Taming The Hunter

Chapter 3

Bemused was one way to describe Dane’s mood. He’d only just arrived in Minnesota this morning. Had nearly slid into the ditch at the mercy of an angry cab driver while being transported from airport to northern suburbs. Plowed his way to the antiques shop. Learned he’d have to stay a miserable week in the tundra. Decided to check out a costume party on a night that featured single-digit temperatures. And now he was about to hook up with a pretty woman smelling like chocolate, mint and sage.

Maybe. This might not be a hookup. She could be taking him to her house to—hell yes, it was a hookup! With a woman wearing a silver wig and a blue gown glittering with spangled snowflakes. But he could see beyond the costume and knew she was more interesting than a meteor dug up from a farmer’s field. And he wanted to get to know her better. He had a week in this town. Why not start it off with a bang?

“Do you do this often?” he asked as she navigated her Prius down a dark road that was just out of the main city, as she’d stated. Her own little bit of sanity that edged the suburbs.

“What? Navigate icy roads wearing a snow queen costume?”

Dane chuckled. “No. Pick up stray scientists you’ve found bumbling about fire pits on frozen winter nights.”

“Ah. All the time! Though I’d never assign the word bumbling to you.” She laughed, and a slip of dark hair fell out from under her wig. “No, this is a new one for me.” She clicked on the turn signal and slowed for a right. “But how could I resist a scientist looking so out of his element and in need of a little tender-loving summer?”

“Out of my element? Yes. I prefer carbon.”

“Ha! A science joke. My element is earth, in case you’re wondering.”

“Earth isn’t exactly an element. I’ll assign you silica, since that is abundant in sand, which is earth. Of course, you could also be nitrogen, because when that freezes—well, it’s icy and fun to play with.”

“I’m not an ice queen, I just play one at the annual winter festival. And if you’re not nice to me, I’ll turn around and you’ll never see summer.”

“Sorry. But I will reserve judgment on your summer-invoking abilities until I can feel the grass beneath my feet.”

“It will happen. Promise. Just ahead. So where are you staying?”

“I found a hotel next to an Applebee’s. Classy place, the hotel. They even offer all-you-can-eat pastries glopped with thick pink frosting in the mornings. I could not contain my enthusiasm when I learned that.”

“Really?” She flashed him a genuinely doubtful look.

“I’m kidding. I have a tendency to find sarcasm in all the wrong places. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re a breath of fresh air, Dane. I don’t run into men like you around town all that often.”

“So you’ve snatched me up and now you’re going to do what with me, exactly?”

She waggled her eyebrows and pulled the car into a garage set beside a Victorian-style house. “Just wait and find out. Come in, if you dare.” She turned off the car and opened the door.

And Dane followed with the eagerness of a scientist discovering a new element. This could be interesting. Or at the very least, a distraction from the local television reruns and stale sheets he had been headed for back at the hotel.

Inside the house, the lights were low and the kitchen vast, four times the size of a normal kitchen. Dane was drawn to the center, where a butcher-block table stretched ten feet and was paralleled by random unmatched bar stools in a range of heights. Above the table hung various dried herbs and flowers among copper pans and lightbulbs caged by chicken wire.

He drew in a breath, infusing his senses with lavender and rose, sage and thyme, and he detected cinnamon, as well. Summer, indeed. But it wasn’t grass, as she’d promised. Still. He took in the rest of the kitchen, the pale gray clapboard walls harmonized with the stainless steel appliances. Country chic with a dash of bohemian, from the bright red and violet dish towels to the deep garnet glass dishes stacked neatly in the doorless cupboards.

“This is like something from a movie set,” he said. “You live here alone?”

She nodded and then tugged off the tinsel wig to reveal a spill of chestnut hair that tumbled down her shoulders. Straight as a ruler and thick. She blew a few strands from her bright blue eyes. And how those lush lashes fluttered as she waited for him to speak. He could not ignore or dismiss what those enchanting eyes did to his heartbeats—thudding toward some cliff was how it felt.

“Dane?” She nudged forward, inspecting his gaze. “Is something wrong?”

