by Lola Gabriel
“Maybe,” Ellery said. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I have to run. See you later.”
Ellery hurried from the office. Faust followed her and watched her walk down the hallway.
“Ellery?” Faust called. She turned back. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Am I?” Ellery said.
Faust raised an eyebrow and then nodded toward the room Ellery had been waiting in a few moments ago. She realized what he meant and she groaned.
“I’m only going to work. I hardly think I need protecting from my colleagues, Dad,” she said.
She saw Faust’s expression harden and she raised her hands in surrender.
“Fine. I’ll get him,” she said with a sigh.
Faust nodded, smiling, and stepped back into his office as Ellery stuck her head into the room and told Max she was ready to leave.
5
“Max?” Ellery said, sticking her head around the door to Max’s lounge. “I’m ready to leave whenever you are.”
“At your service, ma’am,” Max said, standing up.
Ellery laughed and shook her head.
“We’ll have less of that ma’am shit. It makes me sound ancient,” she said.
Max smiled and nodded. He had been working as Ellery’s bodyguard for almost two weeks now, and she had made it clear from day one that he wasn’t to call her ma’am or treat her like anything other than a friend. He had been suspicious of this at first, but as the days passed, he realized Ellery had really changed. She was no longer a spoiled brat. She had definitely grown up and Max found her to be pleasant company now. She was funny and she genuinely had no airs or graces about her. She really didn’t think of herself as being above any of the tribe.
It had become their little joke that he still responded in an official way whenever she told him she was ready to leave for somewhere and she always laughed and told him it made her feel old.
They walked down the hallway and left the house. Once they were out of the gate, Ellery turned right, heading into the main village.
“Where are we off to, then?” Max asked.
“I have to pick up my dress for my party tonight,” she said.
“Don’t you have people to do stuff like that for you?” Max asked.
Ellery laughed and nodded her head.
“Oh sure. But I don’t see why I need them. I’m perfectly capable of going to pick something up myself,” she said.
“Fair enough,” Max said.
He peered at her out of the corner of his eye and she caught him and smiled.
“What?” she said.
“Nothing,” Max said. “You’re just very different to who I thought you would be, that’s all.”
“You mean I’m very different from the teenage version of me that you remember? God, I was awful then, wasn’t I?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to say that,” Max grinned.
“But you were thinking it,” Ellery laughed.
“Maybe a little bit,” Max agreed.
Ellery laughed again and then she turned serious.
“I guess somewhere along the way, I kind of lost myself and bought into this whole ‘I’m a princess’ thing. But then I grew up and I realized that we’re all the same, really. Every member of the tribe is important and we all have our duties to fulfill. Just because my duty is to one day be the leader of the tribe, it doesn’t mean I’m any more important than someone whose duty is to run the bank or work in the supermarket.”
“I like that way of thinking of,” Max said thoughtfully. “We’re all parts of the same whole.”
“Exactly,” Ellery said.
“Your father doesn’t seem to see it that way, though,” Max said.
“Oh, he’s convinced that I’m in danger because he thinks I’m important. Personally, I think he just wants a spy,” Ellery said with a grin.
“Well, I can honestly say he’s never quizzed me about you or anything,” Max said.
“But you would say that if he had, wouldn’t you?” Ellery said.
“Yeah, probably,” Max admitted.
“Ah well, if I want to do anything he wouldn’t approve of, I’ll just have to ditch you first,” Ellery grinned.
“Don’t even think about it,” Max laughed. “Losing you would be more than my life is worth.”
They reached Main Street and Ellery led Max to the store she wanted to go in.
“I won’t be a minute,” she said. “Do you want to go and scope the place out, look for hidden ninjas or anything?”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Max said. He winked at her. “Ma’am.”
Ellery slapped him playfully on the arm and then she ducked into the store. Max smiled to himself as he watched her making her way to the counter. She really had changed. And the more time Max spent with her, the more he was starting to feel drawn to her. He shook his head, telling himself to get that kind of thinking out of his head right now. He had a job to do here and no part of that job involved him letting himself get too close to Ellery.
True to her word, Ellery was back out of the store in minutes, carrying a garment bag folded over her arm. She smiled at Max.
“All done,” she said.
“Cool,” he replied, glancing down Main Street longingly.
“What is it?” Ellery asked.
“Nothing,” he said. “Let’s go.”
“It’s clearly something,” Ellery said, not moving. “If you want to go somewhere while we’re here, just say.”
“I did kind of want to pop into the comic book store,” Max admitted. “They called me earlier to tell me an issue I ordered is in.”
Ellery laughed.
“I didn’t peg you as the comic book type,” she said.
“Why? Aren’t I nerdy enough to like comic books?” Max said.
“Not even close to it,” Ellery laughed. “Come on, then. Lead the way.”
Max led Ellery down Main Street and then turned off onto one of the smaller streets. He stopped in front of the comic book store.
“Here we are,” he said.
He pulled the door open and gestured for Ellery to step through.
“Why, thank you, kind sir,” she said with a smile.
