Chapter 3
1355 Words
Baxter
Baxter hummed to himself as he tended to a small tomato plant. It was from one of the seeds from his tether-plant, though that didn"t give him a direct connection to it. He wasn"t entirely sure how that worked. Many dryads had tried to find a scientific method of determining how tether-plants worked, but they hadn"t gotten any answers. To him, it was simple. The only answer was magic.
"Mr Heirloom?" a pleasant female voice said from behind him.
He paused in what he was doing, trying to make sense of the strange feeling inside him. No one he"d ever met before had elicited such a response.
"That"s me," he responded, turning around and taking in the woman standing in the middle of his section.
Her long dark hair fell in waves around her face, perfectly complimenting her tanned skin. She wore a practical outfit that spoke of seriousness except for the electric blue shirt she wore with it. He briefly wondered if that was a reflection of what she saw as her true nature, he"d known a lot of shifters who used their clothing to reveal aspects of their animal. He dismissed the notion after only a few moments of contemplation. It didn"t matter why she was wearing it, asking about her paranormal abilities was considered rude, especially when he"d only just met her.
She trailed her gaze up and down the length of his body, taking in every part of him.
"Do you like what you see?" he quipped.
She raised an eyebrow. "I never trust looks alone, they can be deceiving," she responded, a small glint of amusement in her eye. "Mr Bradshaw said you"d be able to bring me up to date on the latest thefts," she said, cutting right to the chase.
He liked that in a woman. Or anyone, for that matter.
"I"m glad he at least paid attention to who walked into his office this morning. Did he send you to Sharon too?"
She frowned, a clearly dissatisfied expression marring her features. It seemed that his boss hadn"t made the best impression on the woman.
"No, he didn"t mention her. Perhaps you could introduce me once you"ve filled me in?"
"I can, but that would require me to know your name," he pointed out.
A slight blush crept over her cheeks. "I"m sorry, that was rude of me."
"But very easy to remedy for you," he countered. "I can even turn around if you want me to? That way we can pretend that the first thing you did was tell me your name."
For a moment, it appeared as if she was going to say yes, and in a way, he hoped she would if she"d feel more at ease.
Instead, she held out her hand for him to shake. "Jenna Sunangel, but you can call me Jenna."
"Baxter," he responded, taking her hand in his.
The moment their skin touched, a jolt of something he couldn"t name went through him, as if something had snapped into place that hadn"t been there before.
A small voice in the back of his head whispered about the mating bond was causing it, and that the woman in front of him was the one the universe had selected for him as his fated mate. When he"d asked her after her mating, Lia had said that the whole thing was overwhelming, wonderful, and nothing like she"d expected, which at least gave him something to work on until he could get away from the enchanting woman in front of him to call his childhood friend and quiz her about it more.
"Sorry," Jenna muttered, pulling her hand back from his. No doubt she"d realised that they"d been standing there for several minutes not doing anything more than staring at their hands and not saying anything.
That was a good sign that the two of them were mates as far as he was concerned, though he wasn"t about to start suggesting it to her before he"d examined the feeling further himself. It wasn"t wise to rush these things, especially with someone he"d just met.
"I"m here to investigate the thefts," she said, straightening up and trying to appear as if she hadn"t been affected by their shared touch. The flush on her cheeks and the interest in her eyes suggested a different story.
"I guessed. We weren"t due to have any new starters this week."
She c****d her head to the side in a genuinely intrigued manner. "Do I look like the botanist type?"
Slowly, he looked her up and down in much the same way she"d done to him. She was petite, which would probably suggest she was some kind of smaller shifter, though he"d never been very good at telling species just by looking at someone, so it wouldn"t surprise him if he was wrong.
"I don"t know."
She chuckled. "How can you not know? Don"t you work here?"
He shrugged. "Botanists don"t have a certain look," he pointed out. "Unless you count rips in their clothes and dirty fingernails from the soil." As he said it, he realised that probably wasn"t the best way to impress her and hid his hands behind his back.
"Well, I have no problem getting..." She paused, a coy smile twisting at her lips. "Dirty."
"That can be arranged. There"s plenty of dirt around." He waved his hands around the greenhouse.
"I hope to investigate it in as much detail as possible." The way she looked at him suggested that she was thinking about more than just the soil, but he didn"t want to be too forward and make her uncomfortable, even if he was growing more certain that she was his mate with every passing moment.
"Is there any way I can help you with your investigation?" He tried to keep his tone teasing, but he wasn"t sure that it worked after he remembered that she was here in order to investigate his stolen tomatoes.
She straightened. "Yes, I"m hoping you can. I need a proper briefing on the thefts, if you don"t mind. I did have a meeting with Mr Bradshaw, but..."
"He was about as useless as a chocolate teacup."
"Wouldn"t the teacup be useful if you wanted to eat chocolate though?"
"Exactly. Its usefulness depends on what you want it for."
"So your boss isn"t completely ineffective then?" She raised an eyebrow, probably in disbelief. He wasn"t sure he blamed her, Bradshaw wasn"t the best at making a first impression even on a good day, and this wasn"t one of those.
"No. But in this matter, potentially a little."
"That"s a shame, I"d been hoping to get a much better idea of the situation."
"I can help with that?" he suggested.
"Exactly. Which is why I sought you out. Bradshaw suggested you"d be the best one to help me," she said.
At least that was something. It was good to know that his boss at least paid attention to who was involved with the situation.
"Then let me fill you in. I can show you my stolen tomatoes, if you want?"
"It"s a little early for a proposition," she quipped.
"Only if it"s unwelcome."
"Then there"s no time for a proposition," she responded. "And you should respect the lady"s wish for no more."
"And are you that lady?"
"Make me another proposition when you know me better and we"ll see."
He raised an eyebrow but didn"t say anything. He wasn"t about to risk his chance with her by pushing her too far in this moment.
He cleared his throat, hoping it chased away any lingering temptation to ask her on a date. "If you follow me, I"ll show you my plants." He meant the words literally, but couldn"t help but feel like there was a certain kind of suggestiveness to them all the same.
Baxter pushed those thoughts aside and chose to focus on the thefts instead. That was why she was here. She hadn"t come specifically to meet with him.
He needed to remember that and keep it as professional as possible. Even if that was going to prove difficult.
- Writer
