“Well, yes,” Cass admitted reluctantly. “I mean, I have this huge show coming up at the I.C.U. gallery and he knows how important it is to me but he can’t take time out of his busy band and bar schedule to come pose for a few hours. I mean sometimes I just feel like—”
She broke off abruptly, realizing that she was doing it again. Talking to Jake O’Shea like he was one of her best girlfriends. Like he cared about what happened in her private life.
He’s just your attorney, she reminded herself fiercely. So stop running off at the mouth!
“Like what?” Jake was looking at her intently.
“I’m sorry?” Cass frowned.
“You were saying that sometimes the way your lover treats you makes you feel like…”
“Oh. Uh, never mind.” Cass felt her face getting hot. “It’s stupid anyway. You don’t want to hear the minute details of my life.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” His expression was entirely serious. “You’re my client, Cassandra. Everything you think and feel concerns me.”
“It…does?” She looked at him uncertainly. “I mean, uh, listening to me bitch about my love life seems to go above and beyond your, uh, lawyerly duties.”
Jake took a step closer. Cass could feel the heat from his big body radiating against her skin and his wild, spicy scent enveloped her, making her feel almost dizzy.
“I don’t think you understand,” he murmured. “How close…how intimate the relationship between an attorney and his client can be in the Realm. I am committed to your case, Cassandra—completely committed. Which means I am also committed to you. I will do anything in my power to protect you. Anything.”
“Oh,” Cass whispered, feeling like all the breath had left her lungs. Her heart was suddenly pounding and her cheeks felt hot. “Oh, I…I see.”
“I wish we had more time to discuss this.” He lifted a hand and brushed his knuckles lightly over her flushed cheek. “But we really mustn’t be late for court again. You need to change, Cassandra—unless you wish to go in your current outfit?”
“Huh?” Cass dragged her eyes away from his and looked down at her tattered yoga pants. “Oh no—no way. Just give me a minute.”
Quickly she dug through her closet again, looking desperately for anything remotely professional to wear. Unfortunately, the white blouse and black pencil skirt combo she’d worn to teach in earlier was the only such outfit she had and it was crumpled and wrinkled from her sleeping in it.
Finally she had to settle on a pair of tight black skinny jeans and an off-the shoulder black blouse she’d bought for clubbing. Not that she had the time or the money to go out much but it was nice to look hot on the occasions when she went to see Brandon’s band play. Of course, “hot groupie girl” probably wasn’t the right look for fairy court but it certainly beat her tattered yoga pants or the faded nightshirt she’d had on the first time she went.
Taking the clothes, she turned to go into the bathroom and change, only to be stopped by Jake’s voice.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Oh, well…I have to change.” Cass didn’t like the hesitant sound of her own voice. Why did he affect her so strongly?
“And you’re ashamed to do so in front of me?” He raised one eyebrow at her, his leaf-green eyes challenging.
“No, but…there is such a thing as privacy!” Cass sputtered. “And besides, this shirt is off the shoulder so I can’t wear a bra with it.” It was the major drawback of the outfit but there wasn’t much she could do about it—strapless bras didn’t work on her—her boobs were too big.
“I have seen your breasts, Cassandra,” he murmured, his eyes going suddenly hooded with desire. “They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful. I would hate to think you were so ashamed of your lovely body you felt you had to hide it.”
Cass’s chin shot up. “I’m not ashamed!” And I’ll show you I’m not! she mentally added.
Defiantly, she began stripping away her old yoga clothes, trying not to notice his hot gaze on her as she bared her body. Let him look at her—she might be too big in the boobs and hips and ass areas but at least she had a nice curvy waist and though large, her boobs were still firm.
She wished she had the nerve to sashay around completely nude but that was pushing it, even for her. Instead, she kept her underwear on and got dressed in her skin-tight jeans and off-the-shoulder black top and quickly as she could.
When she was ready, she fluffed out her hair and finally managed to meet Jake’s eyes.
