Eden's Charms (31 page)

In the kitchen Savanah found all sorts of dishes stacked in the sink, waiting for some unlucky sod to tackle them. On the counter a warming plate held an authentic English mixed grill of sirloin cooked rare, plump golden brown sausages, with grilled mushrooms and tomatoes. Next to the meat, a dish of scrambled eggs, smothered in cheese lured Savanah near. Blood pudding, sliced thick had fresh pineapple slices around it. Fresh bagels, grapefruit juice, yogurt, granola and blueberries decorated the countertop.

“Payton?” Savanah yelled ecstatic her friend came home.

When Payton didn’t answer, disappointment snuffed out the scrumptious aroma of breakfast. A crunch of something on the floor made her turn. She slammed directly into Kyle, Duncan and Molly’s youngest son. With a joyous screech, Savanah jumped him. Before the young lad had a chance to react, she had her legs wrapped around him, in a stranglehold. “Kyle, what are you doing home?”

“Let me go, brat,” Kyle pleaded as he tried to peel her off. He plopped her down atop the countertop, but she kept her legs secured to him. “I came home for two reasons. First is to meet Elyza, but I can’t find anyone and secondly, because I heard from Da trouble’s brooin’. And cartin’ your bum about isn’t on me bucket list, Lass.”

“Listen to you with your little Scotty accent. What’s that school teaching you? You’re a limey. Dunna forget that.” Savanah mimicked him.

“So, brat,” Kyle ran his fingers through Savanah’s maze of twisted tendrils, “you look fantastic, cousin. Where’s Pay?”

“That’s the hundred-thousand dollar question.” Savanah’s smile faded. “I thought when I smelled all the food he’d come home.”

“Where’s my black bird?”

“Raven’s locked herself in her room. Jonah left too with Aunt Serina, Uncle Lucian and Jules. They’re in Mexico. Left early this morning to separate a set of conjoined twins, who happen to be a wolf and vamp. Ya, Kyle, trouble’s brooin’.”

“I also hear that you have a new roommate? Tell me everything, Savvy. I want details.” Kyle hugged her.

As the saying goes, timing is everything, and Ethan wasn’t so pleased with his. He rounded the corner and found his fiancé with her legs securing another man to her body, and the two of them looking rather intimate. Jealousy was not on his menu for breakfast, but he found he had to swallow a good lump of it regardless. Savanah’s new friend reminded Ethan of the kid on the cover of Mad Magazine, red hair ruled by cowlicks, brown eyes and string-bean thin. The only thing Ethan couldn’t find fault with was his shirt—a dark gray T-shirt with the
Boondock Saints
movie logo across the front. Ethan respected the movie.
Take care of your own and screw all the consequences
. It pissed him off his parents didn’t feel the same way about him!

Savanah answered Kyle, “He’s the best, the greatest, no not the greatest…”

“I get the point. You’re smitten.”

“Good morning, Savage. Mister?” Ethan cocked his head sideways; a grimaced look disfigured his handsome appeal.

Savanah smirked. “Your color’s draining onto the floor.”
Jealous!

“I am not.”

“Liar.”

“Stop! Just please tell me this isn’t Radcliff.”

Laughter filled the kitchen. “You must be the new kid on the block.” Kyle stretched his hand to Ethan’s. “Call me Radcliff ever again, and I’ll introduce you to Sweet Pea.”

Ethan’s blank stare was filled with dark thoughts. His hand stayed in his pocket.

“Sweetpea, my love, is Kyle’s alligator.” Savanah released Kyle, jumped off the counter, strut her long legs to Ethan, and kissed his lips softly. “Eth, meet Kyle, Duncan’s son, my cousin.” Ethan’s lips trembled beneath hers. Cupping his face between her hands she kissed him again, with a little more umph behind it. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Just seeing you in someone else’s arms, well, it did nothing for me.” He shook his head and flexed his arms.

“Eth, he’s family. He is really. He’s my third cousin.”

“Yeah, but isn’t royalty known for trysts with those closest? And did you know it’s legal to marry your third cousin?”

“Ewh, Ethan.” Savanah swatted him. “Incest? I think you’ve read one too many books or seen too much telly.” One more kiss had Ethan kissing her back with vigor.

“Hey, brat, forget you’ve company?”

Savanah ducked her head to Ethan’s shoulder, her cheeks a new shade of red. “I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not. Ethan, nice to meet the man who finally swept this one off her big feet.” Kyle pat his shoulder. “I’m going to the stables. Da doesn’t know I’m home. I woke Mum up a while ago. Pregnant again? We’re a prolific bunch if nothing else!”

