by Leilani Love
“Mine.” The creature growls into her ear. Feeling its breath on her neck, she struggles to get away and screams when she feels his mouth open to bite.
Sitting up in bed panting, Violca looks to the clock and realizes that it’s still the middle of night and that she doesn’t have to be up for a few more hours. She lays her head back down and sighs.
Wondering why her dreams are haunted by this strange creature, she closes her eyes. Feeling more tired now than when she originally went to bed, Violca finds herself staring at the ceiling as her breathing evens out. Closing her eyes, she says a silent prayer to be allowed to sleep in peace before she drifts off again.
Chapter 9
Chase spent the majority of the day following Violca. Watching her at the grocery store he found himself wanting to step in and tear the manager to shreds. He had to fight back a smile when she turned him down. When he finally walked by the guy, his dragon was practically fighting to come out, to let the greasy little man understand that Violca was not his bother.
Following from a safe distance, he watches the interaction between her and Kati. With his hearing, even at the distance he is still able to hear the conversation between the two. Messaging Eryk, he asks what happened to make Kati cry.
The girls stay in that night and Chase watches from his car until shortly after midnight. He circles the neighborhood, trying to detect anything out of place. Letting his dragon come up to the surface, heightening his senses, he reaches out, trying to detect if there is anything out of the ordinary. Finally satisfied that the girls are safe, he heads home, hoping that Scott and Eryk were able to find something out about the man who was watching him and Violca.
When Sunday comes, Violca spends it with the girls, taking them for a trip to the mall she had promised and convincing them to spend the rest of the day at the Fountain Gardens.
Watching the younger girls run around and chase butterflies, she sees Eva in the corner with a few girls she knows from her school. Violca looks around and finds Kati sitting by a red rose. Quietly walking to her, she looks over her shoulder to see her drawing the rose in great detail. Watching her for a moment, she is careful not to distract her as she starts to draw one of the fountains behind the rose, drawing it lightly, as a backdrop.
Walking around the garden, Violca sees a section that is dedicated to just orchids. Noticing the different kinds of orchids, she stops and reads a sign about how the number of species of orchids is double the number of bird species and four times as many as mammal species.
Stepping around the corner, she sees a small collection of delicate purple orchids that are slowly starting to whither. Reaching out and gently touching them, Violca caresses one of the withering flowers and the flower seems to slowly open. Violca quickly jerks her hand back. She looks at the purple orchid and leans in to touch the plant again. Seeing the plant’s stalk slowly stretch up and the flowers almost look like they are reaching for her, she looks around wondering if anyone else saw it or if she just imagined it.
Drawing in a deep breath, Violca is curious if she can make it happen again. Seeing a small withering plant, she walks over to touch it just as Sari and Angie run around the corner and right into her legs.
Almost falling over, she laughs and holds them to her. “Hey you two, where are you going?”
Giggling Sari answers, “We were looking for you V. We wanted money to throw in the fountain with the little princess.”
Violca smiles as the two of them pull her toward the middle of the gardens. “The little princess huh?”
“Come on V, we have to hurry or are wishes won’t come true,” Angyalka says, yanking her arm.
Picking up the pace, shaking her head Violca whispers under her breath, “When did wishes get a time frame?”
When they get to the fountain Violca laughs as she sees that the princess they are referring to. It is a stone fountain that has a young girl in the middle sitting on a toadstool, holding a frog in her hands, kissing it. She smiles to herself as she reaches into her purse and grabs some change to give the girls.
Handing each of the girls a quarter, Violca laughs as they run to the fountain. Both of them close their eyes and hold the coin close to their chest before throwing it in.
Taking both of them by the hand, they walk back to get the older girls. As they pass the orchids to go get Eva and Kati, Violca looks over and sees the purple orchids stretching up and thriving as if they were healthy the entire time. Shaking her head, she sees Eva telling her friends goodbye and Kati gathering her drawings.
The rest of the day at the house goes smoothly. The girls finish up any homework they have and help out with some of the housework before Brandon comes over for dinner. The girls spend most the evening telling him about everything that he has missed in the last few weeks.
Violca lets the girls stay up a little late to play games with Brandon. She laughs when Sari beats him at Candy Land. Making plans to have lunch with him soon on her break, she locks the door as he leaves. Tucking the girls in, Violca sighs before she heads to bed and silently prays that her dreams are not plagued by nightmares.
Chapter 10
After Kassandra’s email saying that she has a lead on who and what was watching him and Violca, he finds himself checking his messages while waiting in line. Chase finds himself a little put out that Violca never called him over the weekend. Scott teased him saying he was losing his touch with the ladies and offered to take his spot getting close to the lovely Violca. The growl that Chase gave him made Scott smile in response as if he knew something.
When the young girl finally hands him his order, he thanks her and heads outside. Violca was right, the smell of fresh baked bread is enticing, and he decides to see if he can make some headway by bringing her some. Not knowing how she takes her coffee, he also puts in some different creamers and sugar they had set out on the counter.
