Paranormal Dating Agency: Something Different (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Kiki Howell

  "I believe you. There isn't a dishonest or bad vibe about you, Jacob."

  "You are reading me?" He looked back at her sharply, his complexion having taken a sudden turn toward ashen as his muscles seemed to tighten, the veins and tendons in his neck stood out, his pulse becoming visible.

  "I try not to. Don't get mad. I'm not invading, reading your thoughts and emotions. But, some things, they show through, in your aura."

  "Oh. I see. I guess," he said, his voice lighter a second before he rushed on, "So, your mother, is that how you ended up with the whole Gerri and Ian set up, too."

  "Yes," she managed, still reeling from his compliments.

  Could he really think her beautiful, or was he just one of those stand up guys that had to make a sad woman happy again? Could he really be hitting on her, or just trying to divert her attention from her sadness?

  "Ian's a great guy. You two seem to be getting along well."

  "Yes. He is a very nice guy."

  Their conversation ended there, abruptly, letting him get back to scanning, as if at any moment an assassin with a gun could jump out and try to shoot her.

  "Is it dangerous to date Ian?" she asked, her insides flailing with the silence.

  Also, she had wondered at the way all of his numerous bodyguards, all muscle bound, so anyone could be the man Gerri had deemed savior, often looked. Each of them were always so intense, doing their job as if danger always lurked.

  "You are safe, Samantha."

  Him saying her name in that deep, gravely voice of his made her toes actually curl in her heels. A nearly impossible and painful feat. She moved Her hands to cover her stomach, trying to stop all the butterflies that suddenly seemed to be fluttering around in there.

  "Okay. I believe you. It is just...he has so many guards. And, you are all so focused. It makes me wonder what the level of threat is."

  "Ian makes enemies in his line of work. Not that there are daily attempts on his life or anything, in the physical sense, but he does get verbal threats, so we need to be vigilant in case that ever changes. It is not only our job to keep him safe, but we are pride, it's a brotherhood, alpha thing."

  "Ian is your alpha?"

  "That doesn't fit with your ideas about a pride?" He said, a laugh coming to surface, making her heart skip a beat.

  "Sorry, guess not. And, I hate stereotyping. My apologies. But, back to this tons of bodyguards thing, you think someone, one day, might actually do something to try to hurt him?"

  "It is always possible, and so, he employees us to take our job seriously. I would give my life for his, as would any of the others He knows that, and I think it just gives him peace of mind in a crazy world."

  "I see," she said, moving her hands up in front of her chest, her fingers now fidgeting with each other.

  She'd not have noticed it, but he put one of his hands on hers, covering them, igniting little sparks visible to the untrained eye. So close to her chest, her nipples hardened, practically reaching out for him to graze them. However, before that could happen, he pulled his hand back as if he'd been burnt, though she knew that impossible of the magic.

  "Sorry, just my magic. Guess I am on high alert as well. Guarded. I didn't harm you," she stated rather than asked.

  "No, just surprised me. You have many enemies then, Ms. Morgan?"

  "Oh, no, just an emotional thing. Putting up barriers between me and all the other emotions swirling around this room. Weddings can be nasty family reunions."

  "That's a rather negative view of such a blissful event, but if being honest, I would have to agree. And, to what end do these events serve anyway?"

  "Exactly. My mother fell in love, did the wedding and kids thing, and then my father left us, too. Though not by choice as your mother did. Still, gone is gone, and why risk it. Love, I mean. We will lose enough people we love in our lifetimes with parents and family and friends, why add the love of your life to the list."

  "I couldn't agree more."

  At the moment, she was her own worst enemy, talking too much, getting him talking. Nothing good could come from any of it. To her relief and disappointment, this guy, Ian's employee and friend, hell pride mate, would never date one of his girls anyway. He'd just said so. So, that was that, she figured, heart a dead fish in her stomach, holding back the audible sigh as Ian walked back up to them in a rush.

  "I'm sorry, Sam, but we have to go. I don't mean to sound harsh, but quickly."

