Read Online The Temple of Indra’s Jewel: by Rachael Stapleton - Free Book Online

black and red. I hadn’t pegged him as a pretty boy.
    “Here we are,” he said, opening the door of the Land Rover beside the Ferrari.
    Like Cullen, it was down to earth and sleek, but with masculine charm.
    I climbed in, smiled and closed my eyes. When I opened them again we were pulling through a private gate, surrounded by parasol pines and orange trees, facing an elegant, provincial-style villa. A front terrace faced us, and a handsome man smoking a pipe waved down at us.
    “That was quick!” I noted as he turned off the ignition.
    “You drifted off,” he said as he got out and came around to assist me.
    “This is your family’s vacation home? I feel funny about intruding.”
    “You’re not intrudin’. Come on.”
    I followed Cullen inside and across the foyer. My eyes gravitated to the large windows and doors offering rosy, hopeful beams from the radiating sun. Everything curved—the stairs, the doorways and the windows—or was it my vision?
    The large room suddenly felt airless and began to sway eerily, as if the floorboards were collapsing. Not again. I knew that my knees were beginning to give, but I couldn’t steady myself. I reached out for the wall in order to stay on my feet. My throat was desert dry; my heart pounded as I stumbled, but Cullen was quick to scoop me up.
    “Let’s lie you down.” I could feel his muscles flex beneath his soccer jersey as he carried me up the spiral staircase.
    “Ah, God, Cullen… Jesus, Mary and Joseph, what have you—?” A fine-boned woman with beautiful brown eyes and curly auburn hair cut her words short as she came around the corner and saw us.
    She stared for a moment, obviously trying to absorb the situation.
    “Hello there!” she said, directing her gaze at me and then back at Cullen. “I rang ya on your mobile but you didn’t answer. Is everything all right?”
    “Everything’s grand, Mum. Remember Sophia from the Lérins Islands? I’ll be right back.”
    “I’m Lucille. It’s lovely to meet you, again,” Mrs. O’Kelley said, ignoring her son and following at a close pace, all bunny teeth and big, brown, worried eyes.
    “You too,” I stammered, although truthfully I didn’t remember meeting her at all.
    “And it’s nice to see I raised such a gallant fella, but do ya mind tellin’ me what’s going on? Please tell me ya didn’t steal her from the hospital, son?”
    Cullen turned and smiled at his mother trying to put her at ease. “She’s fine—everythin’s fine.”
    “All right. All right. Lay her down in the guestroom—she looks like she could use a rest—and then come and fill me in. I’m only your mother, ya know.”
    We came to a small, cozy room, and he set me on the bed, where floral patterns ran rampant and the pillows were large and fluffy, tempting me to drift off.
    “Do you think I could borrow a phone? I want to call my grandmother.”
    “To be sure. Rest here for a minute and I’ll go grab it.”

    I woke to a voice wafting down the hall. I paused and listened; it sounded like Cullen speaking. Feeling curious as a cat, I climbed out of bed and tiptoed out the door as stealthily as I could manage. Cullen’s voice jumped out at me.
    “I tell ya, Liam, those curves give me vertigo.”
    “Yeah, she’s a looker and daft in the head… thinks she’s from the nineteenth century or some shite.”
    “Don’t be rude, ye arse. She’s been through enough. I don’t know what happened to her, but I swear she’s the girl I told ya ’bout—the one in the dream.”
    “Yer crazy talkin’—ya just want her to be.”
    “No. I couldn’t forget a girl like that. Geez, man, her eyes are like blue marbles. And that mouth, and those freckles… No, I’m sure. Crazy as it sounds, it’s her. And the kicker is that lately the dreams are more frequent, and they’re vivid as all hell.”
    I peeked my head in. I didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping but I couldn’t resist. Cullen, staring out the window, looked