Great Hexpectations, A Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy (Dulcie O'Neil Series #3)

by H. P. Mallory

“I just wanted to make sure everything was good, that you didn’t regret what we did yesterday?”

  Ah, how was I feeling about those things…Now we were on the same wavelength. “I don’t regret anything, Knight.”

  I could hear him exhale his relief. “Thank Hades for that,” he said with a chuckle and then paused for three seconds. Not that I was counting... “I, uh, I was thinking about you, Dulce. Missing you, really.”

  I smiled. I couldn’t help it. “Is that so?”

  “Yep, and I was wondering what you’re up to tonight?”

  I felt heat color my cheeks and those girly feelings were now in complete control of my body. The strong and reliable side of me wanted to vomit. “I don’t have any plans.”

  “Do you want some?”

  “Sure.”

  “Good because I wasn’t sure how I was going to go to sleep tonight without at least kissing those beautiful lips of yours.”

  I giggled again. Dammit.

  “Pick you up at seven for dinner?” he asked, his chuckle revealing his extreme amusement at my giggle. Double dammit.

  “Sure,” I answered. Then, not wanting to leave him out in the cold, I quickly added, “I, um, I missed you too, Knight.”

  He took a few moments to respond. “I like hearing that.”

  And, truthfully, I liked saying it.

  #

  When I heard a knock on my front door at twenty minutes to seven, I was surprised to find Knight was early. And, I’ll admit it, I was also happy. I mean, I’d finished getting ready long before and was just sitting around my living room, trying to kill time.

  I stood up, completely not okay with the fact that my nerves were on full steam ahead. This was the part about being in a relationship that I didn’t like—the fact that I felt anxious all the time and jittery, like I’d just downed a full pot of coffee. I glanced down at myself, running my hands across my short black skirt. It was so short, in fact, that I couldn’t bend over. My legs were bare and I opted for black four-inch wedge heels. On top, I was wearing a plunging red halter top with my WonderBra so my C cup boobs looked like DDs. I mean, it was silly really because Knight already knew what he was getting and DDs weren’t on the list.

  My hair was down as usual since I’m not exactly thrilled with my pointy ears but I put some extra time into my makeup. I chose to go with a smoky eye, rosy cheeks and a high gloss red lipstick. I’m not a vain person but I looked pretty damn great, if I do say so myself.

  I took the few steps to the front door and inhaled a deep breath as I pulled open the door, excited for Knight’s reaction. But, what I got wasn’t exactly what I’d been expecting…

  “Jack?” my voice barely made it out of my throat. “What the fu…”

  “Dulcie,” he interrupted, his eyes widening as his gaze settled on my bust for a good three seconds and then moved down to my legs. I’m not sure how long it took him to work his way back up to my face. Asshole.

  “What do you want and why are you here?” I demanded in a less than friendly voice.

  He brought his eyes back up to mine and they were heavy with lust. He flaunted that know-it-all smile of his and ran his hand through his hair. He was very handsome. I couldn’t deny it—it was a fact. And there was something inside me that wanted to remember how things had been between us, something that wanted to focus on the happy times but I wouldn’t allow it to take control of me. I was over Jack. Jack was history and Knight was my future.

  “I came to talk,” he offered.

  “I’m busy and I don’t have time to talk to you.” I started to close the door, as if charading that he wasn’t welcome anywhere near me but he merely stepped forward and blocked my attempt. Guess he wasn’t good at taking hints.

  “Please, I’ll just take a few minutes of your time.” He looked me up and down again. “It’s pretty obvious you have plans.”

  “Yeah, I do,” I quickly added, not wanting to encourage him at all. It was good that he was aware I had plans—even better that he realized he hadn’t scarred me for life—that I’d moved on. He nodded and dropped his gaze, as if my plans were causing him some sort of inner turmoil.

  “What do you want, Jack?”

  He sighed and, looking up at me, immediately glanced away for what appeared to be dramatic effect. “I…I need your help.”