Using the revolving doors, he steps into the law offices. Even though the firm is in a small suburb outside San Francisco, they obviously do well. The lobby is open and spacious. There are couches and chairs on the sides for people to sit on while they wait and a walkway that leads right to the receptionist desk. Behind that, to the side, he can see the security desk and Scott next to the elevators.
Violca’s head is down as she enters in some information, and he can hear her asking a few questions as he walks toward her. When she looks up her violet eyes meet his, and when she recognizes him, she smiles, although he can see a little confusion. Violca holds up a finger to let him know she will be one minute as she finishes asking the person on a line a few more questions.
While she is busy, he takes the time to notice that she is wearing a dark purple blouse that makes her violet eyes stand out even more. He likes the fact that her hair is down, looking silky and shiny. He finds himself wanting to touch it to see if it is as soft as it looks.
He hears her end the call before turning her head. “Hi what are you doing here? Do you have a meeting with one of the lawyers?”
Chase grins, realizing he is actually a little nervous. This is the first time he has ever had to make an excuse to talk to a female. “No, actually I had business in the area this morning and when I smelled fresh baked bread I...” his voice trails off when she flashes him a smile that lights up her entire face. When he hears Scott coughing as if he is trying not to laugh, he clears his throat. “Well, I thought you might like a muffin and some coffee this morning.”
Chase sees Violca glance at two of the girls who are walking past them. Both girls give her a look that speaks volumes about what they think of her, until they notice Chase looking in their direction. The girls look to be about the same age as Violca but where Violca to him is naturally beautiful, both these girls look like they put a lot of time into getting ready. One is blonde, the other brunette. They have their hair perfectly done, the clothes they chose are meant to emphasize their curves and draw attention to them, down to their stiletto heels. The smile they give him is inviting and
lets him know he could have them if he wanted.
They both turn slightly and walk toward Violca and him. “Hello Violca.” The blonde purrs, and he has to hide his smile when Violca raises an eyebrow.
Not to be outdone, the brunette says, “Violca, we were just talking about you.”
He faintly detects Violca whispering, “I bet” before she smiles at them. “Hi Tiffany, Amber. I hope you had a good weekend?” They glance from him to her and he smiles when he sees Violca roll her eyes. “Tiffany, Amber this is Chase. Chase, this is Tiffany and Amber.”
Tiffany, the blonde, extends her hand first. “It’s nice to meet you Chase.”
Amber shakes his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you ladies,” Chase says, wondering how long they will stay down here before continuing to wherever they have to go.
Amber smiles. “Chase, do you have business with one of the partners?”
Chase shakes his head, his eyes going to Violca, who answers the phone as soon as it rings. “No I actually just stopped by for a minute to tell Violca thank you while I was in the neighborhood.”
A few gentlemen walk by and they look at Tiffany and Amber. Tiffany slowly licks her lip before smiling up at him. “Well those were our bosses, we better get to work, but I would love to talk to you later, if you want to have a drink.” Looking at Violca, she smiles cattily. “I am sure if you call the front desk Violca will gladly transfer your call to me.”
Both girls walk away. He notices that they are swaying their hips, and he chuckles when he sees Violca roll her eyes again. “Thank you for this,” she whispers, opening the little brown bag he gave her before the two girls came over. “If I knew bumping into someone would get me coffee and a blueberry muffin, I would do it more often.” She grabs a few of the sugars and pours them into her coffee, winking at him when he laughs.
“Actually I was thanking you for joining me for lunch, so I wouldn’t have to eat alone.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“Could I talk you into joining me for dinner tonight?”
“I can’t,” she says before adding, “Besides, I think you might already have a date.”
Chase looks her in the eye. “I am not interested in them.” When he sees her eyes widen and a faint blush forms on her cheek, he hears his dragon growl a very possessive Mine in his head. He steps back and glances at his watch. “I have to go, but I am sure I will see you later.”
Turning, he heads back out, only to hear his phone go off. Looking down, he sees a text from Scott that simply reads, “Smooth. Are you sure you don’t want me to give it a go?” Realizing from this angle, Scott would still be able to see him, he raises his hand and his middle finger before walking off.
Parked in a spot that gives him a good view of the offices front door, Chase settles into his SUV. When he hears his email go off, he opens it up to see a message from Kassandra. She was able to identify the man in the picture as one of the praised demon warriors. His name is Micah, and he is known for being ruthless and willing to do anything to get what he wants. It’s rumored that he wants to take over as the demon lord.
Chase scans through the email, amazed at some of the stuff she was able to find out and what Micah is rumored to do to get his way. His ability makes him very dangerous. Micah’s gift is to be able to take over another person and make him do whatever he wants. Once he takes over someone’s mind, Micah can take it over whenever he wants, whether the person is in his vision or not.
Chase swears when he finishes reading the email. Realizing Micah has the ability to be anyone anywhere, he needs to get Violca and her sisters to safety, and fast. Demons are hard to kill and one that can hide in plain sight will make it that much harder to guard them. Their best bet at keeping them safe is getting the witches to trust them. Chase looks back toward where Violca is working and hopes that gaining her trust won’t prove to be too difficult.
