Free Engage (Billionaire Series) by Evelyn Harper

same jokes as me? Did he have hopes and dreams and
interests like mine?
     
    “What
are you thinking about? You look so serious!”
     
    My eyes
flashed open and I scrambled up from the very unladylike position I was in,
sprawled over the railing in front of the house, my legs waving in the air, my
chin in my hands.
     
    “Mathis!
I thought you were inside with my uncle.”
     
    “I was.
He’s decided to give me a break for today – he has to make some phone calls and
I’m ahead with my studies, so…” he trailed off, shrugging his broad shoulders.
“So, what were you thinking about?”
     
    “It was
nothing,” I said quickly. “I’m pretty bored, actually. Uncle Andy’s been busier
than I thought he was going to be.”
     
    “Do you
want to hang out, then? I’ve been staying here for weeks and I’ve barely been
able to step outside the office,” Mathis said.
     
    I
nodded eagerly my heart beating faster. “How about a walk in the woods?” I
suggested. “It’s cooler in the trees, and it’s more fun going in there with
someone else.”
     
    “Why’s
that? Are you scared?” Mathis teased.
     
    “No!” I
retorted. “I’ve been in there loads of times.”
     
    “Even
right to the middle? I hear the woods around here are enchanted. If you stray
off the path, you’ll never find your way out again,” Mathis said. His tone was
serious, but his eyes were dancing with mischief.
     
    “I have
magical powers, though,” I replied with a mischievous grin of my own. “I can
call on the wood fairies to guide me away from harm.”
    “Oh, can you now?” Mathis asked, his face showing every sign of being greatly
impressed, in the same way you would be if a five year old showed you her first
real tooth.
     
    “Yep,”
I said proudly, “Ever since I was a child the wood fairies have protected me
from all the bad spirits and dangerous creatures in the wood.”
     
    “What
about me? Do you think I’ll be alright?” Mathis asked, looking concerned.
     
    “Well,”
I said, pretending to toy with the idea, “you should ask for permission first.
Just in case.”
     
    “Permission?”
Mathis looked uncertain.
     
    “You
know. From the Queen of the wood fairies.”
     
    “Oh,
right. Good idea,” said Mathis hastily.
     
    “There’s
a clearing, just a hundred feet or so into the wood – that’d be a good place,”
I suggested, leaning forward to get ready for my next move. “Come on!” I broke
into a run, looking over my shoulder to check that Mathis was running after me.
I didn’t let up my pace until we reached the clearing. I was panting slightly,
but Mathis, despite spending most of his time indoors, didn’t seem out of
breath.
     
    “Here?”
he asked me.
     
    “Here,”
I confirmed.
     
    “Ok –
here goes,” he took a deep breath. “O fairy Queen of the wood, I humbly beg
that you grant me permission to walk freely within your realm, protecting me
from…” he looked over at me.
     
    “The
bad spirits,” I reminded him. “And werewolves.”
     
    “I beg
that you grant me protection from the black creatures of this wood,” Mathis
finished. He looked at me, grinning an irrepressibly wicked grin. “How do I
know if it worked?”
     
    “You’ll
just have to walk with me and see if you get attacked,” I shrugged.
     
    Mathis laughed
a deep, pleasant laugh which made me feel warm to my toes. “I’ll risk it.”
     
    “We’ll avoid
the middle of the forest today,” I said. “That’s where all the wicked things
gather. Let’s go to the fairy circle – it’s only a mile or so along this track.
That’s where the fairies hold their feasts.”
     
    “I
thought that if you ate fairy food you’d never be able to return to the human
world,” Mathis teased.
     
    “Silly!
We won’t see any fairies today. They only come out on Midsummer’s eve, and
maybe Thanksgiving.”
     
    “Of
course,” Mathis said, shaking his head. “Silly me.”
     
    I
laughed, and for a moment we were