She tilted her hip toward him, and he rolled his hand into a fist to resist touching the smooth curve. "What?" he croaked.
She motioned toward a shiny spot on her pants. "I had to iron for the first time in who-knows-when and scorched one of my few outfits. It"s ruined."
Now that he could focus, he did see the iron imprint against the material. "I didn"t notice."
She rolled her eyes. "You wouldn"t. You"re a guy."
"What does that mean?" He often noticed what women wore, especially when it accentuated their natural a.s.sets.
"Remember the time I came over after bike riding and was nearly covered with mud? All you noticed was that I"d put new rims on my tires."
Brand grinned. He did remember that day. They"d been twelve. His mother had thrown them both outside and ended up rinsing Rose off with the hose. "I noticed more than the bike," he said.
Within her mud-splattered face, her even teeth had gleamed a bright white and her blue eyes had sparkled with delight. When her wet T-shirt had clung to her just developing curves, he"d experienced a strange twist in his gut that had frightened him, so he"d ignored it. A similar twist attacked him now at the memory, not nearly as easy to ignore.
"Your hair stuck straight up in the back," he said quickly. "You looked like you"d stuck your finger in a light socket." "That wasn"t as bad as the time you tried to dye your hair purple." Rose"s laughter filled the cab, warming him. "You should"ve waited for me to help."
"Hey, the grape Kool-Aid worked." All too well.
"Sure, it did." Mischief danced in her eyes. "Dyed your hair, your ears, your face."
Brand joined in the laughter. "And Mom still made me go to school. Talk about humiliation."
"There are worse things than being known as The Grape."
"Not when you"re in sixth grade." At least the effect had faded after a couple days.
"Sure there are." She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. "What if it had been picture day?"
They both dissolved into laughter until Brand had to hold his side. Trust Rose to find the good point. Then again, she always had made him laugh.
"Ah, we"re here."
The cabby clearing his throat made Brand realize they"d reached the hotel. "Sorry." He glanced at the meter, then handed the man the fee and tip. "Thanks."
Brand was still smiling as he held open the door for Rose to step out. He hadn"t laughed like that in a long time. Years even. When Rose started toward the hotel doors, he caught her arm. "Wait." He didn"t want to let her go just yet. He enjoyed this lighthearted feeling.
She raised one expressive eyebrow, a particular quirk of hers. Once, when many, many years younger, he"d painted Vulcan eyebrows on her in retaliation.
"Let me walk you to your room."
"Why?" She tilted her head as if studying him. "Want to know where the enemy"s encamped?"
"No." But he wasn"t about to tell her how much he was enjoying her company. "I want to hear how the rest of your first magicless day went." She rolled her eyes and headed for the hotel, but didn"t complain when Brand fell into step beside her. "Today was probably the worst," she said finally as they waited for the elevator. "I can do it, Brand."
"That"s what scares me," he admitted. "You can ruin me, you know."
Her eyes darkened, but she didn"t speak until they stepped onto the elevator and the doors closed. "I don"t want to hurt you, Brand, but my job depends on this." "You don"t need a job." With her magic, she could produce anything she"d ever need. She jabbed her finger against his chest. "How would you know, Mr. Big Star Magician? Just because I have magic doesn"t mean I don"t want to accomplish something on my own, to be a part of this world I live in. What do you expect from me? That I"ll spend the rest of eternity lying on the beach, never working a day?" "The thought had occurred to me." She didn"t need to work, not like the rest of them who weren"t so fortunate as to have magical powers. "Then you don"t know me at all." A single tear slid down her cheek, falling to the floor where it changed into a flawless opal.
Before he could respond, the doors opened and she dashed out of the elevator. He didn"t follow, but bent to retrieve the opal. He"d been shocked the first time her tears had changed like this, but seeing it now only added to the ache in his chest. Wrapping his fingers around the gem, he could still feel the warmth of Rose"s tear.
Maybe he didn"t know her as well as he thought. Maybe he"d a.s.sumed a little more than he should have.
Maybe there was more to Rose Thayer than her magic.
Rose slammed the door to her room behind her and flung herself full length on her bed. d.a.m.n Brand. One moment he was laughing with her, the next condemning her for the magic that fate had given her.
