Magic In The Storm (23 page)

This time, Morgan did not dare to look up. He
knew precisely what he would see, and he did not wish to give this
woman any indication he was interested in her shocking
proposition.

Morgan cleared his throat and started once
again. “You are searching for love, but it is not where you would
think to find it.”

“Oh, I think I know where to find it,” she
said, suggestively. Morgan felt a hand running up his thigh.
Resisting the urge to jump from his chair, Morgan crossed his legs
in an effort to remove himself from her reach.

“You will find it in your home,” Morgan
continued with as much magical power and conviction as he could put
into his voice without making eye contact, “where your
husband
is waiting for you to return to him.”

The woman huffed in disbelief. The hand
pulled away from his own and Morgan heard the chair she had been
sitting on scrape back on the wood floor as she left the table.

Morgan sighed with relief, dropping his head
into his hand for a moment.

Another palm appeared on the table in front
of him. This one wore no rings, but the heel and side of the hand
was stained with blue and black paint or ink—and it was shaking
ever so slightly. Without looking up, Morgan took the hand gingerly
in his own and brushed the palm with the tips of his fingers.
Minute sparks of electricity jumped from her hand to his as intense
tingles and heat went rushing up his arm and through his body.

A smile was beginning to grow on his face as
he looked up into the deep, soothing green of Adriana’s eyes.

Without a thought Morgan stood, still holding
tightly onto her hand.

“Morgan!” She then turned, and, with a quick
look back at him, silently invited him to follow her out of the
partially open doors into the garden just outside of the parlor.
She did not stop there, however, but continued on, away from the
sounds of the party, and into the darkness of evening.

<><><>

Adriana’s heart was beating hard.

She almost hadn’t believed her eyes when she
had entered the side parlor searching for the way out to the
garden—and saw Morgan there dressed as a gypsy and reading
palms.

There was no mistaking him. She could feel
his presence as easily as she could recognize his long dark hair,
broad shoulders, and the tilt of his head. She watched with
amazement and, she reluctantly admitted, growing pique, as one lady
went over and nearly threw herself at him. A thrill went through
her, however, when the woman got up in a huff and stalked off.

Now she turned to face him in the soft light
of the moon reflected in his dark eyes. The cool, fresh air sent
tingles over her bare arms.

“Why?” the question was wrenched out of her
before she could even gather her wits. “Why are you here?”

Adriana had worked so hard over the past week
to drive him from her mind. She had put away the painting of him
her traitorous hand had painted without meaning to, and focused her
mind on preparing for her wedding. Shopping, cleaning, preparing
menus, making lists of who to invite to the wedding and the ball
that would be held in her honor—she made sure all these things,
with all of their little details, took up every moment of her
time.

And now, just when she thought she had
finally won the battle, and managed to go nearly the whole day
without thinking about him, here he was again. She felt... well,
she didn’t know what to feel. Her emotions were all in a turmoil,
each clambering for dominance—anger, shock, joy, elation and, yes,
desire.

Morgan took her hand again. “I came to see
you. You left so suddenly. You didn’t even say goodbye.” His voice
was low, and filled with sorrow. Adriana’s eyes stung with unshed
tears.

She shook her head, pulling her hand away.
She would not give in. She would be strong.

Taking a step away from him, she blinked
rapidly a few times to clear her eyes, hoping he hadn’t noticed. “I
had to.”

“Was it your guardian? Did he force you to
leave?”

“No.” It came out as a croak. Adriana’s
cleared her throat, and said more strongly. “No. It was me. I asked
to leave.”

Morgan shook his head slowly. “I don’t
understand. Why?”

Why?
Adriana took a deep breath. How
could she do this? Explain this to him?

He was so simple, so earnest, and so hurt.
Seeing him here in London, in his shirt sleeves and colorful gypsy
vest—looking so sweet and handsome, and completely out of place
among the glitter of society... How could she explain to him the
mores, the rules of society that had been drilled into her ever
since she was a little girl?

She made the attempt. “It was wrong, Morgan,
what we did together.”

“No. It was beautiful. You are beautiful.” He
took another step closer and reached for her again, but she backed
up, keeping her distance.

