley's uncle proved he only saw the boys as weapons in his vengeful war against magick.

Dang, but Fiona's heart broke. No Tooth Fairy probably equaled no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny, too. Had they any kind of whimsy in their lives?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He shuffled his feet. "You're giving me the urge to duck for cover."

She drew a calming breath. "I swear to the Goddess, we will take down that bastard and make him pay for all he's done."

"Okay." Wary, he slowly nodded. "I hesitate to ask, but what brought on your fury? Do I need to lock up the crystal? Are you going to create a tornado in here?"

"I can control my powers." Because she despised the trepidation in his eyes, she moved around him and headed for the kitchen. It pissed her off to no end that he thought she'd hurt him or damage his property. Of course, he was probably joking, knowing him. "Let's go downstairs." She needed to beat up something. A lot.

She opened the door to the lower level and descended the steps, him on her heels. At the bottom, automatic lighting flickered and illuminated the spacious home gym. To the right were exercise machines and to the left were weights. Ahead, a fridge and counter with a sink were mounted beside a state-of-the-art stereo system. The rest of the area had padded mats with enough room for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.

Slipping off her heels, she strode toward the changing room, but he called her name.

"Do you mind if I take a quick dip in the pool before we start?"

She shrugged. Swimming was Riley's preferred form of exercise and it was common for him to wind down doing laps. It wasn't as if he needed her permission. "Have at it. I'll be here, pummeling something."

"You could join me if you want since the others won't be back for a while."

Was he being hospitable or was he that worried about leaving her alone? "I promise not to destroy anything in your absence."

"That's not what I meant. I was only offering. It's hot out today."

Hmm. Which angle should she take to go at him? The "hot" comment seemed too obvious. "Well, I don't have a suit here, so it would be less like swimming and more like skinny dipping." She cocked a hip. "Still offering?"

He stared at her, not a solitary muscle moving. Molten interest flared in his gray-green eyes even though his expression was dialed to why-do-I-bother. Finally, he drew a breath. "One of these days, Fi, I'm going to take your bait and then where will you be?"

"Depends on what position you prefer. I'm partial to up against the wall myself."

Huffing, he slammed his lids closed. Shook his head. Growled. "You can bet we'd start with a ball gag." And with that, he pivoted and stomped up the stairs.

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