by Donna Raider
“Everyone’s excited,” the tall brunette gushed. “Except maybe Asher. He’s freaking out. Hopefully, he’ll get over his stage fright before this weekend.”
“I’m sure he will,” the priest reassured her. “He’s just a little nervous because the crowd will be big. You are going, right?”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” the waitress laughed. “A bunch of us are driving down together. Amber is getting a fancy little bus. Amber, Emily, Asher, and I will be driving the boys and their equipment. Naomi, Levi, Mother Superior, Delilah, and Samson are going in the van. That should be a hoot!”
Leah raised her eyebrows but refrained from commenting on the group in Amber’s van.
“It will be a caravan from here. Everyone is going,” Ruth continued. “You two want to ride with us?”
“No, we’ll drive our car,” Mika answered. “We’d better get hotel reservations.” She turned to Leah.
“I’ll take care of it, darling.”
“Richie said we need to be there before noon Friday so they can practice Friday afternoon, and the performance is Saturday night,” the priest informed her.
Emily joined the three when she overheard the discussion about the contest.
“I would feel better if Richie rode down with us,” Leah said worriedly. “What are their sleeping arrangements? Are all the boys staying in one room? Is Emily going to be supervising?”
Her questions were rapid-fire, not giving anyone a chance to answer.
“I will take full responsibility for the boys,” Emily volunteered. “There are four adults and four boys. We will make certain they get where they’re supposed to be. If you want to reserve them a room together and a room next to them for me, that would be great. Ruth will make sure Asher gets there in one piece.”
##
Leah hugged her wife’s arm tightly as they walked back to her office. “Thank you for the chocolates. I loved them.”
“I’m glad.” Mika bent her head and kissed her lightly. She’d noticed Cranky Leah was in a much better mood. Apparently, chocolates worked.
CHAPTER 20 - The Show Must Go On
“Our boys come on after this band,” Mika whispered to her wife. “I better go back and make certain everything is going okay.”
Leah nodded, and Mika kissed her lightly as she stood to go backstage.
Emily slid into the seat vacated by the priest. “Everything is good to go if Asher will hold it together,” she whispered in Leah’s ear. The scent of her former lover made Emily catch her breath. “Richie is incredibly excited. I hope they place. There is some awesome talent here. We are the last to perform.”
“Mika, thank God you’re here.” Richie grabbed Mika’s hand and dragged her to the dressing room. “Asher won’t stop vomiting. I don’t think he can do this.”
Asher did look every bit a madman. His eyes were wild, and drool was dripping from the sides of his mouth. Mika quickly wet a washcloth and cleaned the man’s face.
“Asher, you have to pull yourself together.” The priest shook him, trying to get him to focus. “If you don’t do this, the boys will be disqualified. You can’t let them down. They have worked too hard for this.”
Asher nodded, stood up, and fainted.
##
The announcer did his usual introduction, the townsfolk went wild, and then the curtain slowly began to open, exposing the dark-haired singer with his back to the audience.
“Damn,” Emily breathed loudly, “I’ve never seen Asher look as sexy.”
Leah had to agree. The man wore a pair of skintight jeans and a leather motorcycle jacket. As the band began a rocking rhythm, the singer started shaking his leg, then gyrating to the music. Before he even turned around, Leah realized the singer was her wife. A sick feeling hit the pit of her stomach. As far as she knew, Mika had never practiced the vocals with the band. She had never heard her sing rock. Hymns, yes, but not rock, and she looked like Elvis Presley.
As the singer turned to face the audience, gyrating to the front of the stage, the audience went wild. The band had chosen Elvis’s hit “All Shook Up,” and Mika was certainly bringing it home.
Mika had somehow darkened her hair and added sideburns. She was almost the image of a young Elvis, complete with those sultry bedroom eyes and sensuous lips.
She had gyrated her way to the front of the stage as she reached the last verse of the song. Mika locked her gaze onto Leah’s and sang to her.