  “My help?” I asked dubiously, crossing my arms against my chest and exhaling my frustration. “What the hell could you possibly need my help for?”

  “Can I come in?” He actually took a step forward without waiting for my permission.

  “No.”

  “Please, Dulce, just for a few minutes?”

  “Don’t call me Dulce. It’s Dulcie.”

  “Please?” he asked and frowned.

  I’m not sure why I did it but I stepped aside and allowed him to enter. Seeing him in my apartment again flipped something in me, some latent memory that I’d locked away. All of a sudden, it was as if time had rewound and we were back to the old days, when we were in love, or at least, I was in love with him. Whether he had genuinely cared for me was anyone’s guess. I started to close the front door behind me but, thinking better of it, decided to leave it open. Why, I wasn’t sure but I felt more comfortable knowing the door was open and that I could tell him to leave any second.

  Truth be told, I still wasn’t sure why I’d even allowed him inside. I had nothing to say to him. Maybe it was the fact that he’d asked for my help. I guess I had a hard time denying people who needed me? Or maybe I was just reaching…

  “Okay, what the hell do you need my help with?” I demanded, my hands on my hips. I was angry, yes, but whether I was angrier with him or with myself for allowing him to even talk to me, I didn’t know.

  He walked into my living room and glanced around, as if wanting to make sure everything still looked the same as it had two years ago. It did.

  He faced me again and smiled. “You really look amazing, beautiful.”

  “Cut the crap.”

  “I was thinking the same thing when I saw you at Bliss,” he continued, as if he hadn’t heard me or just didn’t care. “You’re gorgeous.”

  “Why are you here, Jack?”

  He glanced away and then, as if noticing the couch for the first time, walked up to it and didn’t wait for permission but sat down, making himself at home. I’d give him two minutes to tell me why he needed my help and then he was out of here. And hopefully whatever help he needed could be referred to the ANC because I wasn’t about to take on any cases where Jack was concerned.

  “I need your help because I made a huge mistake.”

  “A mistake?”

  He nodded and stretched his arms out against the couch back, leaning back as if he belonged there. “Yes.”

  “And when do you plan to inform me what that mistake was?” I cleared my throat. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what your problem is.”

  He leaned forward and sighed before glancing up at me again. “My mistake was that I let you go.”

  “Oh, for fuck sake,” I started as I neared the door, feeling anger welling up inside me. I was a total moron to think that Jack had legitimately come to me with some sort of problem. I was a total dumbass for ever believing he could be civilized about anything. “You can leave now.”

  He stood up but didn’t look concerned. “Please, Dulcie…”

  “No, don’t ‘please’ me, you asshole. It’s ridiculous that you came down here and gave me some stupid sob story about making a mistake and needing my help when you’re just here for your own selfish needs.” I took a deep breath but I wasn’t quite finished laying into him. Not yet. “And that stupid apology of yours? Yeah, it’s about two years too late.”

  “I thought you might take it that way…”

  “Then you should have listened to yourself and talked yourself out of coming here because you’re wasting your time.” Then I remembered Knight and the fact that he was due to arrive any minute. And that wasn’t a situation
that sounded in any way good. “I’m with someone else now, Jack.”

  “I know,” he said as he dropped his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s why I’m here. I didn’t want you to end up with some asshole when it’s me you should be with.” He paused again. If I had fifty cents for every time he paused, I’d probably have five dollars by now. “I had to let you know how I felt,” he finished.

  I couldn’t even believe I was still standing here listening to this bullshit. “Well, you’ve had your say so you can leave now and live the rest of your life in peace, knowing you finally said whatever it was you wanted to say.”

  “I’m being serious, Dulcie.”

  “So am I.”

  He took a few steps closer to me but made no motion to leave. He reached out, as if he were going to touch my cheek, but I pulled away. “We were good together.”

  My jaw was tight. “You cheated on me.”

  “It’s something I’ve regretted all this time.”

  I snickered and it was an ugly sound. “You really expect me to believe that?”

  “Yes because it’s the truth.”

