Hannah (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #2) (11 page)

“I can only hope,” Hannah replied doubtfully. She crossed her arms and frowned at the television.

“Stop that,” Miranda said, with a chuckle. “I swear, you are the most pessimistic mope I know. We’ll work it out, whatever may come.”

The doorbell rang, and Hannah’s heart skipped a beat. She knew it had to be Dominic. She hadn’t mentioned their “relationship” to Miranda yet, but she had the feeling the matriarch sensed something was going on even though she’d never met the man. Hannah hopped up off the sofa, and practically ran toward the front entrance.

Miranda eyed her with a knowing smile.

She slowed her pace with effort, and shook her head.
Yeah, that wasn’t obvious
. She was going to have to tell Miranda about it sooner or later. Looks like it was going to be sooner.

Jones, the butler, almost ran into her in the hallway. “Forgive me, Ms. Ward.” The tall elderly man paused for her to pass. He always used last names when addressing she, Rhea or Miranda. It was kind of annoying, but she’d given up trying to convince him to use her first name a couple of years ago.

“I’ve got this one, Jones.”

He smiled with a slight bow. “If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“Ever the gentleman,” she replied as he walked away.
If only every man was as considerate
. She rolled her eyes.
Dream on
. Without further delay, she made her way to the front of the house.

The massive, iron-banded door came open with deceptive ease. The hinges had been magically wrought, and possessed enchantments that would make any door, regardless of size or weight, open with the slightest touch. Magic was awesome as long as you weren’t trying to hide it from someone.

As Hannah had suspected, Dominic stood waiting at the entrance. He wore a loose silken shirt that clung to his well-muscled shoulders, and a pair of fine dark slacks that Hannah had become accustomed to seeing him wear. The furrow in his brow suggested a pensive mood that was reflected by his cagey posture, but still he wore a broad smile. “Hey, you,” he said with his deep sexy voice.

They hadn’t even touched yet, and Hannah was tingling. “Hey,” she replied. By all rights, she should be pissed at him, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling like a fool. “Come in.”

As Dominic entered he leaned in toward her and softly brushed his lips against hers. The warm tingling of Atingere made Hannah’s core ache with desire, and she had to steady herself once the brief contact was broken. The muscles in Dominic’s jaw flexed as he pulled away. His eyes lingered on her hungrily as she composed herself. Despite her happiness to see him, she forced the urges away. His absence this morning had thrown her for a loop, and she was ready to get some answers. “You gonna to tell me what’s going on?”

Dominic nodded. “Yeah, can we sit?” he asked. “This might take a little while.”

Worry nipped at the fringes of Hannah’s calm. She stepped aside as she gestured past the entry to the great room. “Sure, go have a seat. I’ll get some drinks.”

When they entered the room, Hannah had expected Miranda to still be there, but the matriarch was nowhere to be seen. The windows had been partially opened to let in the spring breeze, and the television had been turned off. No one could say Miranda wasn’t perceptive, or lacking in courtesy.

“What’s your poison?” Hannah asked, walking over to the bar. It was a massive U shaped structure with dark granite counter tops. A polished cherry wood lip protected the edge of the granite, while the lower part of the bar and the backsplash were made from the same earthy-colored rock found throughout the house. A large TV had been mounted to the back wall, and under the counters were several mini refrigerators and wine coolers.

“Bloody Mary, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all,” Hannah answered. They hadn’t drunk enough last night to warrant a hangover. Dominic must have tied one on wherever he’d gone after leaving her cottage. The thought spurred her imagination into overdrive, and she could see the strippers hanging all over him, rubbing and kissing him in places where they had no fucking business being—the glass in Hannah’s hand shattered under the pressure of her grip. She gasped, and backed away from the mess.

“Are you okay?” Dominic asked, as he rushed over to her.

Hannah held up her hand to stop him before he could come around the bar. The small cut on her finger might as well have been a paper cut. “What happened last night?” she asked, growing tired of her assumptions and speculations getting the better of her. “Why did you leave?”

Dominic stopped next to the bar. “Before I get into details, you need to know that you and your friends are in danger.”

Hannah shook her head in disbelief and disappointment. She’d hoped for a better excuse from him, but it looked like he was going to take the same path that most of the men she’d dated had taken. He was going to lie. “What are you talking about?”

“Look, I know this is a little off the wall, but you have to know this stuff before I go into
everything
,” Dominic persisted. “Some information was discovered by my group last night that will verify what I’m saying.”

“Listen, Dominic, if you want to see other people that’s fine; just tell me. There’s no need for the lies,” Hannah said, as her heart sank. “I don’t like these kinds of games. We can go our separate ways without all the drama.”

That took the wind out of Dominic’s sails. He leaned against the bar with a pained look on his face, and looked down at his hands. After a moment of silence, he whispered, “That’s not what I want, but after I tell you everything that’s been going on, you probably aren’t going to want to see me again…” He looked up from his hands into her eyes. “And it’s got nothing to do with another woman.”

Hannah couldn’t look away or deny the sincerity Dominic had expressed. His eyes, as well as his posture, remained steady under her scrutiny. She could actually feel the heartfelt pain coming from him, and she began to doubt her initial assumptions. Perhaps he hadn’t been with another woman, but there was definitely something nefarious going on that he was directly involved in, that much he himself had confessed. The only question was: Did she want to hear him out?