Leah was mesmerized. Mika was the most exciting performer she had ever watched. The entire auditorium was in an uproar. Spectators jumped to their feet, clapping to the driving rhythm of the band. Every time Mika sang, “I’m in love, I’m all shook up,” she gyrated her hips, and the audience went wild.
“What the hell!” Something flew by her head, and Leah realized that women were throwing their undergarments onto the stage. “Pagans,” she hissed, and ducked as a pair of panties shot across the auditorium, landing at her wife’s feet.
“Encore, Encore,” the audience was screaming and stomping their feet, refusing to quiet down until the band performed another song.
“Please may I have your attention,” the announcer attempted to gain control of the crowd, but there was no calming them down without another song from the band. Finally, Richie walked to the announcer and spoke with him. “Ladies and gentlemen, because you have demanded it, we will have one more song from these performers,” the announcer yelled. “Judges, you are to disregard the next song. It is not part of the competition.”
As Richie set the beat with his lead guitar, the drummer, bass, and piano joined in to rock the auditorium. Mika began to sing “Don’t Be Cruel.” People, old and young, were dancing in the aisles and screaming for the faux version of Elvis. Leah was transfixed by the raw animal sexuality her wife emitted from the stage.
As the song approached the ending, women began jumping on the stage and rubbing themselves against Mika.
Leah recognized crowd mentality. It had been directed at her many times as the Wicked Queen. Without guards, she knew nothing would stop the crowd from mauling her wife and son. The organizers of the concert had not anticipated a problem with crowd control, so no one was on hand to protect the performers from their admirers.
Every eye was on Mika, so no one noticed the column of warriors that suddenly formed a wall between the stage and the audience, their shields forming a barrier that couldn’t be broken. As the song ended, the audience surged toward the performers. Leah transported from the front row to backstage. She was waiting for her son and wife when they left the stage. If she hadn’t been concerned for the band’s safety, she would have been all over her wife right there behind the stage curtains.
Amber, Ruth, and Emily had pulled the bus to the back of the building, and they all ran from the door to the vehicle without being seen. They would come back tomorrow for their instruments. As the van pulled away from the building, the queen flicked her wrist and returned her warriors to their proper place.
“That was awesome.” Richie fist-pumped the air, and the other boys noisily agreed. “Mika, you were incredible. I thought we were losers when Asher fainted, but you were much better. Mom, you should have seen her,” Richie yelled to his mother at the back of the bus.
“I did,” Leah said huskily. She was so aroused by her wife’s performance that she couldn’t even think straight, much less carry on a conversation.
“When will we find out who won?” Richie asked.
“I don’t know.” Mika frowned. “That crowd was dangerous. I wasn’t sticking around to find out. I have seen performers crushed by crowds like that.”
“Thank you for saving our lives.” She leaned into Leah for a quick kiss. Leah gripped the lapels of her leather jacket and pulled Mika in, fighting the urge to devour her.
“The kids,” Mika reminded her, striving for her self-control.
“I think it is time to party,” Ruth hooted. “You guys hungry?”
“Yes,”
they all yelled in unison.
“When are teenage boys not hungry?” Amber laughed.
“I ceased to qualify as a teenager long ago,” Mika said, grinning, “and frankly, that wore me out. Would you ladies mind if we entrust the boys to you and we go back to our hotel?”
“Sure,” Ruth answered for the others.
##
It was a miracle they weren’t arrested in the lobby. Fortunately, they were the only ones on the elevator. By the time they reached their floor, Mika had Leah’s blouse unbuttoned, and she had Mika’s jeans unzipped.
They fell into their room, not wanting to break the connection between their lips. Mika’s leather jacket hit the floor followed by the rest of her Elvis costume. She quickly removed Leah’s blouse and bra, while Leah worked at sliding Mika’s jeans down her hips. Mika kicked off her shoes and jeans as she lifted Leah’s skirt and slipped it over her head.
Almost blind with lust, they attacked each other with a vengeance. “I thought you liked foreplay,” Mika gasped.