“Uh, no.” Had his mouth been open in wonder over her simple yet utterly gorgeous appearance? He needed to check himself. This was a little unsettling, standing here with a woman he’d met an hour earlier. Sure, he’d romanced her a bit at the party. But then he’d been the prince swishing around the dance floor with a queen. Now he felt slightly unsure. Playing the science nerd was his game. And he hadn’t much of a game to claim in the first place.

“So where’s summer?” he asked.

“Let me pour you a lemonade first, and then we’ll head into summer. You like mint?”

“Yes, please.”

He sat on a stool and shrugged off his wool jacket. He’d need to buy something warmer if he intended to go out and about for a week in this frigid weather. And he could hardly imagine sitting in a hotel room that whole time. He had some weapons reports to work on for the Agency, but he always got antsy if he sat before the laptop too long. Best way to counterattack a work slump? Hit a few waves or punch the bag for a while. He wondered if there might be a gym in the hotel. He’d ask at reception when he returned later...but how would he get to the hotel? He had no vehicle.

Eryss pulled a glass pitcher from the fridge and then crushed a few fresh mint leaves she picked off a plant near a window over the sink.

“I want to change out of this silly dress,” she said as she handed him a glass of cloudy yellow brew sprinkled with emerald leaves. “I’m going to send you into summer on your own, and then take a few minutes to myself. Deal?”

He sipped the lemonade. Tart! And followed by a tendril of sweetness laced with a minty gush that tickled his nose.

“Oh yeah. That hit the spot. Uh, and yes, go do whatever you wish. I can sit here until you return.”

“No. You are in desperate need of a summer infusion. Follow me.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Dane followed Eryss’s swaying blue skirt into the living room, which was as large as the kitchen and decorated with velvet and silk furniture coverings and plants. Bohemian yet fresh, he thought. A far cry from the white walls and steel and leather furniture that filled his small Santa Cruz apartment. Down a hallway they neared a glass-block wall, and then he saw the doors and realized a two-story conservatory was attached to the house.

Eryss opened the door and gestured for him to enter as one low inner light flickered on. He strolled inside and the humidity hit him softly. He swallowed the heavy air and smiled. The warmth was incredible and the green smell of plants transported him to...

“Summer,” he said in a hushed voice.

“Told you. Here.” She handed him a lighter, then turned and flicked a switch. A stirring of gears began to lower what he saw was a massive crystal chandelier in the center of the glass hothouse, and it stopped just beside a curvy emerald velvet sofa. “Light the candles and I’ll be back quick as I can.”

“Uh, sure,” he said, as he absently flicked the lighter on and off. He couldn’t get over the incredible place in which he stood.

Eryss disappeared out the door and into the house. And Dane stood there, a lemonade wafting mint in one hand and a lighter in the other as he noticed the emerald-crystal candelabra was fitted with real beeswax candles. And was that—did a dragonfly flit about the massive chandelier?

What kind of Wonderland had he stumbled into? And was Eryss more Alice than Snow Queen?

“Does it matter?” A grin teased at him and he relaxed into the intriguing madness of it all. “Here’s to Wonderland.”

* * *

Confident she’d left the man in a wondrous state, Eryss tugged off the satin gown and tossed it across the bed as she beelined into her closet. It was a walk-in, but was only half filled with clothes and shoes. The other half was stacked with boxes of crystals, herbs, tinctures and other magical accoutrements she didn’t have room for in her spell room—which was the conservatory.

Geneva, one of her brewery partners, had scoffed at this tiny closet. That woman owned an entire store of clothing, and a high-end one at that. She hadn’t been at the party tonight because she was still in Greece, ending a two-month-long affair with a millionaire. Or maybe he was a billionaire. Eryss couldn’t keep track of Geneva’s conquests.

Tugging on the long, gray, crushed-velvet sweater that was more a dress because it went to just above her knees, she decided against the wool leggings she usually wore with it. She wiggled her bare toes, which glinted with bright green toenail polish. Checking her appearance in the mirror, she turned before it as she buttoned up the sweater dress. When was the last time she had preened for a man?

