Holding Out For A Hero: SEALs, Soldiers, Spies, Cops, FBI Agents and Rangers (84 page)

“Thanks,” she murmured.

Fred’s gaze danced between the two of them, curiosity clear on his wizened face. Questions Gideon knew the gossip chain would have a heyday with.

To forestall the inevitable, Gideon said, “We’re here for a couple cups of coffee.”

“Gonna have to be to go,” Fred said shortly. “I’m getting ready to clean the cups.”

Gideon followed Miki’s glance at the small tower of white ceramic mugs, all spic-and-span tidy. He heaved a sigh. Damned if it was going to be easy to romance a lady with the rest of the town trying to run her off before she could even get her mail delivered.

“To go is perfect,” was all he said.

Five minutes later, Miki sauntered down Main Street again, this time alongside the hunky, off-limits handyman. Fragrant steam rose from the lids of their disposable coffee cups and her books were in her rainbow-hued mesh bag. Good thing she’d remembered the cash back on her dresser. Even better that her translocation spell had actually worked. Because even the best witch couldn’t conjure cold, hard cash.

And her reward? She was going to relax and enjoy her sexy tour guide. Miki eyed the golden boy next to her and took a contented sip of her coffee.

“Where are we heading?” Miki asked him as they passed the diner again. The diner diva stood at the counter filling saltshakers and glaring at them. Miki resisted the urge to charm the salt so it’d spray back in her face.

“I thought I’d show you a little of the town.”

“I’ve seen this part,” she reminded him as they passed her car. “There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of town to tour. I’m surprised, though, even as small as it is that you don’t have more tourists coming through.”

“We used to. Rossdale was a pretty big tourist mecca, being right off the highway and all. Up until about eight years ago, the County Fair was held right outside town. We had a lot of summer people who’d come stay for the fishing. Winter people for the skiing.”

“What happened?”

“People stopped coming.”

Maybe it had something to do with the crappy welcome they got, Miki mused.

They turned onto the side road and a few steps later, reached an archway of twisted wrought iron, proclaiming it to be the Town Square. Passing through the rusted arch, Miki saw a waist-high cobblestone wall that ran the perimeter of the square. Walkways of the same stone wove in and out of beds of dead grass and weeds, all leading to the center. It was like something out of Sleeping Beauty’s castle after the witch had thrown her tantrum. Dead brambles, weeds, and broken tree branches gave the square a depressing feel.

“Wow. Gardener’s year off?” Miki asked as she gaped at the derelict space.

“It doesn’t seem to matter what we do. Nothing will grow here. Believe me,” Gideon insisted with a strained laugh, “there are some avid gardeners who’ve done their damnedest. But no matter what they plant, it dies. They cut away the weeds, and almost overnight, they grow back.”

He seemed to be waiting for her to laugh, or at least express some level of doubt at his words. She supposed to most people, they would sound ridiculous.

Instead, she looked around again, a contemplative gleam in her eye. She ran a hand over the decaying wooden back of a bench and breathed deeply. Why was the square keeping people away? What was it protecting?

Gideon’s brow furrowed. She glanced at him and gave a little laugh, as he seemed to expect.

“So you’ve abandoned it? Nobody comes here anymore? It feels... well, alone.”

His frown deepened. “Alone?”

“That sounds silly, doesn’t it,” she said quickly. She felt the color wash her cheeks and shrugged, waving a hand to indicate the gazebo. “It just seems like this must have been a fun place at one time. It has so much potential.”

“People eventually gave up on prettying it up. We mostly ignore it now. They even moved the Town Meeting to the library, instead of the hall there,” he said with a nod toward the small, Tudor-style building at the far end of the square.

“Isn’t that a little extreme? To just ignore part of your town?” And such a shame. There was such potential for beauty here. Miki gazed around, her mind’s eye seeing flowering vines, rose bushes in full bloom and an abundance of lush, green grass. With a little work and determination, the square would be beautiful.

She breathed in the rich scent of the earth, and closed her eyes as sensations rushed through her. It was so powerful, so... possible. Like a whisper, the energy wrapped around her. Soft, just a hint of power. Miki’s skin tingled and her breath hitched. There was so much here. Could be so much more here. Like a flower bulb, long neglected, it needed nurturing to re-bloom. Miki’s stomach clenched in excitement. The sound of another big truck, loud and lumbering, pulled her attention back to Gideon.

