The Red Shoe Chronicles : A Fantasy Romance Anthology

by N. R. Larry

  He took the package from her grasp, set it on the ground and reached into the bag. “I didn’t know you were interested in human creations.”

  “What little interaction I’ve had with them,” Wylde stroked his beard, distracted by what Jed unearthed and not invested in the conversation, “I haven’t found humans to be particularly creative.”

  Wylde leaned in to peek into the package as Jed withdrew the smaller of the two boxes from the bag, while she gripped the handles on hers enough to dig her nails into her palms. In that moment, she gave up on the idea of parting with the stilettos. She’d settle for hiding them in her closet until she could force herself to give them up.

  “Shoes are universally loved by all women.” She didn’t even know what they looked like.

  Jed set the smaller chest on the counter, next to the other three. The trunk of this one was carved to resemble tree roots with the coffer of evil hinged to the lid. “I’m intrigued to see what the humans could offer you that our realm cannot.”

  “I’m not,” Wylde muttered while studying the box.

  “Then stay out of the conversation.” Jed scowled at his brother.

  Rose mentally smiled. Regardless of race, one thing remained constant. Siblings irritated everyone.

  While Jed removed the second treasure—once used as a wine case, beat up and unassuming, but lethal nonetheless—she opened her bag and lifted the shoebox. She looped the handle of the bag around her wrist and flipped the cardboard top off the heels. As Jet set the wine box on the counter next to the smaller one, she stared at the high heels. Red, five inch stilettos, and rhinestone straps that hooked about her ankle.

  Beautiful.

  She glanced up. The dark aura easily seen by her elfin eyes shrouded both Dybbuk items. Everything that pulsed with life held an aura. The red shoes Godmother gave her were no different, but its color was a mixture of light pink and white. Nothing evil came off them, which was surprising given her sudden fascination with them.

  Jed stepped toward her to get a better peek at the stilettos. “Niiice,” he muttered with a soft growl coming from deep in his throat.

  Even though she knew he teased her, his sexy rumble left her licking her lips. Heat spread from her belly straight to her core and resulted in her nipples tingling.

  Shit, shit, shit! Could she get over this man, already? It’d make life so much easier. Besides, it wasn’t like he felt the same way toward her.

  “Yeah,” she whispered. They were her style, and she was eager to try them on.

  I shouldn’t. I won’t. I can’t.

  What was the worst that could happen? What had Godmother said about them? They grant her biggest wish? Or desire? She couldn’t remember the elderly woman’s exact words.

  World peace—as lame as that sounded—across all realms was her biggest wish. But magick had a way of going bad. It was tricky, so she couldn’t wear them. Not ever, no matter how strong the temptation.

  “You should buy a new outfit to go with them.”

  His response snapped her out of her mental argument with herself. There was an odd ice blue glow around his yellow irises, something she’d never seen before. “Huh?”

  From the corner of her eye, she noticed Wylde’s head jerk toward them and he glanced between Jed’s profile and her face.

  “Those shoes deserve a new outfit.” If Jed noticed Wylde’s reaction, he didn’t show it as he ran his hand through his shoulder-length hair. “New shoes, new outfit. On me.”

  Wylde’s eyebrows jerked upward, his forehead creasing.

  On me? Was he asking her to ride him? Was he—oh, shit, she gulped as his meaning dawned in her mind. He offered to buy the new outfit, not a night of sex.

  “I can buy my own clothes.” She didn’t have to sound so ungrateful, but it felt personal, a romantic gesture for him to purchase her attire.

  “It was just an offer.” Jed shrugged.

  Wylde leaned a forearm on the counter and surveyed their interaction. Rose had no idea why he was interested in their conversation since there was nothing of noteworthy between them, so he’d be disappointed.

  “Thanks. But red isn’t really my best color. It clashes with my hair.”

  Wylde smirked at her response.

