Magical Moments Part 11

Dagon threw his hands up in frustration. "Brilliant, and who will rescue you after you rescue the kitten."

She smiled sweetly. "Well, you are here."

The dried pine needles crunched beneath his pacing feet. "I can't believe that after your last ordeal, you failed to learn your lesson."

"Lesson?" she asked, noting that the little kitten had grown curious and was making its way carefully down toward her. She encouraged its cautious approach with a soft purr of her own.

Dagon continued his agitated pacing while keeping a sharp eye on her. "Yes, lesson. You simply do not possess the power, nor the common sense," he stressed, "to handle minor ch.o.r.es, much less difficult situations."

Her soft purr worked, the kitten now rested on the branch where she sat, and all she had to do was reach out and scoop it up. She did just that and found herself slipping, her arms and legs immediately hugged the branch as she toppled over.

"Dagon!" she shouted as she suddenly found herself looking up at the top of the tree instead of the ground.

"d.a.m.n," he swore furiously, and floated instantly to where she precariously hung by her arms and legs.

He grabbed for her, s.n.a.t.c.hing her around the waist.

"The kitten!" she yelled when he began to descend.

He held her firmly around the waist, her back to him as he maneuvered them within reach of the kitten. Sarina s.n.a.t.c.hed the little frightened ball of fur into her hands and cradled it close to her chest.

"She must be a female," Dagon said, slowly descending to the ground. "Only a female would cause such a problem."

Sarina held the kitten up to take a peek and she laughed. "Female she is." The tiny feline licked her nose most graciously and curled against Sarina's sweater when she brought her close to her chest.

Dagon deposited Sarina gently on the ground, then walked around in front of her. He intended to give her a good, sound chastising for her inappropriate actions. It was about time she became more responsible concerning her actions. She had to realize she couldn't do things other witches could and that she lacked the rudiments of mortal skills. And besides, she was worrying him half to death. He didn't know what she would get herself into next, and the thought that he might not be able to help her caused him serious concern.

She was near on top of him before he could utter a word. She kissed his cheek and smiled brightly, holding the sleepy little kitten out for his inspection.

"Adorable, isn't she?"

Dagon watched the tiny creature give a gentle yawn, close already drooping eyes, and curl contentedly asleep in Sarina's hands. He also watched the way Sarina instinctively cradled the tiny animal against her. She offered the kitten unconditional love and protection, and the kitten wisely accepted, offering the same to her.

"Is it all right if I keep her in my room?" Sarina asked.

Dagon sighed. What was he ever going to do with her? She looked a frightful mess, and her legs were scratched from the tree branches, and he wouldn't be surprised if her body was beginning to protest her climb, but here she stood worried over the kitten's welfare.

He plucked several pine needles from her hair and found it impossible to deny her request. Actually he found it impossible to deny his attraction for her. Even in this disheveled state he discovered himself l.u.s.ting after her. And a l.u.s.t it was, his urge so overwhelming it bordered on the insane. That word again. It haunted him of late.

He grew annoyed with himself and it showed in his response. "You rescued her, you're responsible for her."

His agitation could have annoyed her, but she refused to allow it to. Instead she teased. "Is that the way it works?"

Her smile challenged and he was in the mood for a good challenge. "I suppose it does since I am responsible for you."

"Not entirely."

A gust of cold wind swept around them, and Sarina shivered and tucked the kitten close in the crook of her arm, protecting it from the chill.

Dagon immediately slipped his black wool overcoat off and draped it over Sarina's shoulders. "You don't even have the sense to dress warm enough. And you dare to suggest I am not entirely responsible for you?"

"The wind but warns us of a change in weather which alerts me that I must be more vigilant in my choice of outdoor wear. And you need not worry about me-"

Dagon interrupted her. "Don't dare say you can take care of yourself. You've already proved you can't."

Sarina's laugh surprised him. "And you can take care of me?"

Dagon plucked several more pine needles from her hair. "I think the situation speaks for itself. I have taken care of you since my return."

Her smile faded. "I think it's time I took care of myself. It isn't fair that you should be stuck with a b.u.mbling witch."

She spoke as though she was about to inform him of her departure, and he near panicked at the thought of her gone from the castle. "I am stuck with you and you are stuck with me. Until you improve your skills and show me that you are capable of looking after yourself, you will remain here at Rasmus Castle.

Is that clear?" Sarina was speechless, her eyes wide with surprise. "Good," he said, as though her silence confirmed her acquiescence. "Now take the kitten with you to rest. From the looks of you I would venture to guess that your already sore limbs are protesting your foolish actions."

She confirmed otherwise. "I feel perfectly fine."