“How long you home?”

“Just long enough to get under everyone’s skin and then get out. Get a few bucks in me pocket for spendin’ and then I’m back to Europe. You, Missy, are not the only one with a buddin’ love life.” With the wink of his brown eye and a quick kiss on Savanah’s cheek, Kyle left.

“Does he really have a ’gator?”

“Yes. Sydney gave Sweet Pea to him about six years ago. She’d found the little thing all wound up in a wire mesh, left to die. The poor thing crawled out from the canals in Florida and the local residents took a baseball bat and tire iron to her. Knocked all her teeth out, broke her jaw and amputated one of her hind legs in the process.”

“I’m not the Crocodile Hunter, but I wouldn’t want it hurt.”

“Fear, Eth. People are scared of them so they tried to kill her. Sadly, it’s the same mentality as shifters and vamps. If people would just take the time to educate themselves about whatever it is that scares them, there would be a lot less prejudice. Ignorance has to be erased from this earth or there won’t be one.” Savanah leaned around Ethan to the plate with the sirloin and inhaled. “Sorry for the rant. I’ve gotta eat. After this morning I’m famished.”

“Sit. I’ll fix you a plate.”

“I lo…”

Kissing her faster than a lightning bolt could strike, Ethan stopped her in her tracks. “Do me a favor?”

“You look way too serious. Name it.”

“Don’t tell me what you just tried to until the day we’re married.”

“Why?” Savanah’s eyes grew wide.

“Because everyone who has ever said that to me has left me. My mother, my father, my sisters, all the freakin’ people who are supposed to love you unconditionally. It’s a load of crap, Savanah and I can’t take you telling me it and then leaving me.”

“Ethan?” Tears welled behind her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. If I can’t say it, I’ll just have to find ways to show you.”

“You were off to a great start this morning.” He gave her a playful wink.

“No, we were off to one, and we still have the rest of the day to ourselves.”

“Want to go speck a few places out for our wedding?” Ethan set a plate full of eggs and steak in front of her. “
Bon appetite
, my sweet one.”

“Thank you,” she managed to say with a mouth full eggs and a tight-lipped grin. “Join me? Have some fresh pineapple. You need it.” Savanah devilishly shot her eyebrows up.

“What’s the look?”

“You don’t know about pineapples?”

Ethan shook his head no. “I did wonder why your fridge is always stocked with it.”

With a slight giggle, she explained, “It alters the juices flowing from you. Makes everything on you sweeter than you already are. More palatable, if you get my drift? Want some?”

“My semen gets sweet? Hmmm… Guess I won’t die today. Old saying goes, if you learn something new each day you won’t die that day. And if you keep swallowing we won’t get preggers.”

Savanah handed him a slice of the yellow fruit. “
Bon appetite
back at ya!” Wiping toast crumbs from her lip she asked, “How’d you feel about it? I mean we only just met. Would a baby smother us at this point?”

“Funny you should ask that, Savage. Last week, if anyone other than you told me I was going to be a father, I’d have hopped on my plane and headed for the Outback. If you shoved one of those home pregnancy tests in my face today and it came back with two lines instead of one, I wouldn’t run, but the little things…”

“Babies.”

“Babies,” he said with all his pearly whites showing, “scare the daylights out of me. They’re so little and breakable and what happens when that new baby smell wears off?”

Cracking up, Savanah answered, “You give them a bath.”

“I don’t have the first clue what to do with one.”

“Thank someone Raven really wasn’t pregnant. I can’t imagine you stealing a baby, Eth.”

“Me either. I can’t believe the Maestro hasn’t sent a hit squad after me. Or had me dancing from a distance. It’s got a feel to it, Savage, I can’t place. It’s like I’m waiting for the eye of the storm to pass, and then I’m going to get sucked up and whirled off.”

“All right, lover, this conversation’s going downhill fast. I’m the only one sucking you up. I’m going to brush my teeth and then you and I will go for a ride. We can check out the Hall of Springs, the Casino, and then our rose gardens. I loved your idea actually of the ceremony in the gardens. I’ll be right down.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

The kitchen was spotless and still no sign of Savanah. Just as Ethan opened the fridge to put the food away the phone jingled. He pulled the antique of a thing off its cradle. The phone had to be over a century old. He placed the black earpiece to his head and talked into the mouthpiece hung on the wall. Suddenly he felt like he’d stepped back in time. “Philly International. Whose up?” He answered.