  Jed opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Turning back to his newest acquisitions, he arranged them on the counter beside the other three boxes he already owned in the collection. “You have good fashion sense, but I can’t imagine why you bought the shoes if you didn’t plan to wear them. Pair them with a neutral color dress.”

  “Neutral colors wash me out.” She smiled at him when he glanced over his shoulder and rolled her eyes. “If I didn’t disagree with you on principal, you’d think I was bespelled on Planet X.” That was their term for the human realm.

  Wylde decided to point out, “I’m starting to think one of you was.”

  “Piss off, brother,” Jed snarled, giving his sibling a long stare before turning back to Rose. “When do you ever follow my demands?”

  “Only all the time.” It was her turn to roll her eyes. He was her boss, so she always followed his commands.

  “If only that were true, you’d be underneath me in my bed right now,” she thought he muttered beneath his breath.

  She almost asked him to repeat himself because there was no way he’d said what she thought he’d said. But Wylde didn’t react this time, so she decided she misheard Jed. Instead, Rose changed the subject. “Unless you have something else for me, I’m headed home to shower. I’m sticky from sweat.” The blue around his irises expanded as if in reaction to her comment, but it was an innocent remark, so she had to be wrong again. “You wouldn’t believe how hot it was there.”

  Jed nodded, and she thought he clenched his teeth together. “See you Monday.”

  Tomorrow was Saturday and her birthday. Even though she no longer celebrated her special day, she considered doing something for herself for a change. But what? She could treat herself, even if it was just a desert. “Do you have plans this weekend?”

  “Nope.” He shook his head, giving her strange squint, as if surprised by her personal question. “You?”

  She was pleased to see Wylde ignoring them, focused on the cursed objects instead.

  “Probably visit my mom. She’s been hounding me to visit for a while.” Probably won’t.

  “Sounds… fun.”

  She laughed because he clearly didn’t think so. “Any plans for your birthday?”

  “You know I don’t celebrate it.”

  “You know I think you should.”

  “Everyone should celebrate their birthday,” Wylde said, letting her know he was very much attuned to their conversation.

  Rose gave them a one-shoulder shrug. “It’s not the elfin way.”

  “Some traditions are meant to be broken,” Jed said in a quiet, rough voice.

  That comment felt like a gut-punch. Their gazes connected. The ice-blue almost consumed his yellow eyes. His aura shifted, turning from dark-blue to a deep violet color. An intensity she couldn’t discern rolled off him, expanding his aura. When his unique atmosphere touched her—bumping against her nipples first—she gasped at the flavor of cinnamon and dark chocolate hitting her palate. Pleasure coursed through her and centered on her clit, throbbing like a vibrator. Heat flushed her cheeks and she took a step backward, away from his lifeforce.

  As Wylde turned to face her, Jed smiled, as if pleased by her reaction. She had the sudden fear Jed plotted to consume her and Wylde wouldn’t do anything but assist his brother. They always had each other’s back despite sibling bickering.

  Being in the presence of a predator unnerved her and she spat out, “See you Monday.”

  Coward, the devil on her shoulder mocked her intended retreat.

  Rose turned on her heels and strode out of the vault with her spine rigid, as resisting the urge to run from him, even she knew running from a dragon only succeeded in provoking them. He’d catch her before she p
assed his bedroom door.

  Her breath hitched at the idea of what could happen in his bed. Pleasure in the darkest, wildest ways she probably couldn’t imagine.

  Jed Night is off limits. I can’t have him.

  The bag hit her thigh as she fast-walked down the hall, reminding her of the shoes. Jed wasn’t her biggest desire, and even if he was, it’d be wrong to use the magick in the shoes on him. Right? Shit, she didn’t want any man enough to use magick to attain them.

  I am not wearing these goddamn shoes.

  But… it had been a long time since she had a one-night stand for just sexual release. She could cruise the town in them for her birthday and scratch a little itch as a gift to herself. They only worked for two days. What would it hurt?