He laughed with a shake of his head. "Not only foolish, stubborn."

His accurate accusation got her dander up. "I am perfectly capable of looking after myself." With that said she marched along the pebbled path and proceeded to trip on the belt of his overcoat and topple face first toward the ground.

His laughter echoed in her ears, and his hands reached her before her face hit the pebbles. The tiny kitten, so exhausted from her ordeal, slumbered undisturbed in the safety of her arms. He had her firmly on her feet in seconds, swung his overcoat off her, slipped it on, and then scooped her up into his arms before she could protest.

"Do you know you're dangerous?" he said, his laughter still evident in his voice.

"I can be very dangerous," she said sternly, wishing she had just a fraction of her inherent powers.

He smirked, attempting to suppress his laughter. "I'll keep that in mind."

"See that you do or you may be sorry."

His laughter escaped yet again. "Is that a warning?"

She shook her finger in his face. "It's a promise you better not forget."

"Why? Will you turn me into a toad?"

A toad? How dare he think her capable of only childish tricks. She may not have her powers, but she

certainly had her sight and she hit him exactly where she knew it would stun him. She proceeded to inform him of all the outcomes of his recent business ventures and future ones. She even told him to beware of the present business deal he thought so favorable. His facts were not as accurate as he thought and it could cost him dearly.

"But then with your exceptional powers," she said, "I'm sure you were already aware of that." Dagon was surprised and impressed. Her ability of sight was remarkably accurate; not all witches possessed the skill, and some possessed that and none other. Was that her problem? Were all her powers focused solely on sight? He marched into the castle, Bernard opening the door for him. Dagon walked past several servants, who seemed not at all surprised by the sight of him carrying Sarina. He took her to the kitchen and deposited her on a chair. He kept his eye on her but addressed Margaret "Hot tea, bandages, and ointment, Margaret. She's been at it again."

Sarina was disappointed with herself. She had allowed Dagon to disrupt her emotionally, and that was not acceptable behavior for a witch of her capacity. She had gained her wisdom many many years ago and prided herself in her knowledge. And here she was allowing her own foolish pride to dictate, not a good reaction.

And neither was the fact that Dagon could agitate, annoy, attract. Was that what really disturbed her?

She sighed and snuggled deeper beneath the blue and green plaid flannel quilt. The tiny white kitten lay sleeping beside her on the pillow and a gusty wind blew outside the window of her small room, sounding like a moanful ghost. It was late, well past one in the morning. The castle was asleep and so should she be, but no matter how hard she tried sleep eluded her.

She had refused to allow Dagon to yet again tend her wounds, and with a hardy laugh he had left the kitchen and her care to Margaret. She had then spent the remainder of the day finding and preparing a box for her new kitten and seeing that she was fed.

Margaret, Janey, and Sarina debated over names for the feline until the three had agreed upon Lady Lily. It seemed that the tiny kitten was as demanding as any royal lady could be, and being her fur was as white as a lily, the two names blended well.

Lady Lily had settled herself quite comfortably into her new quarters in Sarina's room, and many of the staff dropped by to make her acquaintance, giving her even more reason to believe herself to be royalty. When she had begun her pitiful wail in the box at bedtime, Sarina knew that only one place would serve the demanding lady, her bed.

The tiny kitten had curled up beside her head on the pillow and went directly to sleep. That was several hours ago, and Sarina still remained awake, her thoughts still on Dagon.

She was attracted to Dagon and he to her, but could he give her what she so desperately needed? She thought him to be the one that would help her break the spell, but she could be wrong. She couldn't see her future, though she could follow her instincts, for they had never failed her. Only now she felt confused and unsure.

What if he wasn't the one?

What then?

She had no choice, not really. She had to take a chance. There was nothing else left for her to do. It was either accept her fate and live with the results or charge full speed ahead into an uncertain future? Was she strong enough to do that?

Strong enough to face her fate?

No answer came to her, but then she didn't expect one. It was her decision to make, and she would make it. She would toss caution to the wind and take a chance. Something she had never done in her life, and while the prospect concerned her she also grew excited with antic.i.p.ation.

There were no guarantees, no promises, but there were possibilities and that was all she needed to start.

She yawned and began thinking about her new a.s.signment to Dagon's quarters-and possibilities.

Ten.

"Lily, come out from under that bed this instant," Sarina said. The kitten ignored her order and remained curled in a ball sound asleep beneath Dagon's bed. Sarina had been trying to coax her out for a good ten minutes and now resorted to a raised voice.

Lady Lily was not at all intimidated, she slept on peacefully.

