in front of him and leaned forward. “Let’s go in the house, and I’ll have Doc take a look.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ve a date. Mattie can watch you.”
Her lips were red, maybe from biting them. Dark eyes held concern. She was beautiful and as bright as a beacon calling to him through the haziness. He wrapped his hand around Pippa’s head and kissed her. Not a gentle searching kind of kiss, but one packed with power and emotion as if he should share all of her goodness. In those few seconds, a flash of understanding came forward.
Harry disappeared, months after his angel saved him on the battlefield. Was this a forecast of what was to come?
“Possibly. We should talk. When we’re alone.” Amazon propped her hands on her hips.
An angel who could read minds. Who’d have thunk it? With that thought, darkness overtook him.
Chapter 5
Closed blinds and drawn curtains didn’t keep the smidgen of light from getting through the slits. Basil sighed. Early afternoon. Relax for a few more minutes beneath the warm covers or shovel crap? He flipped the cover to the side and sat up. He couldn’t spend more time imagining what Pippa had done last night with banker-boy. Unable to process logical thought due to the pounding headache, he would remedy his pain with a few aspirin. He pulled on a pair of jeans and stumbled into the sunlit atrium.
Mattie sat behind her desk. The clack of her fingers flying over the keyboard, coupled with the gigantic clock ticking, reverberated in his head like the pulse of a machine gun. Her pale face had two crimson spots on her apple cheeks, providing her with a tell-tale color. A vase of yellow roses, opening to a full bloom, were positioned nearby. Doc had followed up on his inquiry about Mattie’s dating habits. The flowers did provide a fragrant floral scent, sending him back to his mum’s kitchen in Worcester, England. A pang of loneliness and regret cramped his stomach. Mattie glanced up and cast him a smile. “Hi, handsome. It’s about time you crawled from under the covers. I was getting worried.”
Her smile was way too broad. He glanced at the clock. “Is that time correct?”
Mattie looked at her computer screen. “Yep, two in the afternoon.”
She slipped from her dark brown desk chair and grabbed her mug. “Come on, I’ll fix you something to eat.”
He had no free will. His stringed legs followed the puppeteer into the kitchen. “That can’t be right. The vet shot me full of drugs about two p.m.”
“Yep. You had a nice long nap.” She grabbed the coffee pot and filled her cup. Carafe in hand, she opened a cupboard and grabbed another mug. “Coffee or something cold?”
He smacked his dry lips. “Water would be great.”
She set the cup to the black granite surface and went to the fridge. “Are you still seeing that young girl in a leather bustier?”
Basil took the bottle of water she extended and sat on a saddle-style wooden bar stool. In the last few minutes he may have seen that mystical woman, watching TV in his bedroom suite. He didn’t talk to the spectral image, and she ignored him. The chick in leather could not be real. Regardless, Mattie reminded him of his mum; he couldn’t lie to her. “Nope, the only beautiful woman I see right now is you.”
“You rascal.” The geriatric diva winked. “I’ll take the compliment.”
He chuckled. Okay, not so much motherly as amusing and adorable. “Mattie—”
She slapped a couple slices of wheat bread on a plate and withdrew sandwich fixings from the restaurant style fridge. “Mustard or mayo?”
“Mustard, but I’m not really hungry.” He rubbed the bristle on the side of his cheek. Yep, at least twenty-four hours of growth. “So the quack gave me horse tranquilizers?”
She positioned the plate on a woven mat in front of him. “Kid, you were seeing a blonde Xena, warrior princess. At least that’s what you kept saying. Again and again.”
He took a bite from the sandwich,
Her lips were red, maybe from biting them. Dark eyes held concern. She was beautiful and as bright as a beacon calling to him through the haziness. He wrapped his hand around Pippa’s head and kissed her. Not a gentle searching kind of kiss, but one packed with power and emotion as if he should share all of her goodness. In those few seconds, a flash of understanding came forward.
Harry disappeared, months after his angel saved him on the battlefield. Was this a forecast of what was to come?
“Possibly. We should talk. When we’re alone.” Amazon propped her hands on her hips.
An angel who could read minds. Who’d have thunk it? With that thought, darkness overtook him.
Chapter 5
Closed blinds and drawn curtains didn’t keep the smidgen of light from getting through the slits. Basil sighed. Early afternoon. Relax for a few more minutes beneath the warm covers or shovel crap? He flipped the cover to the side and sat up. He couldn’t spend more time imagining what Pippa had done last night with banker-boy. Unable to process logical thought due to the pounding headache, he would remedy his pain with a few aspirin. He pulled on a pair of jeans and stumbled into the sunlit atrium.
Mattie sat behind her desk. The clack of her fingers flying over the keyboard, coupled with the gigantic clock ticking, reverberated in his head like the pulse of a machine gun. Her pale face had two crimson spots on her apple cheeks, providing her with a tell-tale color. A vase of yellow roses, opening to a full bloom, were positioned nearby. Doc had followed up on his inquiry about Mattie’s dating habits. The flowers did provide a fragrant floral scent, sending him back to his mum’s kitchen in Worcester, England. A pang of loneliness and regret cramped his stomach. Mattie glanced up and cast him a smile. “Hi, handsome. It’s about time you crawled from under the covers. I was getting worried.”
Her smile was way too broad. He glanced at the clock. “Is that time correct?”
Mattie looked at her computer screen. “Yep, two in the afternoon.”
She slipped from her dark brown desk chair and grabbed her mug. “Come on, I’ll fix you something to eat.”
He had no free will. His stringed legs followed the puppeteer into the kitchen. “That can’t be right. The vet shot me full of drugs about two p.m.”
“Yep. You had a nice long nap.” She grabbed the coffee pot and filled her cup. Carafe in hand, she opened a cupboard and grabbed another mug. “Coffee or something cold?”
He smacked his dry lips. “Water would be great.”
She set the cup to the black granite surface and went to the fridge. “Are you still seeing that young girl in a leather bustier?”
Basil took the bottle of water she extended and sat on a saddle-style wooden bar stool. In the last few minutes he may have seen that mystical woman, watching TV in his bedroom suite. He didn’t talk to the spectral image, and she ignored him. The chick in leather could not be real. Regardless, Mattie reminded him of his mum; he couldn’t lie to her. “Nope, the only beautiful woman I see right now is you.”
“You rascal.” The geriatric diva winked. “I’ll take the compliment.”
He chuckled. Okay, not so much motherly as amusing and adorable. “Mattie—”
She slapped a couple slices of wheat bread on a plate and withdrew sandwich fixings from the restaurant style fridge. “Mustard or mayo?”
“Mustard, but I’m not really hungry.” He rubbed the bristle on the side of his cheek. Yep, at least twenty-four hours of growth. “So the quack gave me horse tranquilizers?”
She positioned the plate on a woven mat in front of him. “Kid, you were seeing a blonde Xena, warrior princess. At least that’s what you kept saying. Again and again.”
He took a bite from the sandwich,
Similar Books
Tiny Little Thing
Beatriz Williams
Pandaemonium
Ben Macallan
Night of the Toads
Dennis Lynds
And Darkness Fell
David Berardelli
Walking in Darkness
Charlotte Lamb
Shadow’s Lure
Jon Sprunk
The Forge of Christendom
Tom Holland
Reykjavik Nights
Arnaldur Indridason
