“And this is your idea of a date?” Drake asked, scanning the mountain of junk she was accumulating as she pulled out more stuff from her cabinets. “Organizing your kitchen?”
She bit back a grin. She really couldn’t help herself. Holding a bundt pan, she turned back to him with innocent eyes. “Yes. I’ve been putting it off far too long. Would you rather not be here? I could do it myself, but you did want to start dating me right away and since you gave me dibs on planning the first date...”
“I do want to be with you. But just know, you’re fired from date planning.”
She couldn’t hold back her laugh any longer. “Fine. I guess I had that one coming.”
“After this? Absolutely.” He grinned.
“Thank you for helping me though. It’ll go a lot faster with you here.”
“Just tell me what to do first.” He rubbed his hands together.
She eyed the opened cabinets, scrunching her nose at the dust, crumbs, and heaven only knew what else, littering the bottom of each. She plopped a wet sponge into his hand. “Scrub.”
“And what will you give me?” He tossed her a saucy wink.
She loved to see him like this. Care free, relaxed. This was a side of him that he’d hidden all this time. At least since he found out the prophecy. The dimple that crested his cheek had always been adorable, but there was more to it now.
His green eyes twinkled, and her stomach fluttered. It wasn’t fair for any man to be that handsome. How was she supposed to keep an emotional distance from him over the next few days? His offer surprised her. She knew what he wanted, what he was trying to do. And she appreciated it. He’d given her an out that would help her let him down easily when her mate showed up.
But when she glanced back to that dimple, she swallowed hard. She wanted to kiss it. She cleared her throat. “Ah. What do you want?”
“I think you know.”
She couldn’t help it then, laughter roiled out when he wiggled his brows. All unease fled and the comfort she’d always felt with him return. He was her best friend. Had been for years. She couldn’t let the prophecy take that away, couldn’t let it change anything. She couldn’t bear to lose him. “You’re incorrigible.”
“But you like me this way.”
“I do.” She couldn’t lie to him. Not about this. “You were never like this before.”
“I couldn’t be.”
A slice of guilt ate at her. She took up her own sponge and reached on her tip toes to a top shelf. She’d never meant for him to stifle anything of himself. She didn’t want that for him. To think he’d had to hold anything back, hurt her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
His fingers brushed her hair over one shoulder, exposing her neck. A shiver coursed through her. What was happening to her? She’d never wanted to arch into his touch, to beg for more. But one small brush of his fingers had her whimpering inside.
“I had to hold it back. After you told me of the prophecy, I knew there was nothing I could do to convince you to be with me. I knew you’d never accept it.”
“And I will now?” Her voice was breathy, but she didn’t care.
“Yes. I was the man at the stones.” His fingertips glided over her neck and her thoughts blurred. What had he said?
He turned her to face him and her stomach did one quick flip when she met his hungry eyes. He wanted her, and she felt an answering curl in her belly.
She jerked her head to the side when he leaned down, but instead of getting frustrated, he sifted his fingers through her hair, breathing in her scent below her ear.
“You smell incredible. Like your tea roses. I could smell you forever.”
She wavered in his touch. “It is roses. How’d you know?”
“I smelled them in your garden this morning. I didn’t know you used them for anything other than decoration.” He massaged her scalp.
Her eyes shuttered closed on a moan. How could something feel so good? She was grateful his other arm held her around the waist, supporting her. She would’ve melted to the floor without it.
Her head lulled back onto his hand and her eyes fluttered open. His lips were an inch from hers, but he didn’t take, didn’t demand. It would have been easier that way. She wouldn’t have had a choice. But he wasn’t going to do that. She could see it in his eyes. He wanted her to choose. He wanted her to make the choice to kiss him.
Her tongue wetted her lips. His eyes followed the movement, mesmerized by the action. His eyes darted back to hers, darker, deeper, and she knew he was at his limit.
As her body burned, she forgot why she’d held back, why she’d denied herself all this time. All she could think, all she wanted, was him.
Her arms snaked up around his neck, and she saw victory in his eyes. Longing. Desire. They surged through her like live wire, waking up parts of her body long gone dormant.
“Poppy,” he groaned, molding her body to his.
She gasped at the contact.
He lowered his head to meet her lips. Knock, knock.
They froze. Several more knocks, more forceful than the first.
“You’ve got to kidding.” He swore as she untangled herself from his arms.
She felt empty from loss of him, but she couldn’t ignore the knock. It jarred her out of the moment, waking her up from a hazy dream.
Another frantic knock. “I’m coming,” she called out, stumbling toward the entry. Cracking open the door, her neighbor stood on the other side, her eyes puffy as they darted to the opening.
“Helen?”
“Poppy!” She latched onto her arm once Poppy opened the door all the way. “Thank heaven you’re here.”
Poppy’s heart sped up. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
Helen burst into tears. “It’s Molly. She’s gone.”
“What do you mean gone? Where did she go?” Helen’s sweet four-year-old daughter was quiet and bright. She always had a big smile for Poppy when she saw her, waving to her from her mother’s car as they passed.
“She’s lost. She was playing in the yard. I had to go inside. Just for a minute. She’d been talking about taking a walk through the woods, but I told her that we couldn’t today. She was fine. Seemed fine. But when I went inside, she must have decided to go on her own.”
An eerie calm settled over Poppy. It was always the same. She could feel it moving over her, through her. She knew what had to be done. “How long has she been gone?”
“A few hours now. I called the police. They’ve been searching. We’re rounding up everyone to look for her. If she’s still lost once it gets dark…” Helen’s eyes widened in panic.
Poppy patted a slim shoulder. “That’s not going to happen.”
Drake stepped up from behind Poppy. “Here.” He helped her put on her coat. His jacket was already zipped up, and his mouth was grim. “We shouldn’t waste any more time.”
“I thought,” Helen said, grabbing Poppy’s hands. “I thought you could help.”
“Of course! We’re coming with you. We won’t stop until we find her.”
Helen’s eyes shifted. “I meant… maybe there’s something else… something more… you could do.”
Poppy’s eyes softened. She didn’t openly discuss what she was with others in town, but her family had been there for generations. Even if she didn’t talk about it, the town members were aware of her abilities. “I’ll do everything I can.”
“Thank you.” Helen squeezed Poppy’s hands. “Everyone’s meeting at my house in fifteen minutes.”
Drake nodded. “We’ll be there. I’ll make a few calls to see if we can get more people.”
Poppy ran to her kitchen once Helen left, gathering items she’d need for a location spell. “I have to find her.”
Drake stood quietly behind the counter. He was calm, supportive, and she felt so lucky to have him in her life. “You will. We both will. Together.”
Her eyes locked with his, and they connected. They were one. They had one purp
ose, one goal. He was her rock, her support, and it robbed her of speech.
What was she going to do when fate corrected their mistake?
Chapter 4