Witchcraft

prepared for it." Cavenaugh stopped his restless prowling, coming to a halt in front of her. "You realize they all assume we're sleeping together."
    "What!" He nodded. "I'm afraid so.
    Except for Scott, of course, who hasn't gotten around to thinking about things like that in great detail yet."
    " But..I .. you .. we hardly even know each other." Kimberly exploded. "How could anyone assume ... "
    Words failed her. "They know I've been planning on seeing you again. I didn't make any secret of it. There have been occasional business trips I've made during the past couple of months that I think they've interpreted as slipping away to find you. And since they know we spent last night together, it's natural for them to think we slept together.
    I just thought I'd warn you."
    "Oh, gee thanks," she said furiously.
    "Did you know everyone was going to assume that when you came over to the coast to collect me?" He dismissed the question as unimportant.
    "There's no harm done, Kim. Relax. Is it really so terrible? The whole family is very anxious to see me married, I'm afraid. It's just harmless fantasizing on their part."
    "Harmless for whom? I'm going to look like a fool!" His mouth hardened and the green eyes flared dangerously for an instant. "Why should you look like a fool?"
    "How else can you describe a woman who appears to be sleeping with a wealthy man in hopes of marrying him?"
    "But you don't have any wish to marry someone like me, do you, Kim?" He moved toward her, catching her chin with his palm and studying her infuriated features broodingly. "Just as you wouldn't wish to marry someone like me," she flung back tightly.
    "But in a situation like this, I'm the one who will look foolish, not you."
    "Because you're a woman?"
    "I doubt that has much to do with it.
    Being a man didn't protect Julia's first husband, did it? It's more a question of money and power and sheer clout. You have it, I don't." He released her chin and thrust his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. "What do you know about Emery?" "Nothing much. Julia just explained that you got rid of him a couple of years ago." Wishing fiercely that she'd never raised the subject, Kimberly chewed nervously on her lower lip. This was family business. Not her business. "Tony Emery had been cheating on my sister for years. He couldn't have cared less about her or about Scott. Furthermore, he was swindling my father who had been soft enough to give him a job in the accounting department.
    He was garbage, and when he found out I controlled the financial side of things in the family, he left quite willingly. He knew I'd never support him the way my father had."
    "I understand," she said stiffly, refusing to meet his hard gaze. "Do you? I doubt it. You think poor old Tony was in the same position as your mother was when she found herself confronting your grandparents. But it wasn't like that at all.
    I'd have made sure Emery had a job and a future if I'd thought for one minute that he cared about Julia and Scott. But he didn't."
    "So you got rid of him." "As I said, it wasn't hard to convince him to go," Cavenaugh reiterated bluntly. "Kim, there's no similarity at all to your mother's position."
    "Right," she agreed with unnatural briskness.
    "Well, it's getting late, Cavenaugh . I'm sure that even if your family thinks we're sleeping together occasionally, they won't be expecting us to do so under the family roof. Please don't feel obliged to stay any longer just for appearances' sake!"
    "You're a sarcastic little witch at times, aren't you?" he growled. "Only when I'm feeling pressured."
    "And you're feeling pressured now, aren't you?" he asked with a gentleness she wasn't expecting. "Kim, everything's going to be all right. You'll be safe here. I swear it." She heard the underlying vow in his words and nodded mutely. She would be safe enough here from people carrying silver daggers but that didn't guarantee her any safety at all from Darius Cavenaugh . And both she and Cavenaugh knew it. Their eyes clashed in sudden, mutual understanding and in that moment Kimberly would have sworn that they really could read each other's minds. Slowly Cavenaugh shook his head. "No promises on the situation between us, Kim. Only that I'll protect you from others." He walked out the door, closing it softly behind him before Kimberly could think of anything to say.
    Two days later Cavenaugh stood at the curving window of his office study and watched Kimberly as she