This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Copyright (c) 2018 by Andrea Long
All rights reserved.
Cover by J.C. Clarke. Photo from Adobe Stock.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
PHWOAR AND PEACE
About the Author
Also by Andie M. Long
Rewind…
Charlene Landry’s christening.
March 2018
Polly
“We’re going to die today. I just know it, Mark.” My mother’s bottom lip trembled.
“We are protected, Debbie. I made sure we have every ward and spell available to humans on us. It’s only for a couple of hours. Then we can go back home.”
Help me. I let out my silent prayer. If there was indeed a God in this church, let him please do some miracle performing and get me away from the panicked clutches of my parents. We were standing outside Withernsea Church waiting for my niece to be christened, and my parents were taking it in turns to panic at being surrounded by supernatural beings. As if anyone there was interested in those two and their ramblings.
I was twenty-four and had at last almost saved up enough funds to buy my own place. I had a decent job as a fitness instructor, and when I could find the right time, I would break it to my folks that I was finally moving out of the family home.
There’d be more fuss then than there was right now. Shelley thought she’d drawn the short straw with our parents—my biological and her adoptive—but I wasn’t so sure. Shelley may have received the minimal amount of attention from them, but I’d got the maximum, and in doing so had been a virtual prisoner. They thought they’d attended to my every whim: I had my own pony, I was carnival queen, they got me piano lessons. I felt like a bird trapped in a gilded cage. Shelley got to slam the door, storm out, and off to freedom she went. I was watched while I did my homework and told the way to be.
Shelley thought me a pampered princess but actually I was a pampered prisoner.
Anyway, here we stood on this fine March day and something had gone awry. The christening was running thirty minutes behind and people were beginning to whisper about what the delay could be, given that someone had recently kidnapped baby Charlene and security ran high.
It had taken me a while to comprehend who my sister really was, but I was slowly coming around to the idea that there was more to the world than humans. The truth was, I would like to spend some time getting to know my sister better, even more so now she’d given birth to my niece. I could offer to babysit. What a fantastic idea. That would also get me out of the house even if it would send my parentals batshit crazy.
Shelley and Theo walked into the church and headed straight over to the vicar. A teenager with long dark hair and blue eyes walked in with Ebony. I’d not seen her before, but she gazed at my parents and whispered something to Ebony. Judging by her expression I’d guessed it wasn’t good, but who was she anyway to emit judgy glances our way?
Then Theo turned around and explained everything. Or rather, he performed a compulsion so that any humans present believed that Charlene was being christened today—as a teenager.
It didn’t work on us. My parents had made sure we had spells that covered being ‘brainwashed’ as they put it. My eyes felt like they bugged out on stalks as I looked more closely at the girl at the front, the one who’d walked past.
That was my niece, Charlene?
She was a teenager?
How did that work?
As I changed my focus to my sister, I could see the shock in her eyes. Yes, this has been totally unexpected. I couldn’t babysit now. Maybe I could be someone my sister could talk to instead? Shelley leaned in closer to Theo and he kissed her cheek while giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. Nah, she had Theo. Looked like I was staying in the entertaining company of my parents a little longer. The ones who were currently having heart failure.
“That’s Charlene? That’s their daughter?”
“How? This is too much, Mark. Too much. We’ve only met her once and now she’s a teenager? Do you remember our two at that age?” My mum mock-shivers. “I don’t see how we can form a relationship with a girl who is already a teen. I know Shelley asked us to be her grandparents, but, how can we? Really?”
Just like that, Charlene was being dismissed because she was too unusual, too unpredictable for Mark and Debbie Linley. A couple who could only cope with strict control and order in their lives. But life wasn’t meant to be lived that way, and I yearned to escape their stifling support.
Looking over the rest of the christening crowd, I stopped as a pair of ocean blue eyes were looking back at me. Lord Drake’s. We’d recently met when he and his father had come to visit Charlene. My eyes took in his pale blonde hair, and those pink pouting lips that were curving into a smile, making my own mirror them. He was wearing a navy-blue suit and looked hot as hell. I felt my core pulse.
“What are you staring at, Polly?” My mum asked.
I quickly averted my gaze back to the front of the church where the christening ceremony had now started.
“Nothing, Mum.” I told her.
But it was a lie.
Because I could feel a connection between myself and Drake, and I also knew that if I turned my gaze back to his right now, he’d be looking. I could feel his eyes upon me.
But I was going to have to stay away from him, no matter how much my body wanted to weave my way over to his after the ceremony. My parents would never allow me to date a supernatural, and the grief just wouldn’t be worth it. No, I was destined to end up with a boring human and a boring life, with my boring parents breathing down my neck for the rest of it.
