Page 9 of Rekindled Prophecy
His chestnut brown hair, with a touch of auburn highlights, swept his forehead just above those brooding, dreamy eyes.
Get it together, girl! Stop looking into his eyes, for pity’s sake!
“Love,” he drawled, “we both know this is no vacation. Although I don’t see why we can’t have some fun together.” The side of his mouth ticked up in one corner, showcasing his dimple.
“When Hell freezes over, Kael.”
His soft chuckle washed over her. “Dear, dear, Greylyn. Why don’t you save yourself the trouble? Go on arealvacation. The Shenandoah Mountains are lovely this time of year, and I know how much you enjoy hiking.”
Now grasping both of her hands, his thumb traced a figure-eight pattern across her captured wrists. She would almost swear she saw sparks flying off her skin from his caress.
“No thanks, Kael. Tempting, but I’d rather kick your ass back to Hell.” Brave words, but her tell kicked in as one hand shot up to absentmindedly clutch at the ring hanging from her neck. Gold flecks in his eyes sparked as the movement drew his attention away from her eyes to the small trinket. His smile faltered, but only for a second.
In her best low menacing voice, she asked, “Why don’t you go enjoy the mountain trails and leave these poor people alone? Or we can just get this fight over with right now. That way Icanenjoy my vacation while you rot in Hell.”
His grin grew wider in apparent amusement. Despite her outward show of confidence, her insides felt like jelly. Even if she could overcome the distraction caused by his presence, he was a formidable opponent. He had bested her many times in battle, but she always managed to escape or gain the upper hand.
Good thing she texted Jasper already. He hated Kael even more than she did.
Kael’s hand reached up and pushed a strand of her ebony hair behind her ear. “Now, love, I would never even consider leaving you. Perhaps, we can catch up, for old time’s sake. Share war stories.” Then to her surprise he added, “You remember that debacle in the Florida Everglades? I am dying to know how you beat my best swamp creature to save that group of lost Boy Scouts. I thought you were a goner. Thankfully, it was no match for you.” He chuckled, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Strange. She did not recall seeing him during that little adventure. How did he know about the swamp creature?
Greylyn quipped, “First, cut thelovecrap. It’s annoying. All this jibber jabber is boring me, Kael.” She attempted to wrench her hand away from his grasp, but he held on tight. This encounter needed to end, and quickly. Already her insides quavered. It would not be long before her exterior followed suit. She had almost forgotten how intoxicating, and exasperating, he could be. Almost.
A dulcet Irish voice startled her. “Well, isn’t that fantastic, the two of you have met. Sweetie, this is the handsome gentleman I was telling you about earlier. He is taking photographs for the wedding.” Maureen winked at her.
Oh dear! Was she hoping to set the two of us up? Just terrific! Not going to happen, Maureen. No way. No how. Not a chance in Heaven or Hell.
Kael had the audacity to blush while flashing his dimpled grin.
“Actually, we were just introducing ourselves,” Greylyn innocently stated with a coy smile in his direction. “So, you are photographing the wedding here? That’s fantastic. How long have you been a wedding photographer, Mister …? I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”
“My deepest apologies for not introducing myself properly. I must have been carried away by your beauty.” He placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly. Unfortunately, Greylyn was not able to take her eyes away from the broad chest muscles evident underneath his thin, white button-down shirt.
He continued,“Kael O’Shea at your service. My photography business has just gotten started, but my dear friends Kelly and Matthew, asked me to do this favor for them. How could I refuse a request to contribute to their special day? It’s the least I could do for them.”
With a tilt of his head towards the innkeeper, he added, “Ms. Maureen allowed me the luxury of coming up a couple days in advance to take some pictures of the estate and surrounding countryside to add to my portfolio.”
“Yes, Kael plans to create a photo brochure for the inn online so more people can discover us.” Maureen practically beamed. “We could use the publicity.” Greylyn detected a note of sadness.
“We’ll put this place on the map, that’s for sure. Don’t you worry. As soon as I can get those pictures loaded up, everyone will want to visit here. You’ll have to turn down guests.” He had done his research, including getting in good with the happy couple, and charming the innkeeper. Kael knew what he was doing there. Up until a few minutes ago, Greylyn had blissfully thought she was on vacation.
“He is such a dear,” the older woman gushed. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, just thought you’d both like a glass of wine.” With that, she carefully set the wine bottle and two delicate Heritage Irish Crystal glasses down on the side table in the gazebo. Without giving either of them an opportunity to protest that she was not joining them, Maureen briskly walked back to the main house, humming an Irish tune.
Kael smiled broadly and shrugged his shoulders. “What a kind lady! Remind me to let her live when this is over.”
That snapped Greylyn out of her funk. She reached behind her back to withdraw her small, but deadly dagger. It had sent more hell-raisers back to the fiery pits than most exorcisms throughout the ages. Cold, pale iridescent light glimmered off its edge.
With lightning-fast speed, he grabbed her wrists. “Now don’t ruin this romantic moment by introducing violence, unless that is how you get your thrills,” Kael softly admonished. He applied pressure with his thumb to the area between her thumb and index finger, causing her hand to automatically open. The knife fell to the floor with a dull thud. “You know this is not the time or place.”
The smug bastard sure appeared pleased with himself. Dammit! She had let him taunt her into losing control.
Slowly, he let go of her wrists, his fingertips grazing along the sensitive skin where her pulse beat wildly. Kael reached over and poured wine into both their glasses, handed one to her, and raised his glass in a toast. “To us! May this not be our last battle together, but may the bestmanwin.” With that, he clinked his glass against Greylyn’s and took a long sip while never breaking eye contact. The butterflies in her stomach flew into a frenzy.
“Ah, French Beaujolais! This brand is divine! Mild, slightly fruity – more red currant and tart cherry than raspberry – with a smoky note finish.” He tilted his glass towards her. “Perfect for a stormy afternoon. Please, drink up.”
Taking a small sip of her wine to quench her parched mouth and stall for time to break free of his allure, she inwardly debated the best course of action. Slicing and dicing Kael in the gazebo was an option but would cause more trouble than not. How would she explain the dead wedding photographer to Maureen? No, it would be best to deal with him privately so as not to leave Gaelic Haven with a dead body and questions from the police that could never be answered.