She still didn’t trust herself to stand too
close to him. The threat that she would throw herself into his arms
and beg for him to kiss her and hold her was there, at the very
edge of her self control. She had to keep her distance. Luckily,
the beautifully landscaped garden allowed her to do that.

“Please, Morgan,” she begged. “Please try to
understand.”

“I am trying. What was wrong in what we
did?”

Adriana took a shaky breath and tried again.
“We... people who are not married should not,
cannot
be
so... so intimate as we were. It isn’t right.”

“Adriana, you are so beautiful. Just looking
at you makes me feel good. But touching you like I did, and having
you touch me...”

“No. It was wrong. I still don’t know how I
ever allowed you...”

“Because it wasn’t wrong. Nothing has ever
been so right.” He reached out and took her hand, but she snatched
it away again.

“Morgan, we cannot do such things,” she said
as firmly as she could. Oh, but how I wish we could, her rebellious
heart cried. “I’d like us to be friends,” she said, before she even
had time to think it through. “Friends, but nothing more,” she
quickly amended.

“Friends.” Morgan’s bright, happy eyes
dulled, and his smile disappeared.

“Yes.” Adriana couldn’t help wringing her
hands together. It was all she could do not to reach out and hold
him to her—to bury her face in his broad shoulders and cry out that
she wanted to be close to him again too. “Just friends.”

He stood staring at some point over her
shoulder, his arms hanging uselessly at his sides. She desperately
wished he wouldn’t look so sad and vulnerable.

She looked up into the star–strewn sky. How
could the night be so still and lovely when her heart beat like a
horse at full gallop, and her mind so very upset and confused?

“I need you, Adriana. I need to be with you.”
His voice was quiet and low.

A flash of lightning suddenly rent the sky,
and a wave of heat hotter than the hottest summer day suddenly
engulfed them. For a moment Adriana struggled breathe, the heat was
so intense. Clouds shifted in quickly covering the stars and moon
that had been shining so brightly just moments before.

And then as if an unseen hand suddenly shoved
her, a gust of wind pushed Adriana away from Morgan, knocking her
to the ground a few feet away.

“How dare you!” A quiet, angry, menacing
voice came from the direction of the house.

A
driana’s breath
whooshed out of her lungs as she landed hard on the ground. She
struggled to catch her breath, but then lost it again when she saw
Lady Vallentyn lit by a flash of lightning. Her long, pale face was
filled with such hatred, Adriana had never seen the like before,
and she hoped she never would again.

“What?” The word formed on Adriana’s lips,
but she didn’t have the breath to speak it out loud, nor the voice
as her heart hammered in her throat.

“Mother!” Morgan said, spinning around to
face her.

Mother? Lady Vallentyn was Morgan’s
mother?

“Well, well, Morgan. I heard you had escaped,
but I simply could not believe it. I just had to see for myself.”
Lady Vallentyn’s voice oozed malice.

Adriana’s stomach clutched with fear, but
words kept screaming out in her mind—she was his mother? He had
escaped? Escaped from what, why, how? Whatever could it mean?

Morgan paled, his face hardening into a look
as terrifying as his mother’s. He took a step backwards, moving
away from Adriana.

“You puny little boy, how did you do it? How
did you manage to get past my barriers? Did your cousin help you? I
know your brother could not have. He doesn’t have the ability.”

His brother, that would be Lord Vallentyn?
Adriana quickly worked it out in her mind. And his cousin...

Morgan flinched putting up his arm as if to
ward off her harsh words. Yet he continued to stand up to his
mother. “Kat had nothing to do with it, and neither did Vallentyn,”
he said.

“Yet you managed somehow, even with your
feeble little abilities. You know you are nothing, Morgan,” Lady
Vallentyn hissed, advancing slowly.

Adriana gasped. She had always had bad
feelings about Lady Vallentyn, but that was unnecessarily
cruel.

Morgan’s arm stayed raised while he briefly
turned his shoulder to Lady Vallentyn as she spoke, but just as
quickly, he turned back to face the onslaught of her anger. As he
turned, Adriana noticed the arm of his shirt flap open as if it had
been sliced with a knife.