“That’s not extreme by Rossdale standards,” he said, reminding her of her question about the town ignoring the square. “You might have guessed, the town has a few quirks.”

“Like a predilection to sudden fits of cleaning?” she taunted.

Gideon’s grin made Miki’s stomach do a whirling little dance.
Whoa, baby
. Poison, remember. The man was off limits. After enjoying his company for the last half-hour, she was having trouble remembering why, though.

“That’s nothing,” Gideon assured her. “The fact that it’s a feline-free town is a lot quirkier, if you ask me.”

“Feline-free? You all hate cats?” Miki’s eyes widened in shock. Who hated cats? What kind of town was this?

“Nah. Actually most people around here like pets. But somewhere about a dozen or so years back, cats started running off. Even bribes of fish and milk won’t keep them here. People go out of town, bring in a cat and it’s gone within a month.”

“I wonder why?” Miki mused.

“Nobody seems to know.”

In accord, they moved toward the once white gazebo in the center of the square. In all its graying glory, missing boards, and sagging lattice, it still commanded attention. He took Miki’s hand to help her over the broken step.

In the center of the gazebo was a stone and brick wishing well, encrusted with dirt and choked by weeds.

“Odd place for a well,” she commented. She traced her fingers over it, rubbing at the moss-covered plaque. The copper square felt warm, odd since the Town Square was so gloomy and chilled. It was too oxidized to read, but if Gideon’s glare was anything to go by, it wasn’t a legacy he was proud of.

“Is it special,” she asked.

Gideon gave the plaque another dirty look, and then shrugged.

“It was a monument of sorts,” he answered, his tone reluctant. “Rossdale’s founding fathers built the well. They built this whole square, actually, but the well is center.”

With an odd look in his eyes, he watched her as she turned and leaned her butt against the edge.

“Legend has it that the well is the center of the town,” Gideon explained. “According to the old-timers, it doesn’t seem to matter what people build, or where. Every time anyone’s checked, the well is dead center.”

“How is that possible?” she wondered.

How intriguing though that there was so much more to Rossdale than met the eye. She’d have to talk to Ryan when he came back around, see if he sensed anything. It was either a very whimsical town, or one with a hint of magic.

“Who knows,” Gideon shrugged. He set his empty coffee cup on the weathered wood railing and shifted closer to her. Miki’s breath stuck in her throat and she bit her lip to keep a nervous giggle at bay.

“You know,” he pondered, obviously ready to change the subject. “I don’t think it’d be too much of a stretch to call this our first date. So now that we’ve got that out of the way, why don’t you reconsider going to dinner with me.”

“This wasn’t a date,” Miki protested. Oh, no. This was just a reward for standing up for herself. She wasn’t dating Gideon. She couldn’t.

At least, not until she’d uncursed her ex-husband. Given the laws of karma, she fully expected any date she attempted to end in disaster. Besides, dating Gideon could go nowhere. She’d be crazy to even consider it.

Let’s get crazy
, her body shouted.

“I’ll have to find a bandage for my ego later.” Gideon gave an exaggerated grimace. Miki winced, realizing how her words must have sounded. But the twinkle in his whiskey-gold eyes assured her he wasn’t offended.

“I think you’ll be fine,” Miki told him with a grin. Who knew a sense of humor could be even more attractive than a hot body? But, wild as it was to believe, she was even more drawn to Gideon’s personality than his gorgeous smile or very sweet butt. Used to the polished looks of everyone from movie stars to grocery clerks in Southern California, maybe she’d gotten jaded.

Or maybe this hunky handyman was too good to resist.

“I did get you coffee,” he reminded her as he took her empty cup and set it next to his on the gazebo railing.

Heat stirred in her belly as Miki pursed her lips and glanced at the cups. “And delicious coffee it was, too.”

“Wouldn’t you say that deserves a thank you?”

Tempting. He was so tempting.

“I take it words aren’t the kind of thanks you’re looking for?”

“That depends. What kind of words were you planning to use?”

