Lost in Magic (Night Shadows Book 4) (3 page)

Chapter Four

After a day largely spent having some good old fashioned “fun in the sun”, Ali was ready for dinner. Maybe a big salad or something with seafood. Fortunately, the restaurant she and Mick were going to try boasted both. So she rushed through a quick shower, ridding herself of the standard chlorine smell, and dressed in her favorite pair of jean shorts and a clingy tee with angled shoulder sleeves. This time she slipped into her flip-flops instead of her wedges and she merely tucked her key card into her back pocket before slipping from her room.

She came up short when she spotted Warner leaning against the wall beside his door a few feet down. She’d completely forgotten about Warner. And she knew he was going to ask her out again as soon as she saw him see her.

Deep breath, Ali.
She appreciated persistence in a guy, but if he’d really been waiting in the hall for her, that was a little much.

“Hi, Warner,” she greeted with a calm smile.

“Wow, you look good,” he said, smirking. “I don’t suppose you’ve decided if you’re free for dinner or not?”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m actually meeting someone. And if I don’t hurry I’ll be late.”

Warner released a breath, obviously unsurprised, and inclined his head. A strand of dark blond hair covered his eyes briefly. “Of course,” he said. Sweeping his arm down the hall he added, “At least let me walk you to the elevator?”

“Sure,” Ali said, figuring it couldn’t hurt to give him that much. She felt like she’d been doing nothing but brushing him off every time they talked. A girl didn’t have to be attracted to a guy to talk to him for crying out loud.

“So, are you from Baltimore? Or did you fly in to catch the boat?” Warner walked with his hands in his pockets, keeping pace beside her.

“Born and raised,” Allison replied. “You?” It was only polite to return a question.

“Flew in,” he said. “I’ve spent most of my life in North Dakota, so this is a nice change.”

A grin slipped onto her face as they reached the elevator. “I’m sure. Well, thank you for escorting me. I hope you find a companion for dinner.” She pressed the button and the elevator opened right up.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Warner said as Allison stepped into the elevator. He met her gaze with a small grin. “I hope.”

An odd chill danced down her spine as the elevator doors oh-so-slowly slid shut. Maybe it had been a mistake to accept his company on the short walk down the hall. Maybe he was the type of guy who took any kindness at all as an open invitation.
Or maybe there was a rush of cold air when the doors moved. Good grief.

Warner had been perfectly nice. He wasn’t bad looking, either. It was just unfortunate for him that she hadn’t met him first.

Ali’s thoughts drifted to Mick and she felt her lips lift in a silly smile. It’d been a long time since she’d even pretended to date a man, but today had definitely felt like a date. A great date. They’d talked easily over breakfast, spent a few hours at the pool, and then wandered the top deck to investigate their options. Tomorrow they were going to mini golf. She wasn’t much of a golfer, though mini golf was fine on occasion, but she was actually excited over the idea of spending more time with him. She suspected she’d have agreed even if he’d challenged her to a competitive game of one-on-one basketball.

The doors slid open with a resounding
ding!
and Allison gave her head a slight shake before stepping out onto the dining floor. She rounded the corner to the left and danced around a couple groups of people stopped in the middle of the walkway before her eyes alighted on the sign for the restaurant where she and Mick were meeting. And there he was, standing beside the entry, hands tucked into the pockets of a nice pair of black slacks. He wore a crisp white tee with the sleeves bunched up around his elbows. Go figure, she’d dressed down this time and he’d dressed up.

“Looking sharp,” Allison teased as she came to a stop before him. “Are you meeting a girl?”

Mick grinned and straightened. “I think I just did,” he said. “I even took the liberty of booking a table for two already.”

Her heart pitter-pattered and she couldn’t stop herself from looping her arm through his as they entered the restaurant. “How thoughtful.”

