Free Kiss of the Dragon by Nicola Claire Page B

Well enough for a celebration, I think."
    I smiled wider. "Sounds intriguing."
    "I have work to do then," she announced, standing up slowly, brushing herself down and taking a step away. She turned back suddenly, her face a little uncertain. "Not that you wouldn't already be aware, Mistress, but he worked tirelessly to have the portals opened again. There were moments where I think he feared he would not succeed."
    That didn't sound like Michel, he was always so sure of himself and his ability to achieve his goals. If there was a question of failure at all, then it wouldn't have been from lack of him trying or lack of his abilities. I wondered just what he had to face to get them opened again and what the consequences would now be. I nodded to Kathleen and watched her walk off towards the vegetable garden and then slipped back into the house.
    I found Michel in his office. It was much larger than his home office in St. Helier's Bay. You could almost mistake it for a library, although I knew the Château had a larger room with shelved books and roller ladders, green glass covered lamp shades and comfortable chairs. This office only had two walls of bookshelves, but a large antique partner's desk, leather clad chairs and beautiful green leafed plants filling the space. The floor was parquet, like the rest of the house, with a large intricate rug covering the centre of the room. The lights were on as the shutters were still down and the fireplace was set, but not alight.
    "Hey," I said softly, my head poking around the door.
    He stopped what he was doing immediately and smiled. " Ma douce , come in." He lifted his hand and held it out to me in invitation. I walked straight to him and let him pull me onto his lap.
    His kiss was soft and gentle, a brush of his lips against mine, a soft inhale of my scent to ground him, the stroke of his hand over the small of my back. He pulled away and gazed up at me, his eyes skimming my face as though he hadn't seen me in months, not just a couple of hours. He seemed hungry for any glimpse, trying to memorise features as if he was scared I'd run away.
    I smiled reassuringly down at him and traced a line from his temple down his neck with a finger. We both sighed.
    "Was it bad when I was away?" I asked, surprising him I think.
    "In what way?"
    "Getting the portals back open?"
    "Ah," he said and my stomach plummeted. He squeezed me tightly for a split second and then leaned back in his chair and stared up at me. "Politics, nothing more, ma belle ."
    I raised my eyebrows at him and cocked my head. That answer was not going to wash. He chuckled.
    "All right," he conceded. "I shall confess all. But lets do this over a drink."
    He helped me to my feet and walked over to a drinks trolley that had been hiding behind a particularly leafy pot plant in the corner of the room. He started fussing with ice in one crystal glass and then adding the appropriate liquor into two. Scotch straight for him. A Bacardi and Coke on ice for me.
    I didn't question his suggestion of an alcoholic beverage, I was sure it was now past 5pm, so although the sun was still shining outside, it was well over the yardarm. Besides, if he said I needed a drink to hear this, I believed him.
    He turned back to me, offering the glass and then led the way to a leather two-seater sofa in front of the fireplace. Despite it not being lit, the pine cones and dried setting inside the hearth was still appealing. I took a sip of my drink to fortify myself and then turned to face him on the couch.
    He had been watching me. I got the feeling he was going to be doing that every time I walked into a room for some time to come. The separation, and maybe as Kathleen had said, the fear he wouldn't get the portals open again, had taken its toll. That worried me.
    "What happened?" I asked, reaching over and taking his hand, the one with the new Sigillum . It was instinctive to reach for him, but the Sigillum increased that desire tenfold.
    He took a sip