I couldn’t help it, my gaze travelled over to look at Drake again, and just as I’d thought, he was staring right back at me.
Oops.
We made our way to Jax’s coffee shop where she’d put out a small buffet for after the ceremony. My parents were itching to go home, but for once I put my foot down and insisted we go back. I wanted to try one of the delicious doughnuts I’d heard so much about, and one of Jax’s coffees. They were every bit as lush as I’d been told.
As I looked around the coffee shop, envy hit me again. My sister and her husband were so happy. She had this great bunch of friends and a beautiful daughter. I wanted to get to know my sister better, to be part of things, but the truth was she hardly even acknowledged I was here. I knew I was being selfish, that Shelley was busy right now, but still, I was her sister, even if not by blood. We’d lived in the same house throughout our childhoods. If I could escape the controlling clutches of my parents, maybe we’d have a chance at a sibling relationship before it was too late.
My eyes met those of Drake. Once again, a smile lit his lip
s, making his blue eyes sparkle, just like the very sea he came from. I made an excuse to my parents that I wanted some fresh air and I left the shop.
Within a minute he was pushing open the door of Jax’s.
“It’s nice to see you again, Polly. How’ve you been?”
I flicked my fringe out of my face and smiled. “Good, thank you.”
“Are you still enjoying swimming?”
“Yes, I love it.”
“You’ll have to come swim with me sometime. In the sea itself. That’s if you’d like to?” His blue eyes held a hint of vulnerability and he bit at his bottom lip.
“I’d love to, Drake.”
He asked for my number. I took out my mobile phone and he took it from my hand, put his number into it and then called himself. “Now we have each other’s numbers.”
“How does that work? Ringing you on your mobile if you live in the sea? It's a lot to get my head around.”
“Just go with the flow.” He winked.
“That’s like a dad joke; you know that, right?”
“I have waves of making you laugh. You’ll sea. You can be shore of that.”
“Please stop.” I groaned.
He laughed, and I swear his whole face lit up. He was the most beautiful, handsome man I had ever seen.
“Can I ask you something?” His tongue darted out and swept across his bottom lip. I felt hypnotised.
“Yes.” He could have asked me anything at that moment. I was so sucked in I’d have given him a kidney.
“Can I kiss you?”
I looked around, making sure we couldn’t be seen by anyone I knew-especially my parents.
“Yes,” I gasped.
He stepped closer to me and rested his forehead down against mine. His lips rested upon my own. He stared into my eyes and his lips once again lifted into a smile.
“You are one beautiful lady, Polly.”
Before I was able to protest, his lips took mine, gently at first and then with more firmness as my head tilted with his and his hand came around to gather in my hair and hold me against him. I swear fourth of July fireworks exploded in my stomach as our lips locked. I never wanted to let go.
After a minute, we broke away from each other. I smoothed down my hair. “I’d better get back to my parents.”
Drake dipped into a bow. “I will be in touch soon, My Lady.”
At the doorway of the coffee shop, I turned back around and looked at him over my shoulder.
“I hope so, Lord Drake.” I said and then I went back into the celebrations.
And that was the start of things. After a sheltered existence someone offered to show me life. Yet my parents didn’t see it coming…
Present day
September 2018
Shelley
It was my friend Ebony’s wedding reception, and I was dancing with my gorgeous husband. I stared up into his chocolate brown eyes and thought about every dirty thing I was going to do with him when we got back home. There was something about a wedding that brought out the romance between a couple as they thought of their own nuptials, and love was in the air. With me it was bringing out the horn although that could be because sexy times were a little different with a teenage girl at home. And not just any teenage girl, our daughter was the future badass ruler of Withernsea, complete with powers that she discovered every day, such as her ability to vampire speed whizz to scenes of danger, which had proved embarrassing for us all when she’d heard me scream and automatically appeared in our bedroom.
She made sure to master that one within the day, so none of us had to think of that little scenario repeating again, ever. No one wants to see their daughter appear in their bedroom all magic blazing when you’re just trying to reach your O.
I didn’t have sex with Theo for a month after that. We were too traumatised.
Charlie just shrugged it off, saying parents were always embarrassing and that she would be prepared to face any horror after that debacle. I’d never thought sex with my husband would become a training exercise in horrific situations.
“It’s been a lovely day, hasn’t it?” I said snuggling closer to Theo.
I felt him harden against my thigh. “It has. Shall we get out of here now though?”
