She almost thought to let his crabbiness go, but she found his reaction strange and out-of-place considering how friendly they’d been before she’d attempted to teleport. Had Marcus been jealous of his brother? Had he been worried about her? The latter thought continually resurfaced whenever she thought of his attitude, and she felt she deserved an explanation.
Throwing on her socks, she made her way downstairs, aware she had a whole ‘sick day’ to do nothing but relax. How oddly exhilarating.
Her body still hummed with the incredible pleasure Marcus had shown her, and she meandered into the kitchen on a cloud of satisfaction.
“Well, well, good to see you up and about,” Cadmus said with a knowing grin.
She couldn’t help blushing and shook her head when he laughed out loud. “You’re bad,” she rebuked, which only earned her another laugh.
“I was about to say the same of you. Keeping poor Marcus up all night. You’d think he’d be pleasant this morning, but he nearly bit my head off before he took off out the door.”
“I’m sure you did nothing to aggravate him.” She rolled her eyes at his innocent expression, and had to admit she liked Cadmus more than she’d thought she would.
“You really are a pain. A lot like my brother Tom.”
“Thank you.” He gave her a princely bow and she studied him over her coffee cup.
“So what’s it like being royalty?”
“You don’t seem impressed,” he said casually and joined her at the kitchen table.
She shrugged. “I’m not. Though the parallel world thing threw me for a loop.”
“It threw us, too, believe me. One minute we’re arguing with Arim while the Netharat are attacking the castle walls, the next a pack of wild wolves are growling down at us in the middle of an unknown forest.”
“Really?” She leaned closer to him, subtly aware he possessed a unique energy all his own, one curiously heavier and, well, earthier than Marcus’, but no less powerful.
He nodded. “That was a year ago. Well, only a few weeks ago by Tanselm’s time.”
“Would you describe it to me?” At his confusion, she elaborated. “Tanselm? I’d love to see what it looks like through your eyes.”
He studied her thoughtfully and smiled. “I think Marcus would much rather I didn’t. Ask him and he’ll show you.”
She took a sip of coffee, slightly disappointed and more than a little curious. “Okay.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to show you.” Cadmus looked earnest as he tried to explain, for which Tessa gave him points. “It’s just that Marcus is a little tough when it comes to you.”
She frowned. “How so?”
Cadmus opened his mouth and closed it, then mumbled under his breath.
“What?”
“Look, don’t tell Marcus I said this, but he can be a little over the top at times.”
“You mean his arrogance?” She knew that all too well, but it masked another man, the real Marcus Storm she’d seen all too briefly yesterday.
“No. That arrogance is a part of him, what makes him Marcus. I’m talking about that scary part of him you haven’t seen.” He spoke in a low voice, as if afraid of being overheard.
Her pulse hammered. “Oh?”
“Marcus holds things in, and then when you’re least expecting it, bam! He knocks you between the eyes.” Her own eyes widened. Had she been so preoccupied with Marcus’ body she’d missed a violent, dangerous side of him? “The last time I borrowed his car and forgot to fill the tank, he waited an entire month before flooding my car, to the top.” He frowned when she laughed. “Tessa, I was in it at the time and late for a date.”
“Please. If you’d done that to me, I’d have filled your tank with sugar.” He looked horrified and she grinned. “Well, maybe nothing that drastic. But you should have seen the stuff I tried to pull on my brother when we were growing up. His second sight made it really hard to get one over on him. So when I did, it was a usually a doozy of a prank.”
He studied her curiously. “You have a close family, don’t you?”
“Yes. My parents are dead, but my brother and I have always been close and then there are plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins floating here and there.” She smiled. “It’s nice that only Tom lives close, but that the others are a drive or phone call away.”
“Yeah,” he said softly, a faraway look in his eyes. “You’re lucky to have them near.”
“I’m sorry, Cadmus.” She touched his hand lying on the table. “That was insensitive of me. You miss your home.” Curiosity got the better of her. “So when do you return? Your brother, Darius, right? He’s there now, isn’t he?”
Cadmus nodded. “He and Samantha are shaking up the west.” He smiled. “My mother is supposedly so happy she hasn’t stopped grinning since they returned.” He rolled his eyes. “Now she’s impossible about finding our affai. We can’t all be as lucky as Darius and Mar—” He froze at her surprise. “I mean, as lucky as Darius and Samantha. What was I thinking? Marla was an old girlfriend. I, ah, hope I never make that mistake again.”
Tessa nodded, her thoughts awhirl. She and Marcus hadn’t discussed the whole ‘affai incident,’ and wanting to keep the peace between them, she’d decided to put off asking him about it for another time. But with Cadmus so close, perhaps she could pester him—
“Well would you look at the time. Already ten and I haven’t called Marcus to let him know how we’re doing. I’ll be right back,” he said and leapt over the chair in an impressive hurdle out of the kitchen.
She glanced knowingly at the wall-mounted phone in the kitchen. How convenient he needed to call Marcus now, and from another phone altogether.
She sighed and foraged for some breakfast, then straightened their living room while she looked for the remote to the television. “Men,” she muttered as she found it buried between couch cushions and pieces of popcorn and loose change.
Flipping through the channels, she spent the next few hours catching up on cable movies, deliberately immersing herself in fantasy so she wouldn’t worry about Marcus and her status at Tomanna.
“That looks good,” Cadmus said and plopped down beside her on the couch. She nodded and watched with him in silence as Russell Crowe cut through a bevy of barbarians in the opening scene of Gladiator. “Just like the real thing.”
She grimaced and flipped the channel to a local cooking show.
“Sorry,” he murmured and gave her a repentant grin, which had her sighing. How could she stay mad a man who looked just like Marcus, but who had a boyish, almost irresistible charm?
“So, that must have been some phone call,” she mused as she watched him from the corner of her eye. She glanced at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace. “Four hours long.”
He had the grace to flush and held up his hands in surrender. “What can I say? The time got away from me. You know how charming Marcus can be.” She chuckled at the outright lie. “But in my defence I did have some work to do for Gerry, my boss.”
She frowned. “You work nights, don’t you?” Last night Marcus had briefly mentioned his brothers’ habits to prepare her stay. “You should be sleeping now, not playing babysitter to me.”
“Not true.” He shook his head, his lips curling into a sly grin. “I might work nights, but I’m not a complete deadbeat during the day. I had some work to do for Gerry since we’re a little short-staffed at the moment.” At her confusion, he explained. “I assumed Darius’ spot as bartender at Outpour, you know, that hot, new nightclub? You had to have heard about it by now.”
“Outpour, right. I’ve been wanting to go but I’ve heard it’s always so crowded.”