“Nay, I’m not drunk, but I wish that I was. Is it possible for me to answer your questions in a more—dignified manner?” he requested.
She raised an eyebrow at his request. “You showed up in the wrong place if you want dignity. The security alarm went off when you broke in and they’ve already called the cops. I’m also proficient in ten different types of martial arts. You make one wrong move and I swear that I’ll shove this mop so far down your throat that it will be sticking out of your ass,” she growled.
Ashure couldn’t keep a snort of amusement from escaping. He tried to cover his laugh by clearing his throat. He cautiously sat up when she stepped back. His eyes followed the movement of the mop when she waved it toward one of the chairs.
He bowed his head in acknowledgement and pushed up off the floor. A soft hiss slipped from him, and he closed his eyes for a moment when the room briefly spun. He touched his cheekbone where he had been hit.
“You have a very powerful arm, my Lady,” he said as he pulled out the chair next to the table and gingerly sank down onto it.
“Softball—I was the pitcher and best hitter my junior and senior year of school,” she stated.
He had no idea what softball was, but he could understand what the word hitter meant. He watched her as she moved back several feet from where he was sitting. He tenderly assessed the swelling on his cheek while his eyes ran appreciatively over what he could see of her body. She was wearing an oversized shirt with a picture of a white tiger cub with black stripes and vivid blue eyes holding a pair of colorful short trousers in his mouth on the front. The shirt ended mid-thigh, baring her long legs and her delicate toes complete with pink toenails.
“What did you do—come from a masquerade party?” she asked, waving her hand at him.
“Nay, my Lady, I was in my cabin aboard the Sea Wasp heading home to the Isle of the Pirates when I found myself falling through a magical portal into your lovely—dwelling,” he explained.
She paled, swayed, and dropped the mop head to the floor to steady herself. She stared at him with wide, shock-filled eyes. He started to rise but stopped when she stepped back.
“You’re one of them—from there—from the Seven Kingdoms,” she breathed out.
Ashure nodded. “Yes, my Lady. I am Ashure Waves, King of the Pirates,” he introduced with a bow of his head.
3
Tonya moodily tapped her fingers on the counter and stared at the man sitting in the kitchen chair. She was trying to wrap her head around the fact that some mystical, magical dude from another world had just fallen out of thin air into Mike Hallbrook’s kitchen.
One minute she was heading down the hallway to get a drink of water and the next minute there was an eerie glow coming from the kitchen, followed by the clang of the metal dog dish that she hadn’t stored yet.
Terrified that someone had broken into the house, she had grabbed the mop that was still leaning against the wall near the guest bathroom from her earlier cleaning spree. After seeing the movement of a shadowy figure turning in a tight circle, she had struck first, deciding she could always ask questions later.
Of course, she had been lying about the security company calling the police—there wasn’t an alarm installed in the house. She had also lied about her dubious martial arts training. Max had taught her a couple of self-defense moves but nothing that could work against magic. Still, there was no need to advertise her minor fibs. If Ashure really was who he said he was—and she didn’t think he was lying—neither the police nor her non-existent fighting skills would be of any help anyway.
The only truth to her little tirade was when she told him about her playing softball the last two years of high school.
She slowly studied the man sitting across from her. He was tall, probably six-two, and handsome. His short but rather full dark brown hair was almost curly.
A shiver of awareness along with a strange sense of déjà vu—as if they had somehow met before—swept through her when his silver eyes followed her every movement. It was impossible to ignore the way he was staring at her. She had been checked out enough times to know when a guy was interested, and she hadn’t missed the gleam that flared in his eyes when he looked at her.
She pursed her lips to keep a curse from slipping out when she noticed the swelling on his cheekbone that he was tenderly pressing on. With a sigh of resignation, she stepped sideways, still keeping him in her peripheral vision, and opened the freezer. She groped for the bag of frozen peas that she had noticed earlier when she was writing up her grocery list. She pulled it out and tossed the bag to him.
“Put that against your cheek. It will help with the swelling,” she instructed.
He caught the bag and looked at it with a mild expression of distaste before he pressed the cold plastic against his cheek. He continued watching her as she thought about what to do. Biting her lip, she sighed. First things first—she needed to get some answers.
“Why are you here?” she bluntly asked.
He gave her an easy, open grin. “I honestly have no idea. One minute I am in my cabin about to return to the main deck, and the next, I am falling through a magic portal,” he stated with a regal wave of the hand that was holding the bag of peas.
She frowned. “Okay, but why here? Has this ever happened to you before?” she pressed, trying to make sense of why he was there, and more importantly, if it had anything to do with her, like her gut was warning her.
He returned the frozen peas to his cheekbone and shook his head. “No, this is a first and completely unexpected,” he responded, looking around the room with a curious expression. “You have a nice home.”
“It’s not mine,” she automatically replied.
He glanced at her in surprise before he looked away. The warning inside her gut flared to red alert. She had noticed that he tended to do that a lot—look at her without really looking at her, at least not in her eyes. His behavior made her think that one of two things was possible—either he had a psychological condition or he was lying.
“May I inquire who it belongs to?” he asked in a voice that sounded suspiciously like the answer to this question was very important to him.
“The house belongs to Mike Hallbrook. He…,” she answered before she pursed her lips together to prevent admitting that she was alone.
“I know Mike Hallbrook! He is a wonderful human. He turned out to be a very resourceful fighter, as well. He fought with us against Magna, the Sea Witch, when she was possessed by an alien creature. He also has a remarkable sister named Ruth. Rarely have I had such a difficult time bartering a deal than when I went head-to-head with her. Even when Ruth was the size of a child’s doll she was a formidable negotiator. She actually read through the contracts and picked them apart, no matter how boring I made them! Ah, but Koorgan is one lucky Giant. He’d still be in the bottom of the well if it wasn’t for her,” he mused.
He chuckled at the memory and smiled broadly at her, meeting her eyes for the first time for more than a brief second. Tonya sucked in a breath when she saw shadows moving in his silver irises. She felt a momentary pang of regret when he turned his eyes away from her inquisitive gaze. It was as if he was afraid he might scare her.