They were quickly ushered to a waiting table off to the side, facing the water view but not actually beside it. Despite the crowd and constant flow of staff the view was incredible. Framework of the standard white architecture of the ship accentuated an almost unobscured view of endless rolling waves. The mostly-set sun reflected off the deep blue, making the water look almost white on top. She could have spent her dinner just staring out over the ocean and been happy. Having a sexy man to split her attention between just made it better.

As Ali pulled her focus back to Mick she caught a glimpse of the old man she’d met on the dock. He was several tables down, eating with a younger man. He smiled when their eyes met and she smiled back before looking away.

“So have you decided?” Mick asked. He was examining his menu when she looked back to him.

Reminded of her earlier dilemma, Ali sighed and reached for her menu as well. “Not yet. I have a weakness for good seafood and a craving for crisp salad.”

Mick chuckled, the deep rumbling carrying effortlessly across the table. “Well it’s a good thing this place will still be here tomorrow. We may just have to come back.”

“We may,” Ali agreed as she skimmed the salad section of the menu. And, just as she’d hoped, there it was. Her salvation. Seafood salad. Her stomach growled just thinking about it.

Their waiter stepped up with a smile moments later to take their drink orders.

Allison folded her hands in her lap after their waiter disappeared with their menus. “I have a confession,” she said. Mick arched a dark brow with silent curiosity. “I wasn’t expecting to meet someone on this cruise. It never even occurred to me.”

He grinned. “I hope it’s a happy surprise.” The twinkle in his gorgeous green eyes assured her he wasn’t worried.

Still, she met his grin with one of her own. “It is so far. I came out here looking for a distraction from my life. You’re definitely helping.”

“Good,” he said. “I’d hate to be putting a damper on your first cruise.”

As if you could.
But she swallowed the heavily flirtatious response and instead said, “Don’t worry, you’re not.”

Their drinks were promptly delivered, as well as a promise that their food would be out soon, and then they were alone again.

Mick reached forward and lifted his glass. “To fate, or serendipity, or whatever you might believe in. For letting me be the one to catch you on the deck yesterday.”

Ali felt her cheeks flush as she lifted her glass to tap it against his. “And to your arms, for being sturdy enough to catch me.” He chuckled and they both took a swallow of their respective drinks. Allison watched his lips on the glass, watched his Adam’s apple bob, and was reminded of the
other
dream she’d had the night before. The one that had involved those lips teasing parts of her body currently covered.

You’re not that easy, Allison.
Oh, but she wanted to be. This one time. Mick Darringer was supremely tempting, even when he hadn’t made a move to get into her pants. And maybe that was part of it—he was decent. She’d found a decent, respectful, attractive man. They were neither extinct nor all vampires.
What a concept.

“Okay,” Mick said as he set his glass down, “what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?”

Ali licked her lips. Probably the craziest thing she’d ever done was march up to a condo being rented by a vampire and demand something he hadn’t wanted to give. But she couldn’t tell him that—she didn’t even want to think about it—so instead she went with the runner-up. “Taking a semester off from medical school.”
Way to make yourself sound boring.

“Really? So we’re smack-dab in the middle of your rebellious stage?” The amused twinkle in his green eyes drew a smile from her without effort.

“I guess you could say that,” Allison said. “I’ve never been the rebellious type. But I presume you had a more reckless youth?”

He laughed outright this time. “You say that like twenty-nine is old.”

Rolling her glass between her fingers slowly, Ali said, “You know what I meant.”

He grinned but refrained from laughing again. “I don’t know that I’d say “reckless”, just … adventurous. I traveled a lot. Thus I had a few more experiences than most of the people my age.”

Remembering that he’d mentioned having lived in a few different places before, Allison leaned forward and planted her elbows on the table. “Speaking of your travels, where’s been your favorite?”

“That’s a good question,” Mick said as their waiter returned with a tray of food. He paused and Allison briefly turned her attention to the arrival of her seafood salad. She could smell the Caesar dressing and it made her mouth water. When the food was settled and their waiter gone Mick looked across the table at her. “Oregon is beautiful, if we’re talking scenery. Although so are the Appalachians.”