“I just sat through an hour of foreplay,” Leah growled. “I can’t wait any longer. Don’t even think about it.”
A tickling sensation danced over Mika’s entire body. “Oh, I see Magic Leah liked my performance,” she laughed.
“She loved it, darling. We’ll talk about that later.”
For the next two hours, Magic Leah demanded satisfaction, and Mika delivered. She made no effort to hush Leah’s cries as she screamed her name like a Georgian chant. Mika didn’t care. She wasn’t about to inhibit Leah in any way.
When Leah finished with Mika, she breathed air into her lungs, and she gasped as her body received the much-needed oxygen. Still panting, Mika pulled Leah into her arms and held her tightly. Mika could feel her magic still dancing just under the surface. The soft luxury of Leah in her arms was exhilarating. Mika loved the feel of Leah’s breasts against her skin.” I hope the boys had a good time,” Mika whispered, still trying to get enough air to make her vocal cords work.
“Did you have a good time?” she asked.
“Once we got to this room, I did.” Mika hugged her tighter.
“Good,” she murmured. “You know I’m not through with you yet?”
“I’m counting on it.” Mika kissed her greedily.
“Right now I’d like some room service,” Leah added. “I was too nervous to eat all day. If I’d known you were performing instead of Asher, I would have been more nervous.”
“Me too,” Mika exhaled. “I’m glad it’s over.”
##
At eight the next morning, Mika’s cell phone rang. She answered it and listened, then thanked the caller for the information they had given her.
“Well?” Leah shrugged her shoulders.
“The boys won.” Mika laughed, handing her the phone. “You want to call Richie and tell him? We were first, Brighton was second, and Oxford came in third.”
Mika ordered coffee from room service while Leah called their son with the good news and made plans to meet for breakfast. They had to pick up their instruments before heading back home. Tomorrow, the boys had to go to school, and the adults had to work.
Everyone was already at the restaurant when Mika and Leah arrived. Several other townspeople were there, too. They were all laughing and talking loudly, excited about something they were watching on their cell phones.
Richie had his iPad out. “Mika, look at this. It is incredible.” The concert promoters had posted the full performance of the band on YouTube.
“Incredible?” laughed Amber. “It is phenomenal. It was posted at midnight last night. It is ten thirty right now, and this already has three million hits. Few videos get these many hits.” By the time the tired troubadours reached home, the video had garnered seven million hits.
Mika enjoyed the drive back to their town. She liked time alone with her wife. She especially liked it when they exchanged thoughts and ideas. She liked to hear Leah’s thoughts on things.
“Are you okay to drive all the way?” Leah looped her arm through Mika’s where it was resting on the console. “You didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Neither did you, my love.” She squeezed her arm.
“Mmm, but I got something so much better,” Leah said sensually. “Not being intimate with you for the past three days was very difficult.”
“I know.” Mika smiled. “I felt like an addict going cold turkey. You know, you truly are very addictive. Sometimes I worry I ask too much of you. I just can’t seem to get enough of you.”
Leah turned her head, studying Mika’s profile. “I would never tire of you,” she said softly. “We have been married three months, and our life has been one big, exciting whirlwind. You never cease to amaze me. There is never a dull moment. I have lived more in the last three months than I did in the last thirty years.”
Leah thought before she made her next statement. “I have always been concerned about the whole immortal scene. I was afraid my life would become endless boredom, but I am not sure an eternity is long enough to spend with you.”
“My sentiments, exactly.” Mika smiled. “I have to tell you. You going all queen with your guards, that was so hot. I could have jumped off that stage and made love to you in front of the entire audience.”
“I didn’t like the women throwing their undergarments at you.” Leah pouted. “What self-respecting woman would do that?”
“That disturbed me too.” Mika frowned. “With teenage boys on the stage. Not good.”
“How would you feel about taking the day off tomorrow?” Leah said softly. “Richie will be at Emily’s tonight. We would have a lot of time to ourselves.”
“I would feel like the luckiest woman in the world.” Mika grinned.
