Chapter Four #2
“It’s the smarts. I have always wanted to have an intelligent partner who can work through complete scenarios.”
She leaned away and stared. “Why?”
“It is just something I need.” He shrugged.
Krys looked at him and nodded. “I can understand that. I have been freaked out by you because you smell nice.”
“Nice?”
“Yup. That is as much of a description as I am willing to give you today.”
He nodded. “I will settle for nice. May I kiss you?”
“I am crashing fast, but go nuts.”
He chuckled and leaned in, kissing her softly, his lips just as right as she knew they would feel. She felt the graze of his teeth and tasted blood. She jerked back. “Save something for the second date.”
His eyes were glowing softly. “Now I don’t have to.”
She got a little nervous. “You are a gargoyle, right?”
He chuckled, kissed her forehead, and guided her to her front door. “Something like that.”
She opened her mouth, but he said, “You are exhausted; go to bed.”
“I am just going to bed because I have to be up in a few hours. Night.”
“Is that your version of you are not the boss of me?”
She unlocked her door and stepped inside. “Shut it. Just because I want you doesn’t mean I have to like you.”
She turned and saw his eyes widen as she closed and locked the door. She said softly, “Served you right.”
She heard a laugh as his claws ticked against her door, and she smiled and headed to bed. She made sure her alarm was set, got out of the dress, took a quick shower, and then dried off and crawled into bed.
As she dozed off, she felt Reynal holding her in her dreams. Stupid blood bond.
She was up and wearing jeans and a tee with a bulky sweatshirt with a risqué pixie on it. It suited her mood. She finished her coffee and checked her phone when it chirped.
I am picking you up in five minutes.
She stared. It was too early for Reynal.
Krys finished her coffee and ate a muffin, had more coffee, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
When the vehicle rolled up in her driveway, she grabbed her keys and her tablet to do a walk-through of the property. The cleaners were going to be there in an hour.
She had everything she needed and walked outside to see a limo SUV. “Oh. Shit.”
The driver laughed and walked around, opening the door on the passenger side.
She looked at Reynal as he tapped at his phone. He smiled. “Morning, Krys-Alys.”
“Good morning.”
He grinned. “My car is in the shop. I borrowed one of Matthias’s.”
“How comfortable is it for you to sit on the wings?”
“As long as I ease in, not a problem.”
She blinked, and they were on their way.
Krys said, “So, did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did. Thank you. Did you?”
“Yes and no. Weird dreams.”
“You don’t say.” His lips were curved in a smug smile.
“So, I am going to guess that part of your ancestry is sandman?”
He chuckled. “Good guess. Not correct but good.”
She nodded. “Don’t think that my not knowing adds to your mystique.”
He grinned and kept his focus on his phone. “I didn’t know I had one.”
Krys narrowed her eyes. “It comes and goes.”
He laughed.
The rest of the drive was quiet.
When they arrived at the mansion, she looked at the team of men working on her vehicle. She sighed. “Now, I am guessing that they did more than just the tires.”
“They carved up your side panels and smashed the glass. The XIA recorded everything and sent the images to the mayor’s office. You were on city property at a city-funded event. The event insurance is covering it.”
She smiled. “I am really glad that I got that stuff. It’s annoying and expensive but worth it.”
“And one of your first items on your budget. So, what has happened before?”
“Venue damage, fist fights, designer-rented clothing damaged with claws, misfired drunk magic, you name it.”
He smiled. “And you handled it all.”
“Yup. That’s part of the event manager description.” She smiled and exhaled. “Right. I am going to check my car, get the paperwork started on a civil suit.”
“I know a good lawyer. He had a lot of fun here last night.”
“Dorn? Geez. I don’t know if I want to sic Dorn on them.”
The driver opened the door, and she got out, looking at the vile words engraved all over her car. “Yeah, I would like his number, please. If he wants to take it on, I want their fucking house.”
“You have a house.”
“Yes, but they bought a house with Vaia’s connection to Azreen. He was sending monthly maintenance, and they used it to buy an enormous house. I didn’t buy her a gift, so I think this would be a nice present.”
“Ruining her family?”
“Yes. Taking them down and setting them to zero, just as she had been, but she was eighteen and far less able to manage it.”
“But she did.”
“Oh, yeah. She’s fucking tough.”
“You haven’t had contact with her until recently, have you?”
“I was locked from associating with Depfords. My father’s family liked all eyes on them, even if I wasn’t really a true clan member.”
“The Frostfires?”
“Yup.” She looked at her car and sighed. “Is it wrong that the things that offend me most are the spelling errors?”
He looked, laughed, and nodded to the experts who were using magic to remove the markings one handspan at a time.
He steered her onto the mansion steps. “Dorn has been alerted.”
She muttered, “Seriously, fucking does not have two k’s and a y.”
He laughed. She had warned Vaia that they were doing the walk-through, and based on the scent of lemon, the cleaners were already here, buffing everything to a high shine.
Krys ticked the common areas that were already cleaned and restored to their original condition.
She looked at Reynal. “You don’t have to shadow me. ”
“Oh, this is fascinating. I am learning so much.”
“Right. Now we have to head upstairs and check on the babysitting rooms.”
“Lead the way.”
She nodded, headed up the stairs, and checked that all the rooms, bathrooms, and diaper genies were empty. She checked them off her checklist, and he shook his head. “I still can’t believe that with the crowd last night, you included childcare.”
