And this was the guy Naomi was supposed to fall in love with? OK, she thought, maybe this is how it’s supposed to be. Magic worked in its own unique way.
Kain pressed the button to take them back to the twentieth floor. As the elevator began its descent, he said, “Wait. We’ve lost Rupert.”
Marra looked around the elevator cart, twice, as if the scruffy man could be hiding in the corner. Annoyed with herself, and how the day was turning out, and missing her wand, which she would have loved to use on Margo and Vera, all for Naomi, of course, she snapped, “Good riddance. I expect he’s trying his luck with Margo and Vera as we speak.”
The elevator doors slid open, revealing Rupert, over by the reception desk, talking to Connie.
“How did he…?” Naomi said.
“He’s quick on his feet,” Marra said, as they approached the desk.
Rupert turned to watch them, a smile on his face. Wait. Rupert never smiled.
“Are you OK?” Marra asked, concerned.
“I am.” He held up two tickets. “Cinderella, you shall go to the ball.”
“What?” Marra asked, taking the tickets off him. “Did you steal them?”
“Are you accusing me, Marraine Le Fey?” Rupert asked, offended.
“If you didn’t steal them, then where did you get them from?” Marra asked.
Rupert tapped his nose. “A janitor sees things.”
Marra narrowed her eyes at Rupert, and opened her mouth to speak, but Kain burst out laughing, which diffused the situation. “You know. I’m in the mood for putting on a tux. How many tickets do you have, Rupert.”
“There are two. It says they’re a plus one.”
“So the four of us will go,” Marra said excitedly. Thinking of dresses, and shoes, like any good fairy godmother would.
“You three. I’ve got another ticket, right here, and I’ve already asked Connie.”
“So that was what the smile was all about,” Marra said.
“Smile?” Rupert said, his face deadpan once more. “What smile? Next thing you’ll be telling me you see sparkles.” His wink was so quick, she almost thought she’d imagined it, but it had been there, along with a quirk of his mouth up to the right.
“You are an old devil,” Marra said happily.
“I might well be.”
Marra turned happily to Naomi and said, “This is how it’s supposed to be.” She was sure of it, so sure she’d bet her wand on it. If she had her wand.
Chapter Thirteen – Kain
“How do I look?”
Rupert stood in front of Kain, in a borrowed tux. Borrowed from Bas, who was on his mountain somewhere and would never know it had been worn by a magical being. Not for the first time, or the last, did Kain expect to wake up any moment, and find this had all been a dream.
That thought shook him to his core. If it was a dream, that meant he would still be lonely, and he wouldn’t have Marra in his life. Yes, they’d gotten off to a rocky start, she’d shaken his belief system to the core, for sure, but the more he came to know her, the more he could picture their lives together.
Which meant after tonight, when the ball was over and Naomi had her happy ever after, he would have to fulfill his promise to her and devise a way to get back her wand. How? He had no idea. But he was a lawyer, he’d think of something. Something that didn’t mean either of them doing a spell in jail. He wanted to them to be together every waking moment, not separated by concrete walls and wire fences.
No, some way or another, he would get into the DeVere mansion, and get back the wand.
“I said, how do I look?” Rupert asked again, in his gruff voice.
“Like a…” Kain cocked his head on one side and looked at Rupert. “I’ve got nothing. You look like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
Rupert slapped Kain on the shoulder. Hard. “Great. That’s the look I was going for. Unique. Connie won’t be able to resist.”
“I think you’re right.” Kain pulled his jacket on, and adjusted his tie in the mirror, hoping Marra would feel the same way about him. Irresistible. That’s what Marra was to him and his bear.
“Should I take flowers?” Rupert asked. He smoothed his hair down, but it sprung right back up again. Kain grinned. Rupert had scrubbed up well, and the suit fitted him perfectly, yet he still didn’t look slick. He looked rough, and rugged, and like he knew how to get up to no good.
“I’m sure Connie would appreciate that,” Kain said. “I’ve never met a woman who doesn’t like flowers.”
