by Sarah Marsh
“What’s going on up here with all the yelling? Belinda down the street just called and asked if my daughter had finally gone full ‘Vader’ on me and if she should call the enforcers to come and put you down!” her mom said as she stood at the doorway to her room.
Pandora couldn’t help but snort out a laugh. Oh that Belinda, she is such a funny old bitch. Dori made a mental note to send her an anonymous bouquet of stink-weed in a Darth Vader mug. Good luck getting that stank outta your drapes, you old cow!
“Do you know that your daughter is finding Happy Ever Afters for criminals and villains, Tabitha?” her Nana blurted out before Dori could break it gently to her mom.
All three of them were silent for a few moments after her Nana so rudely outed her to the only person in the world whose opinion actually mattered to Dori. She was almost afraid to look at her mom’s face, terrified at the disappointment she might see there.
“Is this true, Pandora?” her mom questioned in a quiet voice.
Dammit, Tabitha Bellor was the only being on this planet that Dori wouldn’t lie to.
“Yes.” she sighed back.
“Why?”
Huh? Her mother had found out what she’d been doing with her magic and there was no immediate yelling and grounding? That was a first.
“Because—I don’t know, it just came to me one day that there was no reason why all of those beings without a ‘perfect record of goodness’ didn’t deserve a chance to be happy just the same as all those pansy-ass do-gooders on the Grand Fairies stupid listing. People aren’t supposed to be perfect you know. That doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve happiness, too!”
Dori didn’t want to admit to her mother or grandmother that one of the reasons she was so passionate about this, was that she herself would not be eligible for a Happy Ending according to Fairy Godmother law. Her dark wings had marked her from birth that she wasn’t like the rest of them. But that didn’t make her evil. Sure she had a tendency to find more trouble than most fairies, but a girl had to have some fun, right?
“Dori, look at me,” her mother said as Dori refused to make eye contact after her rant.
Finally, with a sigh, she looked at her mother and was surprised to see a gentle smile on her face.
“I’m so proud of you, Pandora,” her mother said.
“What?”
“What!”
The matching outbursts came from Pandora and her grandmother both.
“You’ve finally found your purpose, my dear,” Tabitha said as she walked over and gathered her daughter in a tight hug. “I always knew that you would be destined for great things, and I agree with you. Everyone deserves a chance at a Happy Ending, and it’s about time that someone finally came along with the power to make it happen.”
Pandora hugged her mom back. She was so incredibly happy that someone else understood what she had only stumbled upon by instinct. She felt a small amount of shame that she hadn’t trusted in her mother all this time. After all, Tabitha had believed in her even before she was born.
“What if I suck at it?” Dori whispered her doubts out loud for the first time since this whole idea had taken root inside of her.
“Impossible!” Her mother laughed and looked down at her. “Who could be better at manipulating people than you are, love?”
It felt so good to laugh along with her mother, with everything out on the table now. It was like a giant weight had been lifted off of her wings.
“Oh, I don’t know, I think Nana could give me a run for my money.”
Even her crotchety old grandmother couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“Now come down to the kitchen and tell us all about your first clients, baby. I want to hear everything!” her mother said as she tugged Pandora out of her room and down the hall to where the smell of her mother’s homemade double chocolate chip cookies was beckoning. Not even Nana’s cranky disposition could fight the double chocolate chip.
Chapter Eight
Two plates of cookies and a whole pot of coffee later, a minor miracle had occurred. Both Dori’s mother and her Nana had to admit once they’d heard Viktor’s story, that he did indeed deserve a chance at a Happy Ever After. Although, when her mother asked her how Dori had known before she’d researched him, she didn’t have an answer to give.
Deep down inside of her, she just instinctually knew whether or not someone deserved a Happy Ending. Which was rather unheard of in the Fairy Godmother world. It may look all “bibbity, bobbity, boo”, but a shit-ton of hours went into the background checks and a full history of every applicant on the Grand Fairy’s master name list.
In fact, around seventy-five percent of all graduating Fairy Godmothers or -fathers were relegated to the research office, and only twenty-five percent ever made it to a coveted field position. Dori also speculated that it was those exact same statistics which were responsible for the reason that more time wasn’t taken to sort out the most complicated cases such as Viktor’s.
It took more than arranging a smokin’ hot dress, pair of glass slippers, and a ride to the ball to ensure that folks like Viktor and Halle would get the chance they deserved. Quite frankly, the run-of-the-mill Fairy Godmother simply just didn’t have the magical chops to pull off that kind of magic.
Dori liked to think of herself as a black rose within a field of weedy under-achievers.
By the end of the afternoon, Dori’s mother was bound and determined to help in any way she could. Her mom always was a sucker for a love story after all, but it wasn’t a huge surprise that her Nana was holding out, no doubt waiting to see if Dori would fall flat on her face.
“You can’t tell anyone about this. You know the council wouldn’t understand what I’m trying to do,” Dori warned as the little old lady looked slightly affronted that she’d even mention it. “Snitches get stitches, Nana.”
