Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (7 page)

“Are you going to do that to all of my help?”

“Do what?”  Amira stood facing
Dragan
with her hands on
her
hips.

“Have them all fall in love with you so they do not do their jobs.”

Amira threw her head back and
laughed
.  Dragan’s eyebrows rose as her slim neck
arched
.  He followed the curve to the top of her blouse where her chest swelled underneath her shirt.

“Like what you see
,
Dr.
Reynolds
?”

His eyes caught
her
emerald green ones
,
and a bolt
of something
shot between the two of them
,
catching them both off guard.

Nonplussed
,
Dragan smiled.  “As a matter of fact I do
,
Miss Amira.”

Feeling her face heating up
,
Amira
struggled
to find something to say.  She was not used to such blatant flirtation.
  Who was she kidding
;
she never experienced flirtation in her life
.  Having spent
all
her
years attempting to get well, she never had a boyfriend or even the precept of one.

Shadow came up and nudged her hand.  Kneeling down
,
she grabbed his face in her hands while stroking him.  “You silly thing.  You must be nicer if you want to come back here.  I can’t have you scaring the only company I have
,
now can
I
?”

Dragan felt his heart twitch at her words while
Shadow whined
,
pressing
his nose on the side of her face.  “No
,
I am not upset with you
,
but you scared the poop out of
poor Mr. Connor
.”  Standing and grinning
down
at
him,
she knew what would make him feel better.  “I have a surprise for you.  Want something to chew on?”  They both ran to the door wi
th Shadow
now
in the lead.  Pushing open the
door,
she
hesitated
before turning to her other visitor.  “Would you like something also
,
Dr. Reynolds?” 
Without
waiting for an answer, she stepped inside the little cottage leaving Dragan no other option but to follow. 
Amira was already
busy at the stove heating
the water in the teakettle
before placing scones
on a plate
.
Shadow
lay
on a thick cushion
in
a corner
,
gnawing on a very large bone.  No wonder the wolf was here all of the time
,
Dragan thought. 
Turning his attention to his tenant, h
is eyes roamed her body
,
loving the way her curves swelled in all of the right places. 
To his surprise, d
esire rushed through him again. 
He found it
fascinating
that h
e wanted her. 
Walking up behind
her,
he watched her fingers hesitate over the plate
s
ensing his approach.
  Turning nervously
,
she looked up into his eyes
as
t
he
y
flare
d
with confusion and s
omething she
seemed
unfamiliar with
but he knew all too well
.
 
The realization that she was attracted to him came as a shock to him.

He was standing so close to her that
Amira
could actually feel the heat from his body enveloping
and wrapping around her
as if he had physically touched her.  She held her breath as he brought his hand up, only to reach behind her
,
picking the plate
up
off the counter. 
She felt his breath caress her check as he leaned in, whispering in her ear.

“Here, let me help you with that.”

Amira’s face flushed with color again.  She got the distinct impression that he knew what he was doing
to her
; every move calculating, as if she was being tested.  Well, she hated tests.

Watching him walk back to the small table, she wondered what he was doing at her
house
. 
She was sure that he
had enough staff at his
home,
that if he had a message or needed something from
her
,
he could have sent one of them over.  She
had been
surprised to see him
and
Shadow this morning. 
Her landlord
had been on her
m
ind since meeting him in the forest, but she never would have thought that he would ever be sitting in her
kitchen
. 
She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she was happy he came. 
Picking up the mugs, she placed one down in front of him before taking a seat opposite him at the wooden table.
 

“
It
has
just dawned on me
,
Dr. Reynolds
,
that you
and I have not officially met
.
”
 
Leaning across the table, she e
xtend
ed
her hand out to
him
smiling
.  “My name is Amira.”

“Yes I know.  I learned that this morning.  Please call me by my first name – Dragan.”

“Dragan.  What an interesting name.  That is Slavic, correct?  It means precious.”

“
What
are you doing here?”

Amira took a sip from her cup locking eyes with him.  “You certainly are direct.”

“I tend to find that being direct is the best way to
reach
a destination.”

”Agreed.
”  Amira paused.  “
From my understanding, you listed this place with a realtor
searching
for a tenant.  I am that tenant.”

