by Laura Lee
Vance had a smug look of satisfaction. “Well, if you insist on doing so, then I insist on getting a security detail.”
“Do you really think I need a bodyguard?” I asked.
“Yes.” Both men said in unison.
Vance glared at Leo before he continued. “Karli, I’m not taking any chances. I already have a team running surveillance on Chad. It wouldn’t be very hard to shift a couple of them over to you. In fact, I’ll gladly take the first watch and accompany you back to your place.” He turned to flash Leo that superior grin he was wearing. “Why don’t you gather your things now so we can leave?”
“Um….I guess I can do that.” I said hesitantly.
Leo stood to offer his hand to me, helping me off the couch. “Excuse us for a moment.” He said to Vance. He pulled me into the bedroom and asked, “My dear, you know that you are welcome to stay here. You haven’t decided to go home because of what we discussed earlier, have you?”
“No Leo.” I replied. “Of course not. I’m going home because it is just that. My home. I really appreciate your hospitality and.….um, everything else. I just need to be around my own things, in my own space. Okay?”
“If that is what you wish, then I will understand.” Christ, his disappointment was hitting me like a brick wall.
I tightened my grip on his hand, attempting to comfort him. “I swear Leo, this has nothing to do with your past. I still want to finish our conversation, but not right now. I promise we will talk soon. Okay?”
“Okay.”
**********************
Vance followed me home and made some calls. “I’ll have a guy stationed outside your door in an hour.” He said. “When he gets here, I’ll need to step out for a bit to make a few copies of your door keys.” He gave me an impish grin. “What shall we do until then?”
Decoding his innuendo quickly, I replied, “Vance, I just need to be by myself. I’m going to lie down…...alone.” I went into my bedroom, shut the door, and flopped onto my bed.
A while later he knocked. “Come in.” I called.
He opened the door and sat down on the edge of my bed. “Everything’s in place.” He said. “My guys will be working in eight hour shifts. Tom will be out in the hall until ten, when Joel will take over. You’ll see either him or Dex in the morning, depending on how late you get up. They shouldn’t bother you unless they need to use the john. Don’t go walking around naked, unless I’m here relieving one of them that is.” He set my keys on the dresser with a wink. “I made copies for each guard. They know to knock if they need access while you’re awake and to slip in silently if you’re asleep.” Okay, I didn’t really like the idea of strange men having the run of my house, but it’s better than the alternatives I guess.
“Thanks Vance.” I said.
He smiled. “No problem. I’ve got a few hours to spare. You up for some more study time?” He asked.
“Not right now, but I have the next few days off. Maybe you can come by then?”
“Just say when and I’ll make it work.” He replied.
“Thank you again, Vance.” I said, as he was walking out the door.
Chapter 26
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The next couple of days went by very slowly. I hung around the house for the most part catching up on some spring cleaning. I kept telling myself that I wasn’t afraid to go out. Every time I thought about leaving, the men who could double as tanks guarding me reminded me that I was. Leo and Vance have called several times to check up on me but we didn’t talk much. I really didn’t know what to do, or what to say to either of them. My brain can’t handle the additional stress right now. Unfortunately for my brain, seeing both of them is inevitable. I work for Leo and I need Vance to help me with all the fairy stuff. Plus my stupid heart doesn’t like being without either of them for too long. Go figure.
On Wednesday afternoon, I was reading the latest Janet Evanovich novel when I heard the buzzer. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost two, time for a shift change. Maybe Tom forgot his keys.
“Hello?” I called through the intercom.
“Karli?”
“Who is this?” I asked.
“Baby, it’s Chad.” He replied.
Oh Jesus. “Chad, what are you doing here?”
“Karli, I heard about what happened. Can I please come up for a few minutes? I promise I won’t stay very long.”
“Yeah okay a few minutes Chad. That’s it.” I said as I buzzed him in. Shit!
He hugged me tightly as soon as I opened the door. Gah! “Wow, this place brings back some old memories.” He gloated. “I remember when we christened every room in this house like it was yesterday. It was nice having all that extra space without the furniture wasn’t it?”
Oops, did I just sneer? This was supposed to be our apartment together…until I found out about his extracurricular activities. Chad wanted to move into a nicer building but I insisted on paying half the rent so we chose one I could afford. I already gave up my old place so I fought to keep this one. I really didn’t appreciate his reminder.“The clock’s ticking Chad.” I snapped. “What do you want?”
He reached for me again, but I sidestepped him, giving him the evil eye. “I needed to see that you were okay with my own eyes. I can’t believe you’ve been sucked into this too. I’m so sorry Karli. The last thing I wanted was for you to get hurt because of me.”
“You mean more than I already have?” Was he trying to piss me off?
