If she were wittier, more sophisticated, would she have said the right thing to charm him? Did she even want to?
The image of those eyes appearing in the pitch black greenhouse would probably haunt her forever. Despite his kindness, deep in her gut, she still felt that anxious tension when she thought of him.
It was one thing to know vampires were predatory. It was quite another to stumble upon one in the dark. She’d woken up several times in the nights since, thinking he was there, hidden in the shadows. Her heartbeat was always a thunderous rhythm in her ears, her skin slick with cold sweat, and a deep, hollow ache pulsing between her thighs.
She wasn’t sure she would ever be free of that instinctive fear she felt when he trained those night-glow eyes on her. She wasn’t sure she would ever be free of the lust lurking under that fear, either.
Not that it mattered.
There was no way Mr. Bounds would cross her path again any time soon. He wasn’t one of her fantasies. He was a man. Animportantman. He probably wouldn’t spare another thought for his silly little gardener who drank cocoa with him in his kitchen. Another year might pass before she shared another moment with him.
She was torn over whether that was a blessing or not.
Though she felt hideously awkward and unrested, Zia didn’t dawdle on Monday morning. Well before the sun began to rise over the sharp treetops, she left her little house and trudged to her car. Now that winter was on its way, she took no chances with the weather and kept herself thoroughly bundled in a down jacket, knit hat, and scarf.
Her boots crunched on the sparse, frosty grass that speckled her unpaved driveway. She climbed into her car with a foggy sigh. The winter was her least favorite season, and the first frost of the year always hit her hard.
Winter means less time in the garden and this godsforsaken cold,she thought, hitting the button on her dashboard for the automatic window defroster.
When she could see, Zia cranked up the heater and grasped the steering wheel. She had to breathe several times before she worked up the courage to reverse out of her driveway and onto the narrow road.
He won’t even be awake. And even if he is, he won’t notice you. Stop thinking about how pretty your boss is and focus on winterproofing the garden, Zia.
There was comfort in work. Although the winter would steal much of it from her until the spring, there would be plenty to do until late November, when the ground would become too frozen for even a greenwitch to work.
Forcing herself to focus on what she needed to get done before then, as well as what she would do with her time off in December and January, kept her reasonably distracted until she pulled through the gates.
The fact that her rental house was only about fifteen minutes from the estate was the entire reason she chose it. Nothing else about it appealed to her, really, most especially not the dark woods that seemed to creep closer around her home every night.
As a greenwitch, she loved the old trees, the loamy earth, the rich, wild foliage that filled the gaps between root and rock. As a person, she didn’t necessarily enjoy the solitude the forest provided.
But it was close to work, which allowed her to start her day as early as possible. That meant she could usually get home before sunset and avoid the heart pounding anxiety that came with driving at night. It didn’t matter that her mechanically inclined brother Arif had installed all the latest night driving safety features in her car. Shehatedbeing out at night by herself.
The sun was barely illuminating the sky when she parked her car — properly this time — in her usual spot. Girding herself for what would surely be a day of stewing in her own awkwardness, Zia adjusted her hat and forced herself out of the car.
It was one of the rare days when she would have preferred not to see Mr. Eisele and his trusty golf cart, so of course he was waiting for her by the gatehouse.
Her pulse jumped.Oh gods, maybe Mr. Bounds changed his mind. Did he send Mr. Eisele out to fire me?
Nevermind the fact that most days he parked his cart there to speak to the guards in the gatehouse, who would be switching from vampires to a mix of diurnal people for the day shift. Zia had only ever exchanged a few cursory greetings with the vampires, and generally steered clear of the ferocious-looking Caldwell if she could help it.
Unfortunately, that was exactly who the groundskeeper was speaking to. Standing in the shadow of the gatehouse’s doorway, Caldwell had his powerful, tattooed arms crossed over his chest as he relayed something to the other man. Pale, covered in terrifying inked skulls and daggers and Grim imagery, he was just slightly less intimidating than Mr. Bounds.
Caldwell made Mr. Eisele look like a brittle turkey bone in comparison.
Seeing as she was also trying to avoid talking to Mr. Eisele, Zia tugged her hat down low over her eyes and made to scuttle around the back of her car. She didn’t care about the long walk today. There was no hope of not looking guilty, so she didn’t try. Avoidingeveryonewas of paramount importance.
At least until her mortification cooled a little, anyway.
Luck was not on her side, however. As soon as she rounded the left side of her car, Caldwell’s smoky voice called out, “Miss North, a minute.”
Shit.
Zia’s stomach rolled with nerves. Could Caldwell fire her? No, not if Mr. Bounds didn’t want her fired. But what if he really did change his mind? Even if he hadn’t, perhaps Caldwell intended to upbraid her for breaking the rules anyway. Certainly the guards would all know she stayed after dark, and he was in charge of security, so it wasn’t out of the question.
Ugh,she thought, forcing herself to turn around and walk toward the gatehouse.I hate being scolded.
Not because she didn’t deserve to be, of course, but because she was a damncrier.It didn’t matter how light the scolding was. The tears always came.