“Ha! Like I would knowingly spread around my own social demise. What am I, some kind of ninnyhammer?” Nana said once again throwing her hands up in the air. “I swear you two will be the end of me with your blatant disregard for our Fairy Godmother way of life. Our lineage comes from Fairy royalty you know!”
“We know,” Dori and her mom said in unison, Goddess help them if she went on that rant again.
Well, at least she had her mom’s support in all this. Who knows? If she could actually pull this first job off, maybe the old bat would change her tune?
Dori decided that it was high time to get back to her current clients and help her sweet little Halle-cat get the cream.
****
“Wow, this place is impressive!” Dori said as she popped into the lush, expensive bathroom behind Halle.
“Ah! What the hell, Dori? You scared the crap out of me!” Halle screamed and jumped about three feet straight up in the air in a very feline-like move.
“Huh, well that’s creepy,” Dori said after staring for a second. “Try not to do that jumping thing in front of Viktor until we lock this down, okay?”
“Whatever. Hey, can you ‘hocus pocus’ me in some clothes or something? I’m covered in blood spatter, and I’d rather not put these back on,” Halle said, as she leaned into the enormous stone shower and turned on the water.
“Hmm, I have just the thing!” Dori said, before she popped back out of the room in a wink of magic, then seconds later reappeared with a man’s shirt in her hands.
“Not that I’m not grateful or anything, but couldn’t you have grabbed me some yoga pants and a sweatshirt?” Halle eyed the way too large, men’s striped dress shirt—which just happened to smell deliciously like her host.
“Nope,” Dori said, shaking her head while she tapped her finger on an imaginary wristwatch. “We’re on a seduction timeline here, Halle, and I think you’ll find Viktor’s reaction to you wearing his shirt will be very favorable.”
“Fine,” Halle sighed in defeat. “At least my underwear is still clean so I’ll just put them back on.”
“Double nope,” Dori replied wit
h an evil smirk before she vanished into thin air.
Halle squealed as she felt a weird tickling of magic under her clothes the same moment that Dori left.
What the hell was that? She undid her pants and slipped them off along with her shirt.
She was shocked when she realized that both her bra and panties had magically disappeared.
“Freakin’ fairies…” she grumbled as she stepped into the hot shower.
The water felt so amazing after the crap day that Halle had had so far. There was a rain shower head and six more nozzles on the walls of the stone monstrosity. She could have stayed inside for hours letting the hot water drown her stress.
Finally, once she was good and pruney, she reluctantly turned off the taps and stepped out to dry off and try to get dressed for seduction … whatever that meant. Halle wiped the steam off of the large vanity mirror with her hand and took a hard look at the woman staring back. The shirt Dori had given her was large enough that it went to mid-thigh, and she’d rolled the sleeves up. Her hair was towel dried and looking cute in a tousled kind of way.
I can totally do this. I can seduce a reportedly vicious vampire and convince him to keep me forever … right?
Ok, she was way out of her depth, but the fairy said this was her one chance to keep her mate and she was going to give it everything she had. That settled, she took a deep breath, undid the top three buttons on the shirt, turned and made her way downstairs to confront her future—and, she hoped, make out with it a little.
Chapter Nine
Viktor heard the little patter of Halle’s bare feet as she came down the stairs. Truth be told, he’d been so distracted imagining her in the shower he didn’t even know how long he’d been standing in front of the fire in his study. He had no idea what in the hell had gotten into him. Even when he’d met his wife all those years ago, he hadn’t remembered having such an obsessive reaction to a female.
However, nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes when Halle came around the corner. There she stood, fresh and warm from her shower, her blonde locks framing her face in soft layers.
Sweet Goddess.
She was wearing one of his button-down shirts, the top open enough to show a delicious tease of her ample cleavage. His cock quickly went from half hard, to “trying to break out of his pants to reach her” and he had to adjust his stance quickly to try to hide that fact. His eyes roamed over her bare legs. They certainly were long and toned for such a tiny little thing. Her shifter genes were apparent in the perfection of her curvy form. Viktor could hear the increase in her heartbeat as she got closer to him. Naturally, he assumed it was nerves or fear, but when she stepped closer and he picked up her scent, it was the sweet aroma of heat and arousal that teased his nose.
Now there was really no hiding what she did to his body. He’d never been so hard in all his life. Her eyes dropped to the large outline of his cock through his pants, and the scent of her honey increased, drawing a low moan from his mouth when her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips. Now he was fully imagining those plump lips wrapped around his dick and if he didn’t distract himself soon he would lose control.
No, I brought this woman into my home to protect her from Conrad, and I would be just as bad if I jumped on her myself.
Clearing his throat, he took a step back from the temptation in front of him. After all, Viktor was nothing if not in control of his baser urges. He still held much regret from his actions when he was first turned and there was nothing worse in this world than regrets. They were always there … haunting you.
“Dinner will be ready in an hour or so. Would you like a tour of the house? I have quite an extensive art collection,” he said with a tense smile, offering her his arm to escort her.