  As he took her arm in arm, making her stumble her first step before she realized how fast he intended to walk, he whispered something in Jacob's ear she couldn't hear as a flood of his bodyguards rushed toward them. In no time at all, they fell into step around them, a wall keeping them safe. They'd not brought this many with them, so while she wondered where they'd come from and why, what the issue was, the assurances of safety Jacob had just given her went out the window.

  With a short on words, rushed apology from Ian, four guards took her in one car, getting them on the move as her door closed, while the other group, maybe six, took Ian somewhere else.

  As soon as she'd arrived safely home, she planned to call Gerri, and complain about this date, and more, before informing her that she was out. O-U-T, out! As the world whizzed by her at high speeds, she contemplated only whether to have a shot before or after she made that call. She decided upon both before returning her gaze out the window. Green blended into gray as she fought to regulate her heartbeat.

  Chapter Four

  Cueing her students through pranayama, counting through the inhales, exhales, and pauses, Sam's lungs stopped working as she looked over fourteen women, their eyes closed, and watched a cloud of dark magic move into and throughout her room. The magic so strong and swift, she had no time to alert anyone before each student fell unconscious, to savasana, too soon, her shocked brain surmised. Hoping the magic hadn't hurt them, she began to rise, to tap into her own magic to counter. Only up into a crouch, her hands out in front of her, nothing happened. The darkness swirled closer, grew more opaque, as if draining hers. She found her powers stifled.

  Seemingly out of nowhere, a hand cupped firm over her mouth. Her hands instinctively met the arm of the stranger, clutching the thick, roping muscles and veins along the limb. A half second later, though time appeared to have been set to slow motion, another arm snaked around her waist. A meaty hand gripped her hip, as it pulled her back several steps toward the wall that had been at her back in a swift, graceful movement.

  She clenched her body, her instincts screaming, fighting the steps, the speed too fast to not slam into that wall. Instead of impact, the breath pulled from her lungs with nowhere to go, as they went beyond the wall. All reason felt suspended during a moment that lacked explanation, and thus panic set in, as she found herself forced into a seated position.

  She spotted a hole cut into the wall she'd not known there, shimmering around her for the briefest of time, though that wall closed in front of them, blocking her from whatever was happening in her studio, before she had time to process its existence fully. Shaking uncontrollably, her fingernails now digging into, as much as they could, the steely arms around her like a vise, she may have whimpered, she wasn't sure, as a cold sweat broke out all over her body.

  Forced to sit, her back against more rock hard muscles, she couldn't help but note the large male organ pushing into the cleft of her ass either. Not that the guy was hard, but he'd been gifted. The thought seemed so out of place in the moment, and then another wave of panic erased it, as the body restricting hers prevented her need to squirm. The effort too much, her vision blurring, she stopped, if only to focus on the light that had appeared in front of her face. As it came into focus, she realized it to be a phone, not having realized the hand at her middle had disappeared. She resumed squirming in this small space, her legs immobile thanks to the wall, her arms bumping whatever was on both sides of her. She barely had room for her lungs to expand in the crouched position she shared.

  The thought
to flee built in her muscles only to be stopped by the vision of Ian's face appearing on the screen. The phone disappeared a moment as something was shoved into her ear. It didn't hurt, but the automatic flinch showed her she had slim chances of getting her head out of this guy's grip, as he kept his hand firmly cupped over her lips. To say he hurt her, she couldn't even tell at this point, her body blended into the dark surrounding, something, who knew the hell what, touching her at every angle, as dust and must filled her nose.

  Ian's voice filled her ear, jolting her into a state of paralysis. It took a moment for her brain to catch up, that whomever held her had her had put an earphone in her ear.

  She sat stiff as a board, her brows knit, her body taking over and making her labor for deep breaths as she listened to the message. The sound of Ian's voice, the sight of his face, gave her a moment's pause for hope. For a desperate minute, she pleaded with the universe that the man holding her was one of his bodyguards, that this had been a rescue rather than a kidnapping. She wanted this man to be her savior rather... Her thoughts dropped off at the thought, panic already high yet increasing still as she forced herself to focus on Ian's words, So far, he'd only apologized profusely.

