Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

E tta hesitated outside the door to her bedroom. It was still early but while she'd told Tomlin truthfully that she frequently slept in her lab and was quite comfortable there, she'd been unusually restless, her dreams filled with visions of her intriguing visitor. She'd risen with the dawn, intending to return to her work, and was annoyed to find that he still continued to occupy her thoughts.

She'd decided that the sooner he was on his way the better, and yet, here she was, hovering outside his door like some nervous teenager. Nonsense. She squared her shoulders and knocked briskly on the door. No response. She knocked a little louder.

"Tomlin?"

There was still no response and he hadn't struck her as the type to sleep late. She cautiously opened the door. The room was empty and the bed neatly made - which it had not been the last time she'd left the room. In fact he'd worked the same magic he had in the rest of her living area, restoring everything to the type of pristine order she was always too busy to manage.

A part of her felt as if she should view his actions as intrusive, but instead it felt soothing, as if she no longer needed to worry about the everyday details of her life. She felt… cared for in a way that was new to her.

But where had he gone? Surely he hadn't decided to leave without even saying goodbye? He must still be around somewhere. But the living area was equally neat and empty and when she opened the door, she didn't see him outside.

That's fine , she told herself firmly. He'd already provided her with information which might prove useful. She was especially intrigued by the possibility that if a stone was separated into two parts, the pieces might retain an attraction to each other. But even though she returned to her lab considering ways to test her theory, her usual concentration eluded her. His image popped into her mind far too often, both the actual memories of his visit and the rather more… explicit images in her dreams.

She had never been the type of woman to moon over a man - which was probably just as well considering that most men were equally unimpressed by her. It hadn't helped that she was always the youngest, and smartest, person in her classes and she hadn't developed even her present very modest curves until she was well into her teens. So why was she obsessing over him?

It wasn't just his physique, although she had to admit that he possessed a remarkably fine example of the male body. There had also been a… connection when their eyes met, a sense that they already knew each other. Listening to him telling his tales, sitting across the dinner table from him, even watching him move around her kitchen, had felt familiar, right. A part of her that she hadn't even recognized as being lonely had felt comforted by his presence.

Nonsense , she told herself again. She had become accustomed to being on her own long ago and she was fine with her own company. Forcing herself to focus, she began setting up her new experiment. Despite that, her heart still skipped a beat when there was a quiet knock on the lab door.

Doing her best to arrange her face into a calm mask, she opened the door. Her pulse certainly did not speed up to find him filling her hallway once more.

"I thought you might be hungry."

"I thought you were gone."

Damn. That came out sounding more annoyed than she'd intended, but at least he didn't seem smug about her reaction. Instead he looked almost… embarrassed? His expressionless mask was much better than hers but she was sure she caught a flash of discomfort.

"I went for a run."

His voice sounded as composed as ever, even as she gave him an astonished look.

"Why?"

"In order to… exercise. After the long ride yesterday."

That didn't ring true either. There were people in the city who ran for exercise, but she'd never seen anyone out here on the frontier who needed to do such a thing - everyday life was much too demanding.

"If you say so," she said doubtfully.

"I apologize if my absence disturbed you. I didn't think you would notice."

She raised her eyebrow at that one.

"And why wouldn't I notice? This is my house, after all."

"Then please forgive my lack of manners." He gave an oddly formal little half-bow, then gestured across the hall. "Would you care to eat?"

She was tempted to refuse but that would be childish, and while she hadn't noticed before, she suddenly realized that she was hungry. Giving an abrupt nod, she followed him. The table was once again neatly laid, and this time there was a small arrangement of late blooming wildflowers in the center. One of her few indulgences in the city had been a weekly delivery of flowers for her office and she hadn't realized until that moment how much she'd missed it.

"These are very pretty." She stroked her finger down a velvety petal, then looked up to find him watching the gesture intently. "I don't remember seeing them around here."

He cleared his throat and turned to the stove.

"They grow alongside the stream at the base of the mountains."

If she remembered correctly from her initial survey of the area, that stream was a good ten miles away. Just how long had he run? Before she could decide whether or not to question him, he returned with a plate of perfectly golden pancakes topped with fresh berries.

"Did those come from the stream as well?"

"No. There is a patch of brambles along the far side of the corral."

The corral. She hadn't even thought to check if his horse was still there when she'd looked outside earlier. Would the knowledge that he was returning have made her less distracted? Annoyed that it would make a difference to her, she concentrated on her food instead. The pancakes were as delicious as they looked and they quickly disappeared.

"Would you care for more pancakes?"

She looked up and found him watching her from across the table, a small smile hovering on those well-shaped lips.

"No, thank you. But they were very good."

"I'm glad you enjoyed them."

"Where did you learn to cook like that?"

The smile disappeared as he rose to collect the empty plates.

"It was a long time ago."

He clearly didn't want to discuss the matter, but she was still curious.

"I never really learned," she volunteered. "Our chef did not appreciate anyone invading his kitchen."

Especially not an awkward little girl, even if she were technically his employer.

"My… The person I lived with taught me."

His back was still to her as he washed the plates but there was something about the way he'd paused that made her think he might have been about to mention a relative - a mother, perhaps. Why would he have hesitated? And why did he suddenly seem vulnerable to her?

An unexpected wave of sympathy washed over her and perhaps that was what made her speak.

"You said you were interested in my research on the morchev. Would you like to see what I'm working on now?" His shoulders definitely tensed this time and she immediately regretted making the offer. "Not that you have to," she added quickly.

"On the contrary. I would be most interested."

He turned back around and their eyes met for a fraction of a second before he looked away, but even that brief glance caused a strange rush of warmth.

"All right. Is there anything I can do to help-"

The question died on her lips when she realized he'd already finished cleaning away all traces of the meal. Amazing. She might have gone as far as running water over the pan - she probably wouldn't even have bothered with a plate - but it would have taken her the rest of the day, or even longer, to actually get around to washing it, let alone putting it away. Shaking her head, she smiled at him and then led him back to the lab.

He followed her into the room, then came to an abrupt halt. Had his face paled?

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I… I'm fine."

Despite his words, she didn't believe him. She looked around at the neat worktops, her orderly desk, the rather less orderly daybed, but couldn't see anything which might have accounted for his reaction. With a mental shrug, she turned to the experiment she'd begun setting up earlier.

"I was wondering if your story about the twins meant that there was some kind of resonance between parts of a stone. I was just about to split this one into two pieces to test it. Like this."

One of the glittering purple gems had been fastened into a set of clamps and she initiated the laser cutter. It sliced across the stone, separating it neatly into two equal parts. Tomlin made a choked sound, and she whirled around to find him bent over the nearest worktop, clutching the edge as if he were about to fall.

"Tomlin!"

She rushed over to him, throwing one arm around his waist to help him stand. She instinctively placed a hand over his in a comforting gesture but the moment their hands touched it was as if a spark passed between them, one which sizzled straight down her spine. When she gasped and looked up at him, his eyes were glowing with a pure blue light.

"I must leave. I am sorry…"

Before she could respond, he moved with incredible speed, fleeing the room and heading for the door. She immediately rushed after him.

"Wait! Are you all right?"

He stopped with his hand on the door, his back to her.

"I'm perfectly fine."

She didn't believe him, but what could she do?

"Then why are you leaving?"

"I have… business to complete."

"I see. Will you come back? To tell me more stories," she added hastily.

There was an agonizingly long pause before he nodded abruptly.

"I will."

And then he was gone.