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“You really need to spend more time in the garden,” Rachel told me, shaking her head. “Seriously, you’re a rabbit, aren’t you? This is shameful. Go put on the blue. No more pastels or whites for you until the sun kisses your skin.”
She waved me back to the bathroom, but I hesitated.
“If I ask you something, will you be honest?”
“I’ll try to be,” Rachel said.
I snickered. “That’s not exactly the answer I was hoping for.”
“I won’t lie to you, Briar, but I can’t answer everything,” she clarified. “Is that better?”
I sighed. “Why was I taken?”
Rachel groaned in exasperation. “Now, honey, I know you’re not dumb,” she said crossly. “So please don’t pretend like you are.”
“I mean…” I held up a hand. “I mean, what were the specific terms of the deal that brought me here? What conditions need to be met for me to be returned?”
“Oh…” Now it was Rachel who was as pale as my dress, her lovely profile turning away. “Now, that, I can’t help you with.”
I reached out to grab her arm before she could completely conceal her face. “Why not? It’s about me, isn’t it? This is my life on the line.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Rachel scolded me. “Anyway, it’s not my place to tell you. You’re talking about confidential information. I could be fired for disclosing something like that.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could, I caught the now-familiar whiff of firewood and sweetgrass, Ash’s pheromones filling my nostrils even before he rapped on the bedroom door. I lifted my head, but I sensed him there as the knock filled the room.
Rachel’s gaze followed mine.
“Come in,” I rasped, my voice suddenly throatier.
Ash lingered at the doorway, drinking me in as his eyes took in every detail of my face, my clothing, and my body. His presence was both intimidating and alluring, and we seemed to be connected in a way that was both intimate and dangerous.
A heaviness clouded the air, catching my breath awkwardly.
It was Rachel who shattered the moment.
“Aw, dammit, would you look at the time!” she cried suddenly, breaking the spell between us. “I’ve got to get to the office. I’ll catch you later, Briar.”
She winked again and hurried toward the door as I sputtered after her, but she was gone before I could muster a coherent sentence.
Wait, come back!I wanted to yell after her.Please don’t leave me alone in a room with Ash! I don’t trust him… or myself with him!
Chapter8
Ash
Iwatched Rachel leave through my peripheral vision, but my senses were clouded by Briar’s overwhelming scent.
She’s aroused by me,I realized, the understanding shocking on some level but also not surprising.
I was still conflicted by the feelings she had raised in me over the past couple of days. She turned away from me, but not before I caught the blush of her cheeks.
I didn’t imagine it. She was attracted to me.
Bringing her here, so close, was going to be a big problem for everyone.
“You must be used to scaring everyone off by now,” Briar joked.
I didn’t smile at her attempt at humor, and she didn’t press it, either, fiddling with the hem of the beautiful dress that fit perfectly on her full hips. I couldn’t stop gawking at every line of Briar’s body in the morning light. This was much better than the nightgown that hid all of her glorious curves.
