Mistletoe & Mayhem

by Brenda Trim

  Her gaze traveled over him and she noticed that his jeans were tight in all the right places, and she could easily make out his firmly muscled legs. He took her breath away and she desperately wanted him.

  Her sex tightened with need, and arousal flooded her panties as she was overcome with an uncontrollable lust for this stranger, and she couldn’t focus on anything but getting him into the office for a quick tryst. She became light-headed when a feathering sensation in her chest set her heart racing. She wondered what was wrong with her. She was no blushing virgin, but she had never responded like this when looking at a male.

  Reaching up to wipe the sweat from her brow, she lost her hold on the ladder. As she felt air rush past her, she never once thought to utter a spell. She blamed it on the fact that her brain malfunctioned from hormone overload. Rather than landing in an ungainly heap on the floor, she was caught by big, strong arms and an electrical current raced across her skin the moment they touched. She wanted to climb to the top of the ladder to have this male catch her again. Then again, that would mean him putting her down, and she had no desire for that to happen.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was gruff, and she loved it. The sound sent liquid heat spreading from her abdomen to her core and had her melting into his body.

  As much as she didn’t want to, she needed to put space between them or she was going to lose control. She pushed against his broad shoulders for him to let her go. She didn’t fight it too hard when he refused to release her. “I’m okay. Nice catch, by the way. I’m not usually caught off-guard like that.”

  She should tell him to let her go. Her lips parted to say the words, but they were trapped in her throat. She breathed in his earthy, pine scent and a new flood of heat traveled through her. She needed to gather her senses, and added more force to her shove until he finally set her down. Her body slid down the hard length of him and she took a couple steps back before acting on impulse to rub against him like a cat in heat.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you one of the Rowan sisters?” he asked, holding out his hand. Did he crave contact with her as much as she did him? It seemed like an eternity to Pema since he had touched her, and she would die if he didn’t touch her again. Okaaay, she was losing her mind and she needed to stop this behavior.

  Her brain and hormones weren’t on speaking terms, and she eagerly grabbed his hand and held it tightly. “Yes, I’m Pema and this is my sister, Suvi,” she nodded her head in the direction of her sister, keeping hold of his hand. “And you are?”

  “My name is Ronan Blackwell,” the hunk said, keeping intense gaze into her eyes.

  “How can we help you, Ronan?” Suvi asked, awakening Pema from her daydreams of ravishing his body. Realizing how odd it must seem to be holding onto his hand, she pulled from his firm grip and immediately felt a loss. She turned around to face the counter, needing to break eye contact with him.

  “I’m not exactly sure. I need to win my female back. I believe her mother forced her to end things between us. I have never believed in this hocus-pocus shit, and I think it made her mother dislike me. I’m a shifter, and I believe in what I see in front of me,” Ronan said. Two things happened. For a brief second, Pema wanted to rip this female of his to shreds. She quickly dismissed the notion, reminding herself that she was only fantasizing about the male, nothing more. And, who the hell was he to call their magic hocus-pocus shit? She swiveled and took in this alpha male, and his confident stance amped her body’s response, making all other thought flee from her mind.

  “I’m not sure what we can do for you. We refuse to make or sell true love potions, so we can’t force this female to love you, and we certainly can’t create a potion to make you believe in our hocus-pocus shit,” Pema said, acid dripping from her tone. “Who is this female anyway?”

  Ronan was quiet for several long moments while he stared right through her soul before he answered. “Claire Wells. Surely you have something for me. I was told that the Rowan triplets are supposed to be the most powerful witches in the realm. I want to convince Claire to follow her heart. She has loved me for almost two hundred years, and I don’t believe that has changed.” He moved closer to Pema as he spoke, angling his body toward her. She wasn’t going to be a fool to think that he was as affected by her as she was by him. She was a means to an end for him, and she sure as hell wasn’t getting in the middle of his relationship problems.

  Still, Pema had to bite her tongue. This magnificent male could not belong to this particular female. She wasn’t surprised that he was taken, but why did it have to be with Claire? The male was making Pema crazy with lust, and now disgust. Not a great combination.