Allison unwrapped her silverware. “So you’re an outdoorsman.”

His vibrating chuckle carried across the table once more. “You could say that. What about you?”

“Sadly, I don’t have a lot of outdoor experience. I’ve never even been camping.” It was on her bucket list, though. She had a healthy appreciation for new experiences.

Mick frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe we’ll have to fix that sometime,” he said before he cut into his baked potato.

Allison stabbed some lettuce and crab meat onto her fork. “We’ll see.” She made sure to smile before popping the bite into her mouth. She nearly moaned at the satisfying combination of crisp iceberg lettuce and rich, flavorful crab all coated in a tangy Caesar dressing. That was definitely what she’d wanted.

“Although,” Mick said between bites, “right now
this
is my favorite place.”

Pausing with her fork en route to her salad again, Ali looked up and laughed. “Charmer.”

Chapter Five

The elevator was nearly at Allison’s floor and Mick hadn’t made up his mind yet. Or, rather, he was still trying to decide if it was too early in the game to make more of a move. They’d known each other barely twenty four hours, but they’d spent most of the day in each other’s company.

“Here we are again,” Allison said as the elevator dinged. The doors slid open at the same time as Ali turned to face him. “I had fun today.”

He grinned. “Me, too.” She was staring into his eyes and before he knew it one of his hands had lifted, fingers brushing her cheek until he was cradling her face in his palm. “Goodnight,” he murmured as he leaned in.

He watched her eyes flutter closed and shut his own as their lips met.

His hand slid back until his fingers were threading her hair and his tongue traced the line of her lips. She parted them for him and he swept inside, nearly groaning at the taste of her.

Sharp throat clearing shattered the moment, snapping Mick back to reality and the fact that they were standing in the middle of a public elevator. His arm fell back to his side as he looked over to find an older woman with her hands on her hips. She glared at him for a long second before shaking her head and stepping in.

“Four, please,” she said. Her words were polite but her tone was demanding.

Ali pressed the appropriate button, and then quickly pressed the button to keep the doors open before she turned to smile sheepishly at him. “Ah, goodnight, Mick.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “See you at breakfast.” He watched as she walked down the hall, waiting until she’d rounded the corner before pressing the button to close the doors. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said. Judgment radiated off the other woman in waves so thick he felt he might cough.

“This isn’t a brothel, you know,” she said, adding a
humpf!
for good measure.

Mick fought not to grin. “No it’s not,” he agreed. He wouldn’t meet a woman like Ali in some brothel—if there even were any left.

After an awkward minute the elevator stopped on his floor and he quickly departed, calling a polite farewell to the woman on her way to the fourth floor. He made short work of the walk back to his room, his mind on Ali and wondering what she might be doing. He was barely in the door when he heard his damned phone go off.
I should just turn it off.
But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Just on the off-chance one of the calls was important.

“Yes?” he said by way of greeting.

“Thare.” It was Doon again. “Where are you? I’ve been calling for over an hour!”

Fighting back his sigh, Mick moved to sit on the sofa in the living space and propped his feet up on the coffee table. “I told you, I’m taking time off.” He wasn’t about to give specifics. If they knew he was on a boat in the Atlantic they might send Rhea.

There was a stretch of silence on the other end where Mick imagined Doon was trying to compose himself. “Yes, you said that. But you know now’s a bad time. Why won’t you at least tell me where you are?”

“Because I don’t want to come back just yet.” And he wasn’t going to be guilted into revealing his location, either.

Doon made a sound verging on a sigh. “You don’t trust me.”

Mick ground his teeth. “It’s not that,” he said. “I don’t trust the
Council
, of which you’re a part. I know time off is frowned upon, but dammit Doon, I work my ass off. I need a breather.”

“I know you do,” Doon said. His tone was pacifying and he made no comment on Mick’s distrust of the Council. “That’s why we’ve come to rely on you so much. You’re one of the best earth witches we have in the field.”

