“I don’t judge you.”
Esha smiled. “I know. And it means the world to me. It does. But I want to find this other soulceress. Maybe learn to control my power collection better.”
They talked for another hour, mostly about Otherworld, since Esha wanted to take her mind off things. Eventually, Ana left, but not before repairing the arrow in case Esha ever needed it again. Her power coursed through Esha’s veins as she checked out the tide charts and packed a small overnight bag. She was just closing her laptop when a knock sounded at her door.
“Hang on!”
She tugged on her coat and grabbed her bag. The Chairman was hissing at the door when she headed over to open it.
Warren stood outside, clad in a beat-up leather jacket and jeans. She told herself not to think about how good he looked. He made her act like a spaz, so the smart thing would be to ignore him.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah. Come on in.”
He nodded and stepped inside. Absentmindedly, she twisted the lock in the door while following him into the room with her eyes.
“What did you find for a boat?” she asked.
“Cadan has one at his house that we can borrow. It’s got a trailer that we can use to get it to a better place to launch. We can stay at his place, too, if need be.”
“All right. Since the boat is at his place on the south side and we need to tow it north, we’re going to miss low tide this afternoon. The next low tide during daylight is at three o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”
“That’s less than an hour before sunset. We’ll need to hit it right on the nose or we’ll be in the dark. Let’s go tonight, stay at Cadan’s, and use the time to see to the boat. He said he hasn’t used it in a while, so we’ll need to make sure everything works.”
“Okay,” she said, but her mind went straight to the idea of spending the night in Cadan’s house with Warren. The place was big, but still. “Do you have everything you need?”
He held up a duffel.
“Good. We’ll leave from here. You’re going to have to wrap your arm around my waist,” she said as she stepped closer.
He stared down at her, his eyes intense, then wrapped a hard arm gently around her waist.
Her eyes snapped back to his face when he spoke. “I wanted to say thank you again for helping me with this. It’s… really important.”
Struck by the sincerity in his voice, she nodded, unable to break eye contact. Finally, she looked away. “I’ll take us to Cadan’s house. I’ve been there before, so it won’t be a problem.”
When she could feel the Chairman twining himself about her legs, she focused on his energy and her destination. Moments later, they stood in the front hall of Cadan’s home on the Isle of Mull. Sunligh
t streamed through the windows to illuminate a wooden floor and gray walls decorated with paintings of faraway landscapes.
“You can open your eyes now,” she said. The Chairman unwound himself from her legs and stalked off, presumably to find the kitchen.
Warren removed his arm from her waist and she mentally kicked herself for mourning the loss of him. She tossed her bag onto a bench, then turned to him. “Shall we go check out the boat?”
Later that night, after inspecting the boat and hitching the trailer to the Land Rover in Cadan’s garage, Warren wandered downstairs for dinner. Dealing with the boat had taken hours, then a shower and calls from work had kept him busy. He’d tried to keep his mind off Esha and he’d failed. Of course.
The kitchen was dim when he stepped inside, but the glimmer of light from the other room provided enough illumination that he ignored the light switch in favor of heading straight to the fridge. A quick glance revealed beer in the refrigerator and TV dinners in the freezer. He snagged a beer and put it on the counter, then wandered toward the walk-in pantry.
“Warr—”
He stumbled straight into Esha, who’d apparently been in the pantry hunting down some dinner as well. A box of crackers was clutched in her hand.
“Sorry.” But he didn’t step back to give her any space. He couldn’t. His mind was too wrapped up in how she looked.
Her hair was wet from a shower, and she wore loose cotton trousers and a threadbare tank top that molded to her breasts. No bra. The sight made his brain short-circuit and any thought of his long-enforced celibacy flee like a coward from a dragon.
“You’re looking for dinner too?”