Asanni (38 page)

“Don’t eavesdrop next time. Ingmar said
hello, by the way. He’s at Liv and Tristan’s. They invited
him.”

“Traitors!” He turned her around. “I want to
see what you’re wearing under this,” he whispered on her lips,
parting them, as his hands disappeared under her sweater and gently
squeezed her breasts.

“That’s not going to make things easier,
Jack,” Astrid whispered back and locked her arms around his neck,
leaning her head against his shoulder for a moment. “Let’s go
back,” she said and towed him toward the dining room.

“That was Seattle,” Astrid said. “Everybody
says hello.”

Drew, Alec and Lily were about to leave.
“We’ll be back tomorrow, as moral support,” Alec said, hugging her
and kissing her cheek. “See you, cousin.”

Betty came back after seeing them out. “Are
you tired, Astrid? It’s been a long day. Do you want me to show you
your room?”

It had been a long day indeed, and Astrid did
feel tired. On the other hand, she didn’t want to part with Jack.
Their brief encounter in the living room, however, had left her
burning with a fire that wasn’t going to be put out tonight.

“That may be a good idea,” she said and
turned to Jack. “When are you leaving?”

“Day after tomorrow. I have a couple of
meetings in the morning, but I’ll be here later.”

“Astrid, sweetheart,” James said, “Jack and I
have lots to do in the next couple of weeks. That means traveling.
I’ll go myself whenever possible so that Jack can stay here.
Sometimes you’ll go with him, to the ranches and around.”

“Oh, I’d love to,” she said.

Eamon winked at her. “You need to meet your
subjects and know your realm, Ellida. And, if you like, we can
start with your house tomorrow.”

“That’s a good idea. I have to fetch my
laptop and some other things from there.”

Betty gently touched Astrid’s elbow and
walked her upstairs. “Come, Astrid, let me take you to your
room.”

Jack placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I’ll
see you tomorrow, then. Sweet dreams, baby.”

“I DON’T want to sound like a spoiled kid,”
Astrid said to Betty as they climbed the staircase “but I’ve been
living on frazzled nerves for a while. Jack’s been my support all
this time.”

“You don’t need to apologize or explain
anything, Astrid. We are all impressed with how you’ve been
handling all the pressure. You were in hiding for a year, you were
attacked, you have a difficult transformation every month, and you
work all the time. Of course you want to be with Jack! We are all
going to have a couple of busy weeks ahead and you’re going to
carry the heaviest burden, Astrid. You’ll need lots of patience
with us and with Red Cliffs.”

They stopped in front of a guest room that
had been prepared for Astrid.

“Last night Jack asked me if I wanted to run
away with him,” Astrid said.

“I’m not surprised. Jack’s an honorable man.
He wanted to give you a chance to change your mind. And he loves
you a lot, you know that.”

“Oh, I love him even more, but that also
scares me. We met a few weeks ago, and I’m not only in love, I love
him, with all my heart. I’m not complete without him, he’s a part
of me. It’s so intense. Falling in love is one thing, but love...
Love doesn’t just happen, it should develop over time, shouldn’t
it?”

Betty smiled and shook her head. “And who
says so? Why shouldn’t love happen, just like that. There are no
rules.”

Astrid smiled. “You might be right. I’ve
never thought about love that way.”

“It’s not always logical,” Betty said, “but
it happens.”

“Thank God it does.”

THE FIRST thing Astrid saw when Betty opened
the door was a crystal vase with two dozen pale pink roses on the
nightstand beside the bed.

It was a simple, comfortable room with an
attached bathroom. It was warm, and exuded a faint scent of
furniture polish and fresh linen. The soft-yellow walls and white
and pale-green color scheme balanced out the polished hardwood
floor, the massive bed frame and sparse dark furniture. One glance
at the spacious, inviting bed, with its fluffy white pillows and
crisp bedspreads made Astrid realize how dog-tired she was.

Betty quickly showed Astrid around the room
before she wished her good night.

Astrid’s suitcases and a few boxes with her
clothing stood in the corner, but she didn’t bother to unpack them.
She took a quick shower, brushed her teeth and wrapped herself in a
big, fluffy white towel. She moved the curtain and looked through
the window just in time to see the lights in the big house flicking
on. Jack was at home, across the yard, and that thought comforted
her. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, imagining him in rooms
she’d never seen before.

Further down, she could see her house,
wrapped in the dark night. She smiled. Regardless of what Jack had
said on the plane, it looked like both Mohegan houses were in the
Canagan house’s backyard. Positioned slightly ahead, Jack’s home
stood right between them, a big, handsome, solid structure, like
its owner himself.

Astrid pressed her palm against the
windowpane. “I love you, Jack,” she whispered and blew him a kiss,
then walked to bed and let the towel fall to the floor. She slid
under the covers. The bed sheets were smooth and pleasant against
her bare skin. “Better get used to sleeping naked,” she said to
herself, remembering their little talk about her nightwear or
rather the absence of it.

Her narrow, elegant foot peeked out under the
cover. Astrid wiggled her toes inspecting her impeccable toenails
painted in pearly pink.

“I’ll buy red nail polish, and you better
start looking for those sexy boxers, Jack Canagan,” she murmured.
Lifting herself on her elbow, she leaned toward the vase and
touched a rose to her lips.

She turned the lights off. With a sigh of
pleasure, she cocooned the bedcover around herself.

The moment her head hit the pillow, she was
sound asleep.

Not unlike her characters, J.F. Kaufmann
leads a double life: by day she is an employee in a public library,
mother of two teenage boys, a friend, a colleague, and the Queen of
her kitchen. When the moon rises, however, she shifts into her
other self and, as Queen of the Night, reigns in the magical world
of Langaer.

Born and raised in a tiny, fairylike country
far, far away, J. F. Kaufmann made Calgary her home twenty years
ago.