Chapter Eighteen

Jasmine

After another cozy evening at home followed by a night in their arms. They were so gentle, recognizing my need to recover from our previous sessions and focusing on my pleasure, bringing me to orgasm with their hands and mouths then gathering me close and talking softly until I drifted off.

In the morning, I woke up to find them gone again and got ready for the day, whatever it might hold. They had mentioned needing to work on something, so I decided I would do the same. But when I got downstairs, I found them at the table with coffee and muffins in front of them.

"Good morning." Drake stood and kissed me then pulled out my chair. "We have some errands to run, but we wanted to have a little time with you first. How are you this morning?"

"Fabulous." I accepted the cup of coffee Naga fetched for me. They'd already noticed the way I liked it, one more considerate thing that knocked bricks from the walls I tried to keep up. Most men did not realize how the small things mattered. Always having an extra roll of toilet paper in the bathroom for example. "So, where are you going?" I blurted it out before realizing it might not be any of my business. But we'd already established that they didn't spend any time in the local town. I found it utterly charming and had already sussed out what things a person might need could be found there. A farmer's market even on Saturday mornings, I had been told by one of my new friends in the shops. Their prices in the boutique, the florist, the bakery…probably a bit higher than the huge online shopping platforms, but wasn't it worth it to support my fellow locals?

Theirs, not mine. I was only here for ninety days.

Keep telling yourself that.

"Just some work stuff," Naga said, finishing his muffin and standing up. "Ready, Drake?"

"We should clean up first," he protested, but I waved them off.

"I'm still drinking coffee and finishing up my muffin. I'll handle it."

They both kissed me and started for the door. "You'll be all right on your own?"

I swallowed my bite of muffin and nodded. "I have a project I'd like to finish, so I'll do that while you're out."

"Perfect." Drake came back and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. "Then we'll all be free to do something fun this afternoon. Maybe a hike?"

"Great." I watched them go to the kitchen door and disarm it then go outside. "Do I need to reset the alarm?"

"No," Naga called from the garage. "We can do it remotely."

I really did intend to finish the cover coming due in a few days, but it was such a nice morning, I took a second cup of coffee out to the patio to enjoy nature. The yard backed up on open woodlands, and birds, butterflies, and small animas provided me with entertainment until out of nowhere, dark clouds rolled in to hide the blue sky and a cold wind kicked up. I picked up my coffee cup and hurried inside, pausing to rearm the alarm just as I'd been shown.

Congratulating myself on my responsibility, I set up my laptop at the breakfast counter and settled in to finish the cover. It was almost done and one of my favorites so far. The author and publisher had already approved the concept and mockup, and now was all about adding the fancy stuff I enjoyed most. Layers and layers to create my modest artwork. Outside, the wind howled, and rain began, battering the windows. A crack of lightning, followed by the rumble of nearby thunder had me hoping that wherever the guys were, they would stay put until this storm passed. As quickly as it came on, it would likely move on through soon. At least I hoped so.

Especially when the next crack of lightning was followed by dimness in the kitchen. The electronic water on the refrigerator door blinked out, and I was very glad I hadn't been working plugged in because the pop when it all went off indicated a possible power surge. Not that I was an expert, but my last laptop died that way despite the surge suppressor it was plugged into.

I hopped off my stool and set out to find a flashlight. Even though it was the middle of the day, the clouds made it almost as dark as night. I felt my way around the kitchen under the assumption that most people kept a flashlight there somewhere, as did I at home. And, in the third drawer I opened, I learned that these serpent shifters also did. I tested it and, of course, it shone brightly, so I turned it off and went into the family room to wait out the storm.

Rain turned to hail, bouncing off the green metal roof of the wooden structure and the ground outside the large windows. But then, just as suddenly as it arrived, it all stopped, quiet louder than the racket, and the wind blew the clouds on to another place, bringing daylight back, but not the electricity.

I considered sitting outside to work where it was brighter, but the chairs on the patio were soaked through and had small piles of hail on them, so I went back inside, rearmed the alarm, again, and decided to take a nap.

But then, in the hallway outside the kitchen, I passed the door to the basement. Its keypad was dark, like all the other electronics. What did that mean? Nothing. It meant absolutely nothing to me because I didn't have any business with their workspace, which they had been clear was 100 percent private.

How would it look if I tried to break in the very first time they left me alone in the house? Bad. It would look bad. But…if the lock wasn't working, not that I knew that of course, but if it wasn't, how was it breaking in? I could just take a peek, not at their screens or any paper files. Just see what was down there. They'd never know a thing, and I would feel better.

The story of Bluebeard had always intrigued me. Also, Pandora's Box . Both of those had involved curiosity ending in disaster. But wouldn't I rather know if they had their last mate dead down there? Or some sort of nightmare like Pandora found? Serpent shifters were mysterious in the extreme.

I would just test the door, and if it opened, step inside long enough to see what was what, and then leave again, no harm done. My heart was pounding as I closed my hand around the knob, my throat tickling from nerves. But there was no turning back now, and the knob turned. Just as planned, I opened it and took a step, then another, the door closing behind me. But, of course, it was pitch dark down there below ground level, and there was no power whatsoever. I was turning back to go get the flashlight when the door clicked, the panel next to it on this side came to life, and the door locked. I didn't even need to check it to see—although, of course I did.

I was trapped. And, from below me, I heard the sounds of electronics kicking on. Slowly turning, I surveyed a scene out of a movie. Every kind of gadget, multiple screens flared to life, and voices were asking me questions seemingly out of thin air.

But any danger here was irrelevant. The shifters were going to kill me when they found me in here anyway. Why did I do it?

I set to work trying to find a way out, guessing former military with security as their specialty would have another exit. I was going to have to find it and fast because the number of flashing red lights in here told me that some sort of alarm had been triggered, and soon I'd be facing two very tall, very strong, very angry serpent shifters. Who were, from all the screens flashing different languages, odd gizmos, and clocks with times set to all over the world, among other things, most likely spies.

I broke into a coughing fit with no honey drops in sight.