“Satisfied?” she demanded, holding out her hands.
“Not nearly,” he growled and the look on his face was positively hungry. “But you’re not ready to go, either. You need some shoes this time.”
Cass remembered how she’d been barefoot after her favorite Bert and Ernie slippers had been lost and nodded. It was definitely better to wear shoes in the strange Realm of the Fae—who knew what weird thing she might encounter there next?
“All right. I think I have a nice pair of black flats in here somewhere…”
She began digging through her closet but suddenly Jake was right beside her. He spoke a low word of power that sounded a lot like the housekeeping charm he’d uttered earlier that had cleaned up the classroom after the soul-sucker monster had devastated it.
Suddenly Cass’s entire closet seemed to have rearranged itself. Clothing that had been in piles on the floor was hanging neatly from hangers. Pants and jeans were folded and stacked and best of all the tangle of shoes that had taken up most of the closet floor were neatly organized and hanging in the shoe rack which Phil had given her for Christmas but which Cass had never used.
“Oh!” she exclaimed involuntarily. “That’s amazing! I wouldn’t be nearly so messy if I could clean the house just by saying a word.”
The big elf arched an eyebrow at her.
“Perhaps I’ll try to teach you then. Most humans aren’t able to master elf magic but something tells me you’d be the exception to that particular rule, as you seem to be to so many others.”
Cass wanted to ask him what he was talking about but he was already reaching for a pair of shoes and handing them to her.
“These, I think.”
“What—the hooker heels Rory got me as a joke?”
Cass looked at the four-inch black stiletto sandals in apprehension. They really had been a joke—the punch line being that she wouldn’t be able to wear them anywhere without breaking her neck. She’d never been good in heels—preferring comfy ballet flats or just plain going barefoot when she was indoors.
“They’re right for Court.” Jake nodded decisively.
“But…I can barely walk in them,” Cass protested, trying to give them back to him.
He took the shoes from her but the next minute he was kneeling at her feet, like a man about to propose. Before Cass could protest, he was slipping the shoes on her.
“Hey!” Cass was forced to grab his broad shoulders to keep herself from falling over. “I told you—”
“Don’t worry if you can’t walk, Cassandra—I’ll carry you if necessary,” he rumbled, standing again.
Even wearing the four-inch heels Cass found she had to look up at him.
“All right,” she said unwillingly, trying to stand without wobbling. “But I still don’t see why you want me to wear them.”
“Think of how the full-blooded fairies you saw the last time we went to the Realm were dressed,” Jake said patiently. “This outfit you have on looks like something one of them would wear. Though you have no wings, having a fairy-like appearance may still sway the judge in your favor.”
“What? But I don’t look anything like them,” Cass protested. “I don’t have wings for one thing. And I’m not nearly as skinny as those full-blooded fairy bitches.”
“I know.” His eyes flicked over her approvingly, showing a flash of heat in their pale green depths. “You have curves—lovely ones.”
The compliment made Cass blush against her will. Which in turn made her
feel defensive.
“I have news for you, buddy,” she snapped. “These curves mean you’re probably not going to be able to carry me all up and down the Realm of the Fae. I mean, I’m not exactly a lightweight.”
“Nonsense.” Bending down, he swooped her easily into his arms, as though she weighed next to nothing—which Cass knew for a fact was definitely not true.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, putting a hand to her racing heart. “Put me down, Jake!”
He seemed to consider it, then shook his head.
“No, I don’t think so. You seem to draw trouble to you like a magnet. It’s better to keep you close—for your own safety.”
“But—” she started to protest but then her eyes fell on the Brandon clone, still frozen in the act of self-pleasure, and she had a new thought. “Hey, if you’re taking me to the Realm, what about the clone?”
“He will remain as I have placed him unless someone touches or disturbs him,” Jake informed her. “And now, we really must be going.”
And before Cass could say anything else, there was the familiar dizzy, swirling sensation and she was suddenly someplace else entirely.
Twenty
“Well, well, Jacobin. Fancy meeting you here.”