“He’s so cute. And smart. And hot.”

Now the question was: to hook up or not? She had no moral qualms about taking to bed a man she had just met and felt confident wasn’t a serial killer or nose picker. Some magnetic vibes had formed between them while dancing.

Had her soul really recognized his soul? It was a feeling she’d never known before, and she wanted to place it as a result of the anacampserote spell. But she mustn’t rush into believing such things. Finding her soul mate was monumental. And she had known Dane all of an hour.

“Oh, Eryss, you have to chill and relax. He’s just a handsome man. End of story.”

Or, with hope, the beginning of a story.

But she could not deny something about him seemed familiar.

“Maybe we’ve dated in a previous life,” she said. That was always entirely possible because she had reincarnated many times. “Or were we married?”

Who knew? The possibilities were endless. What mattered was that she felt Dane had bumped into her tonight for a reason. And she never ignored intuition. So she’d follow his lead, and see where they both landed. She was willing to follow.

Browsing over her jewelry tray on the vanity, she selected the rose quartz pendant and pulled it on over her head. “For the heart.”

She skipped down the stairs and picked up her lemonade from the newel post at the base of the steps, and then sailed into the humid warmth of the conservatory, which she kept verdant and healthy with the help of earth elementals. Hopefully, they would remain out of sight tonight. They didn’t normally show themselves around anyone but her and her witch friends, but she would cross her fingers for an uneventful evening in the summery haven nonetheless.

Dane had settled onto the emerald sofa, head tilted back and eyes closed. He seemed to be taking it all in. With dark curls spilling over his forehead and his powerful hands clasped loosely across his lap, he looked like a dozing faun king amid the wilds. Powerful, virile and of the earth. Eryss felt compelled to lean over and kiss him. Taste the sweet lemonade on his lips and breathe in his solid, masculine presence.

But he hadn’t kissed her at the dance, so she didn’t want to leap too quickly. Not until he gave her some sign he was interested in more than chatting.

“So, is it summery enough for you?” she asked as she sat next to him. The lush grass floor was the product of a spell that she didn’t have to tell him about. She loved feeling it tickling her toes.

“It is. How do you do this? In the middle of winter? I get the thick glass and the heating system, though I couldn’t find a source for the heater. And some plants are very hardy in cooler climes, but the grass? Are there heat coils beneath the sod? It’s frozen out there. There must be some means to heat the ground. Otherwise, it’s not scientifically—”

“Science has nothing to do with it, Dane. It’s magic. And if I told you how it worked it wouldn’t be magic anymore. So don’t question it. Deal?”

“I don’t believe in magic.”

“I’m sorry for you. So much in life is a direct result of magic and unexplainable phenomena.”

“It’s my job to explain such phenomena. Everything has a reason and a source. Down to the very atom. I should probably tell you what I really do.”

“What? You’re not a scientist?”

“Oh, I’m a scientist. But for the past few years I’ve been, well, you might call me a debunker. I disprove paranormal phenomena and other items associated with myth and legend.”

“Seriously? Like a myth buster?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“How does a guy happen on to a job like that?” Now a little uncomfortable knowing she sat next to not only a scientist, but one who went out of his way to prove people of her sort a myth, she turned to face him, tucking up her legs and propping an elbow on the back of the sofa. “Was there an ad in the paper?”

He chuckled. Oh man, the guy’s laughter. It hit Eryss in all the feels.

“No,” he said. “I was recruited. It’s important that the public gets the right information about the things that tend to grow fantastical roots with remarkable speed via popular culture and social media. Human brains have a hive mentality, and if someone says a vampire exists it doesn’t take long for the rest to agree. Thus.” He splayed a hand before his chest. “The calm in the storm.”

“You?”

“Me. I’m doing what I love. Using science every day. And really, I can’t let the world sit back and actually believe in vampires, can I?”

“Fantasy is good for the soul,” she suggested.

Though she did agree with his purpose, if not his actual work. Vampires and witches? The fewer people who believed in them, the safer and easier it was for them to exist among the humans. “So you’ve debunked vampires?”