“Kar, I already told you how sorry I am about that. Have you given any more thought to my offer?”
Ugh, hell no! “Sorry Chad, I’m still standing firm on this one. I appreciate your concern, but as you can see I’m fine.” I opened the door to let him out, and saw Vance, fast approaching.
He glared at Chad before looking at me and asking, “Everything okay in here?”
“Yes, Chad was just leaving.” I said.
Amazingly he got the hint and started walking out, but not without clipping Vance’s shoulder first. “Excuse me asshole.” He said to Vance. “Call me if you change your mind Kar. I love what you’ve done with our little love nest by the way.”
Vance closed the door behind him and asked, “What the hell was that about?”
“Nothing, he’s just being Chad.” I replied. “What brings you here?”
“My guy trailing him called me. He thought I’d like to know he was headed here.”
“So are you spying on me now?” I shrieked.
“No Karli, calm down.” He said. “We’re pretty sure Chad is the cause of this whole mess. He is the one person you should stay far away from. It’s a security risk. Nothing more.”
“Oh.” Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions so fast.
“You up for some new tricks?” He asked.
“I suppose.” What the hell? He was already here. “I was just about to make lunch. You want some?”
“I’d love some.”
I started moving around my tiny, U-shaped kitchen making tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Vance helped, finding every little excuse possible to brush up against me. When we were done eating he said, “Well, I already know you can conjure a wardrobe and shock the hell out of someone. What else can you do?”
“Not much really. Just basic stuff like clothes, hairstyle, make-up. I tried changing my crappy car into a Mercedes once while I was in college but it didn’t even last long enough for me to get inside. The shock was actually an accident. I was freaked out and it kinda just flew out of my hand.”
“Well, combat magic is actually pretty advanced. Why don’t we start on a smaller scale? You want to try changing an object again?”
“Sure.”
He walked over to my television. Shaking his head he said, “No, this just won’t do.” He closed his fist and opened it again, revealing a small mound of fairy dust. “Now watch. All I’m going to do is imagine what I want to see.” He sprinkled the glitter-like substance over my
26” set, changing it into a much larger model. “That’s much better. You need at least 50” to watch a game.”
“Wow, that’s a good one! Will it stay that way?”
“The strength of the spell lies in the strength of the individual.” He explained. “Any object that I create can be permanent if I choose to make it so.”
“So is that why you have such nice stuff?” I asked.
He gave me a guilty smile. “Maybe.” Ah ha! Gotcha!
“You are such a cheater!” I teased.
He gave me a serious look and put his arms around my waist. “Not where it counts.”
He moved in to kiss me but I backed away. “Hey, I thought I was supposed to be learning some magic here. Are you going to let me try changing something?”
He released me from his grip. “Of course. Where would you like to start?”
I looked around the room and spotted a flower vase. I conjured some dust in my hand and imagined a giant bouquet of Casablanca lilies. I sprinkled it over the daisies but they did nothing. Pouting, I said, “It’s not working.”
Vance walked up from behind me and placed his hands on my hips. “Try again.”
I closed my eyes while I gathered more dust. My hips felt about ten degrees warmer under his touch. I opened my eyes, redirecting my attention to the vase in front of me. I felt much more focused, like nothing but this vase existed. Sprinkling the dust over its surface, I watched the bright pink flowers transform into the image from my mind. “Wow.” I touched the fragrant petals. “That’s really cool. Will they last?”
“Yeah, they’ll last.” He said confidently. “The normal amount of time for a cut flower anyway.”
Remembering the heat radiating from his hands I asked, “Is that because you did something?”
He nodded. “You did most of it; I just gave you a little boost. It’s all in the concentration. You simply need to remove all of the other elements in the room and focus on the task at hand. Do you want to try something without an expiration date?”
“Like what?” I asked.
“You pick.”
I thought about it for a few seconds before I led him to my bedroom. I looked at my old full sized bed and said, “I’ve always wanted a big four poster bed.”
“More room is always better.” He breathed into my ear sending chills down to my girly parts. “Shall we try for a King or Queen?” He splayed his fingers across my hips from behind again, reigniting the fire from earlier.
“Definitely King.” I recalled a photo of the Park Avenue bed from the Nicole Miller line. I saw it in a magazine once and wanted it ever since, but could never justify the expense since I’m saving for a house. I threw some dust over my quilt and felt the air sizzle around me. I opened my eyes to find the perfect combination of form and function, with an extreme emphasis on style. It came complete with the gunmetal gray silk duvet and crisp, white Egyptian cotton sheets. “Wow.” I said, nearly breathless from the beauty of this piece of furniture.
“Impressive.” Vance agreed. He moved in front of me to test the mattress with his hands. “Pillow top….nice.” Turning towards me he added, “Feel like taking it for a test drive?”
