Read Online Lure of Song and Magic by Patricia Rice - Free Book Online Page B

really, really wanted to know who she was. Did her parents have weird eyes and weird Voices? Maybe they were from outer space. Why had they abandoned her at a fire station? Had she used her Voice even as a toddler and driven her real parents crazy? She was afraid that was the answer, but she wasn’t afraid to find out. She needed to know. It was like living with a missing piece in her soul, not knowing who she was or where she came from or why she’d been abandoned.
    When she walked into her lovely, tranquil house and saw Oz through the patio door, sitting beside her pool, typing on a laptop, she almost submitted to the urge to let the Beast free to scream. Oz had invaded her privacy one too many times. He deserved the worst she could throw at him.
    But to do so meant throwing away years of practice at maintaining a Zen calm. She didn’t want to deteriorate into the dangerous infant she’d once been. She would not let him destroy everything she’d worked so hard to gain.
    She would not let him think he belonged here, either.
    She emptied a tray of ice into the food processor, crushed the cubes, and calmly carried the pitcher outside. Absorbed in his work, he either didn’t hear or ignored her approach. His gold-streaked hair rubbed his shirt collar, and his wide shoulders crushed the meager cushions of her lounge. He crossed his long legs at the ankle while he worked, neatly balancing the laptop on khaki-clad thighs. He looked much too comfortable in her home .
    She upturned the pitcher of crushed ice over his sleekly styled hair and tailored shirt.
    He didn’t scream or curse or drop what he was doing. He merely set the laptop down on the tiles and, scowling, rose to his towering height to pull out the tail of his shirt and shake the ice out. She didn’t fear him. She glared back.
    Without a word or gesture of warning, Oz caught her arm and flipped her over his shoulder, into the pool. She hit with a splash and sank to the bottom, the denim jumper growing soggy and dragging her down.
    When she fought her way back to the surface, he stood at the edge, glowering down at her. “If you’ve got a mat, I’ll take you on. Let’s work this out now before we go any further.”
    She didn’t want to take him on. He was too damned physically attractive, and she was too hormonal. Sex-deprived. Whatever. Besides, a man who could react that swiftly without giving away his intent was a formidable opponent. But two could play that game.
    Despite her hampering garments, she expertly flipped out of the pool. Squeezing water from her dress, she stood up, and with barely a hitch in her movement to warn him, she shoved him in, fancy Rolex, earring, and all.
    â€œThis is my home ,” she told him when he returned to the surface. Every cell in her body wanted to shriek with fury and frustration, but he’d already hit her with his worst, so she had no reason to lose her temper. Now it was just a matter of who was in charge here. “You are not to invade the privacy of my home. It’s bad enough you’re taking over my town and my friends and my life, but not my home .”
    She couldn’t tear her gaze from the bulging biceps he used to pull himself out of the pool. This was no lazy studio exec who spent his gym time schmoozing. The thin wet shirt revealed Dylan Oswin’s serious pecs. And she would not look lower to the soaked khakis clinging to his narrow hips. The chilly water should have cooled him off.
    She turned away and headed back to the house. “Pick up your stuff and get lost.”
    â€œThe inn doesn’t have wireless,” he shouted after her. “Or a pool. Or anywhere private to work. I’m brainstorming the project concept and thought you might like some input.” He grabbed a towel from the cabana to dry his hair.
    No one had ever asked for her opinion on a project. Pippa pretended not to hear him as she aimed for her bedroom and dry