Max followed her inside, laughing at her response to him holding the door open for her.
“Holy shit! Look at this!” Max exclaimed as his eyes fell on the display cabinet. He stepped toward it and Ellery followed him, making him remember himself slightly. “Excuse the language.”
“What fucking language?” Ellery winked, making Max laugh and shake his head. Once again, she had surprised him. “So? What are we looking at?”
“Issue sixteen of the All-American comic,” he said, pointing it out to her. She frowned and he went on. “It’s the first appearance of Green Lantern.”
“Okay,” Ellery said, still looking confused.
Max laughed and shook his head.
“Let’s just say it’s pretty rare,” he said. “It’s one of those issues every collector dreams of owning.”
“So, buy it,” Ellery said.
Max snorted out a laugh and Ellery frowned again. Max shook his head.
“I don’t think you understand quite how rare this is. Look at the price of it,” he said.
Ellery peered closer into the cabinet and she gasped.
“$12,000? Are they joking?” she exclaimed.
“In better condition, this issue could go for up to a million,” Max said.
Ellery shook her head.
“And people say I’m crazy because I spent a couple thousand dollars on a dress,” she said.
Max laughed and turned away from the cabinet.
“I’ll just go and grab my order. Two seconds,” he said.
He went to the counter and paid for his order. When he was done, they stepped outside of the store again and started heading back home.
“Okay, I’ve got a plan,” Ellery said as they walked.
“Right,” Max said, wonde
ring what she meant.
“We’ll set up a fake assassination attempt on my life. You can play hero and save me. And my father will be all grateful and you can tell him you want a twelve grand bonus and buy the comic,” she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
“It’s terrifying to think that one day you’ll be running the tribe with plans like that,” Max laughed.
“Oh, come on. It could work, you know it could,” Ellery insisted.
“I’m not saying it couldn’t work. I’m saying you’re an evil genius,” Max grinned.
“But it’s for a good cause, right? And that makes it okay,” Ellery said.
“If you say so,” Max said.
“I do,” Ellery said. “So are we going to have a lone nutcase come for me or a carefully orchestrated gang attack?”
She glanced at Max, who just shook his head.
“Oh wait. I’ve got it,” Ellery said. She linked her arm through Max’s and moved closer to him. “We’ll have a wolf pack attack me. And you can take them on single-handedly and save me. Yes, I like that.”
Max laughed along with her, but he was finding it hard to focus on her words now. All he could focus on was the closeness of her body to his, the way her hand felt linked through his arm. It sent tingles through his body, and for the first time, Max realized just how much Ellery had really grown on him.
6
Ellery smiled and shook the outstretched hand of a man named Richard. He was the latest in a stream of eligible bachelors her parents had introduced her to over the course of the night and it was starting to really get old now. None of the men sparked any sort of reaction in her although they had all seemed nice and polite enough. Ellery’s favorite one had been a man named Jake who had admitted that his own parents had forced him into introducing himself to Ellery. She had actually spent a bit of time talking to him, but there was still no attraction between them.
“You look like you’re having an awful time,” Fiona said, coming up to Ellery. “Is something wrong with the party?”
“Only the guest list,” Ellery grinned. “Seriously Fi, you’ve done a fabulous job.”
Ellery wasn’t just saying it because Fiona was her best friend. The party was a raging success. Her parents’ ballroom had been covered in soft white fairy lights, giving the room an almost ethereal glow. The walls had been draped with silver sheer fabric, adding to the sparkle. The music was lively and had people up dancing and the food and drink were all top notch. Ellery couldn’t have asked for a better party. It was just a shame her parents were ruining it for her by trying to parade her out like a show dog in the hopes of her meeting her one true mate.
“I take it none of the eligible bachelors have caught your eye, then?” Fiona grinned.
“Nope,” Ellery said. “And to be honest, I’m getting so fed up with making small talk over and over again. If it wasn’t for the fact that my parents would go ape shit, I think I’d sneak off to bed.”
“Here,” Fiona said, grabbing a red-colored cocktail off the tray of a passing waiter and holding it out to Ellery. “Have a couple of these and let your hair down and you’ll soon feel better.”
“Yeah,” Ellery said, sipping the fruity drink. “I might get sloppy drunk and then no one will even want to come and meet me.”
“It could work,” Fiona said. “Try and have fun, Ellery. I have a few things to sort out and then I’ll be back, okay?”
Ellery nodded and watched Fiona walking away. Max came and joined her as Fiona moved away.
“Sorry. I had to go to the bathroom,” he said.
“It’s fine. Surely you’re off duty tonight anyway? It’s a party, after all,” Ellery said.
“Nope,” Max said. “It’s events like these that often pose the most danger. Security at the gates tends to get a bit lax with the constant stream of guests.”
“Oh well, maybe tonight should be the night we put our plan into action, then. You know, my assassination?” Ellery grinned.
“Oh God, I thought you’d forgotten about that one,” Max laughed.
“To be honest, if my mom introduces me to one more eligible bachelor like she’s my pimp, I think I’d actually welcome being assassinated,” Ellery said with a laugh.
