by WB McKay
As Art waved goodbye to the lot of us, Ava slipped a piece of paper in his jacket pocket. I didn't think he noticed, but I'd make sure he found it later. My curiosity was piqued.
Owen and I walked down the steps of MOD, planning to stop at his place first since it was within walking distance. We were met on the stairs by a familiar and unwelcome horned fae.
"What do you want?" I growled. "The Fleece has already been turned in."
"Can't a man offer a friendly greeting without being accused of having an agenda?" asked Paulo. I was pretty sure he blinked far more than necessary to show off his orange eyelids. Maybe they were meant to mesmerize prey, because no matter how innocent he tried to sound, he was a predator. When I didn't offer a response to his question, he continued. "You're absolutely no fun at all. Erik wanted to let you know that he won't be underestimating you from now on."
I hadn't been under the impression that retrieving the Fleece would put an end to my troubles with Erik Bresnan, but I had hoped to pretend for at least a couple of days. Apparently he now felt we were in direct opposition. Sure took him long enough. "You can give him an answering message from me: kiss my ass."
Owen took my arm and we walked away without waiting for a response. When we were around the corner, Owen kissed me on the cheek. "Things like that are why I love you," he said.
"Because I can't stop running my mouth, even when my life is on the line?" I asked, because it was true. I had no doubt that Mr. Supervillain would be trying to kill me the next time I got anywhere near one of his schemes. Maybe even before then.
Owen looked at me thoughtfully, probably trying to form a gentlemanly response to my blunt question. His eyes sparkled in that ridiculously pretty way and all he said was, "Yes."
We laughed all the way to his apartment and periodically while he was getting cleaned up and dressed. It didn't take him long. As handsome as he was, I'd have imagined him standing in front of the mirror for an hour to get his hair to lay in just the right way.
My phone rang. It was Hammond. Ugh. "Agent Morrigan."
"Good work, Agent," he said. "I'll be putting an official commendation in your file."
"I appreciate that, Agent Hammond," I replied, cautiously. I'd grown too used to tirades lately to easily accept praise. "I was just doing my job."
"Yeah, you were. Keep doing things like this and I might not have to fire you."
Ahh, that's more like it. "See you in the office tomorrow." I hung up. I wasn't about to let Hammond ruin my high. In response to Owen's raised brow I said, "You ready to go?"
"Absolutely. Let's go get you dolled up." He took my hand in his, not even shying away from my grime. "I can't wait to see where you're taking me."
The whole trip to my apartment I was painfully aware of how good he smelled. The only thing that kept me from asking him to pull over so I could take advantage of him was the knowledge of how good I did not smell. He'd have to get his car detailed tomorrow to remove the stench of me.
I knocked on my door and then placed a palm on it so the magic would recognize me and unlock. "Phoebe," I called. "We have company." Hopefully that meant she wouldn't be doing anything too mortifying when we stepped through the door. The lights were already on, so she was around somewhere. "Just stopping in to clean up."
Phoebe stepped out of the kitchen in her usual naked glory. "Owen! You two made up!" She ran over and gave him a hug.
Owen, thankfully, had adapted to her constant nakedness. He hugged her back. "Yes, we made up. It's nice to see you again. We'll be out of here soon. We're going to dinner. Don't let us interrupt what you're doing."
What she was doing was making an absolute mess of the kitchen. I didn't give her any crap about it because it smelled like divine baked goods. She'd recently taken to expanding her repertoire from brownies to other tasty treats that she shared with me while we watched Medical Heroes together. She walked back into the kitchen and stirred a large wooden spoon in a mixing bowl. "What are you guys celebrating?"
They could handle the conversation on their own, so I headed straight for the shower. There was a small shriek about the time I stepped into the water. That would be Phoebe finding out that we'd recovered the Golden Fleece. Twenty heavenly minutes later, I stepped out of the shower, feeling like a whole new person.
Not to be outdone by Owen's quick transformation, I brushed my hair and slid into the only fancy dress I had. I'd bought it specifically to go out to a nice dinner with Owen, just before things had gone south. It was a black halter dress with silver accents. When I looked myself over in the mirror, I noticed a delicate tiara sitting on my dresser. "Phoebe," I grumbled. I'd let her help me get dressed the first time I'd met Owen and she'd been insufferable about my clothes ever since.
I almost left it on the dresser, but it would be perfect with my outfit, so I nestled it in my hair. My look complete, I walked into the living room where Phoebe held out a spoon for Owen to lick.
She dropped the spoon with a clatter. Owen had to jump back to avoid the splatter.
"What's that in your hair?" she asked, her mouth gaping. "I've been trying to help you up your fashion game, but that's kinda ostentatious, don't you think?"
"You're one to talk about fashion. You don't even wear clothes!"
She popped a rounded hip, tracing the the wood grain there. "That's because redwood never goes out of style."
I expected Owen to be covering his eyes in embarrassment. Instead, he limped over to me, his mouth set in a firm line.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Sophie," he said, his voice grave. He took my hand in his and guided it up to my head.
The dainty tiara was gone, if it had ever been there in the first place. My fingers brushed over the cool edges of metal feathers. They sparked with power. "Uh oh."
A Note From the Author
Thank you for reading Immersed in Faerie. We hope you enjoyed Sophie's journey. If you loved this book, one of the best things you can do is leave a review for it on Amazon.com. Thanks again for joining us on this adventure. We have a lot more planned for this world, and we can't wait to share it with you.
Watch out for Abducted by Faerie (Stolen Magic, #5) coming soon! To be notified when it's released, sign up for the WB McKay newsletter at McKayManor.com. You'll also get a free copy of Born of Faerie, the prequel to the Stolen Magic series.
- Faith and Robert (WB McKay)
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