Chapter 41
ALEX
His kiss on the crown of her head was unexpected, the warm rush of air, the closeness, the tenderness of it all.
Alex felt her eyes sting with sudden tears and she closed them tight.
An image flared in her mind and the idol was still there, staring sightlessly at them with its bulging golden eyes. A low sultry laugh shook the air, just for a moment, for her ears alone.
She must have flinched because she felt Nick pull back. Her eyes snapped open. The idol was still beneath them, out of sight if not out of mind.
‘I’m sorry, I—’
Alex turned her back on the door, facing Nick instead. It was a much better view for starters. But he had already put distance between them and his arms fell to his sides. He looked so awkward and unsure she just wanted to pull him to her and kiss him properly this time.
‘There’s nothing to be sorry about,’ she told him firmly. He didn’t look entirely convinced. ‘That wasn’t because of you.’
Nick glanced suspiciously at her, and then understanding seemed to dawn in his expression, and he nodded.
‘We still need to secure the house before the storm hits. And you’re probably hungry. I could make us some dinner.’
It wasn’t what she had in mind. But it was a start.
And the man could cook.
‘Dinner sounds great.’
Nick made a vegetable stir-fry, quick and crisp and delicately flavoured with a mix of spices Alex couldn’t begin to guess the composition of.
It was probably witchcraft, she decided, chasing the last of the noodles around the dish so as to soak up the sauce.
No, definitely witchcraft. He was a kitchen witch – that was a thing, wasn’t it? – as well as a guardian of the forest.
And the most fascinating man she’d ever met.
Her face heated as she thought that and she made herself look away. Unfortunately, she glanced towards the door to the cellar and the darkness that was still seeping through the gap under it.
‘I’ll see to that next,’ he told her.
The thought of him going down there into the dark, with that thing lurking on the other side of the wall… ‘Tomorrow will do, won’t it? Once the sun’s up?’
If the sun came up. The wind was rising steadily outside now, hurling rain against the exterior of the house. She was half waiting for the windows or doors to burst open at any second.
But not even the storm would dare to invade Wildewood Hall.
‘Let’s get some wine and hole up in the drawing room for the night. Anything else can wait, right?’