Laura Jo Phillips (10 page)

Rand liked that idea and studied the items more carefully.  There were lotions, creams, oils, gels, soaps and serums and he had no idea what any of them were for.  He shook his head as he watched Karma test another scent. 

“No,” she said as she put the bottle back on the shelf. 

“You are looking for a scent that she might like?” Rand asked.

“Yes,” Karma said as she reached for another jar, read the label and put it back.  “Once I find a scent, then I’ll select the products.  But these are too sweet and flowery for Aisling.”

“I think a more subtle scent would suit her,” Rand said.  “Honey, perhaps.”

Karma looked at him in surprise.  “Interesting,” she said.  “Actually, I think you’re right.  But none of these come in honey.”

Rand turned to see a clerk hovering around the end of the aisle and beckoned her over. 

“How may I help you?” she asked.

“We would like bath products which are scented with honey,” he said.

A few moments later Rand and Karma stood before another display, both of them opening jars and bottles to test the scents. 

“This honey is nice,” Rand said as he closed the top on a bottle.  “But I think it needs something else.”

“What needs something else?” Rudy asked, joining them.  Rand put the items he was holding into the cart along with Rudy’s as he explained what they were doing.

“Cinnamon,” Rudy said.  “I think honey and cinnamon would be perfect.”

“Yes, that’s it,” Rand agreed.

“None of these come in honey and cinnamon,” Karma said.  “I think we’ll have to settle for the honey.”

 “Excuse me,” a new clerk said, approaching them.  “We offer custom scents, if you are unable to find what you want.”

“Excellent,” Rand said.  “We would like honey with a hint of cinnamon.  Can you do that?”

“Certainly,” the clerk replied.  “Come with me.” 

It took a little while to get the exact blend that Rand and Rudy wanted, but the clerk was very patient with them.  Eventually they were satisfied.

“Which products do you want scented?” she asked after jotting down the exact mixture they’d approved of.

“All of the bathing products,” Rand replied.

Karma looked at him in surprise.  “All of them?” she asked doubtfully.  “I’m not sure I can afford that much.”

“We will purchase it, of course,” Rand assured her.  “This will be a gift from you and us.”

Karma shrugged.  She didn’t really care, she just wanted Aisling to have something nice.  “All right.”

“I’m afraid that will take some time,” the clerk said.  “A couple of hours, I think.  We can have it delivered though.”

“That will be fine,” Rand replied.  “Is it possible to put them in a basket, like those gift sets we saw near the front of the store?”

“Of course,” the clerk said.  “I will package it up very nicely for you.  Now, if you’d come to the front of the store, I will scan your selections for you.”

As they followed the clerk to the scanning counter, Karma leaned in close to Rand.  “Why honey and cinnamon?” she asked.  “I think it’s a perfect combination for Aisling, but I never would have thought of it on my own.  I’m just wondering why you chose it.”

“It just seemed right for her,” Rand said, glancing at Rudy who nodded in agreement.  “I don’t know why.”

Karma shrugged one shoulder as though dismissing the matter, but she wondered.  She didn’t have a lot of experience with men, but it seemed strange to her that both Rand and Rudy had thought enough about Aisling to have an idea of what scent would work for her. 

Chapter
9

Olaf watched Aisling sleep, wanting to climb into the back seat and pull her into his arms, but not quite daring.  She was not theirs.  He had no right to do such a thing.  So he watched her instead, telling himself that only if she slipped sideways on the seat would he get into the back with her.  Then he found himself wishing she would slip sideways.  By the time Rand, Rudy and Karma returned to the ground-car, Aisling had still not moved.  Olaf couldn’t quite decide whether he was relieved or disappointed. 

The ride home was quiet as nobody wanted to awaken Aisling.  Olaf was out of the car the moment Rudy stopped in front of the house and reaching for the back door before he’d cut the power.  He reached into the back seat and gently gathered Aisling into his arms.  He straightened up and paused for a moment, shocked by the sensation of rightness that came over him as he held her.  As though she belonged there, in his arms.