“Good, then I’ll stop on the way.” He headed to the door of Kain’s apartment, where he’d come to get ready. Kain had no idea where Rupert came from, or where he lived. Did all magical beings live unseen amongst them?
Like many shifters do, his bear reminded him.
True, Kain agreed.
“We’ll meet you there. In the parking lot.” Kain was going to pick up Marra and Naomi; they were getting dressed at Marra’s place. Marra said they would be able to wear a couple of the vintage dresses from the shop. After Kain had collected them, they were going to pick up Ron, who was coming along for moral support, and to be Naomi’s plus one. Since Marra and Kain, and Rupert and Connie were couples, it would be odd for Naomi to be alone at the party. But then, Naomi was supposed to leave with Marcus, once they had met. He decided not to question the arrangements, and trust to Marra and her intuition.
Kain wasn’t sure the whole evening wasn’t going to end in disaster, but Marra was convinced this was all going to turn out OK. She could feel it in her bones. It seemed her magic was still trying to do its thing, even though it was impotent without the wand. Marra was learning to feed off what felt like intuition. Although so much of what her wand had communicated was still hidden. Like the gnome, and frog.
Kain was willing to go with it, and trust things would turn out right in the end. He believed in Marra. And he believed in magic.
Oh yeah, he was on a one-way train to the mental asylum with his mate. His and her strait-jackets might be the perfect gift for Christmas.
“OK. Let’s get the evening started.” He left his apartment, and locked the door, jogging down the stairs, and then out into the chill night. He took a deep breath, and his bear bristled inside him, full of energy, full of longing to burst free into the darkness and run around, roaring to the world that they had found their mate.
“I’ll settle for claiming her,” he said aloud.
Maybe, if the evening worked out right, they might come back here, to his apartment, or go back to her funny little shop, with all the strange antiques that he couldn’t see anyone ever wanting to buy. Kain was going to have to have a long talk with her. When they got married, she would have to decide what she was going to do with the shop.
Today Marra had convinced Naomi to follow her dreams. Kain hoped to persuade Marra of the same thing. She wanted to help the community. And Kain wanted to help her dreams come true.
So now you’re the fairy godmother, making wishes come true, his bear said.
Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to wear a tutu and carry a wand.
Thank goodness for small mercies, his bear replied solemnly.
Kain laughed, and got into his car. A thrill of excitement consumed him. Tonight was going to be a night like no other.
And when he pulled up outside the antique shop, to find two beautiful women waiting for him, dressed like a couple of 1960s movie stars, he knew he was right. Kain only hoped it was going to end well for Naomi. He still wasn’t sure how a woman as sweet as Naomi deserved to get mixed up with a guy like Marcus Dagan.
But there was magic involved. Perhaps Naomi was going to change Marcus for the better.
“You look beautiful,” he said to Marra, and kissed her on the cheek. Her skin immediately warmed under his lips, and she smiled shyly.
“I can’t remember the last time I dressed up.” Marra twirled around in her dress. “I feel like a princess.”
“You look like one too.
” Kain smiled. “Marraine Le Fey, you shall go to the ball.”
Marra giggled and curtseyed elegantly. “Thank you.”
“You do look beautiful,” Naomi said. “I did her hair. Do you like it? It flatters her face, don’t you think?”
“I do think,” Kain said. He took a step back and admired the way Naomi had piled Marra’s thick hair up onto her head, and then let it fall in ringlets around her bare shoulders. He also admired the way Marra’s red dress fit her luscious body. It was cinched at the waist, and her breasts were exposed, just enough to be provocative, but not enough to be distasteful. But he would really love to taste them. He wanted to rip the dress off, not caring if he ripped it to shreds, and lick her creamy skin, savoring the taste of her.
“Kain.” Marra was looking at him, her eyebrow arched. “I think we should go.”
“Yes. You have Ron’s address?” Kain asked
“I do,” Naomi said.
“And we have a plan?” Kain asked.