The soft, cultured voice had a hint of acid in it and when Jake swung around so that Cass could see who was talking, her heart sank.
They had arrived in the Realm of the Fae once again at the pink and gold cell that Jake had called a “Willow Door” and he had insisted on carrying her all the way to the courthouse. Cass had protested that he would hurt his back but he wouldn’t take no for an answer, saying he wouldn’t take any chances with her.
She couldn’t help marveling at his strength as he strode casually along with her cradled in his muscular arms. How did he never wear out? Even if she’d weighed considerably less it would have been a long trip with her held in his arms but Jake didn’t complain or slow down even once. It made her wonder if he was even stronger than he looked.
It seemed awkward at first to be carried like a little girl or a damsel in distress but after a while, Cass decided to just relax and enjoy the ride. It was so much nicer not to have to worry about being trampled by phookas or kidnapped by trows because she knew for a fact no one would be stupid enough to mess with her while she was held in Jake’s strong arms. She put her own arms around his neck and asked him questions about some of the strange sights along the way and he answered her freely, seeming much more at ease than he had during their first trip to the Realm.
They were making fast progress since, as before, the other creatures and people of the fae realm seemed to step aside to make room for the big elf wherever he went. The courthouse was actually in sight—the huge pink building looming over them—when they had run into the speaker who had addressed Jake by name.
When he swung around, Cass still in his arms, she saw it was a tall, thin fairy girl with long blonde hair and lavender tints. The only thing sharper than her cheek bones were her hip bones which poked out from her narrow pelvis as though her skeleton was trying to get free. Huge, glittery wings grew from her narrow shoulders and fanned lazily in the afternoon breeze.
Immediately, Cass recognized the girl from her illicit glimpse in the weird magic-mirror puddle thing at Jake’s house which had showed the strange U-news report. This had to be Glorianna deVan, her court-appointed elf’s ex-fiancée.
Today Glorianna was dressed in a skin-tight, silver pants-suit paired with sky-high stilettos that made her tower over her boy-toy brownie. He looked pouty and bored and he was carrying a double armload of shopping bags. Clearly he functioned as a bag holder and shopping companion as well as a bed-warmer.
Let’s hear it for multi-tasking, Cass thought sourly. But she kept her mouth closed and watched to see how Jake would handle the situation.
“Hello, Glorianna,” he said flatly, his face carefully blank. “I am glad to see you looking well.”
“I’m more than well.” Glorianna tossed her long, blonde and purple hair away from her perfect cheekbones. “Valen sees to that, don’t you my sweet?”
She made a simpering face at the short but muscular brownie who looked every bit as monochrome as he had on the magic mirror. Even his shoes were brown. Cass couldn’t help thinking that if her hair and skin were all the same color she would wear a contrasting color somewhere.
“Yes, Glorianna,” the brownie replied, sounding as bored as he looked. When she shot him a venomous look he perked up a bit and quickly added, “Of course, my sweet. It’s an honor to serve my lady.”
“He keeps me very satisfied,” the skinny elf girl said, smirking at Jake.
“I see. Well, that’s good to know,” he said coolly.
The big elf’s face was still devoid of expression but Cass thought she could feel the tension in his muscular body as he held her. Of course, it couldn’t be easy to be confronted and taunted by his ex this way but he was clearly on his dignity, refusing to allow the smirking Glorianna to get to him.
“I’m really so surprised to see you here,” she went on, innocently.
“You mean at the steps of the courthouse where I work?” Jake raised an eyebrow at her. “All right, if you say so. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get my client to her court date on time.”
“Oh, is that a client?” The tall, thin fairy leaned forward, peering at Cass as though she was some kind of strange bug Jake had picked up. “Is she actually human? And I thought you accused me of slumming.”
“That’s enough, Glorianna.” The big elf’s voice had dropped to a dangerous growl. “Cassandra is my client and I am sworn to protect her interests.” His voice took on a different tone, Cass couldn’t quite read. “Just as I was once sworn to protect yours.”