“Stop,” Mick interrupted. “Flattery’s not going to work. Like I said yesterday, I’ll call you.” He didn’t wait for Doon’s response before disconnecting the call.
Way to kill my good mood.
Now his pleasant thoughts of Allison were marred with unwanted thoughts of Doon and the Council and his damned job.

A job he was less than enamored with anymore.

“They’re not so bad,” Joe Pearce said, pushing to a sitting position on the bed. He was still pale and the vampire bite on his neck was still glaringly visible, but now that he’d eaten he seemed to have more energy. He even managed a smile. “Adam’s my friend. Werewolf or not, he’s a good guy. I’d officially be dead if he weren’t.”

That whole incident had thrown him for a loop, right from the moment he’d woken up to find he’d been rescued by a werewolf. But not only had she easily convinced him of her pure spirit, she’d then introduced him to others. Other beings he was supposed to think of as monsters who, in reality, were more human than half the people he worked with. It was a hard concept to wrap his mind around after a lifetime of hearing about their inherent evil nature.

Mick ran a hand through his hair and pushed to his feet. A hot shower would help him relax and clear his head.

****

Ali was relieved not to have run into Warner again since the evening before. He was nice enough but she just got the impression he wasn’t going to ever take “no” for an answer. She supposed she could be wrong, but she would prefer to just not have to find out at all. She would much rather spend her time thinking about Mick and the brief kiss they’d shared in the elevator. Her face heated remembering the innocent old lady who’d caught them, knowing they must have looked ridiculous, making out at all in a public elevator. But all the same … she wanted the chance to do it again.

There he is!

She’d just stepped into the breakfast hall and her eyes alighted on Mick as if he were the only man in the room. He was standing sideways to her, talking with a bus boy, holding a cup of coffee in one hand. Today he wore long denim shorts and a dark green tee that complimented his skin tone.

“Enjoying the cruise so far?”

The question startled Ali and she jumped, turning to find the nice elderly man she’d met on her first day. “Yes,” she said. “Yes I am. I hope you are, too.”

He offered her a toothy smile. “Very much,” he said. “I didn’t catch your name earlier?”

Extending one hand she said, “Allison. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Allison,” he repeated. “What a lovely name.” He shook her hand with a weak grip. “Boris.”

“Well,” Ali said as her arm fell back to her side, “don’t get too much sun, Boris. Hopefully I’ll bump into you again.”

He tipped his hat in agreement. “They made waffles today. They’re delicious,” he said before moving past her and exiting the breakfast room.

Ali’s stomach rumbled at the idea of waffles, though she immediately pictured them smothered in strawberries and whipped cream.
Please tell me they have at least the whipped cream.

“Morning, beautiful,” Mick called as he stepped up to her. He reached out and played with a strand of her soft brown hair. “How was your night?”

She smiled easily. “Relaxing,” she said. “Yours?”

He gave a short shrug and they moved to slip into line. “Mostly good. Although my boss called. He has a hard time understanding ‘vacation’.”

Allison frowned. “That’s unfortunate. But aren’t your roaming fees outrageous? I turned my cell off.”

Mick flashed her a grin as he handed her a plate. “Work phone,” he said. “Not my bill.”

She had to laugh at that.

Allison snagged a fresh waffle when they came up to the appropriate station and she was relieved to see a mixed berry compote being kept warm right beside the waffles. It wasn’t strawberries, but it would surely do. She covered that with a spiral of whipped cream, took another slice of quiche, and followed Mick to the same table they’d shared the day before. “Can you believe we’ll be in the Bahamas in twenty-four hours? It’s unreal.”

“Seems like we just left the States, doesn’t it?” Mick said as he claimed his seat. But something was off in his reply. Like he was distracted.

“Mick? Something wrong?”

He glanced past her, as if looking for eavesdroppers, before leaning forward. His voice was lowered to a whisper when he spoke again. “It’s probably nothing,” he said, “but one of the staff I met in the hall was telling me there are rumors floating around that one of the passengers is missing.”

Ali froze with her loaded forkful hanging in the air. “What? Missing?”