Unfortunately, the crowds dancing around us then parted, revealing my adoptive parents. My mother’s face was taut; my father’s one of shock.
“Shelley.” Debbie yelled.
What the fuck was up with them now? This was my friend’s wedding for God’s sake. And now my libido had left the building. Cockblocked by the parents. Wouldn’t be the first time. They’d never allowed me to bring a boy home.
“Huh? What are you doing here? Is everything all right?” I asked. Still confused to see them here.
“No, it most certainly is not all right.” Debbie huffed. “I just found my daughter in bed with one of your supernatural creatures.”
“Ooh, which one?” Kim asked, walking nearer before Darius pulled her back. Trust my bestie.
“Well, she was yelling the name Drake out loud.” Mark said.
My mouth fell open. So, they had got together? I’d seen the spark between them when they’d visited Charlie when she was newly born.
“Lord Drake? Good for her.” Kim said, doing a fist pump.
“Kim. Please, not now.” Darius took her by the elbow and moved her away with a possessive growl while my bestie fixed him with a progressive scowl.
“You do know Polly can make her own mind up about who she dates, right?” I asked them, folding my arms across my chest.
“Over my dead body.” Debbie spat. “She’s going to date and marry a nice human boy. It’s bad enough having one daughter with all this supernatural shit going on. We need to know our house is safe.”
I placed a hand on my hips. “You’re safer with me and my family than you are without us.”
Theo stepped forward and put on a menacing look. My libido perked up again.
“I suggest you go talk to your daughter and find out how she feels about this gentleman and support her in any way you can. People only sneak around when they feel they can’t be open. You might want to have a frank conversation about things.”
“What would you know? You’ve only been a father for a few months.”
Theo scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I’ve had an accelerated learning experience, and every day brings more challenges. Today, you’ve also got one. By the way where are Polly and Lord Drake?”
“Polly is at home. We sent her to her room.”
“At twenty-four years old?” I frowned in disbelief.
“She was happy to go back up there after we threw Drake out and sent him home.” Mark added.
“And then we came here as we knew you were at the wedding reception tonight.”
“Well if I was Polly, I’d have snuck that bad boy right back into my bedroom for a quickie while I got the chance.” Kim announced, having danced her way back nearer to us.
Two parents faces drained of all colour.
“Okay, we need to get back, but you’ve not heard the last of this, Shelley. You work out how to split them up, or we’re going to tell the rest of Withernsea all about the supernatural underbelly. We’re not facing this alone. Supernaturals need to learn their place and that’s not infiltrating every area of Withernsea.”
“In particular Polly’s pussy.” Kim nodded.
With that Mark ran out of the room yelling that he had to go protect his daughter from sexual predators.
I shook my head at my best friend.
“I apologise for my wife’s mouth.” Darius sighed. “I did try.”
“You want to keep on the right side of my mouth, hun, or it’s going to forget how to suck your cock.”
I shook my head. “You’re wasting your time and you know it, Darius.”
I loved my best friend but God, her gob and what came out of it.
“Are you okay?” Theo asked me as we stood at the edge of the dance floor.
“Yeah. I learned to expect disappointing behaviour from those two a long time ago.”
“Maybe it’s time to cut them off? They only make you unhappy. If you want me to drain them, you only have to ask. My days of brutal murder are well behind me but for you I would do anything.”
“Aww, you say the loveliest things.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll just stick to knocking them back to my Christmas card only list. It’s a lot less drastic. Can we go home now though? They’ve spoiled the party atmosphere, and the bride and groom have disappeared anyway. Go collect Charlene; she’s no doubt up to no good with Alyssa somewhere.”
Theo went off to look for our daughter while I said my goodbyes to Kim. “I’ll see you at work on Monday, if you can still fit through the office door.” Kim was heavily pregnant with triplet werebabies.
“I can go all sumo-style on your arse if you insist on pushing me, biatch.”
“You’d have to catch me first.” I whizzed to the other side of the room appearing near the DJ and then back again.
“You’re such a show off. It’s a good job you’re my bestie and I love you. Now go have mad passionate sex with your husband while I just lie down and incubate my own zoo.”
“I can be of assistance if you’d like some mad passionate sex.” Darius nibbled Kim’s neck. “We can do it wolfy-style.”
“The only place your dick’s going is to the doctors for a vasectomy when I’ve had these babies.”
“You only want three?” Darius clutched his chest.
I saw Kim’s face and made my excuses. I had enough drama of my own going on without being involved in how many werebabies made the perfect family number.
Didn't Sea it Coming Page 1
