The Golden Bell by Autumn Dawn Page B

what I’d pursue, too.” An old veteran who’d
served his father and taught Fallon much of what he knew, he got
away with a lot of cheek.
    Fallon just smiled. Rykarr could fish all he
liked, he wasn’t going to get a bite. “How are her replacement
soldiers doing?”
    “Much warier than the last batch. Any idea
what tricks she has left?”
    “Expect anything.” Her room had already been
searched, but they hadn’t found anything suspicious. After the glow
stick experience, he wasn’t sure they would recognize trouble if
they saw it. She liked to disguise her tricks.
    Must have a thing for secret agents.
    He did like the way her mind worked. Combined
with the British flavored accent, she more than held his interest.
While he wouldn’t mistake that interest for love, it was growing.
It was inevitable, and he planned to take her down with him.
Getting her there, though… It would help if she trusted him.
     
    She didn’t trust him. Rain unscrewed the
housing from a broken communication device and set it down in the
clockwise pattern she’d started with the screws. Malian had rustled
up an entire laundry basket of defunct and broken devices, plus a
rather nice tool kit. If Rain had been the one paying her, she’d
have given her a raise. Instead, she’d praised her ingenuity and
sent her out for a list of components, chemicals and lunch. She
wondered how long it would take before Fallon showed up to comment
on her budding lab.
    Not that she was cooking up anything
dangerous right now. If she had been, she’d have hidden it among
the junk pile, fully expecting him to poke around. The best way to
hide something was in plain sight, which is why she’d attached the
Bell to a flat gold collar she’d had Malian find. Actually, she’d
requested that Malian find something inexpensive like beads or
leather to hang the pendant from. From the weight of the necklace,
she didn’t think it was made of gold-plated nickel. It looked good,
though she’d had to wear one of the dressier outfits Fallon had
purchased for her to make it blend in. At least the amber silk
tunic and harem pants were comfortable.
    As she was pondering the probability of
ruining the hardwood floor if she started messing with chemicals,
there came a knock on the door. “It’s open.”
    Fallon walked in and frowned at her table
full of junk. “Malian requested a soldering gun for you.”
    “Yes. I’ll pay you back. I’m planning to
construct a levitating solar light with some of these spare parts.
It should sell well.”
    He waved that off. “This room isn’t meant to
be a hobby shop. I’ll get you a proper workroom set up. If nothing
else, you’ll need more tables.” He surveyed the spare parts
spilling off the table, scattered on the floor and overflowing a
basket with a frown. “Make a list of what you’d like to have and
I’ll see it set up: books, tools, materials…whatever. I’d rather
you had a safe and comfortable working environment than be forced
to make do with the kitchen table and a fingernail file.”
    Stunned at his generosity, she stared at him.
Suspicious moisture burned her eyes, and she had the alarming urge
to run over and hug him. He probably had no idea what he’d just
done for her. “Really?” she whispered.
    Slow and confident, his smile lit up her
heart. “I don’t need to stifle your mind, sweetheart. It’s one of
the sexiest things about you.”
    That did it. She got up and crushed him in a
hug. After all, he’d broken the touch barrier when he’d nearly made
love to her. Like a little girl suddenly shown affection, she
seemed to look for an excuse to touch him. “Thank you,” she said,
strangling on the emotion. If he didn’t stop it, she was going to
fall in love with him.
    He laughed as if surprised, then returned the
hug, stroking her back. “Here I thought it would be difficult to
convince you to go sailing with me. Will that count as part of your
thank you?”
    She reached up and pulled his head