The voice on the other end of the phone paused.

“
Hello
?” He sang into the phone.

“This is Sinsations. Is there a Savanah St. James there?”

“Can I help you? She’s busy.” Ethan decided upon discretion. No need telling some unknown his fiancé was in the bathroom leaking body fluids.

“We found a wallet here with her name on it.”

Ethan scratched at the thickened gel in his hair. “Thank you. I’ll be right out to pick it up.”

“
Bring her to me
.”

“What? Who is this?” The hairs on Ethan’s neck launched from their follicles with more accuracy than missiles taking to the sky.

“Sorry, Sir. We need her. Our policy.”

“We’ll be over.” Ethan hung up the phone in a new pissy mood. And to top it off, he thought he was hearing things. The man’s tone… The man’s words…
Bring her to me?
“Did he really say that?” He
was
hearing things.

“Who called, Ethan?” Jovan asked, leaning against the doorframe entrance to the kitchen.

“Good morning. The restaurant you went to said they have your daughter’s wallet.”

“That’s funny. Savvy doesn’t carry her wallet anywhere if I’m with her. Never has. Get used to it.”

“How else would they get it?”

Jovan tossed her hands in the air. “I suppose she could have carried it in. Did she call you while we were there? Maybe it fell out of her purse.”

“Nope. No phone calls. Her phone’s in pieces anyway, and I was busy meeting your husband and his clone’s sense of humor.”

Jovan smiled, a big wide grin. Ethan did a second take, when he saw how similar Savanah’s smile and her mother’s were. And that’s where the similarities ended. André’s genes made up ninety-eight percent of Savanah. Jovan’s two percent contributions were her female anatomy and her smile, both of which Ethan could have kissed Jovan for if he thought he’s live to see another day.

“I heard about your nap during the game.”

Her hand covered her mouth, but Ethan heard her giggling regardless. “Yeah, you and all of Saratoga by now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You look sorry.” Ethan smiled this time at Jovan.

Jovan backed away, annoyance clearer than the nose on his face.

“Did I just do something, Jovan?”

“No, Ethan. It’s me. You and I got off to a very bad start.”

“That was all me.”

“Yes, it was. And from what I’m told it was also that other vamp.”

“Ah yes. The one you don’t want mentioned. Jovan, I swear, I’m going to rid him from our lives.”

“You do that and I’ll walk my daughter down the aisle to you. And quite possibly I’ll even smile.” Jovan glanced back at him as she walked out with a well-maintained poker face. “And don’t look at my ass.”

A grin spread across his lips. Ethan sat there on the stool trying to figure her out. He wasn’t certain if she was trying to be cordial on barest-of-bones of extremes or if she still loathed his very presence. Making him forget all about his soon to be mother-in-law, Savanah walked right up behind him, slid her arms around his neck, covered his eyes and kissed his cheek.

“Hi, you. Miss me?”

“Hi back. Yes. Your mother and I just spent some quality time together.”

“And look at that—there’s no blood anywhere, and you’re still breathing.” Savanah teased.

“Funny. Hey, yesterday, did you take your purse into the restaurant you had lunch at?”

Savanah scrunched her face into a crooked disarray as she thought it over. “Possibly. Why?”

“The place called and said they’ve got your wallet.”

“Well, I guess I took it in, but Eth, ya know what—I have no need for one. I’m broke. But hey, if they’ve got it, let’s go get it back. I’m just going to tell everyone we’ll be gone for the day. Meet you in my car?”

Ethan backed Savanah up against a wall. “Whose car?”

“I believe I said mine. Oh, look at this, I’ve even got the keys!” Savanah did a little victory dance, bumping her hips into his pelvis. She dangled the keys under his nose.

Wearing the grin of a hungry lion, just before he pounces, Ethan shackled her.

“Ethan…I don’t think it’s in your best interest if you—”

“Put you over my knee? Oh it is, Savage. The car’s mine, little nut.” He tangled with her as he sat on a stool and got her across his legs. He slapped her bum once, playing with her.

“Mine, you big oaf. I won it fair and square.” Another pat and she was laughing like there was no tomorrow.

“You and your sentinels swindled me.”

“All right, I give. I’ll let you drive it
today
. Feel any better?” She peered around him, her face pink her eyes leaking happy tears.

“Oh, thank you. See if I let you in the next ’vet I buy.”