  I shook my head and laughed acidly. Did he really think I was buying this total crap? That I was so stupid to succumb to this trite bullshit? Did this work on other women? It must have. And speaking of other women, an image of the southern belle he’d been with at Bliss dropped into my head like a bomb. “I’m sure your southern Amazon would like to hear you say that.”

  He wore his confusion. “My southern Amazon?”

  “That woman you were with the other night at Bliss,” I said hurriedly, waving my hand in front of me dismissively.

  “We’re through,” he said and sighed dramatically. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Dulcie. I couldn’t be serious about her. I don’t love her.”

  As if he’d ever loved me. As if he’d ever loved anyone…

  “You don’t love anyone but yourself,” I said snidely and glanced at the clock on my wall, realizing the seconds were ticking by and Knight would be arriving soon. Jack needed to vacate the premises immediately because I didn’t want Knight to see him here—it would take too much explaining and it would look bad. “You need to leave, Jack.”

  “I just want you to hear me out.”

  “I have.”

  “But you aren’t listening.”

  He was really starting to upset me because he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I am listening. You’re just pissed off because I’m not falling for your bullshit.”

  I wasn’t prepared when he moved toward me and pushed me against the wall of my living room. I tripped over my heels and had to stabilize myself against his chest which only fueled his fire because before I knew it, his mouth was on mine. His kiss was sloppy, urgent and he was desperately trying to pry my lips open with his tongue. I pushed against him furiously, but he kept me pinned to the wall, his hands now on my breasts. I turned my head and broke away from him and tried to free my hands but he held them at my sides as he stared down at me.

  “Get the fuck out of my house, you son of a bitch,” I seethed.

  “I know you want me, Dulcie. And I want you. It can be good like it was before.”

  “It was never good and I never want to go back.” I glanced down at my left hand, wondering if I could get enough movement to shake my fist for some fairy dust. But then I remembered the ANC mantra that I wouldn’t use magic against a human. Dammit. I glanced up at him again and narrowed my eyes. “I can’t stand you.”

  “Tell me you can’t stand me again, Dulcie,” he said, confusing me, but once I felt his fingers underneath my skirt, inching up my thigh, I got his gist.

  “Get away from me!” I screamed and bucked against him, suddenly feeling afraid. Jack had never been the violent sort and had never forced himself on me in the past but I had to wonder if the rules had changed. He just seemed so determined. I tried to calm myself down; then I thought about reasoning with him. When I spoke, my voice was sharp but low. “You could go to jail for this, Jack. I’m an officer of the law.”

  “Are you really going to report me, Dulcie?” he asked, the look on his face saying he didn’t believe I would—not by a long shot.

  “You just made a big fucking mistake.” It was Knight’s voice and I felt my stomach drop. That bad situation I’d been worried about earlier was about to make itself known and judging by the fury on Knight’s face, it was about to make itself known in a big way.

  In less time than it takes to blink, Knight had Jack by the back of the neck and with one pull, yanked him away from me. Jack’s eyes went wide and before he or I could guess what was going to happen next, Knight impelled his fist into Jack’s face. The smaller man flew backward with the force of Knight’s blow and landed on the floor.

  “Didn’t you hear her say no, you son of a bitch?” Knight fumed, his chest rising and falling with his elevated breathing.

  Jack wasn’t a small man. Compared to Knight he was small but he wasn’t used to losing a fight and I could see the anger erupting inside him. He wasn’t going to back down—I could read as much in his narrowed eyes and tight jaw.

  “This is between Dulcie and me,” he spat out as he got to his feet and glared at Knight.

  “I want you to leave, Jack,” I yelled at him, fear spiraling within me as I considered how bad this situation could get. Knight couldn’t afford to get into a fight—not while he was the head of the ANC. And a fight with a human would be even more problematic. Not to mention the fact that he could do major damage to Jack and, although I believed Jack deserved it, I don’t like fights.