She grinned. “All that screwing around leads to little people in most species. Parents don’t like to leave their little ones for the night if they don’t know when they want to go home.
I am sure that Nylora had people to watch her little boy, but she felt better bringing him along and was able to remain relaxed throughout the evening. ”
Reynal nodded. “That makes sense. I hadn’t considered it.”
“Once they are beyond the toddler stage, there is less attachment, and once they are in school, the families may have more connections, but if friends or family are attending the same event, the kids want to play together. This property has enough room for a bouncy castle.”
Reynal chuckled as they went through the sitting room, where Nylora had fed her son the night before. Krys picked up a pillow and put it on the rocking chair.
“Okay. Upstairs is good.”
“I am amazed that no couples sought privacy.”
“Oh, they did. The cleaners met them with a tray of water, coffee, and tea, then got them out of here and started their work around seven.”
“That early?”
“They are untethered kobolds. They don’t make any noise. They just entered the mansion and got to work. They have a house they call their own just outside the city.”
“When did they get that?”
“The fourth job they did for me. The house was rundown and about the cost of the property, but they bought it and began immediate renovations.”
“How many are there?”
“Six little ladies. Super talented and very fixated. They don’t want to be in thrall to a human or a building, but they love having one of their own and coming to help to get the itch out of their hands.”
They walked down the winding steps, and one of the cleaners saw her and waved without making a sound.
Krys waved back and gave a thumbs-up.
Reynal inclined his head, and they continued to the catering kitchens.
She spoke once they were in the catering space. “That’s the nice thing about mansions that were built for partying and decadence. Food is just another indulgence.”
“The food was amazing,” he said softly. “It was all enough and yet not too much.”
“That was what we were going for. There were a lot of races and species represented, and all with different needs. The vegetarians and vegans are always the hardest because the folks who want to experiment with the foods will use the cover of the crowd to do it. It leaves nothing for those who can’t eat anything else. ”
“So, you really have done this before.”
“One of my sisters is dating an elf.” She smirked.
“I thought you were an only child.”
“Nope. I am one of four, but only the eldest has to go to all the meetings; also, my younger siblings are all twelve years or more younger than me. I am ancient to them.”
“So, the vegetarian dating the elf is...”
“Seventeen.”
He chuckled. “I see.”
She checked the ovens and all the counters and fridges. Nothing was left in the freezers, so it was all good to go. She took the props and opened all the devices and then threw the breaker.
“So why are you doing that?”
“We used the power while we were here. We are done, so off with the power. If you are wondering about propping the appliances open, they get a lot of condensation if you don’t. That way lies mold.” She smiled.
She nodded. “Right, now I am going to talk to my apprentice and what she checked off her list.”
Reynal followed her across the lawn to where Sable was looking at the trees.
Sable turned toward them and grinned. “That was amazing. When can we do it again?”
“Next week. If you tap the file named Hannah and Neekil, you can see all the preparation underway.”
Sable laughed. “Yes!”
They went over the list, and Sable grinned and said, “So, everything is done but the day-before stuff?”
“Yup. It will be bigger than this one. Both of them have huge families and a ton of friends and close work acquaintances. So, about three hundred and fifty. Still the same setup, still the same general events.”
She felt her phone vibrate. “They want more dancers performing. At least five songs.”
Reynal frowned. “Why?”
“Because the dark elves are having a bit of an issue with the freedom of modern women. Boy, are they going to be surprised when all the ladies are performing with pheromone blinders.”
Reynal chuckled. “You do?”
“Yeah. The ones who want you to dance usually think they have a sneaky way to play the seduction game when you drop your guard.”
“Do you ever forget the charm?”
“Nope. I already put it in the soil of the reception space. Anyone flirting has to do it directly without being sneaky. Certain races have a natural boost; dark elves and orcs are high on the list.”
“Are djinn on the list? They have that effect.”
“Not enough of them around here to worry about. If I find one grabbing a friend, I will freeze parts of him he will miss.” She smiled and told Sable, “If the Lees want to come by, are you good to show them around again?”
“Sure. Oh, I can show them some of the images I took with the tablet.”
“Wow, you are a quick study.”
Sable carefully used the stylus to open the photos, and there was the wedding in all its glory.
The images were taken before the guests arrived, and then as a few of the more notable groupings showed up.
Nylora, with her dark skin and silvery tattoos, with Solar and Demuel and the baby had been the first picture.
The rest of the images went by, including several of the dance troupe, and Krys winced.
Her clan mark was visible. She was going to have to cover it up if the troupe came up short again.
Sable asked shyly, “Can you teach me to dance that way? It looked like so much fun and had so much energy. Benko filled a sketchbook with images of you guys and has been trying to find the right stone all morning.”
“What?”
Sable grinned. “He’s going to make you into statues, and there is a gallery in town that wants to carry his work. He’s going to speak to them later in the week.”
“Oh. Great. Well, I suppose that he needs income.”
“Not really. He lives with Neekil and his other brothers.”
“Ah. Right.”
“So, can you teach me the dancing?”
“Uh, I will ask Hura and see if Vaia wants to have a class here once a week. Maybe Wednesdays.”
Sable smiled. “Thank you.”
Reynal was casual. “So, which gallery?”
Sable chuckled. “I will get the information from Benko.”
Krys blinked and just turned and walked away. Reynal looked at her as if she were a collectible. The problem was, aside from the surprise, she didn’t really mind.