An Enchanted Spring: Mists of Fate - Book Two by Nancy Scanlon Page A

quickly, and far enough away that he will have to make an effort to find us.” Aidan’s gaze speared her. “At this point, Emma, what do you have to lose?”
    My life , she thought morosely, her eyes drifting to the now fully compressed handful of trash in his hand.
    If she stayed, he’d find her.
    If she went, perhaps he’d give up and leave her alone. Boston was a nice city. It wasn’t as big as New York City, but hadn’t Ben just proven to her that size didn’t matter? Perhaps distance would.
    She nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll go.”
    He stood and Emma tried—and failed—to look away from the sinew in his bare forearms. “We’ll leave tomorrow. Do you have anything else you think Cian might have missed at your apartment?”
    She sighed heavily. “Possibly. Things like my passport, birth certificate—the important papers are in a safe, in a special compartment in the closet. One can only hope that Ben didn’t see it.”
    “We’ll stop there after we retrieve the items from the auction,” Aidan said. He stretched again, then winked at her when he caught her staring. “Sweet dreams, Emmaline.”
    Her eyes widened, and she glared at his retreating back. He set me up! Well, at least she could enjoy the view from behind as his punishment. Or her reward.
    He cast a glance over his shoulder and tossed her a megawatt smile, and her heart skipped a beat.
    Only when he ambled leisurely up the stairs did she realize she’d been caught staring again.
    Damn that man!

Chapter 6
    The next morning, just as he was stepping out of the shower, Aidan opened his door to insistent banging. “What do you want, old man?”
    “The bellman’s here with breakfast,” Cian said grouchily. “He won’t leave; he’s just standing there like he’s daft.”
    Aidan secured the towel around his waist and sighed. “He’s waiting for his tip, you fool.” He grabbed his wallet from the nightstand and walked out, digging through to pull out a twenty-dollar bill. Handing it to the bellman, he thanked him, then walked to the door and closed it behind him.
    “Good morn—oh!” Emma’s face turned scarlet, her eyes locked on his chest.
    “Good morning, Emma. I trust you slept well?”
    “Ah, um. Oh. Yeah. I, uh.” She licked her lips and managed to drag her eyes up to his, and she colored even darker. “I’m sorry. What?”
    Aidan couldn’t resist the smug smile that crept along his face. “I asked if you slept well.”
    “I do. I mean, I did, yes,” she said quickly. She averted her gaze, and it fell on the table behind him. “Is that breakfast?”
    “Aye. Are you hungry?”
    She murmured something incoherent, and Aidan stifled a laugh. “I’ll just go put some clothes on. You look very refreshed today.”
    She glanced down at herself and managed a real smile. “Yes, thank you. The clothes from Neiman Marcus arrived this morning. I admit I’ve never owned anything this comfortable.” The soft denim jeans fit her perfectly, hugging her curves in all the right places. The long, open cashmere sweater, a deep navy blue with silver threads woven through it, flattered her already lovely figure, and the white shirt she wore accented her breasts to perfection. She was barefoot, her red-painted toenails peeking out at him from the hem of her pants. “Tess certainly thinks blue and silver are my colors.”
    He didn’t say anything, but Cian cleared his throat meaningfully.
    “I’ll pay you back for them,” Emma said.
    He shook his head as he walked back to his room, calling over his shoulder, “No, you won’t. But the thought is appreciated.”
    “I’m not a kept woman!” she called out after him. Then, embarrassment coloring her tone, she added, “Oh. Good morning, Cian.”
    Aidan chuckled as he loped back to his room. He sobered, though, when he thought of taking her outside the relative safety of the hotel suite.
    The thought made something in the vicinity of his chest burn.
    “We’ll leave straight after