Page 22 of Dreams of Magic

“Okay good. I’m on my way, stay inside until I get there, okay?” She could hear a car start over the line.

“Ya know, I want to be brave and tell you that you don’t have to come here, but I’m realizing I’m kind of a chicken. So, thank you for coming.” He chuckled.

“Nothing wrong with needing a big strong man to come take care of you.” That made her laugh out loud, which she was sure was his intention.

Smiling, even though he couldn’t see her, she replied, “I don’t mind being the damsel in distress when a situation warrants it.”

“Oh yea? Are you a Snow White or more of a Cinderella?” Oh man, Disney references. Who was this man?

“Darlin, I’m Merida with a bit of Rapunzel thrown in. But not the classic Rapunzel, the Tangled version.” She could hear him laughing through the line.

Kenzie really wanted to see his smile. She was trying so hard not to look at him yesterday that she didn’t get to see much of it, “So what you’re saying is that you’re a very independent woman who might let me help you but only after you hit me over the head with a frying pan?”

She hadn’t smiled this much in a while, and it was just a silly conversation to distract her. It was really nice, “Yep, that’s exactly what could happen. I also have my trusted side kick, Fiona.”

“I’m sure she’s terrifying.”

“Oh, you have no idea. Forget to feed her and you will feel her wrath!” Kenzie couldn’t help it as she busted out laughing at herself.

“Well, I can’t wait to meet this fierce kitty of yours, she sounds like quite the character.” She could hear the amusement in his voice and realized he had successfully calmed her down. She was no longer scared and felt safe even though he wasn’t here yet.

“She’s gonna love you, I’m sure. Thank you, Aiden. As far as distractions go, you’re pretty great at it.”

“I’m glad I could help.” He sounded so genuine it made her heart flip flop.

She heard a car pull into the driveway. When she glanced out the window, she could see a big black pick-up truck, “Is that you pulling up already?” It had been less than ten minutes.

He climbed out of the driver’s side door, and man was that a sight to see. His jeans pulled tight against his muscular thighs, and he was wearing a black t-shirt that was tight across his arms and chest.

Damn, he looked good. His dark hair was blowing a bit in the wind, and he had a serious look on his face. It was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

“Come on out. Whoever was here is gone now.” With that she saw him disconnect the phone, so she put hers in her purse and walked back outside, locking the door behind her.

Kenzie slowly walked up to him, looking around as she did. There weren’t any signs that someone had been here, but she could still smell them. They met in the middle of the driveway, stopping only a foot away from each other.

She looked up into his eyes. In the sunlight they were a lighter shade of blue, almost teal. He really did have beautiful eyes; she’d keep that to herself for now though.

He reached out and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Then very gently he ran his fingers down the side of her throat to her shoulder, until his hand hit the line of her dress. His fingers stopped there, pausing as if not sure where to go next. Then Aiden took a breath and dropped his hand.

She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until his hand left her skin. His fingers left behind a trail of warmth that gave her goosebumps and had fireworks going off in her stomach.

Clearing her throat, she tried to remember what they were talking about. Right, wolf, smell, gone. “So, they aren’t here anymore? Do you know who it was?”

Aiden shook his head, “No. It’s not anyone I have met before, which means it’s not someone from our pack. Which is a problem. Aside from the fact that they are in our territory, they shouldn’t know about you or this house. Them being here right after you arrived can’t be a coincidence.”

Kenzie looked back at the house. It sat way back off the road and was completely surrounded by woods. If you didn’t know it was there, you would never find it. She even had trouble, but her mom had shown her so many pictures over the years that she knew what to look for when she drove in. There wasn’t a mailbox or anything to mark the driveway, just a break in the grass and trees and a small gravel path that led to the house.

It didn’t bode well. “What does that mean exactly?”

He cocked his head to the side, thinking through his answer before speaking, “I think it means there is someone snooping around. With the ominous warning you were given from Rhiannon, it concerns me. If someone knows you are here, I want to know how and why it matters to them.”

“Okay. So, what do we do?” Kenzie had no experience in this kind of thing, so leaving it up to him to decide felt right.

He looked at her again, then glanced at the house, “How set are you about staying here?”

“Um… Well, I know Marshall offered for me to stay at the pack house, but I hadn’t given it any thought. And there’s also Fiona.” Could she move in so soon? She started nibbling her lip, trying to decide if she was okay with the idea or not.

Stepping closer, Aiden touched his thumb to her lip, gently pulling it from her teeth. Her breath caught as she watched him watching her, his thumb skimmed across her bottom lip again. In that moment, she wanted him to kiss her so badly. But it was too soon, they had just met. She tended to be more of a “dip your toe in” rather than “jump headfirst” kind of girl, even though right now she might be willing to drown in him.

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