I put my hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes at him. “You wish.”
“Yeah, I do.” He admitted shamelessly. “And your point being?”
I thought it’d be best to get the hell away from the bed since I had no point. “Ugh, is that all you ever think about?” I asked as he was following me back into the living room.
“Hey, I’m a guy. I think about it a lot. But probably no more than you right now.”
Mortified by his blatant remark about my hormone explosion, I whipped around and smacked him on the chest. “Hey buddy, now that’s just rude to call a girl out on the table like that.”
He laughed. “I’m just saying---”
“Yeah, yeah.” I interrupted. “It soooo funny that Karli really needs to get laid but can’t. Ha ha!”
He moved in closer, ready to pounce. “Hey, I never said you can’t. I’d be more than happy to help you with your little…..problem.”
I launched for the door. “Okay Mister, time to go.” I opened it for him and found Tom standing at his post. From the look on his face, I’m guessing he was eavesdropping on our conversation. I gave him a dirty look before returning my attention to Vance. “Alright. I’ll take that under advisement. Now go.” I insisted.
He leaned over to whisper into my ear. “I’ll go Karli, but I wanted to leave you with one last thought before I do.” I felt a light pressure in my head which turned into a memory of me and Vance on his bed, from his point of view. I was going down on him, clearly enjoying myself. He pulled back to study my reaction and smiled. I’m pretty sure my jaw was wide open in shock because he just laughed at me and walked away without another word. Bastard!
Chapter 27
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I decided that I needed a night out on the town to take my mind off the frustrating men in my life. I dialed Erica’s cell. “Hey K, whatsup?”
“I need a favor.” I got straight to the point. “I need a girl’s night out. Can you round everyone up for me?”
“Yippee!” She squealed. “You haven’t been out with us in forever! Half of my normal peeps would be working tonight, but I think I can get some girls from the audition circuit and maybe Roxy and Amanda.”
“Great. Meet me at my place right before ten.”
“Will do baby! Hey, be sure to dress extra slutty tonight. I’m taking you to my favorite place. Only super hot people make it past the front door!”
I stood in front of the mirror thinking about my outfit. I settled on something I saw at the mall last week. I sprinkled some fairy dust over my head and was instantly clothed in a yellow draped neck mini tunic dress with t-strap metallic stilettos. Yep, this one will definitely make Eri proud.
She arrived around ten with a busty platinum blonde. Tom’s tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth as I invited them in. Erica nodded to the woman beside her.“Karli, this is Audrina. She just got cast in that topless review where they flash a bunch of lights onto the women’s bodies. Audrina, meet Karli.”
Audrina looked me up and down while I was doing to the same to her. She looked really familiar but I couldn’t quite place her. She was heavily made up, wearing a jeweled neck fuchsia mini dress. Her nails and shoes matched and her spray tan was probably about two shades too dark. She fanned her nails and said, “Yes, we’ve already met.”
“We have?” I asked.
“Yes, at a club. You were monopolizing all of my favorite lover’s time.”
I thought about it for a minute until it hit me. The leggy blonde that Chad blew off. “Ah, at Voyeur-Gasm, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.” She replied acidly.
“Sorry, I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.” I said, returning her tone. “And I wasn’t monopolizing anyone’s time. Trust me honey, he’s all yours.”
“Well, I’m glad we cleared that up.”
I gave Erica a sour look before asking, “Where are the rest of the girls?”
“They’re going to meet us there. Roxy is dating one of the bouncers so she wanted to get there early to secure a room for us.”
I grabbed my keys and purse and ushered the ladies out into the hall while I locked my front door. “C’mon Tom. You’re in for a wild ride.” His shift was almost over and I wasn’t about to wait for the changing of the guards. “You should probably call Joel and have him meet us there.”
Wow, you’d think he was new in town with the way he was gawking at us. “Yes, Ma’am. I have a feeling he’s going to love being on the job tonight.”
“Uh huh. I bet. Let’s go.”
We all piled into my car and headed for the club. We saw Roxy waiting for us at the front of the line. “Hey bitches! Ready to get your drink on?” She looked at Tom. “Who’s the big guy?”
“He’s my bodyguard.” She gave me a confused look.
“Don’t ask.” I warned.
The entrance tunnel to the club had a gold mirrored mosaic of changing lights, fog and sound. It was the preamble of the exciting experience waiting inside. This place came equipped with state-of-the-art lighting as well as a pulse-pounding sound system which was currently blasting techno music. The synchronized fireballs shot out above the dance floor, captivating the audience below. A forty foot wall of water provided the ultimate backdrop for the go-go dancers while the main dance floor was surrounded by a body of water. The dancing fountains struggled to keep up with the sea of glistening bodies.