Chapter 11
Violca sits in the courtyard having finished her lunch. Her mind keeps going to Chase’s offer to join her for dinner. Before everything she would have jumped at a chance to go out with him. He is handsome, polite, and every time he smiled at her, she felt beautiful. Since raising her sisters, she has found that most guys run away when they find out she is raising four girls. They might be okay if she had one sister, but four…well that scares them completely and the few it didn’t, she noticed, thought that she should be grateful and she could be easily manipulated.
“Hey there stranger.” Looking up, startled to hear a familiar voice, she smiles up at her dear friend, AnnaBelle. AnnaBelle looks gorgeous in a green, tight blouse with a low scoop neck that emphasizes her generous breasts and brings out her big green eyes. Her long, golden hair is pulled back in a ponytail. AnnaBelle’s jeans are a pair of low riders that cling to her hips. She could have been a model with her natural beauty, but chose instead, to become a freelance writer.
“What are you doing here?” Violca asks as she gets up and hugs her tight.
AnnaBelle sits next to her on the bench, and reaching into her purse, pulls out a candy bar. “I missed you, so I thought I would stop by on your break and bring you some dessert.”
Smiling, she opens it. “Oh, see I knew there was a reason you are my favorite.”
AnnaBelle pulls out a bar, grinning. “And here I thought it was my dazzling personality that made us such good friends.”
Swallowing her bite, Violca winks. “Well that’s a close second, but you bringing me candy randomly during the day has to be number one.”
“What have you been up to?”
“I met a new guy,” AnnaBelle answers cheerfully. “We’ve gone out a few times, and he seems very nice. Plus he’s sexy as hell. It’s fun to watch girls stop and stare when he walks by.”
“So you finally found yourself some eye candy, huh?”
“Yep.” AnnaBelle turns, looking at her. “So what about you, have you met anyone interesting lately?” AnnaBelle laughs at Violca’s red cheeks. “Oh you have, who? Tell me all about him!”
Violca blushes more. “It’s nothing serious, I…” biting her lower lip, she smiles, “well, we just met. I don’t think anything is going to happen.”
AnnaBelle smiles. “Well, with you blushing like that, he must really be something.”
“He seems nice. I have just seen him around. We haven’t been on a date or anything.”
“Well you better get on it, if he got your attention he must be something special and you deserve someone special.”
Violca glances at her phone. “Shit, I have to get back to work.”
AnnaBelle stands up with her and gives her a hug.
“I’m glad you came by though, I missed you.”
AnnaBelle sighs. “I’m sorry, when I finish this article I am working on, I promise we will all have dinner soon, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan, thank you for the candy bar.”
Violca hugs AnnaBelle one more time before heading back to work. One of the other assistants had taken her place instead of Linda. This one being new, looks annoyed and leaves the desk before Violca even gets to it. Violca fights the urge to roll her eyes.
Chase finds himself smiling, watching Violca with her friend. He takes a picture of the two of them together. His dragon senses come up to the surface when they talk. He loves the way she blushes when her friend asks if she has met anyone. He frowns, growling when she says it’s nothing serious.
It isn’t, of course, she is just one of the girls he was sent to protect and to hopefully bring to their side. They just met, but he doesn’t like how she brushes him off as if he is just another man hitting on her. Chase is anything other than just another man. Violca will learn that quickly enough.
It is obvious to Chase that he will need to find a way to get close to her. He has never thought of himself as vain, women are just drawn to him. He knows most people think he’s handsome and consider him charming. He’s never had a problem before, and he finds he doesn’t like being dismissed. Wh
ether it’s his own vanity or pride, he hates the fact that she still has not even called him.
Tapping his finger on his steering wheel, he starts to think about how he is going to get Violca to spend more time with him. Smiling, he gets out of the car. He is going to fix it so she doesn’t have a choice.
Violca walks to the car, happy to be done with her day. Taking out her keys, she sighs when she notices that the front driver’s side tire is flat. Swearing softly, she pulls out her phone and looks up a tow truck. Finding one, she dials the number, telling the driver what is wrong and where to find her. Hanging up, she leans against her car, texting Eva, telling her she will be home as soon as she can.
Hearing a voice behind her, she turns around and sees Chase on his phone. When he spots her, he tells the person on the phone he will call back later. “Hey, I was going to swing by your work and see if you decided to have dinner…” his voice trails off when he notices her tire. “What happened?”
Biting her lip, she says, “I don’t know, I’m thinking I ran over a nail or something.”
“Do you need help changing it?”
“No, I just called for a tow, figured they could take it and have the tire changed for me.”
Chase runs his fingers through his hair. “Why don’t I wait with you and give you a ride home.”
Shaking her head, she blushes. “No that’s okay, the tow truck is going to take about twenty or so minutes to get here. I will just take a cab home.”
He grins at her. “It won’t be a problem. Plus, my mother raised me not to leave a girl stranded.”
Laughing, Violca sighs. “Thank you. I would really appreciate a ride home.”