“You are nothing, and you will always be
nothing,” she spat at him. “Soon you will be less than nothing,
just an ordinary man. And you will never escape me again.”

Adriana watched as Morgan flinched and
quickly turned his shoulder toward his mother once again. A gash
appeared on his chest near the shoulder he had turned towards Lady
Vallentyn. Adriana could see something dark beginning to stain his
shirt—surely it wasn’t... blood?

“You may have worked some kind of trick, but
you will never become powerful. Do not even dare to hold out any
hope, it will not come. You... stupid... weak... little...
boy!”

“How dare you!” Adriana finally said,
gathering her wits, and trying to stand up. “How could you...”

“Quiet!” Lady Vallentyn said, raising her
arm. As she did so, Adriana was thrown backwards once again. This
time her head hit the tree behind her. White spots danced in front
of her eyes with the pain.

She blinked her vision clear. Morgan took a
step toward her, but then stopped. His shirt was now soaked with
blood from his lacerated arm and shoulder. It was almost as if an
invisible whip were thrashing him, descending again and again with
each harsh word Lady Vallentyn spoke. But that was impossible—but
so was being pushed backwards without being touched.

An unnatural heat began to surround Adriana
as if she were sitting in the bowels of hell. It stirred the air as
Lady Vallentyn said, “Now get yourself back to Vallentyn before I
become truly angry. And if you ever try this again, Morgan...” Lady
Vallentyn took a menacing step forward.

Morgan, however, would not be cowed. With
sweat glistening on his face, he took a quick look over at Adriana.
Shaking his head, he stood up taller, squaring his shoulders. “No,
Mother.”

A bolt of lightning cracked loudly, making
Adriana jump. A horse whinnied in fright, but Adriana held onto her
cries. She wrapped her arms around herself as the hot wind grew
stronger.

“What do you mean, no?” Lady Vallentyn’s
voice became lower and even more frightening.

But Morgan showed no fear. “I mean, no. I
will not return to the forest. And I will not listen to you
anymore.” Morgan’s voice carried like a cool breeze, cutting
through the stifling heat, and over the howling of the wind.

“How dare you contradict my orders!” The
trees swayed dangerously, as the wind grew even stronger all around
them. Looking up, Adriana prayed that nothing would fall on top of
her. She would have moved away from the tree she was under, but
fear of being thrown back once again kept her still.

“I will do as I please. You have no hold over
me anymore, Mother.” Morgan waved his hand. Immediately, the wind
died down.

Slowly Adriana began to unfurled herself.

“I am not a little boy. I am a man, and I am
stronger than you realize,” Morgan said, taking a step forward.

“We’ll just see about that!” Lady Vallentyn
began to raise her arms, but Morgan stretched out his hands in
front of him and she froze. “No, Mother. You will do nothing more
here tonight.”

“But...” Lady Vallentyn lowered her arms and
then tried to raise them again, but once again they were stopped
about halfway up her body. “How did you do that? What has
happened?”

Adriana resisted the sudden urge to laugh at
Lady Vallentyn’s chagrin at her inability to move. Clearly, if she
couldn’t move, she couldn’t do anything.

“I have learned, Mother. I have learned to
use my powers, and they are growing. Soon I will become even more
powerful than you.”

“Never!” she spat, her face darkening with
rage.

“We’ll see about that,” he said quietly.

Without another word, Morgan turned and held
out his hand to Adriana. It was cool, and tingles shot into her
wherever he touched her.

“Come, let’s go,” he said. He put his arm
around her waist protectively, and began to lead her past Lady
Vallentyn and toward the house once again.

As they passed her, Lady Vallentyn caught
Adriana’s eye. “Adriana, stop! You will not go with him.”

The voice sounded both inside and outside
Adriana’s head. Her feet stopped moving, and suddenly she was
rooted to the spot, unable to move.

“No! You
will not
control her,”
Morgan’s angry voice cut through whatever it was that was holding
her in place. Gently he led her forward, “Do not listen to her, and
do not look at her. I will protect you. Come now.”