  “The only person who needs to leave is you,” Jack yelled at Knight at the same time that he cocked his arm backwards and allowed his fist to unfurl against Knight’s face. Knight’s head bobbed slightly but it didn’t appear that the impact had done much to him. Instead, his eyes began to glow but not in the way they had when I witnessed them earlier. This time the glow somehow hinted at Knight’s anger or maybe I was just getting that from the fact that he looked like he was irate, his face red and his eyes narrowed.

  Jack looked at him in shock. “What the hell are you?”

  But I didn’t give Knight the chance to respond. Instead, I was too worried about what he was going to do to Jack. “Knight,” I warned. “He isn’t worth it.”

  Jack faced Knight and smiled in an ugly way. “You backing down? Think your tough shit but maybe you aren’t so tough?”

  “Knight,” I said again, watching him as he battled with himself over whether or not to teach Jack the ultimate lesson. But he had to realize it wasn’t worth it. Not when it could mean his entire career? Knight dropped his fists and stood up tall, exhaling as he did so. I could feel relief coursing through me, easing the stiffness of my composure.

  “Fucking coward,” Jack said and snickered as he shook his head.

  “He could kill you, you moron,” I shouted at him, watching Knight to ensure he wasn’t going to lunge at Jack. He appeared to have his temper under control. Point for him.

  Jack faced me and smiled but it was laced with venom. “Let him try.”

  “Get the fuck out of here,” Knight said, his voice strained. “I’m giving you one last chance.”

  Jack laughed this time, like the whole thing was just a big joke. “Dulcie and I go way back, asshole. This is about us, not you.”

  “I’m warning you,” Knight was shaking with anger.

  “Knight, let me handle this,” I said, suddenly afraid for what a Loki temper entailed. Especially given the fact that he and I were now romantically involved—somehow it seemed like that fact alone had escalated this whole situation into something that resembled a time bomb. I took a few steps until I was standing directly between them. Then I faced Jack. “Jack, you aren’t welcome here. I don’t know what more I can say to get through your thick skull. I don’t want anything to do with you. So just save yourself from further embarrassment and leave.”

  It was like Jack didn’t even see me.
Instead, he looked right past me to Knight. “You need some pointers on her favorite positions? Maybe how she loves having her…”

  But Jack was unable to finish his statement. Instead, I didn’t so much see Knight as I heard him lunge for Jack. He moved lightning fast, sidestepping me, and before I could even argue, he pushed Jack down and brought his fist down onto Jack’s face.

  “Knight!” I screamed and felt like I was running through quicksand as I threw myself on him. “Stop it!”

  But Knight wouldn’t stop. He continued throwing punches into Jack until I was worried he’d do serious damage. I jumped on top of Knight and grabbed his arms, feeling like I was a gnat trying to stop a tornado.

  “Stop it!” I screamed again. “Knight, get off him!”

  Realizing I wasn’t making any difference, I dove down on top of Jack and watched Knight pull back, just as he was about to bring his fist down on me.

  “Dulcie, what the fuck are you doing?” he screamed.

  “I’m stopping you from killing him!” I yelled back, pushing my hair out of my face as I looked up at him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Knight backed away and turned to face the wall, running his hands through his hair as he took a deep breath, probably asking himself the exact same question.

  I glanced down at Jack and found he was still coherent though covered in blood. He rolled over onto his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath. Apparently Knight had knocked the wind out of him.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him.

  He glanced up at me and it looked like Knight had broken his nose. It was already bruising and blood was gushing out both nostrils uncontrollably. He pushed away from me and stood up, suddenly hunching over as if he couldn’t catch his breath. Then he took a few steps forward until he was at the entry of the door. He leaned against the doorjamb and glanced back at me.

  “She isn’t worth shit,” he said and spat on my floor. Then he turned around and hobbled down my front walkway, finally getting into his car. Once he sped away, I felt like I could breathe a little easier. That is, until I wondered if Jack would alert the police about what had just gone down. Course, he probably had no idea that Knight was tied to the ANC. I could only hope so anyway. And, furthermore, Jack wasn’t the type of man to willingly admit he’d been bested in a fight so maybe he’d keep it to himself.