Olaf shook his head and turned to go into the house.  Such thoughts were fanciful and ridiculous.  She was not their Arima.  Period. 

Olaf carried Aisling to her room and laid her gently on the bed.  Rudy carried the packages into her bathroom, then went to the closet and came back with a light blanket which he shook out and laid over her.  Rand bent down and carefully tucked the blanket around her, and brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. 

Karma went into Aisling’s bathroom and unpacked the items Rudy had carried in.  When she was finished, she stepped out of the bathroom and stopped, surprised to see all three of the Gryphons standing silently beside the bed watching Aisling sleep.  She watched them for a few moments, struck by the strange expressions on their faces.  They seemed caught between want and regret, an expression she had never seen before.

“Let’s let her sleep now,” Karma whispered, hoping that would be enough to get the men out of the room.  It was.  All three of them stared at her in surprise for a long moment, then turned and left the room.  Karma went last, closing the door quietly behind her.  She followed the Gryphons along the curving hallway to the living room where they all stopped and turned to face her.

“Is something wrong?” Karma asked. 

Olaf returned Karma’s steady gaze with one of his own, but she did not look away, or even blink.  She was worthy to be Aisling’s friend, he thought. 

“We are only worried about her,” Olaf said finally.  “If she is not better in a couple of hours, we will call the doctor.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Karma said.  I think I’ll go take a shower.”

“Very well,” Olaf said.  “Dinner will be ready in about three hours.”

“Thanks,” Karma said as she turned and went back toward her room.

The Gryphons watched her until the curving hall hid her.  Then they listened until they heard her door shut behind her.  Rand waited a few moments, then turned to his elder brother.

“Olaf, if you had to select, or imagine, a scent for Aisling, what would it be?”

Olaf frowned.  “Why do you ask?”

“I will tell you in a moment,” Rand replied.  “Please, humor me in this.”

“Very well,” Olaf said.  “I suppose I would have to say honey, but mixed with something else to cut the sweetness.  Nothing flowery or fruity though.  A spice perhaps.”

“Cinnamon?” Rand asked.

“Yes, that sounds right,” Olaf said after a moment. 

“Interesting,” Rand said.  “That’s what Rudy and I thought as well.  But Aisling does not smell like either honey or cinnamon to us.”

“Not to me either,” Olaf said.  “She smells...clean.  Like shampoo and soap.  Do you want to tell me why you asked this?”

“Because Karma wanted to purchase some scented products for Aisling, as a gift, and asked for help selecting them.  We both wanted a combination of honey and cinnamon.  A basket of items will be delivered for her in an hour or two.”

“Yes, it is interesting,” Olaf said.  “But like so many things involving Aisling, I do not understand what it means.”

Chapter
10

Aisling awoke to the sound of the bedroom door opening.  She raised her head to see Karma tip-toeing through the room with a large basket in her arms. 

“What’s that?” she asked sleepily.

Karma jumped a little, then turned to face Aisling with a relieved smile.  She walked to the bed and set the huge basket down next to Aisling. 

“Just a little surprise from me and the Gryphons,” she said.  “I was just going to get you a little bubble bath or body wash, something to use in that giant bath tub, but the guys decided to go all out for you.”

Aisling sat up and rubbed her eyes, then stared at the basket.  It was very big, with a huge yellow ribbon wrapped around the handle and bits of yellow tissue poking up between the boxes, bottles and jars that were stuffed into the basket. 

“Wow,” she said, nearly speechless by the sheer number of items in the basket.  “Did they buy out the store?”

“Just about,” Karma said with a grin.  “The lady custom blended the scent according to what Rand and Rudy wanted, and they were very specific and particular.  When she finally got it right, Rand told her he wanted one of everything.  So, whatever that means, that’s what’s in that basket.”