“We do.” Marra said, sliding into Kain’s car. “It seems Rupert Knight has a silver tongue, and has persuaded Connie to help us.”
“It involves me and Marcus Dagan in an elevator,” Naomi said nervously.
“Don’t worry. I’m going to be with you every step of the way,” Marra said.
Naomi leaned forward, from where she was sitting in the back seat of the car, and wrapped her arms around Marra’s neck, kissing her cheek. “Thank you. For everything. I can’t believe we’ve just met, and yet you’re willing to help me with everything.” She sighed and sat back in her seat. “My mom said I must have a fairy godmother looking down on me.”
A silence stretched out between Marra and Kain as he looked at her from the driver’s seat. Then he said, “A really terrific fairy godmother. You’re a lucky girl.”
“I am,” Naomi said softly.
And he was the luckiest bear shifter alive, to have Marra in his life. His bear agreed.
Chapter Fourteen – Marra
As they drove across town to pick Ron up, Marra took the crumpled piece of paper with her drawings and scribbled words, out of her pocket and had one last look at it. Something wasn’t sitting right with her, despite all the pieces coming together.
They were supposed to go to the party, she knew that. Just like she knew the sky was blue. But there was something about Marcus Dagan that niggled her. His behavior wasn’t that of a normal Prince Charming. Usually, a Prince Charming was the kind of guy who would go out of his way for other people. Not leave his employees in the lurch while he went to get ready for a party.
How long did it take a man to get ready anyway? Kain had managed to go home, shower and change, and be back by her side in less than two hours. She smothered a satisfied smile. He smelled good enough to eat. All clean, with a tang of citrus, and something else she couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was citrus with a hint of bear.
“You look happy,” Kain said as he navigated the traffic. Ron lived across town, and the streets were busy with people returning home from work, or heading to the big stores for Christmas shopping, or dinner.
Marra loved watching people going about their daily lives, and wondering who they were and what their lives were like. She used to wonder what it would be like to be in a relationship, to always have a man around to talk to, to have dinner with, and to just be with.
“I am happy. It’s all falling into place. Don’t you think?” Marra asked.
“Not worried it’s a little too easy?” he asked.
“I’m not worrying about anything. I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter what gets thrown at us, we’ll get through it.”
He smiled at that idea. “Us. Together. You and me.”
“That’s right.” She leaned back and watched the lights, strung out across the road like red, blue, yellow and purple stars. They twinkled with the promise of carol singers, and presents under the tree, stockings hung up for Santa to fill on Christmas Eve, and mistletoe for stolen kisses. All the things she hadn’t realized she’d missed. Being a grown up, especially a single one, and an only child, meant the magic of the holidays had slipped out of her life.
Now it was back. It had reappeared in her life in the form of a big, broad bear shifter.
She turned to Kain, and dropped her voice. “Tonight, after the party… Will you show me?” She raised both eyebrows, and nodded at him in a conspiratorial way.
Kain chuckled. “I think I can manage that. Although, there are a couple of things I’d like to show you.”
She blushed, glad of the dim light inside the inside of the car. “One thing at a time.”
“In that case, my bear would love to meet you,” he said. “Once we have Naomi hooked up with Marcus Dagan.”
Kain pulled over, and turned off the engine, Marra looked out of the window at a small townhouse, from which an excited Ron erupted out of the front door almost immediately. “Someone is excited,” Marra observed, hoping Ron wasn’t going to spoil the evening.
Of course he won’t, he cares too much for Naomi to let that happen, Marra told herself. Yet still a sense of unease sat with her. Slipping her hand into her purse, she ignored the feeling of loss at not being able to curl her fingers around the long slender stem of her wand, and instead touched the rough and wrinkled piece of paper that held the clues to her wand vision.
She didn’t need to take it out and look at it; the images it showed, scrawled with her own hand, were imprinted on her brain. Even with her eyes closed she would be able to see it clearly. The pond; the gnome, fishing with a fixed smile on his face. The mallard duck swimming across the pond, jumping in fright as a frog, glistening green, large eyes glaring, leaped into the water off a lily pad. While around them ladies swirled in an endless dance to the tune of pipes.