  Chapter 4

  Unexpected Rose

  Jed Night

  Jed sat in a chair in Liaisons the next evening, his thoughts focused on Rose. He felt like an obsessed boy, but he couldn’t help how much he wanted her. The thought crossed his mind that he desired her because he couldn’t have her. That theory didn’t set well with him.

  He dismissed the notion because he was certain his obsession went deeper. In the beginning, he’d thought of her as an amusement, someone to enjoy, believing she wouldn’t last a month in his employ. Throughout her two years of employment, he’d come to know her. Her kindness showed in the way she treated people, but her anti-elf tactics on occasion demonstrated she could bully people into doing her bidding. He liked and respected that aspect of her personality. It meant she would never become anyone’s doormat.

  Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen in love with Rose Jeffcoat. A dragon in love with an elf. That would take the headlines by storm. Not to mention the fallout it’d stir up in his family. They expected him to settle down with a dragon. But he wasn’t the type of man to allow familial politics or expectations to blur his personal life.

  Chuckling at the thought, he sipped on his liquor. When Rose showed him the red shoes yesterday, the visual of her wearing them resulted in his cock pressing against his fly. It was bad enough his brother noticed and elevated a questioning eyebrow at him. Thankfully, Rose was too clueless to notice.

  He still couldn’t fathom how he’d gotten out of the vault without an interrogation by his brother. His brother’s, “To think that’s the same sweet woman you hired; what’d you do to her?”, had been telling enough.

  Jed blinked. The pink haired woman strolling through the crowd looked a lot like Rose. Except her hair wasn’t in one of those buns he abhorred. She wore a red dress that stopped high on her thighs but fell long in the back with a train or some shit. Definitely not the pantsuits or plain dresses he was accustomed to her wearing. The look was completed with thigh highs, and red stilettos strapped to her feet that appeared identical to the ones she showed him yesterday.

  My fantasy come to life.

  At first, he chose not to react other than to stalk her as she moved through the establishment. She stopped to talk to a few people, indicating she wasn’t a stranger to the club. Neither was he, so how had their paths not crossed sooner?

  When she spotted him, her eyes widened and she glanced about as if plotting an escape. Her wide-eyed gaze struck him again and he shook his head, crooking his finger for her to draw closer.

  She obeyed.

  Inside, he grinned, while devouring her with his stare.

  “What are you doing here?” her voice trembled a little when she stepped in front of him.

  “I could ask you the same.” He set his drink on the table in front of him and spread his legs. “Sit on my lap, Rose.”

  She wet her lips and he fancied her wrapping her tongue around his cock instead. “That’d be unprofessional,” she said.

  “We’re not in my office and we’re two consenting adults.” Contracts signed to join Liasions expressed consent multiple times throughout the document. “I assume we’re here for the same reasons and I’ve longed to have you naked beneath me for a long fucking time.”

  Rose gawked at him, maybe surprised by his frankness. Then she groaned. “It’s the shoes, they’re affecting you.”

  “You’re overestimating the power of the heels.” He would’ve bet his empire he would never see Rose dressed so provocatively. Neither would he have expected to find her in his sex club.

  “I’m not, Jed. You don’t understand.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her pointy ears. “The shoes,” she cocked a foot to indicate them and he admired the display of legs, “are infused with magick to grant my wildest sexual fantasy with the man I desire the most. They work for forty-eight hours and then poof, the magick’s gone.”

  A blush hit her cheeks and he grinned at what she inadvertently admitted. She desired him the most. “Sit,” he patted his thighs, “And I’ll give you the best night of sex you’ve ever had.”

  “Jed—”

  “Either sit or walk away. The conversation doesn’t continue until you make a decision.”

  Staring into his eyes, she bit her bottom lip. It pleased him that her choice wasn’t an easy one and that she didn’t outright walk away. With indecision creasing the corners of her bright green eyes, he scooted to the edge of the seat, grabbed her hands and tugged her down onto his lap.

  Rose sat sideways, her legs over the arm of the chair, her posture stiff and leaning away from him. After a long minute, she finally turned her head to face him. “You don’t get to make choices for me.”