  She shuddered in revulsion. Claire Wells was Cele’s beloved daughter, and Pema hated them both. She didn’t have a jealous bone in her body, so why she was so upset over this couple was beyond her. Something had taken over her, and Goddess help her, she may embarrass herself yet.

  Suvi jumped right into sales mode. “Of course we are, and if anyone can help you, it’s us. We have several truth potions. And, if you want to remind her of the passion you shared, we have pink tourmaline to enhance libido,” Suvi winked at him.

  Pema watched their interaction, bewitched by his perfection and her desire for him. It had to be the red jasper messing with her. Her libido was working overtime with this male two feet from her. She needed to raise the price on these stones, and order more. This was obviously some powerful mojo.

  Pema listened to him talk to Suvi and found herself wondering why he was with Claire. Those thoughts brought up the memory of her last interaction with Claire. It was the day Claire had moved back to Seattle, and Pema and her sisters were making their final payment to the High Priestess.

  Claire stood in Cele’s office with her hands on her hips, her long mousy-brown hair flying around her shoulders in agitation as she snarled at them. “No matter how much money you make at that store of yours, you three are still just the poor kids in rags. You’ll never amount to anything.”

  Isis sneered back. “This coming from the one who relies on mommy for everything. We may have started in rags, but we aren’t in them anymore.”

  A deep rumble brought her out of the memory. “Bag up whatever crystals or potions you recommend.” That quickly, his sexy voice conjured images in Pema’s mind of him hovering over her while he slowly thrust into her, driving her to climax.

  She clenched her teeth together, telling herself that she had to stop thinking about sex. She unclasped the magnet of the wrap around her wrist and dropped the bracelet onto the counter. She walked a few feet away, placing more distance between her and the sexy shifter, and pretended to organize the tarot cards.

  Ronan inched closer to her then stopped. He ran his hands through his hair, ruffling his curls and shuffling from foot to foot. His gaze returned to Pema’s face again and again. Something in Pema stirred at the way he was staring at her. She couldn’t decipher the look in his chocolate brown depths, but it was intense.

  Suvi bagged several items for Ronan, telling him how to use each one as she took his payment. Pema didn’t think Ronan heard a word her sister had said, given that his gaze never once wavered from her face. For someone who was so hot to win his girlfriend back, he sure didn’t seem too concerned about it at the moment. That was not wishful thinking, Pema assured herself.

  “I need to get to work, but thank you for the help. See you around?” Ronan asked, but didn’t move to leave.

  “If you are ever at Confetti Too then you’ll see me plenty,” Pema replied, hoping her invitation wasn’t too blatant.

  “I guess I’ll see you often, since I’ve just been hired as part of the new security. Will you be there tomorrow night?”

  “Yes,” she nodded. “We wouldn’t miss the grand opening.”

  “Save me a dance?” he husked.

  “Dancing with me is certainly not the way to win back another female,” she responded.

  “You’re right,” he said. They stoo
d staring at each other for what seemed like forever before he turned and exited the store. He gazed back at her from the street then hopped into a large truck. There was something about a male in a truck, Pema thought.

  “That is some heat you two were throwing off. I need a walk-in freezer to cool down,” Suvi broke the silence, fanning her face.

  “Shut it, Suvi,” Pema mumbled, staring out the window, captivated by glowing, brown eyes.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “If I have to hear that bear growl one more freakin’ time, I’m going to paralyze his vocal cords. Goddess, do they ever come up for air?” Isis asked, unable to curb her irritation any longer.

  “Not since the mating ceremony,” Suvi laughed. “Come on, sis, Pema deserves this happiness.” Isis watched the youngest of her sisters closely, envying her levity.

  “I know she does, and you’re right, but I feel the walls closing in on me. Let’s go to Confetti Too,” Isis said. She had contemplated moving out over the past few days, but in the end, she knew that wasn’t an option. Unlike humans, supernaturals didn’t thrive from independence. Supernaturals prospered when they lived with family and friends; whereas, lone individuals tended to wither away.