Aisling reached for a bottle of body wash and opened the top.  She hesitated a moment, then sniffed the contents.  Her eyes widened in surprise.  “I love the scent,” she said.  “I usually have a hard time finding scents I like, but this is wonderful.  Custom blended for Rand and Rudy huh?”

“Yes,” Karma said.  “And it wasn’t easy for the clerk to get it exactly right to satisfy them.”

“That’s very thoughtful of them,” Aisling said as she closed the bottle and returned it to the basket.  “But why would they give me such an extravagant gift?”

“Because they wanted to?” Karma suggested.  “Or maybe because you are risking your health, if not your life, by translating that Xanti screeching for them.”

Aisling looked doubtfully at the basket, then back to Karma.

“What difference does it make?” Karma asked.  “It’s yours, so I suggest you take it into the bathroom and use it.  Dinner will be ready in about an hour, so don’t dawdle too much.”

“You sound like my mother,” Aisling said with a laugh. 

“Good,” Karma replied as she turned and crossed the room to the door.  “Mind me then.”

Aisling laughed again as she watched Karma leave, then she turned back to the basket. 

“Oh, what the hell,” she said softly.  She climbed out of bed, picked up the basket, which was far heavier than she’d imagined, and limped to the bathroom with it.  She set the basket down on the long counter, spotting her hand terminal where Karma had left it, along with the items she’d had on her list. 

The bathroom, with it’s gleaming marble countertops, tile floors and polished gold and silver fixtures, looked as though it had never been used.  Aisling thought about taking a quick shower, but the bathtub and the gift basket beckoned, a temptation too strong to ignore.  She reached down and flipped the taps on the tub to start it filling, then turned to the basket.  She sorted through the items, selected a bottle of foaming bath oil and poured a generous amount into the tub.  The scent of honey and cinnamon filled the room and she breathed it in, wondering why she had never thought of that combination before.  She loved it and instantly knew that it would always be her favorite.  She selected a bottle of body wash and one of shampoo, and set them on the edge of the tub before stripping out of her clothes. 

She kicked her jeans aside with a grimace before climbing into the tub.  She was so tired of wearing the same few clothes over and over again.  Clothes that, under normal circumstances, she would never have considered wearing.  Ill fitting jeans, beige tops with nothing to distinguish one from the other, bland sweaters, scuffed sneakers.  They were part of her disguise, just as her bowed head, meek manner, and hunched shoulders were.  She wanted so much to shed her disguise, but she had learned the importance of caution.  From what the Gryphons had said earlier, it sounded as though she would be safe here, on Jasan.  But how could she be sure? 

She reached for the towel she’d set beside the tub and dried her hands, then picked up her hand terminal.  A few moments later she turned the terminal off, set it down and leaned back in the hot water with a sigh.  No response yet.  For the hundredth time she computed distances and standard message travel times, but the answer was no different.  Yesterday had been the earliest possible day she could have expected a response to her message.  It was entirely possible that her message hadn’t even reached Jessi yet.  She needed to be a little more patient.

She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else.  An image of the Gryphons immediately popped into her mind, as it had repeatedly throughout the day.  She hadn’t gone an entire hour without thinking of them.  As she imagined them, pictured them in her mind, a wave of heat raced through her body unlike anything she’d ever experienced.  It took her a moment to realize that what she was feeling was arousal.  Her breath caught in her throat as she examined these new feelings.   

They were certainly beautiful men, there was no denying that.  She loved how stern they appeared until you looked into their eyes, as though they held their true selves back, reserving themselves from those who didn’t care to take the time or effort to see beyond the surface.  She was like that, though very few people she had ever known recognized it. 

She liked how big and strong they were, while at the same time they considerate and polite.  She had seen no trace of haughtiness or arrogance in any of them, though she’d not only expected it, but had looked for it.  She even liked their green hair.  She loved the way it flowed down their backs in shining waves, and slid sensuously across their shoulders as they moved, and she wondered what it would feel like against her skin.