She knew this was not what he was asking and from the look on his face, was not happy with her response.  Her heart fluttered in her chest but not from fear.  There was a strong chemistry between them.  He seemed to
choose
to ignore it
,
but
s
he found it fascinating.

“It was not I that listed this cottage, but my brother
Aaron
.
  I am, in actuality, the owner of this land.
”

Amira’s heart dropped in her chest.  Frowning she looked down at her hands that were now wrapped tightly around her mug.  She
knew she
was a tenant at will and
realized
that if he did not want a tenant, then she would have to move out.  Moving out was not on her agenda.  This was the perfect place for her to heal – or die,
whichever
one came first.

“Is there a problem with me being here?”

“This is private property.”

“
Hmm, y
es, you stated that this morning, but…”

Dragan tried to read her but realized quickly her thoughts were hidden from him.  Frowning
,
he shifted in his chair, uncomfortable at losing the advantage.
It was rare for him not to be able to read a human
’
s mind if he wished.  In fact, he could only remember one other time that he was blocked the way he was now. Dragan realized that h
e could
still
feel her
energy
though
,
and her emotions were mixed.  There was disappointment
,
but the strongest emotion emanating from her was fear and sadness.  These emotions confused him.  Why would she be afraid to
l
eave or even be sad for that
matter?
  The groundskeeper said she has only been living here for a week.  Reaching for the mug,
he
took a sip.  His face
grimaced
.  “What the hell is this?”

“Blackberry tea.  Do you not like it?”  Amira blinked innocently.

“No
I most certainly do not
,
and
it
doesn’t seem to be one that will ever become
part
of my favorites
list
.”  Gingerly setting the cup back on the table
,
he looked at her. 
“Why
do I get the feeling you are laughing at me
?
”

Amira shrugged. 
“
You seem to be an easy target.
”
  Standing up, she moved to the chair to the right of him.  Sliding one leg under her, she leaned on the table
with her elbows
while reaching out to him pick
ing
up his hand in hers. 
Dragan’s first instinct was to pull away from her touch
,
as again, e
lectrici
ty shot between the two of them. He could hear her own
pulse
as it q
uickened
from her heart
beat
picking u
p speed, pushing her life
blood throughout her body. 
A
mira’s
head came up, eyes wide.  Dragan kept his face impassive not wanting her to see that she affected him as strongly
as
he did her
.  Looking back down at his large hand, she turned it over within hers.  Leaning forward over him, her hair touched his skin as she took several fingers and traced them down the center of his palm as if to study the lines.  A shiver ran through
him
.  Her touch felt intimate
and private
,
as if she had caressed him.  He wondered what it would be like to have her touch him on other parts of his body
.  This
thought caus
ed
an
other
unexpected surge of desire to course through him.

Pulling his hand away, he shifted in his chair.  “Are
you
trying to read my palm?  Let me guess, you think you are some kind of witch.”

Leaning
back,
she took another sip of her tea while gazing at him curiously.
She touched him attempting to gauge his reaction to her.  She was not disappointed.
“No
,
Dr.
Reynolds
,
I do not think that I am ‘some kind of
witch
’
.  That would not jive with my beliefs.
”

“And what would those beliefs be dear tenant of mine.”

Amira bristled at the sarcasm lacing his words.  Forcing herself to relax and smile she stated simply.  “I believe in God.  My belief does not permit me to practice the dark arts.”

Thoughtfully
,
he looked at her.  “
But you do believe in them.  Interesting - a
nd in what denomination do you
practice
your faith?”

“Don’t you think that religion and politics should be left to better minds
than
ours
,
Dr. Reynolds
?”

“No
,
a
ctually,
I
do not
. 
Moreover
, I have a feeling that your mind is quite capable of hand
l
ing the questions.”  Leaning in
,
he pressed her to continue.  “I really
am
interested in hearing what you have to say
,
Amira.”

“I have practiced a number of denominations in my lifetime.  Not one ever made my heart peaceful, nor did I feel that I could follow the man made rules of any of them.  I guess you could say that I had an epiphany one day, and now I choose to follow my heart in terms of my faith.  I believe the God I pray to
is
an all-forgiving one.  It does not matter whether you have committed some heinous crime, if you are truly repentant and believe in Him, you will be forgiven.”