Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations)

by Ibanez, Dawn

  My apologies for Casper and Troy’s behavior. Please allow me the opportunity to make it up to you.

  Green eyes scanned the text message three times. There was no reason for him to send a text where auto-correct turned his message into something completely different. He took a deep breath and sent the message.

  He entered his room as he removed his tuxedo jacket. He would wait for her response and hopefully she would put a stop to whatever this madness was between them. A sigh escaped him as he stripped off his shirt and shoes next. As much as he wanted to stare at his phone and wait for her reply, he knew he could not be so childish.

  The phone in the room rang, causing Victor to pause. He pressed his lips together knowing that there were very few people that knew to reach him at the hotel. “Yes,” he prompted as he picked up the phone.

  “I’ve gotten a handful of calls from Europe,” Jessica Coniglio said simply. When she paused, Victor heard her typing at a keyboard. He could only guess what she was doing, but he had a feeling it had something to do with her call. “The appearance of the former King with a Werewolf on his arm is making waves in the nobility.”

  Victor’s back straightened as she spoke. “Who I choose to spend time with is my prerogative. Leigh and I are friends that decided to entertain ourselves during a formal event.”

  “You don’t have to defend yourself to me,” Jessica said easily. “Besides, the main person calling is Lord Rodrigo. His panties would be in a bunch no matter what.”

  “Jessica,” Victor chided.

  “We both know it’s true,” she said easily. “He’s still furious you allowed his bastard daughter out of the engagement to your oldest son.”

  Victor couldn’t hide his displeasure. “You and I have discussed your place in my household often enough. You know how I feel when you say that.”

  She sighed over the phone. “I’m sorry. He and I didn’t have a nice conversation. Mostly he wanted to know why I wasn’t on your arm. When I told him it would have been too weird, he went in on Crispin’s lack of responsibility.” Jessica’s next keystrokes were sharp and pronounced. “I explained that there was an emergency he had to take care of. He wanted me to go into detail and when I didn’t he went out of his way to remind me of my place.”

  Victor rubbed the bridge of his nose. Rodrigo had been a thorn in his side for decades. But the way the man treated his own daughter was criminal. “I will call him tomorrow and deal with him myself. I do not care if he is your father, he has no right to insult a member of the Royal House.”

  “Alright,” she whispered. She cleared her throat and the typing on her end of the call stopped. “I know there’s no stopping you when you set your mind on something.” A soft laugh escaped her. “That being said, I took the liberty of preparing an updated file on Leigh. I just sent it to your inbox.”

  She was a thorough assistant and would have been an excellent queen. But Victor knew Jessica would never have been comfortable with the crown. He smiled as he thought of the files she compiled. “Thank you. I will go over them right away.”

  Jessica’s amusement laced her words. “Are you sure about her?” she asked gently. “Things could get complicated.”

  Victor walked over to his the small desk that held his laptop. He pressed the power button and frowned as he thought about her words. “To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what I am doing.”

  “Well, I’m going to tell you the same thing you told me when I didn’t know if I would fit in to your home. Ask for advice. I’m sure that between me, Madison and Dylan, you can find plenty of pointers on how to woo Leigh.”

  Victor chuckled. “I would rather not involve neither Madison nor Dylan.”

  She paused for a moment. “You still have me.”

  Before Victor could reply, his cellphone started to vibrate. He looked at the small devise and inhaled when he saw Leigh’s name calling. “I will have to call you back,” he said before hanging up on Jessica. He quickly picked up his cellphone and connected the call. “Hello?”

  “Mr. Solomon, are you asking me out on a date?” Leigh asked playfully.

  Victor smiled as he sat at the desk. He could imagine the way her eyes sparkled. “I believe I am Miss. Williams. Kayin has sent out a text about his mother’s return. He wishes that we all get together for cookies tomorrow. I would like to see if it is feasible to meet for lunch.”

  “I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Leigh said softly. Victor heard her moving around. “If things don’t work out, the twins could be hurt. Madison’s become one of my closest friends. If anything happens between us, it could get messy.”

