Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

"I think it's more the other way around," Amalie confessed, unable to keep from smiling. Mr. Humblebee always made her smile. The handsome hunk holding him had nothing to do with it. Right?

"You like cats," Billy said. It was more of a statement of an observation than a question. She shrugged, not sure why that seemed to matter to him.

"Again, it's more the other way around. They seem to like me," she told him, unwilling to let him in on even that little part of her life.

Seeing him in her dreams was one thing, but having him part of her world—even temporarily—in real life, was downright scary. And she really wasn't sure why she felt that way. She finally had to admit to herself that his arrival felt a bit momentous. He was real. The man from her dreams who had given her pleasure like she'd never known before was real.

He lowered the cat to the seat of a nearby chair and faced her again.

"Yes," he said in that rumbly voice of his that sent shivers down her spine, "they do."

What were we talking about again? For a moment, her mind went blank. Why was he looking at her like that? With what looked like appreciation in his eyes, and a smoldering heat behind his gaze?

"I'm sorry." She blinked. "What?" She had to get a grip!

He chuckled, and it was earthy and knowing. It also turned up the heat in her blood for no apparent reason.

"No, I'm sorry," he apologized, but what for, she couldn't begin to imagine. "I should probably start again. My name is Billy Kinkaid."

Yeah, she'd gotten that around the front of the house. He looked a little bashful, and she couldn't summon the will to stop him as he continued to explain himself. All she could do was try not to stare.

"Your grandmother, and a few others, asked me to come here to make sure you were safe and informed of recent events," he went on.

She frowned a little. "What others?" she asked.

"Until very recently, I was a Navy SEAL. Do you know what that is?"

"Special Forces," she replied automatically. "I know a guy from my old neighborhood who was in the Teams."

Billy nodded. "I know the same guy. In fact, my brothers and I borrowed his house to do a little surveillance in your grandmother's neighborhood and got a lot more than we bargained for. Did your grandmother mention that the coven was attacked by a Venifucus strike team last night?"

Knees weak at the thought of that, Amalie sat down in the patio chair behind her.

"She did not," Amalie said carefully, already thinking through the implications. "Is everybody okay?"

"Yes," he was quick to tell her. "The injuries were healed by the circle last night, and none of the witches were permanently harmed, though a few are still being treated for magical poisoning. Your grandmother is fine and asked for our help in making sure you weren't the next target. Some of the strike team got away, but most importantly, Mrs. Entwistle fled after exposing herself as a traitor and attacking the others directly. Your grandmother said Mrs. Entwistle knew where you lived and that you were likely in great danger since the Venifucus seem to be looking to drain powerful magical beings."

She could see the skepticism in his gaze. He wasn't sure he was looking at a powerful magical being, but she wasn't about to enlighten him.

"What do they want with so much magical energy?" she thought aloud, not censoring her thoughts.

"Rumor has it Elspeth has returned and is drained from the journey. They were looking for a big hit by felling the coven and harvesting all their power in one shot, but we foiled those plans."

"Sweet Mother," she muttered. "You can't be serious."

"Sorry," Billy replied, his expression very serious indeed. After a moment, he went on. "They'd planned to poison as many of the ladies as they could before the strike team went in, but we homed in on the poisoner and stopped him. But not before a couple of the ladies were struck down. They've been taken to the Stanborough estate to recover."

Amalie nodded. "Mrs. S will take good care of them," she agreed. "When did all this happen?"

"Over the past week or so," Billy replied. "We got the lay of the land pretty quick and then realized there was a lot more going on in the neighborhood than we realized. My older brother interfaced with the coven through Meg. Do you know her?"

Amalie nodded. "Nice woman," Amalie said. "We knew each other growing up, but she was a little older than me, so we weren't in school together or anything."

"Well, she just became my sister-in-law," Billy revealed, shaking his head even as he grinned. Mr. Humblebee swished his tail as he sprawled on the chair cushion, touching Billy's arm.

"My, my. Your brother moves fast. Or did they know each other before?"

