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78
Mathin stilled. Taking her hand, he placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “He stayed home with his wife, my love.” His tone became sorrowful. “They lost the baby.”
The color drained from her face. Her eyes welled. “No,” she whispered, and slumped to the bed. Jasmine had been so happy!
He didn’t try to make it better with platitudes, just held her. “I know.” He rubbed his face against her hair. “I know.”
She grieved, but even as she cried for her friend’s loss, in her heart Andrea had to wonder. Had the baby been lost because of some unavoidable defect, caused by the mixing of such alien blood? Might the child have been born
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Scent of Danger 79
“At least there’s that.” More silence. “I never did thank you for all you’ve done for me and my wife.”“It was nothing.”“It was something,” Mathin returned forcefully. “And I won’t forget it. If there is anything, at any time, that I can do for you, you have only to name it.”Scy searched his face. “Be careful what you offer, brother.” He smiled a little. “I might accept.”“Do that.” Mathin left, satisfied that Scy would turn his words over.
Scent of Danger 80
The next morning, well before the party was to begin, Leo presented Mathin and Andrea with a copy of her notes and sketches. “A gift,” she said simply.Mathin was more excited than Andrea would have dreamed possible. “Do you know how much I’ve wanted something like this?” he demanded of Leo, his eyes glued to the pages. “It’s almost impossible to get any information on the Beasts in the Dark Lands.”Leo and Andrea exchanged pleased looks.“Wait a minute.” His brows furrowed as he stared at the page. “I’ve seen this picture somewhere else, only…”
Scent of Danger 81
“Wonder what that was all about,” Mathin muttered at her side.“I don’t know, but I’m beginning to feel like the unappreciated fairy godmother,” Andrea complained.His grin sent firecrackers popping clear to her toes. Mathin took her glass and set it down. One quick tug pulled her into his arms, slightly bent at the perfect angle for a kiss. “I think I can do something to change that.”A superb dancer, Mathin twirled her around the dance floor, his grace as beguiling as his dark good looks. The man danced like he made love, and every burning look was enough to set her blood aflame. Schemes and plans for others were lost in the dreamy whirl of pleas
Scent of Danger 1
PROLOGUELightning flashed and thunder rolled. White-barked birch and budding spruce whipped in the wild wind, groaned under the onslaught of frigid rain. Willows rustled in protest as massive trunks popped and groaned. Some fell under the force of the brewing storm. It was winter’s last gasp for control before relinquishing its seasonal reign.Nothing living moved.A violent flash of lightning split the night, illuminating a clearing on the side of one of the forested hills. In that instant of light, two men appeared.
Scent of Danger 2
“If you haven’t found a job then there’s no problem, dear. You can find one here just as well, or wait until the summer’s over and go back to the lower forty-eight. Though why anyone would like to live there is beyond me.” Something chimed in the background. “Oops! There’s the timer. Jeopardy is on. I’ve got to go, dear. Love you.”“I’m not going to Alaska!” Andrea yelled, but it was too late. The line was dead.For a moment she just stood there, staring at the receiver until the automated message came on. She slammed it in its cradle, grabbed the half-eaten chocolate from Zoë and smacked it firmly on the orange counter. Pointless, now that it had been contaminated, but at least it was one thi
Scent of Danger 3
The first sight of the house caught her by surprise, though it shouldn’t have. After all, if the man were rich enough to hire a caretaker then it would follow that he could afford a rather nice residence.Built of squared stone blocks and nestled halfway into the hillside, the house resembled nothing less than a small castle, complete with octagon towers and a slate roof. Diamond paned glass of an iridescent hue graced the spacious windows. The front doors were constructed of thick planks of wood banded with elaborate ironwork. Still dormant birches lined the gravel paved drive and the grass had yet to turn green on the well-clipped grounds.“Nice place,” the cabbie said as she handed him some money. “What’s it like inside?”
Scent of Danger 4
It hit her then—her grandma was her last living relative. If she died, that was it, no more family. She would be alone. She didn’t even have a boyfriend, wasn’t sure if she’d ever find someone to love.Ashamed of her selfish fears and wishing to give comfort, she jerked out of her review and knelt at her Grandmother’s feet to grasp her hand. Tears she wouldn’t have expected clouded her vision. “Are they sure? They can’t...fix it?”Grandma shook her head sadly, her own eyes misty. “No, sweetheart. They can’t.” She sniffed. “And I’d so looked forward to seeing great-grandbabies, too.”Andrea flinched. How man
Scent of Danger 5
It must be the matchmaking. If Matilda thought there was a man there, she’d strand her in Antarctica with him. Andrea wished she could get her on the phone now and vent. She felt certain she’d feel far more romantically inclined if she were lazing half-naked on a tropical beach. Where was the logic?“Such harsh words from such a pretty lady,” came a man’s husky voice.Andrea froze in the middle of a tirade against her grandmother and a vow to hate her new employer on sight. Oh, please, no, she thought without turning around. It had to be him.“At least I assume the lady is exceptional; the view from behind is certainly promising,” he continued in that de
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