Page 58 of Pixie Problems
His shoulders shook, and I sat back in the buttery leather seats of the SUV and relaxed. Because the vehicle was from the Leto Villa garage, I knew it had all the newest gadgets and tech, so I found the button that reclined my seat, pushed that one and the seat-heating button next to it, then sighed in bliss when the warmth hit my backside.
I peeked an eye open and laughed at Rhys’ expression. He looked like someone had just taken his favorite cookie right from his hands and ate it in front of him.
“Mesmer, a word of advice. Females can be cruel,” Rhys said. He curled one hand around my hands clasped over my stomach, and I marveled again at the size difference in our hands. Then again, Mesmer’s hands were twice the size of Rhys’, so maybe my hands were just tiny.
Right before we pulled into the parking lot, Mesmer said, “I’m willing to meet her.”
I used the lever to bring the chair back up, so I didn’t get a crick in my neck trying to converse with him.
He nodded when I raised my eyebrow in question. His words said yesbut his body language was all kinds of nervous. He was clutching the wheel like he was sure it was going to fall off at any moment, and he was a pale, chalky grey instead of the rich, light grey he normally was.
I put a gentle hand on his arm. “Are you sure? It’s not a big deal if you don’t want to. It was just an idea.”
Mesmer nodded jerkily, and I released his arm. “Okay, she comes back soon to Moonhaven. I’ll give her your number.”
Mesmer breathed out slowly, easing off the death grip he had on the steering wheel. “I’ll give you my personal cell number. I have one that’s just for work, and another that’s personal.”
“Okay. Or I can get that from Rhys?”
“Oh, I don’t rate high enough in Mesmer’s life to get his personal cell number,” Rhys said grumpily behind us.
Mesmer smirked, and I turned to Rhys and grinned unabashedly. “Poor elf. So abused.” I patted his knee and he kissed my hand, leaning back against the seat and giving me a look filled with molten promises. My eyes went a little wide, and I gave a little hiccup of laughter, turning back around as we pulled into the parking lot.
Star elves—or one in particular—were all kinds of chaotic for my mental and emotional well-being. I resisted the urge to fan myself like a heroine in a Regency novelthat I absolutely did not read!
Changing the subject . . . “I think I want to pick up my bike from Lucky’s garage and check on the shop tonight.”
“Can I come with you?” Rhys asked. “You won’t be able to have Naut or your bodyguards with you, and I want to be sure you’re safe.”
Mesmer nodded as though this made perfect sense to his bodyguard brain. I shrugged. “Sure. Although August and Cy have been around tonight. I saw them get on a balloon and get off at the other parking lot. They’re probably following in another car.”
Mesmer nodded again. “They’re right behind us.”
I resisted the urge to turn around and wave. “See, they’ll follow me somehow. It’s not necessary for you to come.”
“I would feel better. Please?” Rhys pleaded. His boysenberry and gold eyes were seriously gorgeous when they went all big and pleading like that and I caved and sighed.
“Sure, yeah.”
Chapter17
Dice
It had been nice chatting with Lucky and her granddad for the few moments it had taken us to pick up the bike. Mesmer had dropped Rhys and I off at Lucky’s and I’d run upstairs to grab my key and helmets. Rhys grumbled as I shoved one down on his head, but I refused to leave the garage without him wearing one. Safety first. Even for paranormals. Most of us were no less breakable than a human, we just had different abilities. Except for dragons. And vampires. And sorta shifters. Okay maybe just pixies and other smaller classes of paranormals were the breakable ones. Rhys could probably hit a tree going a hundred miles and hour and come out of it with barely a scratch. Me, not so much.
His starlight shieldwaskinda cool.
Star elves, like Superman, were ridiculously overpowered. In layman's terms, a star elf was a repository and conduit for cosmos energy, or the energy of the stars. From what I’d heard and read, their bodies were able to uniquely use an infinitesimal fraction of the energy floating around in space and use it to create their own type of magic. Each star elf’s abilities were as unique as a fingerprint. While it was true that many went into jobs that required lethality or protection, some, like Rhys, didn’t.
I didn’t know what his family did, or if he was the black sheep of his family because of his chosen occupation, but I’d gotten the feeling from a few things he’d said that his family lived very humbly. So, not assassins or mercenaries or elven knights. The idea of an average Joe high elf was ludicrous. They just didn’t exist. Elves were literally the royalty of the paranormal world, right up there next to dragon shifters—almost extinct—and vampires.
What was even stranger was the fact that their apparent king was a farmer. I was still totally confused about that one, but Rhys had gotten incredibly closed-mouthed about Virion, so I’d let it be. I’d realized in Rhys’ mind Virionwashis king. Without question. And he wasveryloyal. It didn’t matter that Virion was having difficulty actually ascending the throne.
As we made our way downtown toward my shop, I noticed two things. One, the whole town was decorated for fall. There were pumpkins and hay mazes, and orange and white twinkle lights placed gently on trees. I passed by business after business that had decorated their front window with appropriate fall decorations—though they would probably soon be changed out for winter decorations—while I knew for a fact that my fall window decorations were nearly non-existant. I’d mostly cleaned them all up after the party on Halloween. I was slacking. And two, Cy and August were following me in a rugged looking dark-grey, tricked-out Jeep. It must be Cy’s vehicle. It looked like it could possibly handle ten polar bear shifter’s weight without the tires even drooping a tiny bit. Because the tires wereginormous.
By the time we pulled into a space in front ofPixie’s Potions & Botanical Notionsthe sun was well and truly set, and the whole street looked sleepy, lit with old-fashioned looking lamp posts that extended down the street. They flickered like candlelight when I knew for a fact that they ran on electricity. All of the shops around mine were closed for the evening.
I killed the engine of my bike, waited for Rhys to climb off, and swung my leg over, stowing our helmets. I didn’t wait for August and Cy before I made my way over to the big glass door of my shop and laid my hand against its cool surface. I heard the two low notes of the alarm as it disengaged and the doors unlocked. I loved not having to bring keys. I mean, Ihadthem, I just didn’t need them. My magical alarm was set up so that it engaged or disengaged with my handprint, and it also locked and unlocked my front door.