  Isis looked over and noticed Suvi was typing out a text. Before her eyes lifted from the phone, it chirped. “I’m in. The Dark Warriors are going to be there. C’mon you, need to put on something sexier. And, we need to leave some food outside Pema’s door before we leave.” Suvi’s musical voice was filled with excitement and Isis couldn’t help but get excited about the evening, too.

  Isis resisted Suvi’s prodding and smoothed her hair down. “I’ll go, but I’m not changing. These are my favorite jeans, and, what’s wrong with this top?” Isis asked, examining her clothing. It was a stylish top and she’d gotten several compliments on her tight, hip-hugging jeans in the past.

  Suvi reached out and undid the top two buttons of her green shirt. “What’s wrong, sister, is that you need to flash more cleavage.”

  Isis rolled her eyes and headed for the back door. “I don’t need to flash my shit to get attention. In fact, a little lesson for you, males like a little mystery. Make them use their imagination, work for it. No one wants what they can see. Half the excitement for them is the fantasy they create about you in their head,” she smiled and winked at her sister.

  “Well, I’m changing. I’ve never had anyone complain about the way I look. In fact, less is more,” Suvi chuckled with her reply as she headed for the stairs. Isis followed her up to the second floor where the noise of hot-shifter-on-witch sex was getting louder.

  Isis glanced down at her crinkle-chiffon top and thought about changing as well, but decided against it because she wanted to get out of the house sooner, rather than, later. Suvi’s dress choice was always well-put together, but she hoped she didn’t take too long.

  As they walked into Suvi’s room, Isis had never been more thankful for being a witch than she had been since Pema was mated. Witches’ hearing wasn’t as strong as other immortals, so she wasn’t able to pick up the minute sounds of their lovemaking like she would if she were a vampire or shifter. She laughed aloud thinking of the paybacks for Ronan when she or Suvi finally found her Fated Mate. He’d be able to hear everything.

  Her mind wandered to the Dark Warriors, and she idly wondered if their rooms were soundproofed to muffle the noise. She surmised that it could get testy in that house with a bunch of un-mated males and two mated couples. One thing she had come to learn, since the mating phenomenon had returned to the Tehrex Realm, was that Fated Mates were combustible together.

  Isis wasn’t like her sister, Pema, who hadn’t wanted her Fated Mate. Pema and Ronan had had their work cut out for them before they were officially mated. Ronan’s ex-girlfriend, Claire, had tried to kill Pema twice, and Pema had to work through her biases to eventually accept Ronan. Just the thought of what Claire had done to Pema had Isis’ anger flaring and, instantly, several lightbulbs in the ceiling burst. As tiny shards of glass went flying, she quickly tamped it down before any more damage was done.

  “You okay?” Suvi turned around, eyeing her warily.

  “I’m good. So why isn’t that red dress good enough for you to wear?”

  “Because I’ve had it on all day and I want to wear this new purple one I just picked up. I have a cute, little green dress that will look better than your jeans,” Suvi tried again to convince her to change. Isis watched Suvi toss clothes out of her closet as she searched for something to wear.

  Isis wasn’t against dressing up, or wearing clothes that others might consider revealing, but she didn’t feel the need to make a production out of every outing. She already felt sexy in what she was wearing, so she didn’t feel the need to change. She sat down at Suvi’s vanity and glanced in the mirror, admitting she could touch up her make-up, though.

  Suvi came out of the closet holding up two dresses. “I think you should wear the green one, because it will look great with your red hair, but the blue would look amazeballs on you, too. Here, try it on.”

  “I’m not changing, Suvi. I like what I have on,” Isis gritted out, trying to hold back her frustration before it turned to anger. She turned back to the mirror and finished with her eye make-up.

  “Okay, point taken. You know I can’t help myself when it comes to clothes and shoes. Oooh, nice smoky eyes. Try this shimmery lip-gloss.” Isis smiled at Suvi in the mirror. True to form, nothing much ruffled Suvi’s feathers.