"How much do you know about shifters?"

She didn't like it when he countered her questions with questions of his own, but she'd play along for now.

"Not much," she told him. "The Marsh Witches stay pretty much to themselves. Though I think Mrs. Stansborough has some shifter friends out to her estate now and again. I've never met any, though."

"Well, now you have," he replied, grinning.

"You mean… You?" she asked, flabbergasted. From the little she knew about shifters, they didn't normally announce themselves like this.

He nodded. "The thing with Meg and my brother. It's a shifter thing. Knowing our mates pretty darn fast when we finally meet them." He looked a little chagrined.

"Oh, I see," she said slowly, thinking through his words. "And I guess the magic works the same way on the intended mate?"

"I'm not really sure how that works, to be honest," Billy admitted. "If it's another shifter—which is the usual thing—then they both know. If the mate is another magical type, the reaction can differ from what I've heard, but I don't think there are any hard and fast rules. At least, not that I've heard. It's not really my field of expertise."

"Well, all right, then," she said to gain time and regroup her thoughts. She tried not to notice that he'd said hard and fast . Nope. Her mind was not going to go there. At least not right now. Gran had sent her a shifter protector who just happened to have had a starring role in some of the hottest dreams she'd ever had, but he didn't seem to know that, so she had to deal. "Okay. So, your brother met the coven through Meg, and then what?"

"We formed an alliance and prepared to defend against the assault we thought might be coming our way at the full moon," Billy replied.

"Last night," she said, nodding. She might not live among witches anymore, but she still knew the moon phases and when they were happening.

"The ladies gathered in their circle, and we defended the perimeter," he told her, his expression grim but also a bit triumphant.

"Just you and your brothers?" she asked, blinking at him in surprise.

"We had allies. More military shifters, similar to us," he replied. "A few platoons. Like I said, we took some injuries, but after the battle was over, your grandmother and her friends did a ceremony that healed everyone and energized us all. I drove through the night to get here, and I'm not even tired."

She knew that ceremony. It was how the Marsh Witches of Sagaponack kept themselves going for centuries on end. She'd even participated in a few of those ceremonies.

"You will be," she told him. "The energy boost lasts for about twenty-four hours, and then, you crash hard. Didn't they warn you?"

He frowned. "Nobody said anything about that."

"Well, they should have." She made a tsking sound that sounded way too much like her grandmother for her own comfort. "Do you have a safe place to stay tonight?"

It was his turn to blink in surprise. "No, I just got here. I haven't had time to scope out a hotel or anything like that."

Shaking her head at her own impulses, she knew she was going to do it. And probably regret it. But she couldn't stop now. Her instincts were riding her. Telling her to make sure he was safe when the energy boost ended, and he crashed tonight.

"You can stay here," she said, still shaking her head at her own words.

One of his eyebrows rose. "You don't sound like you really want me to do that."

"I don't," she told him honestly. "But I have to make sure you'll be okay. My instincts are telling me you're on the level and that you genuinely need a place to crash. I need to make sure you're safe, but I'm not happy about it because I'm trying really hard to live a normal life here. Without all the magic."

He seemed unsure of what she was saying. "I don't want to intrude—"

"But you will," she interrupted. "You're here, and you need a place to recover from what will happen in a few hours. You might as well have dinner with me, and then, I'll show you the spare room."

"I'd be much obliged, then," he accepted gracefully, nodding to her. "So, if you're not keen on magic, what do you think of technology?"

"Why? What have you got in mind?" she asked, one eyebrow creeping upward in suspicion.

"Well, I notice that you have a burglar alarm installed on the house…" he began.

She shrugged. "It came with the property. It was already installed when I moved in."

"But you've been using it," he countered.

"How do you know?" she challenged.

He tapped his ear and grinned. "I heard you bypass the back door and arm the rest of the system before you came out here."

"No way."

She'd never really thought about it, but if shifters shared some of the abilities of their animals when they were in human form, he might just have been able to hear the tones of her alarm's soft beeps when she'd done exactly as he'd suggested. No sense entertaining him in the backyard if someone else was going to break in the front.

