Once upon a Dream Read Online Free Page A

you’ve eaten.”
    She was beginning to think she had plenty of cause to worry. The well-being she’d felt upstairs in that lovely room was eroding quickly. But when she stepped into the dining room, she felt nothing but shock.
    The table was large enough to seat fifty, and spread over it was enough food to feed every one of them.
    Bowls and platters and tureens and plates were jammed end to end down the long oak surface. Fruit, fish, meat,soups, a garden of vegetables, an ocean of pastas.
    â€œWhere—” Her voice rose, snapped, and had to be fought back under control. “Where did this come from?”
    He sighed. He’d expected delight and instead was given shock. Another thing a man could count on, he thought. Women were forever a puzzle.
    â€œSit, please. Eat.”
    Though she felt little flickers of panic, her voice was calm and firm. “I want to know where all this food came from. I want to know who else is here. Where’s your wife?”
    â€œI have no wife.”
    â€œDon’t give me that.” She spun to face him, steady enough now. And angry enough to stand and demand. “If you don’t have a wife, you certainly have a woman.”
    â€œAye. I have you.”
    â€œJust…stay back.” She grabbed a knife from the table, aimed it at him. “Don’t come near me. I don’t know what’s going on here, and I’m not going to care. I’m going to walk out of this place and keep walking.”
    â€œNo.” He stepped forward and neatly plucked what was now a rose from her hand. “You’re going to sit down and eat.”
    â€œI’m in a coma.” She stared at the white rose in his hand, at her own empty one. “I had an accident. I’ve hit my head. I’m hallucinating all of this.”
    â€œAll of this is real. No one knows better than I the line between what’s real and what isn’t. Sit down.” He gestured to a chair, swore when she didn’t move. “Have I said I wouldn’t harm you? Among my sins has never been a lie or the harm of a woman. Here.” He held out his hand, and now it held the knife. “Take this, and feel free to use it should I break my word to you.”
    â€œYou’re…” The knife was solid in her hand. A trick of the eye, she told herself. Just a trick of the eye. “You’re a magician.”
    â€œI am.” His grin was like lightning, fast and bright. Whereas he had been handsome, now he was devastating.His pleasure shone. “That is what I am, exactly. Sit down, Kayleen, and break fast with me. For I’ve hungered a long time.”
    She took one cautious step in retreat. “It’s too much.”
    Thinking she meant the food, he frowned at the table. Considered. “Perhaps you’re right. I got a bit carried away with it all.” He scanned the selections, nodded, then sketched an arch with his hand.
    Half the food vanished.
    The knife dropped out of her numb fingers. Her eyes rolled straight back.
    â€œOh, Christ.” It was impatience as much as concern. At least this time he had the wit to catch her before she hit the floor. He sat her in a chair, gave her a little shake, then watched her eyes focus again.
    â€œYou didn’t understand after all.”
    â€œUnderstand? Understand?”
    â€œIt’ll need to be explained, then.” He picked up a plate and began to fill it for her. “You need to eat or you’ll beill. Your injuries will heal faster if you’re strong.”
    He set the plate in front of her, began to fill one for himself. “What do you know of magic, Kayleen Brennan of Boston?”
    â€œIt’s fun to watch.”
    â€œIt can be.”
    She would eat, she thought, because she did feel ill. “And it’s an illusion.”
    â€œIt can be.” He took the first bite—rare roast beef—and moaned in ecstasy at the taste. The first time he’d