Deep Waters

kiss on the bluff.
    He had just wanted to test the waters. Wade in the shallows. Check to see if the attraction was mutual. He had not expected to get caught by a riptide and swept out to sea before he knew what hit him.
    Years of daily exercise, both physical and mental, designed to cultivate maximum internal balance and self-discipline, all gone in an instant. So much for play ing it cool.
    It had taken an hour of contemplation beside the garden pool, a cold shower, and a shot of whiskey to control the hungry need that had set his senses on edge Wednesday night. The temptation to walk back to Charity's cottage, knock on the door, and ask her to take him into her bed had nearly unhinged him.
    Scary. Very scary.
    But he was back in control now, he assured himself. Two days of intense Tal Kek Chara workouts had re established the balance of his inner flow.
    Sort of.
    Elias stood behind his counter with Crazy Otis stationed beside him on the fake tree limb. Together they watched as Charity moved up and down the crowded aisles of Charms & Virtues, clipboard in hand.
    With a woman like this, you had to be careful what you asked for, Elias reflected. This morning he had foolishly asked for some business marketing advice.
    At the time he had been pleased with the subtle maneuver. He had thought to use the request as an excuse to spend more time with her. He had envisioned giving her tea in the intimate privacy of the tiny office behind the cash register counter.
    But she had taken his request far too seriously. She was attacking the job of whipping his business into shape with gusto.
    If she had experienced any serious aftereffects from that out-of-control kiss two days ago, they certainly didn't show, he thought morosely. "I'll get back to you on that," she had said when he'd told her that he wanted to have an affair. It was as if she had sensed the weakness in him and knew herself to be in the driver's seat.
    Dangerous. But a challenge he could not resist.
    "We'll have to find Hayden's supplier files and order info." Charity paused to pick up a pen off a stack marked Spy Pens — Write Your Secret Messages in Invisible Ink. "I have no idea where he got most of this stuff."
    "There's a big stack of order catalogs in the office," Elias offered.
    He studied the graceful, vulnerable curve of the nape of her neck. He was sorely tempted to come out from behind the barricade of the sales counter and see what would happen if he touched that sexy place beneath her hair. He resisted the urge. He had the raw fire of unrequited lust tamped down now, but the force of it was undiminished. Unfortunately the flames burned all the hotter for being banked.
    Control was everything in Tal Kek Chara.
    "Check the business records in his old filing cabinet. There should be invoices from the companies he used on a regular basis." Charity put aside the invisible ink pen and blew dust off a collection of tiny, carved wooden boxes. "I'll have Newlin bring over one of our extra feather dusters. A clean shop has eye appeal."
    "I don't know." Elias surveyed the layer of grime on top of the fortune-teller's booth. "I think the dust adds atmosphere."
    "That's ridiculous." Charity brushed her hands together. "It makes the place look untended. Also, you really should do something to improve the lighting in here. It looks like the inside of a cave."
    "A couple of kids wandered in yesterday afternoon. I think they liked the spooky effect."
    "Anything that makes it hard for your customers to see what you have to sell doesn't help business." Charity picked up a small box and probed curiously at the latch.
    "Uh, Charity, be careful with that. Those little chests are filled with—"
    "Don't get me wrong. I agree that it's a good idea to maintain an air of mystery in a shop like Charms & Virtues, but you don't want to overdo it. Maybe some old-fashioned lamps, especially in the back section, would be the—aaaah!"
    A large, furry spider leaped out of the box.
    "Oh-my-god!" Charity shrieked again and hurled box and spider into the air.
    "Heh-heh-heh." Crazy Otis sidled along his perch, shiny eyes glittering evilly.
    "I tried to tell you." Elias came around from behind the counter and started down the aisle. "Those are gag boxes. They've all got fake spiders on springs stuffed inside."
    Charity recovered quickly. "I should have known better than to fool around with any of this stuff." She shoved the spider back into the box and firmly closed the lid. "As long as