  “You make the next move.”

  They stared at each other and he caught the subtle hitch in her breath. He wanted to know what thoughts went through her mind but she gave nothing away with her expression. She slid from his lap; disappointment burned through him at her rejection. Grinding his teeth together, he fisted his hands to keep from pulling her back. Her choice was made; he would honor Liaisons strived on consensual obligation no matter how much it tortured him.

  Rose surprised him when she straddled his lap and dug her fingers into his hair. “Goddamn you,” she muttered against his mouth before pressing their lips together.

  She didn’t give him a light kiss either but went in all the way. He opened beneath the press of her tongue and she kissed him for a long time, tongues tangling, and her moans seeping into him. Jed’s hands found her hips and he tugged her closer, dragging her pussy against his rock hard dick. A throaty whimper engaged his dragon and his inner beast roared a rumble. That didn’t scare her away, though. Instead, he could smell the dampness coming from her pussy.

  Rose rocked her core against his hard-on and moaned into his mouth. Her breath came in gasps as she moved over him, her tongue lashing against his. She broke away from the kiss and gave his jaw a playful bite, before burying her face in the curve of his neck.

  “I wish that felt wrong,” she muttered, her voice muffled against his neck.

  I’m glad it doesn’t.

  Jed moved one of his hands off her hip and shifted it to the inside of her thighs. He found damp panties, proof she desired him, and he shoved them aside to finger her clit.

  She moaned against his skin. “Everyone is watching.”

  He glanced about the room. A few patrons observed them, but most entertained their own endeavors. “Let them watch. It’s a sex club.” Most members enjoyed voyeurism and she wasn’t exactly saying she didn’t want them to watch. His other hand came up and tangled in her hair at the back of her head, tugging her head so he could look at her. “Come for me, Rose.”

  He slid two of his fingers inside her, while circling her clit with the pad of his thumb. She rocked against his hand, fucking herself with his fingers, while they stared into one another’s eyes. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes drowsy with want, but she didn’t shy away from him.

  Slick heat drenched his hand as she rode him, not for long though, because it took her maybe two minutes to give him what he craved. Her muscles clenched around him, and she moved a little faster, advancing her lust... and his. The climax struck her, and she moaned a quiet releas
e, her eyelids drooping in pleasure.

  He waited for her to come back to reality before he spoke. “We’re going to my place for the night.”

  Holding his breath, he waited for her to argue.

  Rose nodded. “You can arrest me Monday for the roofied magick shoes.”

  Jed chuckled. “I have until Monday to convince you the shoes aren’t responsible for my behavior.”

  Chapter 5

  Riding A Dragon

  Rose Jeffcoat

  Rose exited Liaisons with Jed. Her mind whirled with what they’d just done. Or rather what she had done, but the press of his dick against her while riding his fingers suggested he enjoyed the act, as well.

  Even if she walked away now, nothing would remain the same. She’d fucked herself using Jed’s fingers as a dildo. They couldn’t ignore that. Work would become awkward unless they discussed how to move forward. But that was later. A Monday problem.

  Jed opened the door to his limo and motioned for her to get in. She glanced from the vehicle to him. “We’re driving when you could fly me there?”

  A slow smile curled on his lips. “You want to create a spectacle with a dragon flying through the city?”

  No, she wasn’t the flamboyant type, but she had desires and this was one of them. Stepping into his space, she leaned against his chest and palmed his waist. He smelled like ash and aftershave, a subtle mixture of scents, but arousing combined together. “One of my biggest fantasies is riding you while in flight. Besides, dragons rule this realm, no one will notice.”

  “You surprise me frequently.” Shutting the limo door, he chuckled as he rapped his knuckles on the passenger side door. The driver lowered the window. “Meet us at the house.” As the limousine pulled away from the curb, he turned toward Rose. “Let’s go to the top of the building. It’ll be easier to shift and take to the air from there.”