“On more than one occasion. I live in Santa Cruz, but my work frequently lures me to San Francisco. That city is oddly rife with murders staged to look as if a vampire did it. You would be surprised the lengths some go to get the teeth impressions just right. But they always drain too much blood from the body. If a vampire did exist, he could not exsanguinate an entire body in such a short time. I’m sorry. This is a morbid subject.”

“No, I’m interested in what you do. Does your being here in Minnesota have to do with your job? Should I be keeping one eye over my shoulder in fear of vampires?”

“You should not. And I’m here on a personal project, actually. Although it is also related to my work. I work in the Weapons division and am charged with debunking weapons of historical interest that have a legend of magic attached to them.”

“So, like Excalibur?”

“Yes, but I believe that legendary weapon was last seen tossed in a lake.”

“Not so. I’m pretty sure the lady living in the lake handed it to King Arthur.”

“Right. Because it’s entirely possible for a woman to exist in a lake. Mermaids are theoretically implausible. She may have been called the Lady of the Lake, but not because she actually lived in one. Of course, it doesn’t matter. The Arthurian Chronicles are fiction.”

“Wow. You haven’t a fantastical bone in your body. Did your mother never read you faery tales when you were little?”

“No, she read me the table of elements and notes from her psychology papers.”

Eryss gaped at Dane. He didn’t catch her shock as he sipped the lemonade. Poor guy. But she didn’t want to get into a deep conversation about childhood traumas and lack of fantasy play. The night outside the windows was gray, illuminated by the snowy ground and nearby forest. The air inside was fresh as summer, and all she wanted to do was touch his hair and...kiss him.

“It’s a good thing our pasts do not define us,” she said, even as she inwardly kicked herself for saying it. She, the woman who was obsessed with finding the lost lover from her previous lives.

“Indeed. But my past is what brings me to Minnesota. I’m after a weapon once owned by my father. It’s got some paranormal legend attached to it, which could make it an item of interest to the company I work for, but that’s not the important thing.”

“It was your father’s,” she stated.

“Indeed. He died when I was three.” Dane shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. And Eryss sighed inwardly as the glossy black strands swept over his ear. “Enough talk about what I do and why I’m here. I want to enjoy summer!”

Now he turned an absolutely delicious smile on her. He set the glass down in the grass and turned his body toward her. He set his shoulders back and spread his arms across the sofa back and arm. He was open to her, beckoning without words.

And if that wasn’t an invitation, Eryss was losing her wiles. She moved in for a kiss. His stubble brushed her cheek and the heat of him surrounded her, sending a shiver of delight across her skin. The tang of lemons sweetened her lips, and she inhaled mint as if it were his pheromones.

He’d rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and she glided her fingers up his arm, rough with dark hair and the map lines of thick veins. So masculine. She turned into him and he paused the kiss. His eyes held her, bewitched. “Is this all right?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I’m feeling a little out of my element. As if I’m stumbling here.”

“Really?” And here she’d thought the invitation overwhelming. “You’re doing fine.”

“Not with the kiss. I mean, this feels too good to be true, Eryss. We just met an hour ago and now here I am, kissing you beneath real candlelight on a sofa set amid an enchanted garden. It’s sort of blowing my mind.”

“I bet it takes a lot to blow your mind.”

“It does, actually. Your success is duly noted.”

“You like to think a lot.”

“I do.”

“Then that will be your challenge.” She swished away a curl from his brow. Yes, so soft. “You can’t think around me, you just have to be in the moment.”

“This is a good moment.”

“I agree. Now, stop thinking and kiss me.”

Her smile lured him to her like a night flower draws one to inhale its perfume. Dane kissed her and pushed his fingers up through her hair. His mouth fit hers in a way that was confident and yet so sweet. She knew him, and perhaps he knew her but didn’t realize it. It was a fantastical way of thinking, but there you go. She was a witch. It helped to have an active imagination.