  Victor played with the touchpad on the laptop and frowned at his reflection. The same thoughts ran around his head in circles. He opened his email account and saw the file Jessica sent. “There are countless scenarios that are unfavorable to you and me spending time together. I am the former ruler of the Vampires, you are the ward of an Alpha Werewolf. At face value, our situation has disaster written all over it.”

  “You probably enjoy going to the theatre, and I like playing in the mud.”

  He opened an image on his computer and inhaled. Leigh was covered in mud and pushing a dirt bike off of a track. She removed the torso of her jumpsuit and tied the arms around her waist. Victor swallowed as he looked at the amusement in her eyes. A smile crossed his face as he remembered the way she looked while playing with the twins. “Shall I pick you up at 11?” he asked.

  She laughed, and Victor found himself wanting to hear it even more. “No place too fancy, please? I have to be at the tracks most of the day.”

  Victor knew exactly what tracks she spoke about. “Will Barnaby’s be alright?” It was a restaurant owned by a Vampire that once held court in Europe. Bradley would make sure he and Leigh had a quaint experience.

  “Barnaby’s is fine,” she replied. “Meet me at the tracks and we can go to Kayin’s cookie date together too.”

  Victor’s smile brightened as he saw another picture of Leigh. She was lifted on the shoulders of a pair of men and she held up a trophy nearly as large as she was. “I would be delighted to escort you.”

  “It’s called a date, Victor. No one escorts anyone anymore. Not unless they’re professional prostitutes,” she said gently.

  He reached forward and gently caressed her face on the computer screen. “I stand corrected. Would you consider allowing me to court you Leigh?” he asked. When he heard her inhale, he leaned back in his chair. “I keep going over the reasons why we should not, yet I find myself ignoring them.”

  “I’ve been feeling the same,” she admitted. A laugh escaped her. “This might be crazy, but I’m not going to listen to the reasons why we shouldn’t. You shouldn’t either. And I’m not going to answer that question over the phone. Ask me tomorrow, you’ll get an answer then.”

  Victor scrolled to the next picture and felt his eyes widen. The picture was from a magazine spread and it featured Leigh in a pair of cutoff shorts and bikini top. For a moment he didn’t know if he wanted to strangle Jessica or kiss her for finding the image. He swallowed nervously and licked his lips. “I will make sure that is on the top of my list of questions for you.”

  Leigh chuckled again. “I’ll see you tomorrow Victor,” she said softly. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight Leigh,” Victor breathed before disconnecting the call. His eyes went back to the computer screen of their own accord. A smile crossed his face as he looked at the image of the woman he was currently fixated on. Becoming involved with Leigh was going to be an adventure.

  And coming soon, a new take on old tales....

  Come and meet Adam and Izzy in

  Love’s Darkness

  Turn the page for a peek at the new upcoming series....

  The drive home was uneventful and quiet. Izzy’s mind wandered from pools and having a relaxing go in a hot tub to battle tactics in the latest shooter she was playing. There was a tournament coming up and she knew that if she slipped up in
any way, she could lose a lot of the respect she fought for. While the world was changing for the better, there were still a lot of places that thought the idea of a female gamer was ridiculous. Izzy worked hard on showing them that she could play as well as the big boys could.

  When she pulled up to her home, Izzy frowned. Around now, Beau would be sitting in the widow waiting for her. The front window was completely empty and dark. Izzy pulled up into the garage and left the door open. If she needed an escape route, she would at least be able to get to the street.

  She jumped out of her SUV and picked up the pair of brass knuckles she kept under the driver’s seat. Izzy took a slow breath and painted a smile on her face. “Beau,” she called as she opened the door to the house. “Beauregard, where are you puppy?”