Did he really think she was so shallow as to play through life? Her parents had raised her better than that. She wanted more than that. Making a life for herself was important. Her job was important. She wrote her stories after careful research, without using her magic. She"d worked hard to reach this pinnacle in her career. She"d earned this promotion to more hard-hitting investigative news stories.
And if she had to reveal some of Brand"s precious secrets to do it, then she would. Whether she liked it or not.
With a sigh, she sat up. The buses were leaving in the morning and she intended to be on one, which meant she had to pack. She switched on the television for background noise, then went to grab her luggage.
To keep up appearances, she usually traveled with a suitcase and a few changes of clothes. But not enough to survive Brand"s tour. She"d have to shop at their next stop since she couldn"t magically produce something to wear. At least she always kept a pair of jeans around. Those would do for tomorrow.
She tossed the suitcase onto the bed and threw the few pieces of clothing into it. This wasn"t going to take long. Going into the bathroom, she paused. She couldn"t pack her few toiletries until morning.
Recalling this morning"s ordeal in getting ready, she grimaced. Perhaps she should shower tonight and save some time.
And set her alarm an hour earlier.
After removing her jumpsuit and packing it, she stepped into the shower. The pulsating hot water helped to ease her anger. Brand didn"t understand what it was like for her. In fact, he"d been so jealous of her magic he"d never bothered to try. She snapped off the water. Maybe it was time he learned.
She wrapped a large towel around herself, then stepped out into her room. Thank goodness she"d kept the nightgown she"d worn last night or she"d have nothing to wear to bed.
She"d only taken two steps when she froze, unable to believe her eyes. It couldn"t be. She"d locked the door.
But there was a man in her room.
And he wasn"t Brand.
Three.
The bare-chested man sat on the end of her bed, watching the television, clad only in a skin-tight pair of breeches that clung to his well-toned muscles. Seeing her, he stood and gave her a charming smile, which only made her even more wary.
"Who the h.e.l.l are you?" she demanded, grasping the ends of her towel tighter. Surely Brand would let her use magic to defend herself. Or would he?
"I am Ewan." He held out his hand as if he intended her to take it. "You are to come with me."
"I don"t think so."
"t.i.tania demands it."
Just hearing the Queen of the Fae"s name made Rose"s blood run cold.
"You are to come live in the magical realm." His gaze pinned her in place. "Forever."
Rose stared at the man, noticing his extreme handsomeness, his long straight hair so blond it was almost white and the brilliance of his blue eyes. She should have realized the aura around him wasn"t normal. He was Fae.
"I"m not going to the magical realm," she said. She"d sworn years ago to have nothing to do with the Fae, especially not t.i.tania. Rose had been raised among the mortals as a mortal and intended to remain here.
"t.i.tania insists." Ewan answered in a tone that indicated no further discussion was expected.
"t.i.tania can take a flying leap." Rose aimed her finger at him. "I am never-hear this-never going to live in the magical realm. No way. Nada. Not going to happen."
For the first time confusion showed in Ewan"s eyes. "But you"re the only fully Fae to be born to a mortal. t.i.tania wants to examine you."
Rose knew she was unique. Her mother had explained that years ago. Before Rose, the only Fae born to mortals had been half-Fae, half-mortal, the result of a male Fae mating with a mortal woman. But in Rose"s case, a Fae female had mated with a male, which led to Rose"s mother losing her magic when she gave birth to her fully Fae daughter. Rose might be unique, but that didn"t mean she was about to let t.i.tania "examine" her.
"I"m not going." She edged toward the suitcase and s.n.a.t.c.hed out her jeans and T-shirt. "So either you can leave or let me get dressed before we continue this conversation. I prefer you leave."
Ewan waved a hand. "Nudity does not offend me, but create yourself some clothing if you must."
"I can"t." d.a.m.n Brand and his stupid bet. "I"ll be right back."
She dressed quickly in the bathroom and returned to find Ewan again staring at the television, chuckling. "What is this show?" he asked. "I like it." Glancing at the TV for the first time, she spotted James Cagney lowering a grapefruit he"d just smashed into a woman"s face. "It"s an old gangster movie," she said. "The Public Enemy."