“Come here,” he muttered, and pulled her onto his lap as he leaned back on the couch and looked up into her eyes. “Candlelight becomes you. It dances in your hair.” He stroked her hair and pulled it to his nose. “You smell like ice and sage.”

“I must still be working some of my ice queen mojo. You taste like mint and lemons.” She straddled his legs with hers and leaned in to kiss his jaw, licking the short stubble. A fern tendril had crept over the back of the couch and tickled her forehead. She giggled against his mouth. “The plants approve of this moment, as well.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were sentient beings intent on seducing the two of us together.”

“Plants are sentient. And we are together. Haven’t you ever been seduced, Dane?”

“I, uh, well, sure. Not in such a manner, though. It’s so...”

“Interesting?”

His eyes dropped to the rose quartz crystal dangling above her breasts. “Quick.”

He was having trouble with their sudden embrace? Yes, well, she had not followed his lead, as she’d told herself to do. Bad witch. Eryss sat back on Dane’s thighs and smoothed her palms over his tweed vest buttoned neatly over a crisp white shirt. “Do I intimidate you?”

“Honestly? A little.” He ran a hand back through his hair. “I can’t believe I confessed that. Normally I’m the one questioning if I’m the intimidating one. You’re a fascinating woman, Eryss, and I think it’s either that I can’t believe my luck or that maybe you really are some kind of snow queen and you’ve bespelled me.”

If he only knew.

“I think I should step back and slow down,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

She started to rise, but Dane took her hand and pulled her back to sit on his legs. “No, I’m sorry. This is what I want. You. Kissing me. Hugging me with those long legs and making my heart beat faster than a neutrino spray.”

“I don’t know what that means, but I can work with it.”

This time he kissed her deeply. And while Eryss was still wondering if she had done the right thing with the anacampserote, she had to remain true to her intuition. And her soul felt she was in the right place with the right person at this moment in her life. That’s all that mattered.

Dane’s hand glided up her hip and along the gray sweater. She wanted him to touch her everywhere, to learn her. To know her.

When his hand stopped just beside her breast, but not quite touching it, he broke their kiss. “I should leave before I don’t want to leave.”

He certainly did vacillate from one extreme to the other. “And you do want to leave?”

“I do. I don’t. Eryss.”

“I know.” She did know. They were moving quickly. Racing, even. Not that she minded, but she wanted the guy to be all in, too. No sense in forcing a man to be something he wasn’t ready to accept. How could he? He surely had no clue she suspected they were soul mates. “You can take my car back to your hotel.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “If you can be back here tomorrow around eleven to pick me up, I’ll show you around the brewery. Then I have some work to do for the afternoon.”

“I can do that. I have some reports to fill out that will keep me busy.”

“You really debunk vampires?” she asked, as he stood and stretched. “What about witches?”

Dane came out of the stretch with a chuckle. “Bunch of silly women who play with crystals and herbs and think their cats can talk to them.”

“Ah. Wow.”

The man had no idea how many points she would take off for that comment. On the other hand, the less he knew, the better. He’d be shocked to meet a cat-shifting familiar that could talk to humans. She bet he’d never debunked a creature like that before.

“You’re sure?” he asked. “About me taking your car? Do you trust me driving on these roads?”

“They’re clear of ice and snow. Mostly. I trust you.”

She kissed him again. All of him smelled so good, like a place she could cuddle up in to get away from the rain. Or like a long-lost sanctuary that she’d found again.

She patted his chest. “I know your soul.” He gave her a wonky look of disbelief, so she flounced toward the doors. “I’ll get the key!”

Telling him she knew his soul had probably been rushing things more than if they’d almost had sex. And she wasn’t positive she recognized his soul. The whole night had been a heated surrender to passion and lust. It was time to start thinking rationally.

“Like a scientist,” she murmured, as she picked up the car keys from a copper bowl on the kitchen counter.

A scientist who debunked paranormal beings and who thought witches were silly? If they were going to get to know one another any better, Eryss sensed Dane’s every belief would be duly challenged.

Challenge was necessary to a great life. So she’d bring it on, ready or not. The man had just stoked a silly witch’s passions.