  "Listen to me carefully, Sam. Jacob has you. I employed him today as your savior."

  Uh, that word again, she thought. Her body fought between a sense of solace and another deluge of hysteria, both continuing to interfere with her normal breathing pattern, as well as her heartbeat. The ache in her chest so profound, now, she fought to concentrate.

  "Again, I am sorry that you became a target," Ian rattled on, the message obviously recorded, which would have been more cause for concern if she hadn't already been shaking enough she had to work at maintaining consciousness in the dark room with only the light of a phone that held a friendly face and the grip of a man she didn't know how to deal with.

  Ian's voice sounded flat in the small space. "My enemies, having seen you with me so much over the past weeks, must have assumed that I care for you deeply. While you are a wonderful woman, we both know the circumstances of our connection. Anyway, in their lack of knowledge of this fact, they surmised that going after you was a way to hurt me. I'd heard the rumors of an impending attack. Not knowing if or when the attack would come, I had Jacob and a few of my men utilize the space in the wall around the furnace system as a failsafe, to get you out if need be. Forgive me for not wanting to alarm you if the threat had been fake, but I still had to set up a means to protect you.

  "I've had you under constant surveillance while we set about preparations to safeguard you against an attack. The other night my men cut a secret door to get you out unseen if my enemies, another pride, came after you. Knowing you are a witch, I did hear that they had thought themselves smart in hiring a witch themselves. My security team has been one step ahead of them, though, hearing the chatter through strategically planted connections. So we assumed the attack, if it happened, would be magical, which stood to our advantage in saving you."

  She attempted to process all of this information, her body not yet responding to the part where she was being saved. She couldn't help but worry about her students, or if these enemies of Ian's would find her anyway.

  As if he'd read her thoughts, Ian answered, "I'm sure you are worried about your class. From what we know, they have only been spelled to sleep. They intended to make you sleep as well, we assume, to kidnap you, use you as ransom. But, again, one step ahead, I used my own witch connections. I had him stifle your magic so they couldn't sense you where you now hide. You may have to wait there for some time until Jacob gets the message that it is safe to take you out.

  "Now, I don't mean to sound bossy, but I have instructed Jacob to do whatever is necessary to keep you safe, which to me means keeping you with him, even if he has to chain you to himself or a bed or whatever until this is all over. We all know you to be a headstrong woman, justifiably so, as you are also quite capable of taking care of yourself. It's just, in this situation, against these sort of men, I will take no chances with your life. Gerri would have my hide. So, everything will be handled until I know you are safe. Again, you have my sincere apologies. This is why I never date a girl more than a few times, but I was doing Gerri a favor. Not to say I didn't enjoy my time with you, I did, you are a nice girl, but this isn't what you want to hear right now, as you probably hate me at the moment anyway. So again, my apologies. You are in good hands. Please, let Jacob be your savior. And yes, Gerri told me to say that last line just like that, though it is true. I believe he will be." With that last bombshell of his, as there had been multiple in the speech, the phone went dark and the recording ceased.

  Sam didn't relax one bit, though, rather her entire body became aware of each and every inch of his where hers and Jacob's connected. She could still hear the commotion on the other side of the wall. They weren't safe yet. She blamed still being in flight or flight mode for the way her skin tingled given she had no magic to blame it on at the moment. She certainly wasn't about to admit it had anything at all to do with Jacob or how his skin felt where it pressed against hers. Nope. Not at all.

  "Relax," Jacob demanded in her ear, his voice low, deep, and harsh. "I have you. I'm going to keep you safe. Nod if I can trust you not to scream if I remove my hand from your mouth."

