Chapter Three
Ava
Iboth lovedand hated the way he smiled at me. His hazel eyes twinkled, more green than brown, and the features of his face softened.
Sunshine surrounded us, the golden glow encapsulating our bodies like a glimmering shroud. We wore nothing but the light on our skin. His large body stretched over me, pinning me down in a way I enjoyed, but we weren’t making love.
Yet somehow I knew that once he entered me, that’s exactly what we would be doing. Making love. Not fucking, not having sex. There was a depth of emotion that shimmered between us, a connection that I cherished.
He leaned down to kiss me, then stopped, his smile fading. “Aveta? What is wrong?”
I reached up and cupped his cheek tentatively, fearing that the simple touch might be enough to break the delicate spell. “Nothing, Macgrath.”
He frowned. The gold that haloed the green of his irises grew and pulsed with anger. “Who is Macgrath?”
I awoke with a gasp and pressed a hand to my chest. The dream was unsettling for a variety of reasons. It felt too real, more like a memory than a dream, but that couldn’t be. It couldn’t. I had no memories of my life before the day I awoke in that field nearly two thousand years ago, pregnant and alone. I hadn’t even known my name. Nor had I known how I came to be pregnant. No amount of power or casting spells had returned my memories. I was a woman without a past… and for a long time, a woman without a heart.
And I hadn’t met Macgrath for the first time until a few months ago when he arrived with Rhiannon. He shouldn’t exist in my memories.
Then there was the fact that the Macgrath of my dreams looked at me as though he cared for me. More than that. As though he cherished me.
It changed the way I viewed him and I couldn’t allow that. I didn’t want to consider the possibility that it already had. These dreams had been plaguing me for the last few nights and today, when he followed me home, I practically invited him to stalk me up close rather than from afar.
It had to be sleep deprivation. Maybe Rhiannon had cast a spell on me.
Or maybe I was just in denial. Obviously he affected me more than I wanted to admit. Even to myself.
Groaning, I sat up in the bed and threw my legs over the side. The room was dim, but the light was changing. Dawn was only a few moments away.
I didn’t have to get up. Harrison and Savannah were openingThe Magic Beantoday, which gave me a rare morning to sleep in. Something I had been looking forward to for weeks.
Damn my dream Macgrath. And damn the Macgrath in the real world. They were both messing with my equilibrium and I didn’t appreciate it. For decades, I’d been content. I had my businesses and a few friends. When I met Savannah, I took her under my wing and we became our own little family. Though she would scoff if I ever told her, I considered her almost like a daughter.
Savannah and I appeared to be about the same age, but after two millennia on this earth, she seemed so much younger.
I liked to imagine that my own daughter would have been a great deal like her, though I’d never had a chance to find out for myself.
I cut off my errant thoughts, refusing to dwell on my earliest memories. My emotions were unpredictable, swinging wildly from one extreme to the next. I couldn’t allow that to interfere with my ability to think logically. I could do nothing about my daughter or my past, but I could protect Savannah and Rhys now. But only if I kept a clear mind.
I stood up, stretching my arms over my head. If I couldn’t go back to sleep, I might as well have a cup of coffee and enjoy the sunrise. Then I would focus on the problem that needed my attention most: finding Rhiannon Temple.
Macgrath didn’t belong in my dreams or in my thoughts. Not right now and maybe not ever.
Within eight hours,I was already regretting my decision not to give Macgrath any further thought.
Savannah was in the little niche off to one side of the shop, reading tarot cards for a client. Harrison was restocking paper products behind the counter while I tinkered with the arrangement of crystals and other magic paraphernalia on the small table near the front of the store.
Suddenly, I sensed his presence. A thrill raced through me. My muscles tensed and my heartbeat quickened. Several minutes elapsed before he appeared in the doorway of the coffee shop and my heart gave a single, hard thump against my sternum before settling back into a rapid rhythm. A wave of magic rose to my left but vanished quickly, emanating from where Harrison stood behind the counter.
It didn’t matter anyhow because I barely noticed it. I was frozen in place, unsure of what I should do. Should I greet him? Ignore him? Treat him like I would any other customer?
Before I could determine my next action, Macgrath took the decision out of my hands.
He nodded to me, his green and gold gaze flicking over me quickly before he turned toward the counter where Harrison stood.
Without his eyes on me, I managed to take a deep breath, but my entire body burned as though his perusal of my person had lit a fire beneath my skin.
Yes, I needed to figure out what to do about Macgrath.
