I’d only felt power that strong once, from the memory of the man we’d run from. And everything about his magic had been dark. It’d smelled and tasted like rot and felt like being stabbed with a thin knife. It wasn’t like this guy’s magic. But power that strong made me nervous. His magic alone was dangerous. If I used mine around him, he was strong enough to sense it. He might even figure out what I was.
“Care to explain what you’re doing lurking outside my door?” I asked, keeping my knives at the ready.
How’d he get past the locked door downstairs?
“Waiting for you,” he said. His voice had a hint of gravel to it, but in a pleasant way. A sexy way, but I didn’t want to explore that until I was sure he wasn’t here to kill me. Combined with the chiseled planes of his face and his athletic physique, he was the complete package.
He looked like a super model, but not quite the pretty kind. The kind that was a bit rough around the edges, with strong hands and chiseled features. He could model designer flannel as easily as suits. His dark hair and eyes would look amazing with either, but it was his lips that I had to drag my stupid gaze from.
He towered over my five-foot-seven-inch height. Six three, at least, I mused, sizing him up for a potential showdown. If it came down to it, I’d have to run. Between his magic and his strength, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
“How’d you get in?” I asked, deciding to play nice and hoping this didn’t go south. Perhaps he had a legit reason to be here, but the pessimist inside me said otherwise.
“You shouldn’t leave your door unlocked.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Then I got lucky.”
“And by luck, you mean magic.”
He shrugged one big shoulder and nodded.
“But you didn’t use it to get into my place?” I asked. I tried to calm my racing heart, hoping his shifter senses couldn’t pick it up. I didn’t think he’d be able to find my troves even if he had gotten in—they were well hidden behind false walls—but I didn’t like the possibility.
The corner of his mouth hiked up in a devastating smile. “That’d be just rude.”
An exasperated puff of air escaped me. I shouldn’t have been thinking about how hot or funny this guy was…but I couldn’t help it. “Yeah, totally. This little bit of B&E”—I pointed to the stairs—“is totally cool.”
He grinned again, looking too charming and sexy for my own good. This guy was killing me. “You’re the expert, given your line of work.”
“What do you know about me? And who are you?”
“I know you’re Cassiopeia Clereaux, the best treasure hunter in Magic’s Bend.”
“Cass,” I said. Only Del and Nix could call me Cassiopeia. I chose Cleraux, my last name, because it sounded good with Cass. It wasn’t Irish, but I couldn’t remember if I liked my life back there. “Why don’t you tell me who you are?”
“Aidan Merrick.”
“Oh hell,” I breathed. I’d thought his power felt strange. “The Origin.”
“That name’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
“Is it true? Can you shift into anything?” I didn’t know much about shifter lore, but according to rumor, the Origin was the descendent of the original alpha. The first shifter—a griffon or a dragon, depending on who you talk to. There was one born every generation, and he or she had the power to shift into any animal at will.
“You’d have to get to know me better to find out. That’s not really first date information.”
My heart fluttered. “This isn’t a date.”
“It could be.”
“I thought you were here about a job.”
“I am. But then I saw you. I’d like to add on a date.”
“No.” I’d only ever heard of Aidan Merrick, never seen him in person. I knew he had a place in Magic’s Bend, but the tabloids said he had a house on every continent. Now that I looked at him, he did seem a bit familiar. I only skimmed the tabloids when waiting at the grocery store. Now, I wished I had a few subscriptions. He was even more dangerous than I’d first thought.
“That’s final, then?” he asked.
“Final?”
“About the date.”
“Yeah.”
He shrugged, a surprisingly elegant motion for such a big guy. “I’ll ask again later. Maybe you’ll change your mind if you get to know me.”
“Uh…” I had no idea what to say. Hot, powerful millionaires didn’t normally ask me out. That wasn’t really my thing. “Why are you here again?”
“Two reasons. One, I want to know why you robbed a tomb on my property in Ireland. And two, I want to hire you.”
No joke, my jaw almost dropped. I kept it closed through force of will alone. He owned the property that contained the tomb I’d just robbed? Had he seen the broken warrior goddess column? Double damn.
“Most landowners don’t notice when I borrow something.”
“I’m not most. And…borrow?”
No, he certainly wasn’t most.
“I’m returning the chalice tomorrow,” I said, moving up my timeline and hoping he wouldn’t wonder about the enchantment that’d been removed from it. “And how did you know I’d taken it?”
“A guess.”