Of course, that was before she'd had a chance to take stock of him. Within a few minutes of talking with him, she'd become convinced that he was on the level and didn't mean her any harm. Quite the contrary if her grandmother was to be believed.

"Shifter hearing is no joke," he replied calmly enough. "I can also hear the high pitch of an ultrasonic device near your basement window. What's that about?"

She frowned, looking over at the window. "It's about a very determined mouse who wants to live with me despite Mr. Humblebee's presence. The ultrasonic device is supposed to deter him from entering. I can't tell exactly where he's getting in, and I've already trapped him three times in a humane trap and set him free again out here after a very stern lecture about not coming into my house again, but he doesn't listen."

"Tell you what," Billy said, "I'll take a look at the window, and if I can find the spot, I'll seal it up. I'll also have another chat with any mice I see. Your housecat is great, but I'm a lot bigger and a lot scarier."

"Are you a cat?" She slapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. You don't have to answer that. I know it's rude."

He grinned at her. "It was, but I'll give you an answer anyway." He tilted his head at her, and she could imagine him as some sort of massive jungle cat, though the exact breed escaped her at the moment. "Meow." His wink was teasing, and it made her feel warm to think he was comfortable enough to tease her already.

So, he was a cat! But was he a cougar, leopard, lynx, panther, or something else? She didn't dare extend her rudeness to ask him that. She'd have to puzzle it out for herself. But one thing was for certain. She didn't think he meowed in his alternate form. It was probably more of a growl or even a roar. Now why did the thought of hearing it send shivers down her spine that were definitely not fearful? More like…anticipation. Meow, indeed.

"And while I'm at it," he went on, resuming their earlier topic, "I'd be happy to beef up your security system with a little perimeter protection, so you'll know if anybody is trespassing on your property before they actually get to the house." He gazed around at the large yard somewhat pointedly.

There were a lot of bushes and trees and parts of her garden that were a bit overgrown on purpose. She loved the leafy green chaos of it, but there were a lot of places for someone to hide.

"You can do that?" Damn, that was a bit rude too. Why was she fumbling so much with him, of all people? Probably because he'd haunted her dreams, and the reality was proving to be even better, so far, than the dreams had been.

He nodded. "I have some basic equipment with me. I packed some electronics—infrared motion cams and other sensors—when I was prepping for this mission. But I can source some things locally to complete the setup. Might take a day to have it all in place, but I can get the basics up tonight, if you're willing."

She thought about it and decided that electronic gear didn't violate her principles, so she agreed. "I can help install it, if you need me," she offered. "I like gadgets and can wield a screwdriver with the best of them." She smiled at him, and he chuckled in return.

"Sure, why not?" he replied. "It's always good for the homeowner to know where all the sensors are located. And you can point out any particular spots you want me to cover." He stood up, and she followed suit. "I can get started on that right away. I just have to get the gear from my truck."

"All right. I'll get my tool kit and meet you back here in a few minutes. We have a couple hours before dinner. I've already got stew in the slow cooker, so that's mostly taken care of already. We can play with the gadgets, then eat, and at some point, I can show you the guest room so you can get your stuff settled in there before you crash. Might as well bring your overnight bag back with you too."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, tipping his imaginary hat as he headed toward the side of the house and the gate that would let him out around front.

Amalie went back into the house and caught her breath while Mr. Humblebee loped off into the bushes deeper in the backyard, probably stalking a chipmunk or something. Things were moving fast with the shifter man, and she wasn't entirely sure she was in control of events. That happened sometimes. In the magical world and out of it, she'd come to understand that, sometimes, events led the person and not the other way around.

She didn't quite know how it had happened, but she was about to spend the next few hours working alongside the literal man of her dreams. She wasn't sure that was such a good idea, but she was powerless to resist. Whether it was the fault of the dreams or not, she felt like she knew him. And everything about him drew her, whether she wanted it to or not.

She was doomed.