“I will make the phone calls to make that happen,” Leah said with a big smile.
##
When Mika woke, the sun was just peeking into their bedroom. Leah was slumbering softly beside her. Leah had taken them both to heights she had never dreamed existed. Leah never ceased to thrill and amaze her. Mika knew she was going to have to step up her game to keep Leah satisfied. Mika wasn’t worried; she still had a few tricks up her sleeve.
Leah undulated the length of Mika’s body, snuggling closer to her. Mika moaned softly.
“Mmm,” Leah purred. “You’re awake.”
“Yes, I didn’t mean to wake you. I need to go downstairs to my office and take care of some business before our day gets too crazy.” Based on the YouTube video hits, Mika knew the promoters would start calling as soon as the clock struck eight.
“I have some business you can take care of,” Leah murmured against her lips.
“In that case, my business can wait.” Mika grinned, pulling Leah beneath her.
After their lovemaking, Leah rose up on her elbow to look into Mika’s eyes. “I’m going to make coffee. You take care of your business.”
Leah could only hear bits and pieces of Mika’s conversation coming from her study, but she could tell from the tone of Mika’s voice that she wasn’t speaking with anyone she had ever heard her speak with before.
“It has to happen today,” Mika’s voice rose slightly. “If you can’t make this happen today, I will need to move my business to another firm. Am I clear?” Mika hung up the phone and walked from her study.
“I am going to take a quick shower.” She darted upstairs, avoiding any questions Leah might have.
Leah was already back in their bed, a steaming cup of coffee on each of their nightstands, when Mika entered the room. She had a towel wrapped around her waist.
Leah gasped slightly at the sight of her. His breasts were a work of art. Leah had never been so aware of another human’s body. Everything about her wife stirred a deep desire in her.
Mika grinned mischievously and stole Leah’s famous line. “See anything you like, Your Majesty?”
“Umm,” she hummed, lifting the sheets for Mika to join her. Leah leaned in for a kiss. “As much as I have lo
ved sleeping with a stranger for the past two nights, I truly prefer my blonde wife.”
Confusion crossed Mika’s face, then she remembered she was still a brunette with sideburns. “Oh, I forgot about this.” Mika ran her hand through her hair. It turned blonde as she touched it and the sideburns disappeared.
The shocked expression on Leah’s face told her she hadn’t expected Mika’s actions. “What?” Mika asked.
“Y-You have magic,” Leah stuttered.
“Oh, no,” she laughed. “It is not magic. It is just me. Just like you are becoming, ‘just you.’ Haven’t you noticed you don’t even have to summon your magic anymore, it’s just who you are? You don’t have to fight it or control it or concentrate on it.”
“I have noticed that.” Leah frowned, recalling how easily her magic now integrated into her everyday life and especially into her relationship with Mika.
“It is just who we are,” Mika said.
“The first time I met you, you touched me, and a great calm and feeling of peace swept over me. That was you?”
“Yes.” Mika nodded. “The minute I saw your face, I knew you were the woman for whom I had been searching. I had to get your attention. You were very distraught. I have never let a day go by without seeing you after that.”
“I know. Thank you.” Leah smiled.
They sipped their coffee in silence, then Leah broached the subject of Mika’s business conversation. “I couldn’t help but hear fragments of your phone conversation,” she said hesitantly. “Should I know more about your personal business than I do? Like what was that phone call about?”
Mika frowned. “I don’t know why I haven’t already gone over our business holdings with you.” She bit her lip. “You’re brilliant. You will have no problem handling our affairs, just as I do. I will need at least a full day of your time and your undivided attention. No lovemaking, just concentration. Our finances are very complex, and our holdings are extensive.”
“No time, not even for mortal sex?” Leah pouted.
Mika laughed out loud. “Maybe mortal, but nothing else. Okay? Getting back to the phone call you overheard, I called our holding company, which is in Sweden, and directed them to purchase all the rights to the top ten Elvis Presley songs.”