Sarina sighed in frustration. Here she was on her knees, her head buried beneath the bed and her backside stuck up in the air attempting to coax one stubborn feline to do her bidding.

She should have realized this morning when Lily woke with the dawn and meowed in her ear until Sarina fed her, that she expected to have her way. After she made use of the litter pan, she once again meowed at Sarina, as if ordering her to clean it. Lady Lily then deposited her chubby little ball of fur at the door, as though informing Sarina that she would go no place without her.

Sarina unwisely scooped her up and took her along with her while she saw to her newly a.s.signed duties in Dagon's quarters. All had gone well, especially since her workday was limited to three hours, and when she was ready to leave, twenty minutes ago, she had glanced about for Lady Lily and could not find her. It took her ten minutes to locate her and another ten spent on coaxing her, and she still remained beneath the bed.

"Lily, if you make me come get you, you're going to be in serious trouble," Sarina scolded. The threat failed to work, and it was with a groan of frustration that Sarina wiggled herself farther under the bed.

Dagon hurried into his room thinking Sarina finished for the day. He had dressed in gray slacks and a turtleneck this morning, and with the cold gusty day sending a chill through the old stone walls, he had come in search of his black wool slipover sweater. He stopped abruptly, catching sight of Sarina's tempting round backside sticking up in the air and her head and shoulders shoved beneath his bed.

He stepped back and leaned against the doorjamb, providing him with a better view, and he listened with interest and watched with a smile on his face as she chastised the hiding kitten.

d.a.m.n, her backside was stunning. His eyes remained rooted to the two soft mounds that wiggled back and forth as she attempted to work her way beneath the bed, and his smile spread.

"Lily," she said firmly, and the kitten hissed and Sarina let out a yelp.

Dagon contained his laugh, knowing full well Sarina would not appreciate hearing it. He did, however, think she would appreciate his help. He could sense her agitation and her tiredness. He hadn't wanted her to return to her duties for at least another full day especially after the incident in the tree. But she had insisted, arguing with Bernard until he agreed she could work but three hours today. Even that Dagon felt was excessive, but she had been adamant, and Bernard was in agreement, so to keep the both of them happy and himself sane he had given his permission.

Her legs were now the only part of her visible, the rest being beneath the bed, and her voice was soft and cajoling. Her legs were slim, though her ankles were too thin and that small imperfection made her all the more appealing to him.

Why?

Why did everything about Sarina interest him? He was attracted to her flaws as much as her perfections. Not that he always looked for perfection. In flawlessness there was boredom; it had been the women who were different that always caught his eye. And Sarina was certainly different.

He shook his head and reluctantly took his eyes off her shapely legs, then walked around to the other side of the bed. He got down on his knees and stuck his head beneath the bed. "Need help?"

Startled, Sarina jumped and hit the back of her head on the box spring.

Lady Lily offered her sympathy with a gentle meow.

"It's all your fault," she told the kitten and rubbed at the back of her head.

"That's no way to talk to a lady," Dagon said with a grin.

Sarina glared at him and grew angry with herself. He was too handsome. No one man had the right to be that good-looking. And that long dark hair of his only added to his outrageous looks. And of course there was his charm, add to that a dash of arrogance, and the man simply was too good to be true.

Annoyed with her thoughts and the kitten she said, "I suppose you could do better?"

"Now, there's a challenge, dear heart, I can't turn down."

"Do you think yourself that irresistible?" she asked when she already knew the answer.

"Shall we find out?" he said and turned his attention on the kitten.

Sarina didn't need the gift of sight to know Lady Lily would respond willingly and graciously to Dagon's charming demands. Without delay the little white kitten strolled over to him purring and brushing up against the hand he had extended her.

He continued to speak softly to her, and she curled her plump tiny body in the palm of his hand and waited for him to remove her from beneath the bed.

"She seems to be ready to make her exit," he said with a wink to Sarina.

Sarina simply nodded, not trusting herself to speak especially to her mutinous kitten. While Dagon slipped easily from beneath the bed with Lady Lily comfortably in his hand, Sarina proceeded to wiggle herself out. She did fine, most of her body free, her shoulders and head the only part of her that needed to follow, when suddenly she felt a tug at the back of her collar.

She stopped herself from moving any farther when she heard the gentle tear of material. She balanced herself on one hand, realizing if she didn't remain slightly alleviated whatever she was stuck on would tear her blouse to shreds. With her free hand she attempted to extract herself but found it difficult to reach the place that had her hooked solid.

"A problem?" she heard Dagon ask.

A word that once rarely entered her thought or speech and yet now it forever haunted her. She reluctantly admitted the truth. "Yes, I seem to be stuck on something."