Growling, Cas returned to the paperwork on his desk. “It was fine.”
“I’m glad, sir,” the male said, a grin in his tone. “Though I have to say I was surprised to get your message last evening. I don’t recall you ever…entertaining at the greenhouse.”
“Pennice,” Cas ground out. “You are forgetting your place.”
“My lord, I never forget it, I assure you.”
“Then stop fishing for details I will not be sharing with you and do your job.” The command was punctuated with a frustrated, worried heave of breath. Where was she? Why had she gone? Stolen away before the sun was even up? It had not been something he’d ever considered. That she would walk out on him while he slept. Had he been too rough with her? Too demanding? Or was it something worse…like not wanting to be with him? Or… His nostrils flared and he groaned softly. Was she already claimed by another?
“You will find her, Master.”
Cas’s eyes flipped up to his Watchman. “You’re still here?”
The male continued, “That won’t be the problem, however.”
“What the devil are you talking about?” Cas narrowed his eyes, leaned forward. “Do you know something, Pennice? About this female? Who she is?” A snarl erupted from his throat and he jerked to his feet. “If you do and you are not revealing—”
“What I know is that you care for her deeply,” Pennice stated, stepping back a foot. “More deeply than you ever believed you could. And I hope that if you find her, you will share that with her. Let her see your heart.”
His heart. That muscle he’d believe dead. Or at the very least, inactive. Cas’s quick ferocity waned.
“I only wish to see you happy, my lord,” Pennice said gently.
Bloody hell… The male was a thorn in his side. But a loyal, true and good thorn. And a thorn he would never remove. His gaze held the Watchman’s. “If I find her, my friend,” he began in a thoughtful tone. “I will make certain that both of us have—”
“A happily ever after?” Pennice finished.
A smile touched Cas’s lips. “Inasmuch as that’s possible for an Incubus.”
“And for a Watchman such as myself,” he added with a touch of melancholy.
Cas waved away the suggestion that because Pennice cared for males instead of females, he wouldn’t find happiness. And love. “Go,” he ordered. “Send the messages to everyone we know. Report back at day’s end.”
“Yes, Master.” He turned to leave, then paused. “If I may ask, what of the Lady Gemma?” He glanced over his shoulder, one brow raised. “And worse, what of the Lady Kayna?”
Cas sat back down and laced his fingers, looked past Pennice to the open door. “I said it once upon a time. Things will and have changed. I am Lord and Master. I don’t think I quite understood what that meant until now. I will govern as I see fit. And I will choose who governs beside me.” His eyes shifted to the Watchman. “Now off with you, my friend. I have much work to see to.”
~
Exhausted, yet strangely keyed up, Lia smoothed down the comforter on the bed, gave the room a once-over and left the blue guest chamber. It wasn’t standard for her to be given chambermaid duties. Ms. Gilly normally used her in the kitchens, ballroom and sitting rooms. But today when she’d clocked in, the housekeeper had informed her that one of the maids was ill and Lia would be standing in for her.
Pushing her cart down the hall, she paused at the door of the next chamber she was scheduled to clean. The cruel irony of it was not lost on her—or her heart. Not four hours ago, she was in his bed. Not this one of course, but his bed nonetheless.
Inhaling sharply, she gave the heavy door a solid knock, and when she got no response entered. Of course he wouldn’t be in here. It was day. He worked on the estate and the business of the Incubi Masters in his offices on the main floor. Closing the door behind her, she allowed herself to take in the massive and very rustic space. Brown leather dominated, as it had at the greenhouse. And wood, many different kinds, made up a desk facing the window, a table in front of the couch—and the bed.
She went over to it and stared down at the rumpled sheets. Was this how the bed at the greenhouse looked right now? Her skin warmed, and the muscles between her legs flexed. Without thinking, she reached for one of the pillows and brought the thick, white mass to her nose. She inhaled deeply, and as his scent rushed into her nostrils, every inch of her went liquid.
How was she to manage this? Her feelings? Her desires?
Would it subside in time, or grow like a beautiful cancer on her heart?