  Movement from the kitchen made her turn around. A smile crossed her face when she saw her overly large Great Dane/German Shepherd mix dog. When he walked over to her, Izzy frowned at the way he seemed to stumble. “What’s wrong puppy?” she asked running to his side. When he fell to the tile floor, Izzy noticed the door behind her swinging shut. She quickly turned and saw a tall shadowed figure standing behind her. Without a thought, she threw a jab to his sternum and followed with a heavy blow to his stomach. As he stumbled back, Izzy debated pressing her advantage. He was bigger than she was, and he was in her house. He could be waiting for her to slip up and then he would kill her, or worse.

  Izzy waited for him to make a grab for her and quickly ducked under his hands and landed another combo in his side. As he cursed, a smile crossed her face. Before she knew what happened, he lashed out and backhanded her into the wall.

  “I’m not trying to hurt you dammit!” he yelled at her.

  She blinked and tried to clear away the black spots in her vision. “Blow me,” she said before attacking him again. She grinned evilly when he went to block her fist, and she heard a crack. As he screamed in pain, she slammed her fist into his face. “You break into my house and kill my dog! You expect us to be friends?” she shouted.

  Just as she went to kick him in his side, he grabbed her leg and turned her into the wall. He slammed her back and held his arm over her throat. “That horse isn’t a dog. And it’s not dead. I only drugged it.” He looked into her eyes and for a moment before easing up on her throat. “I’m only here to take you as leverage for your father.”

  Izzy waited for him to back off before she lashed out with another kick. She screamed in pain when he grabbed her leg again and this time punched her in her groin muscle. Her entire leg went numb as she dropped to the floor. As she sat up straighter, she grabbed the small statue her father had sent to her. Before she could throw it at her attacker, he straddled her waist and had it out of her hands. A growl escaped her as she tried to fight him, but he soon had her hands pinned against the wall behind her.

  “Who the fuck uses these anymore?” he breathed as he pried the brass knuckles off of her hands. When he leaned over to toss them onto a near table, he felt her teeth sink into his arm. With a raised eyebrow he looked at her. “I bite back,” he warned.

  Izzy released him and leaned her head back against the wall. “What do you want?” she asked coldly. When he continued to watch her, she turned her eyes away from him. “And that arm’s supposed to be fractured, if not broken. How can you have me pinned? And most important thing, what the hell did you give my dog?”

  His eyes narrowed as he stood. “Now she wants to talk and ask questions,” he grumbled. His dark hair fell over his face as he looked around the hallway. If anyone came looking for her, there were clear signs of a struggle. A sigh escaped him as he grabbed her by her upper arm and lifted her to her feet. “I heal quick,” he said lowly. “And chloroform.”

  Izzy limped to Beau’s side and ran her hands over his short black hair. She sighed with relief when she saw that he was dazed, but still breathing. “If you killed him, I swear,” she started.

  “It would take a lot more than what I did to hurt it,” the burglar countered. He went to the front door and saw that there was still no one around. “Now, are you going to come quietly or will I have to knock you out too?”

  Izzy looked at him for a long moment. It was like he was covered in shadows. She knew he was tall, and his hair was dark, but that was just about all she could see of him. From the way he held himself, he was muscular. But aside from that, she had no clue what she was dealing with. She ran her fingers along Beau’s coat again and took a shaky breath. “I’ll go quietly,” she said softly. When he started to nod, she tilted her face up to his. “Only if we take Beau. You could have killed him and I won’t leave him here alone like this.”

  About The Author

  Dawn Ibanez is a self-published author that was born and raised on Staten Island. In junior high school, Dawn discovered a passion for writing. But it was while in high school she discovered her other love, Anime. By the time she went to college, Dawn had written a number of stories for her own entertainment, as well as the entertainment of friends. While down in Norfolk, she started to write under the name Midori Bond and has produced several fanfiction stories still posted around the web.

  Since leaving the fanfiction world, Dawn is now a dweller in the Paranormal Romance genre. She has always had a soft spot for creatures that go bump in the night.

  Dawn currently lives in Maryland with her family. After thinking long and hard, Dawn and her daughter welcomed another Beta fish, Sparrow, into their home.