  She nodded fast multiple times until gray specks hindered her sight, which had just begun to adapt to the shadows in the darkness. With her affirmation, he slid his other hand around her middle again, pulling her in to him. Each and every muscle in her core tightened. She nodded again for some unknown reason. The muscles in her neck and shoulders were so tense they protested this movement with both pain and nausea, making her grit her teeth, as much an instinct as a means of keeping the nodded promise. His hand on her mouth moved away at a snail's pace, the distrust evident. His chest rose and fell in an exaggerated motion, even more so than it had been. This increased her own breath again, making her ache to just slouch back into him, let him protect her, be her savior. Although something stubborn, something defiant, in her kept her from doing so.

  She continued to sit up straight, took in a few gulps of air now that she had more than just her nose to rely on for the basic need. Thick, dirty air, heavy with ages of mold and dust, filled her lungs. To stifle the cough that threatened, she closed her mouth tight, focused on her breathing as much as she could manage. She couldn't even manage to come up with one of her breathing exercises, though, just the inhale and exhale were tough enough at the moment, regulating the air in and out of her nose so as not to pass out.

  "Get comfortable, if you can. We are going to be here for a while until they clear out. Even then, we will have to wait, as I am sure they will watch the place for a time. I will get the all clear through the phone to let me know when it is safe for our ride to come and rescue us."

  He'd whispered all of that in her ear, sending goose bumps to rise over her flesh. She stayed as she was, stiff frame, overly cognizant of each spot where they connected. His free hand, the one that had been over her mouth, came to rest beside her upper thigh. Given the tight corridors, it was about all he had. Heat rose from his palms, one on her leg, one on her side.

  As she calmed herself, little by little, she became more aware of the filth of their dark surroundings as her sight adjusted to see into the shadows. She couldn't so much see it, as smell it, more and more. The shadows took on new meaning, her eyes playing a game with her of cobwebs and dust, until she could feel the grime coating her sweaty skin.

  Chapter Five

  "Listen to me, Samantha, we have been cleared to go now. But first, I need to see your wrist." he said, still a whisper in her ear.

  After having sat there for hours, she now literally leaned up against him out of sheer necessity, her body having given out to sit up straight hours ago. Her mind as numb as her ass, she'd given it over to let fears and fantasies run free some time ago. She didn't protest when he used the flashlight on his phone, propping it up on his leg, h
alf blinding her. She looked away, let him take her arm, as she felt him slip something that felt like a leather bracelet over her hand to her wrist. It tightened a bit, snug but not too tight, before she heard a lock click. She jumped, no longer cognizant of the side effects of adrenal fatigue that had overtaken every ounce of her body.

  "What the hell was that?" she asked, her voice a hissed whisper, though they were supposedly alone.

  "Don't freak, all right? These are Ian's orders. He thinks once we are out in public that you will not listen to me, that you will stubbornly run thinking you can save yourself. While he appreciates your independence, and stubborn streak, he doesn't think it will help you stay safe at this time. So, he bought these cuffs..."

  "Cuffs? As in handcuffs?" she spit out, the volume of her voice increasing, echoing off the chamber of horrors she sat in.

  At one point, she knew she'd heard mice, or some sort of rodent. Jacob had wiggled as much as he could, scaring it off, soothing her with words of protection.

  "Yes and No."

  "Which is it? What is on my wrist," she said yanking it, not getting very far, though she hadn't a lot of room anyway.

  "Well, what you have on is kink related merchandise, actually. You know, fifty shades of gray and all that shit. So anyone who sees us going into a hotel will just think us into that. Ian got them also because the leather will make them not hurt, not cut into your skin like regular handcuffs would. But, they are clipped together by a metal band that takes a key to get out of. Trust me, there is no getting out of them no matter how much you yank. The lock and chain are unbreakable, even for me."

  He moved then, pushing her back upright with some effort, because she felt more like a rag doll, unable to demand anything of her limbs. At the same time, he twisted around behind her until he took her hand in his and she heard another click. With this all sinking in, given her state of exhaustion, her fight had left her physically, though mentally it was kicking back in.