Marra had tried to let it go, but now, as they drove back to Drake House she was sure the clues she had been given had to be deciphered. If the mallard duck had been a clue to Drake House, then it stood to reason, at least magical reason, which was what Marra worked on, that the other clues were meant for her to work out as well.
“Oh my, Ron. Don’t you look the bomb,” Naomi said, as Ron sat next to her in the back seat.
“Do you like it? My brother, George lent me his best suit.” Ron sounded breathless with excitement. “He said this was a special night.”
“It’s not that special,” Naomi said. “If I don’t get to speak to Marcus, and he doesn’t like my idea, things will go on the same as always.”
“Hey, let’s not talk like that,” Kain said, looking at Naomi, and then at Ron in the rear-view mirror. “As a good defense lawyer once told me, it’s all about believing in what you say. Then whoever is listening will believe it too.”
“Was that good defense lawyer called Kain Nolan?” Marra asked, her own voice laced with excitement too. Something big was going to happen tonight. The magic was building up in her; it was threatening to spill out, wand or no wand. She chose to push it back down, keeping a lid on it. She needed a clear head for all of this to work out. Marra needed to be open to any clue that might spring up out of nowhere and make sense of the images on the page she had drawn last night.
“No. Actually it was my good friend Bas Manners.” Kain laughed. “I’m hoping he’s still my good friend once he finds out I lent his best tux to Rupert. If Rupert ruins it, he can use his magic to make it good as new, can’t he?”
“Not for personal gain,” Marra reminded him.
“This won’t be for personal gain, it will be to stop a murder. My murder,” Kain’s voice was light-hearted too, as if he was tuning in to the excitement which made the atmosphere inside the car buzz. If Marra didn’t know better, she’d think there was a magic bomb in the car, just waiting to go off.
“He’ll look after it. He’s a good man, Santa would not trust him so implicitly if he wasn’t, and Mrs. Claus would not have sent him to help us, if he wasn’t reliable and trustworthy.”
“I will take your word for it.”
“Do,” she said, and placed her hand on his. “Mates never lie.”
Kain smiled at her, and he moved his hand, so that he could loop his thumb over hers and stroke it. “Mates never lie.”
Warm, fuzzy sensations flooded through her body. Maybe she was a magic bomb that was waiting to explode.
“Here we are,” Kain said as he pulled under Drake House and parked his car. “Party time.”
“Do you have the invitations?” Marra asked. She should have asked earlier, because if he’d forgotten them, it would ruin the whole evening and all their plans.
“I’m a lawyer. Making sure I have the right documents, at the right time, is in my job description.” She leaned across and kissed his lips. “If that’s a thank-you, then you are welcome.”
“It is a thank-you,” Marra said.
Ron and Naomi had been chatting excitedly in the back of the car, and hadn’t realized the car had stopped. Marra turned in her seat to watch them, thinking how easy they were in each other’s presence. Ron might not be the best-looking kid in town, but he was on Naomi’s wavelength.
“You OK?” Marra asked them. “It’s time to get started.”
“OK.” Naomi said. “Ron was just telling me some of the improvements he would like to make to my presentation.”
“That’s great, Ron. But we’re running out of time,” Marra said. “Perhaps when Naomi has won Marcus Dagan over, you can help Naomi iron out those creases.”
“Sure I will. Anything for Naomi.” He looked at the young woman next to him, and then smiled bashfully. “I’m going to miss working in the same office as you.”
“Hey, I’m not going anywhere yet, I still have to find a way to pitch this idea.”
“Rupert and Connie are going to help you there,” Kain said. “Connie has a heart of gold, from what Rupert says, and when he explained what we were doing, she agreed to help.”
“Receptionist Connie?” Ron asked incredulously. “She always looks so grumpy.”
Claused: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Christmas Bears Book 2) Page 7