****
Halle had seen the desire on his face when she walked into the room, and it was impossible to miss the enormous bulge in the front of his pants that confirmed his interest. So why the most feared and reputed villain of the entire paranormal community was acting like a perfect gentleman was baffling to her.
Dori had told her repeatedly that Viktor really wasn’t the man his reputation painted him to be, but in the back of her mind, Halle had expected a lot of habits and behavior that she’d have to either try to change or accept about this man she didn’t know, if she went through with this plan.
Especially if they were indeed mates. Her leopard paced inside of her head impatiently, implying there was no doubt in its mind that Viktor was their mate. The cat wanted to pounce on him immediately and never let him go, no matter what people said about him. Her animal half was proud that their mate was a fierce fighter and would be strong enough to protect their young. That was all that was important to her.
When it came to fated mates, shifters were a simple bunch. If your beast told you that someone was your mate, then that person was it. Whether your human half liked them at the time or not. So there was always the possibility that fate would give you the shaft and mate you to someone who was a complete dick. Hope began to blossom in her that Viktor was something more than the monster in the stories told to frighten young para children.
She looped her arm through his, her cat itching to get that much closer. When she stepped into him and the side of her breast brushed against his arm she felt his muscles tense.
“I’d love for you to take me,” she said in a low purr.
“What?” he answered, startled, his eyes growing wide.
“On a tour of the house? Like you just said?” Halle answered, blinking innocent big green eyes up at him with a small smile.
Oh dear. This is going to be way too much fun. Halle all of a sudden felt the full force of her feminine wiles for the first time ever, and the brat inside of her was gleefully rubbing her hands together imagining ways to tease the handsome vampire.
“Oh … of course,” he answered, looking a bit suspicious of her big kitty cat eyes. “We’ll start in the great room.”
Halle delighted in tormenting Viktor throughout the entire house tour. She would step in close to him to get a better look at certain paintings, touching him whenever possible and absently playing with the buttons on the shirt she was wearing. It was probably the most fun she’d ever had in her life, but teasing was a double-edged sword. The more aroused Viktor became, the more she wanted him in return. By the time he ended their house tour she could see his fangs had fully extended and hers were aching to answer in kind.
The only problem now? She had no idea how to take things to the next level, being the virgin that she was, and her stubborn vamp seemed determined to resist their attraction. While her cat was telling her to pounce on what was theirs, she wasn’t sure she had the balls to do it.
Chapter Ten
By all the Gods, this woman is trying to drive me mad!
Viktor could clearly see that Halle was enjoying teasing him and any other man would’ve just taken her up against the nearest wall by now, but there was just something about her that drove his protective instincts to a place they hadn’t gone in an eternity, not since his wife and son had been alive.
That thought in itself should’ve been enough to have him running the other way. He’d been alone for so long that the idea of having someone to actually care about again was terrifying. He had made so many enemies over the years, and the last thing he ever wanted to do was to give them a weakness to exploit. He also never wanted to feel the kind of loss again that came with taking a chance on loving someone, only to be disappointed by fate.
No. He would endure this torture and leave her be. A nice girl like Halle deserved a nice, simple life, with a mate and children. All he had to do was resist the temptation for a few days until he found her somewhere safe to hide out, and then he would finally go and deal with Conrad himself. That bastard would no longer be playing games with innocent peoples’ lives. That would be his gift to Halle.
****
Dori sat in the living room of her mom’s place in front of the viewing
crystal with a big bowl of popcorn and a frown on her face.
It had been days of Halle flirting her ass off and leaving subtle innuendos for Viktor to take advantage of. The truth was, Dori was damned proud of her girl. For someone who had little to no dating history, she was going at that man like the classiest of call girls, strutting her stuff all over that house. But the male was the most stubborn ass Dori had ever encountered. Of course, being the enlightened individual she was, she knew that he was resisting Halle out of some sense of honor and protection towards the girl, which only made him more likable—if you were into that kind of thing.
Damned honorable males, how dare he mess with my timetable!
Dori knew that Halle’s fragile sense of feminine pride could only last so long when she was getting rebuffed left and right. She’d put money on the fact that the little shifter would have already beat feet home if her cat hadn’t confirmed that Viktor was indeed her true mate—even if that would have meant ending up dealing with Conrad on her own or not.
But luckily for all of them, now that Halle’s cat had scented her mate, the tenacious little beastie wouldn’t accept no for an answer.
So, how would they break this surprisingly chivalrous villain’s rock hard control? Well, since the subtle sexual invitation wasn’t working, Dori had to reach back into her bag of tricks for motivating the opposite sex, and she was pretty sure she’d found the perfect thing.
As soon as she watched Viktor excused himself out of the study to go make a call and see if Gerald was making any progress with Halle’s relocation, Dori popped into sight beside Halle.
“Goddess, Dori! You scared the crap out of me again,” Halle whispered furiously. “It’s been days, and this isn’t working. I’m not sure I can do this.”