"I like the way he takes control."
Rose rolled her eyes. That sounded like a typical macho man. "You would." More confident now that she wore actual clothing, she went to face him, discovering she was actually an inch taller than he was. He didn"t look pleased when he noticed it, either.
"Look, Ewan, I know t.i.tania sent you, but you"re just going to have to return and tell her you lucked out. I"m not going to the magical realm."
"You must." Ewan frowned. "t.i.tania is Queen. She is obeyed."
"She"s not my queen." From the tales Rose had heard of the Fae Queen, she considered the woman a first-rate b.i.t.c.h. "I was born here and I intend to stay here."
"But you are Fae. Why would you want to stay here?"
"Maybe because I like it. This is my home."
Ewan"s expression indicated his disbelief. Rose didn"t care if he believed her or not. She wanted him gone.
"Look, I"m not coming. Accept it and get out of my room." In an effort to avoid using magic, Rose raised an unopened bottle of wine threateningly. "I don"t want to hurt you, but I will."
"A Fae cannot kill another Fae."
Rose rolled her eyes. She"d heard that since she first discovered her powers. "But it doesn"t say I can"t kick the stuffing out of you."
Ewan backed away, his gaze on the bottle. "Very well. I will leave for now, but we are not finished."
"Oh, yes, we are." Rose advanced on him and he disappeared at once.
Lowering the bottle, she sighed. Great. Like she needed a pesky faery after her. Wasn"t giving up her magic enough?
She shook her head and resumed packing. Go live in the magical realm?
Not in this lifetime.
Rose ran toward the buses, her suitcase banging against her leg. Nothing like cutting it close. She"d allowed enough time to dress and finish packing, but had forgotten how unreliable getting a cab could be.
Spotting Sequoia outside the bus talking to Brand, she eased to a walk and struggled to control her breathing. They hadn"t left yet. She grinned at the painting on the side of the bus-a life-size figure of Brand with flames burning on his palm, one of his specialties. Nothing like subtlety. But it was great promo.
By the time she reached Brand, Sequoia had left, but at least Rose could now speak without panting.
Brand glanced at his watch. "Five minutes later and we"d have gone, Rose."
"I got here as quickly as I could." She lifted her chin as she met his gaze, daring him to accuse her of using her magic.
Instead, he grinned, which was almost as bad. "Stow your bag under the bus. You"ll ride on this one with me."
She raised her eyebrows. "With you? You mean the world-famous Brandon Goodfellow rides on the bus, too? I always a.s.sumed you flew to wherever you performed."
"Sometimes I do, but I wanted to ride along this trip."
The way he avoided her gaze gave him away. "You"re riding along because you don"t want me alone with your crew, aren"t you? Afraid I"ll discover too many secrets?"
"Let"s just say I prefer to keep my eye on you."
She gave him a slow seductive smile, implying a meaning she knew he didn"t intend. "Do that." Adding more swing to her hips, she approached the bus and climbed on board, aware of his gaze following her.
She paused in the doorway. "Wow." Now this was the way to travel. Instead of the bench seats she"d expected, the interior more resembled a luxurious living room with couches and easy chairs placed throughout. A table, chairs, and small kitchenette made up the rear.
Sequoia waved at her from a nearby couch and Rose slid beside her cousin, wincing at the too familiar ache the iron in vehicles always brought. Rose managed a grin. "I made it."
"Brand was actually fretting whether you would show or not."
"I"m sure he expected I would have given in to my magic by now." But she was tougher than that.
"Have you been tempted?" Humor danced in Sequoia"s eyes now, but Rose only smiled in return.
"Many, many times, but I"ve managed to resist. The worst part is I"m afraid I"ll just forget and do something I shouldn"t."
Sequoia laughed. "I"ll pinch you if you look like you"re going magical on me."
"What? Do the magic sprinkles show?" Rose had to tease her cousin. Somehow Sequoia had always known when Rose intended to do something.
"No, it"s that gleam you get in your eyes."
"Ready to go?" Brand stepped into the bus, his stage manager Carter Rhodes behind him.
"Ready," Sequoia answered.