A/N: This was a something I threw together for fun. My sis gave me a word and from it I wrote this little treasure. I hope you find the characters are in line with the books. Honestly it was a just for fun piece I wrote in one sitting . . . but I kind of like where it is going and I may pick it back up. Takes place after EA.

I do not claim any rights to these characters and as always all rights go to the lovely Kim Harrison.

Caramel*

I continued down the path riding just behind Quen – who was holding Ray- and Trent accompanied by Lucy, It was another mid-day ride to put the girls to sleep before Trent and I had a business meeting. Tulpa was leading the way through the forest; he knew the paths well, while Jenks was making circles to watch our perimeter.

The sound of dragonfly wings brought my head up. "We are clear a mile in all directions," he announced as he landed between the wars of my horse, She was use to him now and barely twitched an ear in his direction. The trees thinned slightly to allow a beam of sun onto the partially worn trail; it caught Jenks dust causing a momentary light show.

"Thanks Jenks," I said, my voice only hinting at my pensive state.

My mind had been actively processing every little unspoken signal from Trent and over analyzing it. Sure, we had a normal night of coffee, pie, and talking after the "event," but that didn't change the fact that we had kissed. And it wasn't a rekindle my chi kiss, though even without magic aiding it I was sure it could have woken the dead. My God could the man kiss.

"Lucy has lost the battle, Trent announced, his musical voice holding a little humor.

Quen let a small chuckle slip. "As has Ray." The smile that accompanied his words was full of parental love.

With both girls passed out, we headed back towards the stables. It wouldn't be much longer before I was alone with Trent. When I arrived, Trent, Quen, and the girls were already waiting for me at the stables. I was glad that my first encounter with him was with others around. The thought of us alone together sent my blood coursing through my veins. To say that I was nervous about the encounter would be an understatement.

"Earth the Rachel," Jenks laughed, snapping me back to reality and I realized that he had been talking for some time.

"Sorry," I grimaced.

Jenks just laughed some more, filling the air with the sound of wind chimes. "I was just saying that I need to grab that package out of your bag when we reach the compound. Geez, where did you take off to?"

"Of course I didn't forget," I replied ignoring his question.

"Thinking of cookie farts over there again are we?"

Oh God, no matter how hard I can never seem to hind my train of thoughts from Jenks. "Just thinking about the upcoming meeting," I lie; well it's not a complete lie.

"Sure," Jenks gives me a knowing smirk and I fight the blush I feel creeping up my cheeks. He definitely has a knack for reading me.

After putting the girls in their cribs, Trent and I made our way to his back office to wait for the possible business partners. The meeting was going to be held in one of Trent's conference rooms, but he claimed to have some files to go over beforehand in his office. I wasn't buying it. Trent seemed on edge and his business venire was not masking his unease. Something was up.

The entire walk to his office was silent and even upon entering the almost deck like office, Trent only motioned for me to sit. Not a word slipped out. My thoughts about his unease multiplied as I watched him fastidiously stack and restack the papers on his desk before smoothing his hair for the third time.

Finally he pulled a file from his top draw and laid it open. "Did you receive the numbers I sent you on the new Rosewood wing?" He was trying to put on his business face, but was failing.

"Umm . . ."

"Rachel," Trent's voice expressed his exasperation, "I told you that you would need to be checking your e-mails on a regular basis now."

I felt like he was talking to me as if I was a child. "I know. I've just been busy is all." Ok so it was a lie, but I'm not that big on the e-mail thing.

Trent brought his gaze level with mine for the first time today, "Had a lot of runs lately?" he teased. Obviously he knew that I wasn't getting a lot of business. It's not my fault people hear demon and assume evil or that I am an assassin. I huffed in response.

"Ok, fine." He handed me a paper from the file in front of him. "I had a feeling you weren't checking your e-mails and made an extra copy." I took the page being careful to prevent our fingers from touching.

I examined the page for all of 30 seconds before giving up. "I don't understand what this is saying or what the point of it is." Trent sighed before diving into explaining the numbers and what they meant. "This really isn't my area of expertise."

"I know but the more you know the better."

We seemed to have picked up a smooth back and forth pattern that released the tension from my shoulders. I realized we were both able to look each other in the eye and most of the awkwardness had left the room. May be this can work. Just forget it ever happened. . . . But I don't want to forget.

The realization that I didn't want to just set aside our latest incident sent my mind into a tizzy state. What if he just wants to forget? Will that bother me? He is getting married, I shouldn't be thinking about this at all. My expression must have shown some of the thought flitting through my head because Trent had stopped talking and was looking at me hesitantly. Damn it, why do I have to have such an expressive face?

I tried to regroup myself and start back in on the meeting that would be taking place soon. "So this group is looking to invest in the new hospital wing?"

Trent didn't seem to want to go back to the topic at hand. "Yes," he hesitated eyeing me.

Silence filled the room. "Ahh," I stumbled trying to fill the void. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Someone strong and able that makes us complete." Crap were we still talking about the Rosewood babies?

"Do you think you've found it?" Shit, why did I say it like that? I should have made it clear that I was talking about the new partners. But was I?

Trent's green eyes held more emotion than I could interpret. "Out of the two options," he paused thinking it over. "I feel there is one that lacks . . . desired qualities."

I was almost sure the topic had changed, but I wasn't willing to commit to that knowledge yet. "Then why are we entertaining that option?"

I watched as Trent to a sharp breath. It appeared that I had made the business man speechless. His loss of words struck me hard. I felt the need to fill the empty space but words were failing me. We sat there, gazes locked, for an untold amount of time. I am sure it was only a minute but it had felt like ten.

His eyes lost the myriad of emotions that had been dancing in them and filed down to one. "I fear the other option may not be open and there are some who would not approve."

Did he think I wasn't open to a relationship with him? Wait, am I open to a relationship with him? Oh God, I don't know any more. "That could be an issue," I hedged. "We need to be sure that all needs are met and approval is important . . . to some." Though I was trying to hide it, I know my voice held a slight depression.

"That's the consensus." Trent's usually musical voice sounded flat. Not business man bored, but just emotionlessly flat. His eyes held the emotion that was missing from his voice, loss and longing.

My heart ached at the look in his eyes. "What makes you think the second option isn't open to you?" It was out of my mouth before I realized I had said it.

Trent seemed to light up at my question. "If I thought that option was open, I would be . . . willing to seek it out." His eyes were darting around watching every inch of my face, searching – I knew- for any hint at my feelings.

I struggled to keep my face as unaffected as possible "What about the approval ratings?"

"We can't make everyone happy," he said with a slight twitch in his lips that I guessed was him hiding a smirk.

"True."

*The title is the word my sister gave me. The word "caramel" made me think of the color not the food which sparked the thought of Trent. In the books Rachel talks about his beautifully tanned skin. Though she often refers to it as honey, the coloring of caramel is not that far off. I find caramel color suits the description of tanned skin rather well. ;-) I know I didn't actually use the word in the story, which is why I felt the need to describe the reasoning here.