“What kind of words are you into?” she asked with her most innocent look. Her brain screamed, ‘what the hell are you doing?’ Her hormones ignored the warning. “Because I just don’t see you as the type of guy willing to say ‘yes, mistress’.”

His eyes rounded, then Gideon broke into laughter.

“I’m not likely to wear a collar,” he admitted. He reached out to brush a dead leaf off her shoulder, his hand lingering. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, Miki welcomed the warmth. “But I think you’ll find I am quite skilled at taking directions.”

“Tempting. A man who takes directions
and
knows good coffee?” she mused softly.

His hand left her shoulder to slide under her hair. Long, strong fingers curved over the back of her neck, sending tingles shimmering through her body. She should pull away. She was freshly divorced from a lousy marriage. She was a witch with karmic retribution swinging its axe over her head. She’d sworn off mortals forever.

She watched Gideon lean toward her, intent clear in his whiskey gold eyes.

“You’re bad for me,” she told him. “You’re probably the worst thing on earth I could indulge in right now.”

“C’mon,” he goaded. Bare inches away, he wasn’t touching her, but the warmth of his body enfolded her all the same. “What’s life if you don’t live a little dangerously once in a while.”

“There is dangerous, then there is poison.” Something she’d do well to remember. Miki shoved her hands in the front pockets of her jeans to keep from grabbing Gideon and pulling him against her just to see if he was as deliciously hard as she’d been dreaming.

“Doesn’t coffee merit a thanks?” He slid his fingers along her jaw line. Miki clenched her teeth together to keep from purring.

Instead, she hummed, then shrugged.

“It’s got to be worth something,” he prompted.

His fingers caressed the sensitive flesh just below her ear and it was all Miki could do not to press herself into his hand like a cat would. She had to taste him. Just once, then she’d be able to stop.

“This is just a thank you,” she informed him as she wrapped her hands behind his neck. One tiny step was all it took to feel the hard warmth of his body pressed to hers. Desire spun a fine thread, but Miki promised she’d keep it under control.“Just a thank you,” she murmured against his lips. And, if she were honest, a teensy bit of curiosity. “Nothing more.”

She felt Gideon’s smile fade as softly, ever so gently, his mouth brushed against hers. Mmm, sweet. Tension poured out of Miki’s shoulders and she relaxed. She’d been crazy to get so worked up over this attraction, so worried that he’d be a threat to her emotional balance. Worries fading, she relaxed into the kiss with a soft sigh.

As if he’d been waiting for that exact signal, Gideon shifted gears. In one delicious slide of his tongue, he sent the kiss from warm to incendiary. Miki gasped at the wild sensations whipping through her system. He plunged his tongue between her teeth in a swift move that made her body blaze with desire.

Uh oh. Her heart raced as she tried to control her reaction. But she’d never felt anything like this. Like an electrical current, every move of Gideon’s tongue sent another zap of desire straight through her. In response, Miki met his tongue, thrust for thrust, the feelings rushing through her so hot and intense she had to have more.

With a moan, she pressed the beaded tips of her aching breasts against Gideon’s chest. His hand slid down her back to cup her rear and Miki shuddered. Delicious. She wanted to eat him up in slow, slurping bites.

Even as one part of her brain asked where the hell her inhibitions had gone, the rest of her brain applauded. Miki went with the applause.

One hand still curved over the back of his neck like she was afraid he might stop, she trailed the other over his shoulder and down his arm. Damn, he had some solid muscles. Desire, already swirling like mad, shot straight between her legs. Her panties damp, Miki pressed her thighs together to intensify the sensation.

A kiss. Just a simple kiss and she was already hot and wet. What the hell would happen if she ever got naked with the guy?

As that thought registered, Miki’s tension returned, tenfold. Naked? He was mortal and she was ten pounds overweight. Ohmigod, they couldn’t get naked.

Sensing her withdrawal, Gideon ended the kiss with another gentle brush of his lips over hers. Forcing herself not to jump out of his arms, she slowly pulled away to stare up at him with blurry eyes. The look on his face, like a chocoholic in the See’s kitchen, made Miki want to strip bare right there in the Town Square. Ten pounds be damned.

As if he could read her mind, Gideon gave her that slow, sexy smile. The same one she’d been seeing in her dreams the last three nights.

“Now I’ll say you’re welcome,” he told her.