“Yes, well—too bad that didn’t last, did it?” the fairy sniffed. “Daddy’s still mad at me for sleeping with the help but I was bored and you were nearby so…” She shrugged her bony shoulders, as though Jake had been nothing but a fling for her.
Cass thought she saw a flicker of hurt in the pale green depths of her court-appointed elf’s eyes and a surge of indignation rushed through her. How dare this rich, skinny bitch stand here and insult him to his face? And clearly Jake was either too stoic or too honorable to return fire in kind.
Well two can play at that game, Cass thought. She considered saying something nasty and bitchy to Jake’s ex but somehow she doubted she could out-nasty the fairy girl. Instead she snuggled closer in Jake’s strong arms and laid her head on his shoulder.
“Jake, sweetie,” she murmured, loud enough for Glorianna to hear her. “Are we almost there?”
Jake’s eyes widened but he seemed to pick up on what she was doing.
“Almost, sweetheart,” he murmured softly. “Are you very tired?”
“Mm-hmm.” Cass nuzzled her cheek against his broad chest. “I just want to get this awful court date over with so we can go back to your house and snuggle.”
“What?” Glorianna’s blue-purple eyes flashed and her pouty mouth turned down into an ugly sneer. “I thought you said she was just a client, Jacobin! And why has she given you a second-name?”
Jake shrugged.
“Sometimes a client is…more than a client. As you have ample cause to know.” He gave her a steady look. “Now if you’ll excuse me, my client is tired and I must…see to her.”
But Glorianna clearly wasn’t ready to let him go.
“So,” she snapped. “I guess since this little human is so much more than a client, you’re going to take her to the Summer’s End ball? That should be interesting—the great Jacobin O’Shea at the ball with a mere human.”
“Excuse me, honey but it’s this ‘mere human’ that your ex-fiancé happens to be holding in his arms—not you,” Cass said, speaking to the snotty fairy girl for the first time. “So maybe you can take your skinny nose out of his business and go do…whatever it is you do with that monochrome boy-toy of yours someplace else.” She lifted her chin and loo
ked down her nose at the other woman. “Jake and I have business to attend to.”
Then she turned deliberately away and planted a long, lingering kiss on Jake’s sensual mouth.
Despite their earlier interactions, this was the first time they had kissed and though Cass had only meant it to be for show, she found she was completely into it the moment their lips met. His mouth opened for her and Cass darted her tongue inside, tasting some exotic spice she couldn’t name—something like a cross between cinnamon and cardamom, she thought dizzily as his tongue tentatively stroked hers.
And then Jake was kissing her back, crushing her to him and making a deep, hungry growling sound low in his throat that seemed to do all kinds of things to Cass’s insides. God, he was hot! She couldn’t deny it anymore—she was extremely attracted to the big elf even though part of her still found him annoying.
Shouldn’t be doing this, a little voice in her head whispered. Isn’t it some kind of conflict of interest to get busy with your court-appointed elf or something like that?
But though she knew the little voice was right, she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She was only partly aware of Glorianna storming off but after a moment, Jake broke the kiss and looked at her. He was panting a little—obviously with passion rather than exertion since he’d carried her blocks and blocks without breaking a sweat earlier.
“Why did you do that?” he asked, his deep voice still sounding growly.
Cass shrugged, trying to look nonchalant though in fact she was breathing pretty hard herself.
“She was being a bitch to you. I thought it might do her good to get a taste of the green-eyed monster. You know—jealousy.”
“You certainly gave her more than a taste.” Jake was frowning. “But don’t do that again, Cassandra.”
“What—don’t kiss you?” She felt a twinge of hurt—he’d been as into the kiss as she was, she could have sworn it! But maybe she’d been reading him wrong—maybe he was only kissing back out of politeness?
“Exactly.” He nodded.
“Why? Because it’s a conflict of interest? Pardon me for trying to do you a favor,” Cass protested.
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