Jacob turned without another word and headed into her small kitchenette, looking for all the world like a giant at a child’s tea party as he filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove.
Harrison made a face at Prince, who hadn’t reacted to the new arrival at all. “What? You only do one rescue a night?” The dog rolled onto his back playfully. “Don’t think cuteness gets you off the hook, buddy. Not right now.”
As she spoke to the dog her mind was racing. How had he found her? How was she going to get out of here? Where the hell was her cell phone, now, when she needed to call her cousin and get out of Dodge?
And wasn’t it just too coincidental that she’d been magically attacked only hours before one of the two people she’d most wanted to avoid showed up in her apartment?
“I can feel you panicking over there, and I have to tell you that I’m a little insulted. We went through a lot of trouble to find you, Harrison Abbott. The least you can do is pretend to be polite. In spite of your behavior, we did save your life. We are, after all, your matches.”
“We?” Harrison stood on shaky legs, looking nervously around the small one bedroom apartment. “So you’re not alone then?” She shouldn’t be surprised. They did look…close…the last time she’d see them.
He shook his head with his back to her as he poured the heated concoction into one of her cups. He carried it carefully in his massive hands, as careful as if it were the finest china, and held it out to her. “Drink first.”
Harrison crossed her arms defensively. “How do I know what that’s for?”
His jaw clenched. “Now I really am insulted. I’ve never used a potion to physically harm someone, Ms. Abbott. This will heal you. I would think you’d want to be in fighting form to have this conversation.”
“Well, set it down first.” She inwardly winced as a muscle jerked in his temple and his dark eyes narrowed. Another insult, she knew, but that was better than allowing their hands to touch. He was right. She was in no shape to fight right now. Not against an attacker, or the energy that would surely arise between them on contact.
He set the cup on the coffee table and took a dramatic step back, away from her. “Drink.”
“Bossy.” But she wanted to. The headache made it too hard for her to focus. And she needed answers.
She took a sip, and he seemed to relax, his mouth curving up in a sober smile. He was incredibly attractive, damn him. Adonis, was a comparison that sprung to mind. Or Atlas. He certainly looked like he could carry the world on those broad shoulders. His blond hair and black eyes were a startling combination. And he was so big. She’d always towered over everyone, apart from her brothers. He could no doubt pick her up with one hand.
Or crush her.
He shook his head. “We haven’t gotten off to the best start. Not even any formal introductions. I’m Jacob Gryffin. My family moved from Massachusetts to Argentina when I was very young, but we should still be known among your family’s circles.”
Gryffin. The tattoo she recalled on his back suddenly made sense, and the name jogged something in her memory. Her endlessly boring studies of Magian families. The Abbotts may be considered, for whatever reason, a top tier family in Boston, but, if she remembered correctly, the Gryffins had been akin to royalty. Until something happened that had caused them to leave the country, and their standing in the magical world, in disgrace.
Jacob lifted his chin, arrogant pride coming off of him in waves.
As if she, or any member of her family cared about lineages and histories. What she did care about was what she’d heard in the stairwell. Snooty Abbott bitch. “You and your friend…Ric, right? You obviously already knew who I was. Or who you thought I was when we, um, bumped into each other on the stairs.”
He flinched, his cheeks darkening, though his voice held a defensive note. “What Magian male doesn’t? You are powerful and beautiful with an impeccable pedigree. The most powerful female Magian of a generation. Other women envy you, and mothers all over our world wish you were their daughter-in-law. Including mine.”
Pedigree? “I’m not livestock. And this is the new millennium. My pedigree doesn’t matter. I don’t know how long you’ve been out of the loop, but we don’t force pairings based on social class anymore. Proxenos usually see to that.”
She took another sip of the tea, feeling the potion easing the ache in her head, though not her irritation. Talking Jacob wasn’t nearly as interesting as kinky, man-loving Jacob. Talking Jacob sounded like he had a giant iron pole up his backside. Kind of like the man at the diner this afternoon. “Were you spying on me today?”