  The three of them perfectly balanced each other, but Isis was having a hard time adjusting to the changes in dynamics that Ronan had created. Their mating was for the best, and she would never want Pema to be without the bear, but things were definitely different in Casa de Rowan. Normally, Pema would have been getting ready with them and joining them for a night out. One third of the power of three had been missing lately.

  Suvi stripped out of her red dress and poured herself into a slinky little purple number. The garment was one of the shortest dresses she had ever seen. “Suvi, you had better not bend over tonight. I know you don’t mind showing the males your assets, but I don’t think you need to flash them your black thong.”

  A loud roar from the next room had them looking at one another. “Time to go,” they said in unison and burst out laughing.

  They quickly headed downstairs. “You’re free to roam the house naked for a couple hours. We’re heading to Confetti,” Suvi called out as they passed Pema’s door.

  “There are leftovers in the fridge, but don’t you dare touch my piece of key lime pie or I’ll pound your ass,” Isis threatened, meaning every word. No one touched her favorite dessert and lived to tell about it.

  They ignored Pema’s muffled reply and Isis grabbed the keys to the Audi off the hook by the back door and tossed them over her shoulder. “You’re driving, bitch,” she winked at Suvi.

  *****

  “Oh Goddess, here comes Plain Paula,” Isis leaned over and whispered to Suvi. “Whatever you do, don’t let her talk about her personal-training bullshit…like anyone cares. Doesn’t she realize we don’t need to exercise? Apparently not, since she never shuts up once she gets started. Boring as hell.” Supernaturals were naturally fit and didn’t need to exercise to maintain it, but that wasn’t to say that most didn’t have a daily regimen they followed. Some, more than others, she thought, ruefully.

  Suvi held back her laughter, snorting her drink into her nose. “Crap, that burns. And, we can’t avoid her now, here she comes.”

  “Hey there, how are you two? It’s odd to see you without Pema. How does she like mated life? Don’t you just love the new club?” Paula asked as she reached their table. Isis was shocked the super-short nymph stopped talking long enough to catch her breath.

  “Hey Pl…Paula. We’re great and Pema is superbly happy. Mating like bunnies as we speak,” Suvi said, her musical voice an invitation Isis didn’t want her to deliver.

  “You know, sex burns five calories per minute, so, if they
have sex for five hours, they have burned fifteen hundred calories. Of course, on my ten-mile hike today, which I did in less than two hours, I burned sixteen hundred and ten calories. See,” Plain Paula pulled out her cell phone and began pushing buttons, “this FabFit app keeps track for me. I can even post it to my TRex page. And, then I did twenty-four reps on my weight circuit and burned another thousand calories.”

  Isis was supremely glad that she hadn’t accepted Paula’s sup-connect. She had no desire to see this female’s hourly caloric burn. The TRex page was the supernatural social media. Humans thought they invented such ways to connect, when truth was, Killian, a Dark Alliance council member and owner of Confetti Too, developed it at least two decades before. Even supernaturals fell victim to vanity and used their pages to flaunt what they had and make others jealous. Difference was, the public bulletins usually involved demons and skirm attacks.

  When the Vampire King, Zander, was blessed with his Fated Mate several months ago, breaking the mating curse, the feeds went crazy with the news. Isis remembered reading about it, thinking the realm’s reaction was overkill. She and her sisters were young, she realized, and maybe unable to appreciate the full impact of going without mate blessings for over seven hundred years.

  The lapse had led to all sorts of changes the realm had never seen before, such as the Adorned. Adorned were the children of unmated couples and were extremely rare. Being one of a set of Adorned triplets was even more rare and made her and her sisters subjects of a long-ago prophesy. Children of any kind had been scarce over the spanning centuries. Of course, there were some previously-mated couples having children, but the Tehrex Realm population had dipped drastically.

  Having spent time with the Dark Warriors and members of the Dark Alliance council, Isis better understood the importance of this decline in population, especially considering the war they had been waging against the archdemons for centuries.