As much as she wanted to tell him to go, the desire for him to stay was that much more powerful. Hannah stepped around the bar, leaving the spilt drink and broken glass untouched. She took a seat over on the leather sofa that Miranda had dusted just moments before. “I’ll listen.”

Dominic took a seat on the ottoman across from her. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and sighed. “Thank you.”

Hannah said nothing. She put on a mask of judgment, and waited for him to tell his story, all the while, fear growing in her belly.

Dominic cleared his throat and began, “I’ve had my group do some research on this place. As it turns out, I should have had them do it much sooner. I should have been more thorough—usually I am—but I’ve been distracted as of late.” His dark eyes lingered on her with deep yearning.

Hannah felt beads of sweat form on the tops of her breasts and lower back. Still, she said nothing.

Dominic continued. “We discovered that Coven’s Grove is sitting on a massive deposit of oil, and that you’ve been in several legal battles with Dongle Inc. over drilling the deposit. You’ve made some powerful enemies.”

Hannah squirmed in her seat. He was getting way too close to her secret.
Maybe my initial fears weren’t as farfetched as I thought. Maybe he’s figured out what I am
. She bit her lower lip as the butterflies in her stomach fluttered. “Looks to me like you’ve done your homework just fine.”

“There’s more,” Dominic warned. “Companies like Dongle don’t take kindly to being told no. They’ve taken contracts out on you and your friends.”

All of the anxiety that had been building up spilled out of Hannah in the form of laughter. Relief and despair collided within her at hearing Dominic’s grand fiction. She really had hoped he would be able to convince her of something that would keep their relationship alive, but this was too much.

He picked up on her disbelief, as his voice became more urgent. “You have to believe me, Hannah. No matter what happens between us, you are in danger.”

“Even if what you say is true,” Hannah scoffed. “How could you possibly know that?”

Dominic’s gaze was intense. “Surely, you know of my questionable reputation. Even if you don’t know the details.”

“Yes, I’ve heard things, but I think I have a much firmer grasp on the details now,” Hannah replied sarcastically.

Her jibe didn’t phase Dominic in the slightest, and he continued on. “My crew broke into Dongle Tower yesterday. Our goal was to find evidence of illegal activity, but we ended up finding more than we bargained for. I know you’re in danger because I’m involved in corporate espionage, Hannah. I steal information.”

She stood, having heard enough. “I think you need to leave.” She couldn’t process everything he was saying, even though some of it could be plausible. She needed time to think.

Dominic got to his feet. “It’s not just you and your friends who are in danger. There are a lot more people at risk. I can show you proof if you give me a chance.”

Hannah sighed. She desperately wanted to believe him, but couldn’t bring herself to do so at the moment. “I need some time, Dominic. You’ve said a lot that I just can’t handle right now.”

He nodded. “I get that.”

She walked him to the door, and, as he stepped outside, he said, “Be careful, Hannah. These people mean business.”

“Goodbye, Dominic.”

H
annah placed the beakers on her worktable. They were filled with samples from the magical stream that ran through Coven’s Grove. It was time to run her weekly battery of tests, checking for abnormalities magical and natural. Hannah used to run them every day during those first few months after she, Miranda, and Rhea had created the mystical stream. She had been so excited to see the results back then, and, even though the process had lost a bit of its luster, she still enjoyed seeing their successful venture be tested and pass. Today, however, her heart wasn’t in it. Thoughts of Dominic dominated her mind.

Hannah plopped down on a stool by the counter to wait for the test results. Her view from the greenhouse proved to be nothing short of spectacular as the sun began to dip below the trees. Hues of violet, orange, and blue filled the sky with a romantic air that only made the melancholy Hannah was feeling that much worse. It’d been over a week since she last spoke with Dominic, and she’d thought about his words every day that had followed. His story had seemed so outrageous when she’d first heard it, but as she pondered the the facts that she knew—Dongle Tower
had
been broken into, Dominic
did
have a reputation for trouble, and Coven’s Grove
was
at constant odds with the oil giant—the more she started to think that Dominic was telling the truth, or at least partial truths. The accusation that Dongle Inc. wanted her dead was something she just couldn’t believe. She didn’t see herself as that big of a threat to them, yet.

The image of the man himself was a constant distraction in Hannah’s mind as well. The desire to touch him, and be touched by him, grew with every passing day. In fact, she had almost called him last night, but stopped herself, settling for a disappointing session of masturbation instead.

You’re so sad,
she pouted. The damnable Atingere was about to drive her insane. She wished she’d never heard of the cursed thing. She gritted her teeth in frustration at how unfair it was for witches to have to deal with such an enslaving sexual impulse, which of course was about as ridiculous as being enraged about the sun setting at the end of each day, but she didn’t care—she was pissed.

Hannah knew her anger at Dominic was misplaced. She had her secrets too, and faulting him for his would be total hypocrisy on her part. Not to mention experiencing the touch with him... Would Atingere really have chosen someone that was bad for her? She didn’t think so.

Her mind and heart had grown weary of the debate during the past week. Hannah’s deductions had produced more reasons for her to try and work things out with him than not, and the yearning within her to see him again was slowly tearing her apart. Whether or not she wanted to admit it, the decision had been made.
I’ve got to call him,
she thought with no small amount of relief.