“That bad, huh?” Max said sympathetically.
“Worse,” Ellery grimaced. “Oh God, here she comes again.”
Ellery forced herself to smile as her mom approached her with a young man in tow.
“Ellery, this is Hamish. Hamish, this is my daughter, Ellery,” Freya said.
“Pleased to meet you, Ellery,” Hamish said, shaking Ellery’s hand.
“Likewise,” Ellery lied. An idea came to her and, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, she turned and nodded to Max. “And this is my boyfriend, Max.”
Max’s eyes widened in surprise and Ellery had to bite down on her tongue to keep from laughing again as Max shook Hamish’s hand, clearly uncomfortable.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Someone is calling me,” Hamish said, pulling a cell phone out of his pocket even though it clearly wasn’t ringing.
Ellery let herself laugh then.
“Ellery, what on earth was that?” Freya demanded.
“That was me making myself unavailable,” Ellery said. “Look, I know you and Dad want me to find my one true mate, and believe me, I want that too. But not like this. Don’t you get it, Mom? When you force guys onto me like this, it just pisses me off, and to be honest, they all blend into one after a while. If my one true mate is here, then I’m more likely to overlook him completely on this conveyor belt you’ve got going on. If he’s here, I’ll find him. That’s the whole point of the enchantment, after all. Now will you please stop doing this and just relax and enjoy the party?”
“Well, I guess I hadn’t thought of it like that,” Freya admitted. “Fine. I’ll stop. Just enjoy your party.”
“Thank you,” Ellery breathed.
“Wait. Is this because you’re still thinking about Errol?” Freya said.
“Errol? Good God, no!” Ellery exclaimed.
“He can’t have been that bad,” Freya said. “I thought he would have been here tonight.”
“That’s pretty unlikely,” Ellery said. “See, things got pretty awkward between us when we finished our meal and Errol announced we should have sex and see if we clicked.”
“He did what?” Freya said, shocked.
“He propositioned me,” Ellery said. “I really can’t believe you thought there was any chance I would have found that creep attractive.”
“He seemed sweet,” Freya said. “I guess it was all an act. Maybe you’re right about this whole thing. Maybe we should just let you find your own mate.”
“Works for me,” Ellery grinned.
Freya moved back over to Faust and Ellery grinned at Max.
“I hope you didn’t mind being introduced as my boyfriend there,” she said.
“I’ve been described as much worse things,” Max said. “A heads-up might have been nice, though.”
“The idea just came to me in the moment,” Ellery said. “Do you feel like going out onto the patio before my mom changes her mind and comes back with someone else in tow?”
Max nodded and they headed across the room and went outside. The air was cooler out here and Ellery felt the night air cutting through her thin red dress. She shivered a little and Max slipped his jacket off and put it around her shoulders.
“Thanks,” she smiled, pushing her arms into the sleeves.
She realized it smelled like Max, a scent she liked very much, and she also realized that she had rather liked describing him as her boyfriend. Her core tightened and she felt a delicious tingle between her legs as she breathed in the scent of Max, and Ellery began to wonder if it was possible that Max was her one true mate.
She had always found him attractive and that certainly hadn’t changed. And hadn’t she been the one to say that the enchantment would direct her toward the one she was meant to be with? W
hat if that was how Max had ended up as her bodyguard? What if it was the magic of the enchantment bringing them together?
She didn’t know if that was really possible, or if she was just clutching at straws, hoping that Max could be her mate. But either way, she was enjoying being in his company and as they chatted and laughed together, she found herself openly flirting with Max. And he was definitely flirting back with her. A touch on the arm here, a whispered word there.
By the time the last of the party guests had left, Ellery was almost sure Max was her one true mate. Almost. She was still aware that she could just be making something out of nothing. Whatever happened in the future, though, Ellery knew that she wanted Max tonight.
7
Max knew he was playing a dangerous game, flirting with Ellery throughout the party, but he couldn’t help it. From the moment he had seen her in the red ball gown she had chosen, he had been smitten. And when she had introduced him as her boyfriend, he had felt a warm glow inside of himself. Even though he told himself it didn’t mean anything, that Ellery had just said it to get rid of Hamish, he had still liked the way it felt to hear her say the words.
Up until tonight, Max had figured the attraction he felt to Ellery was very much a one-sided thing. But throughout the party, Ellery had flirted with him constantly and now he knew it went both ways. Ellery liked him too. Normally, Max would have made a move on a girl he felt so strongly about, especially when she had made it so blatantly clear that she was as into him as he was into her, but it was different with Ellery.
He was her bodyguard, not a potential love interest for her. He was here to do a job, nothing more, nothing less. It would be wrong on so many levels for him to kiss Ellery, although he ached to do it. He would be letting his own personal feelings get in the way of his work, and he could only imagine what Faust would do if he thought Max had any sort of feelings for Ellery.
Still, though, he flirted with her, laughed with her, and she even convinced him at one point to dance with her. He told himself it was just a bit of fun, harmless. That nothing would or could come of it.