Mick nodded. “A single woman,” he said. “The rumor is that she didn’t meet up with a friend for dinner last night.”

“Oh my god,” Allison mumbled, lowering her fork. “What could have happened?”

“Don’t know,” Mick said. He sat back but didn’t raise his voice. “It could just be a false rumor, even. Passengers aren’t supposed to know.”

Allison popped her bite into her mouth as she mulled that over. On a boat this full of people, such diverse people no less, it was very likely that the missing person story was just that—a story.
Still…
Her instinct insisted there was something more to it. And like it or not, her instinct had never been wrong before. Although a few times she wished she’d ignored the blasted thing.

An image of Mandy’s corpse flashed through her mind again and she swallowed back more than just berry-covered waffle. Releasing a long breath she asked, “Why did the bus boy tell you that, then?”

“I overheard him talking about a search party into an earpiece,” Mick said. With a faint grin he added, “And the guy’s either a
terrible
liar or a
really
good one.”

Allison laughed at that. “Hopefully he’s a good one,” she said. She put her fork down to reach for her morning drink and realized she’d forgotten to get one. “Oh, dang it. I forgot a drink. I’ll be right back—don’t touch my waffle.”

Mick lifted both hands to shoulder height. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” The laughter in his eyes said he might.

She deliberately rolled her eyes at him and made her way toward the coffee machine. Two people were ahead of her so she waited patiently for her turn, stepping up to the hazelnut flavored carafe just as Warner stopped in front of the regular. Her stomach clenched.

“Morning,” Warner said as he filled a cup. “Did you forget to tell me you had a boyfriend?”

Allison swallowed and pushed the button for the coffee to pour. “Not exactly,” she said, hearing the awkwardness in her own voice. “But you never did ask.”

“True,” Warner said, pulling his cup free of the coffee spout and reaching for a lid. “So what’s he to you?”

Keeping her eyes on the level of delicious brown liquid in her cup, Allison said, “Honestly, Warner, that’s not your concern. I’m sorry.” She released the button and reached for her own lid. “Have a good day,” she said with a polite smile before she turned and made her way back to Mick and her waffles.

****

“So this Warner guy is harassing you?” Mick asked as he pretended to concentrate on his shot. It’d been a couple of hours since breakfast and since Ali had told him about the guy, but Mick couldn’t get it out of his head. It bothered him more than he figured it should to know that someone was accosting her nearly every time she went to or from her room. He wanted to find Warner and make it clear that Ali was off-limits. She was his. At least temporarily.

“Harassing is a strong word,” Allison said, standing behind him. “More like … pestering. This morning was the first time he got pushy.”

Mick swung and watched as his brown ball went just inches too wide of his target. He hadn’t played any form of golf in a few years, and the last time it had been a relaxed game with family. And powers. “Well keep me in the loop on this,” he said, moving aside to let her have her turn. “If he gets pushier I want to know.”

Ali cocked an eyebrow at him. “And why is that?”

He stepped into her personal space and caught her chin with his free hand. “Because I’m a little bit possessive,” he said before capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. He could still taste remnants of the berry compote on her tongue as he swept his into her mouth. He pulled back before he could forget himself and grinned. “You’re up.”

Her lips twitched at the corners and she gave his chest a playful shove. “Space, please. I know you’re just trying to screw up my shot.”

“Guilty as charged,” Mick said with a laugh as he moved back until he was standing beside a fair-sized boulder. The rock was real, as were all the other rocks scattered around the mini golf course.

Allison swung and her ball, green because apparently that was her favorite color, too, circled around the hole before promptly plopping in. “Ha!”

“This is why I was messing with you,” Mick said as he took up position again. “I knew you were going to take the lead otherwise.”

“Sure you did,” Ali teased.

He was about to pull back on his swing when the ship’s loudspeakers crackled to life. The sound startled him and he looked up quickly before he realized what it was. He glanced over to Ali, recognizing a similar expression of surprise and confusion on her face.

What’s going on?