Little Prick Read online

  “Since you are my only guest this week, you can come and go as you like, breakfast will be served after you are moving.”

  “Can I go and get myself something to eat at the café?”

  “Of course. Where is it?” She wandered into the room and lifted a small icon. “Ah, here it is. Since you were scorched, we decided to wait until you were up and around before we gave you this.”

  Pansy saw the same starburst on it as the door icon. “Does this mean something?”

  “Well, anyone who sees it will know who you are.”

  She slipped it on her wrist and asked, “Wait, how long was I out?”

  “Three days. We have a lot of work to do.”

  “Then, give me a moment to refresh myself, join me for dinner and we will get underway.” Her mind tried to adjust to the change in dates, but it was difficult.

  Teebie laughed. “I will have a selection brought here. We don’t need to waste any time. You need makeup training right away, and I am not the woman to give you instruction.”

  Pansy looked at her blue companion and laughed. “Right. Of course. Give me five minutes, and I will meet you downstairs.”

  The smells of food drew Pansy downstairs after she finished clearing the last of the smudges from her features. No sense putting makeup on soot.

  An elegant woman with snow-white hair was sitting with her host. Teebie grinned, “Pansy, this is Teal. She is one of the guardians of the Crossroads.”

  “I am glad to see you are up and around. I am sending your aunt a bill for the damage to the Meditation Centre. I have never seen anyone blow the roof off before. Good thing we have that collection of beavers or I might not be so cheerful right now. As it was, we are having to explain the damage to all the new comers, there was even one from your area almost immediately after you arrived. He helped put the fire out.”

  Pansy turned bright red but reached for the food.

  Teebie snickered. “You have boarding-house manners, but you are precise in your placement.”

  “I have six brothers. I usually throw a quill at the food I can’t reach to mark it as mine. Today, I am merely using my hands.”

  Pansy grinned and Teal snickered.

  She ate with her napkin in her lap, and she speared the food precisely before she put it between her lips. The two women, who were watching, nodded with approval.

  Teebie grinned. “Excellent. Food etiquette is usually the hardest thing to teach.”

  Dinner was placid and unremarkable, but immediately after, Teebie brought out a folding mirror and enough makeup to paint Pansy from head to toe. This was not going to be an easy lesson; she could feel it in her bones.

  “Who knew that stabbing yourself in the eye twelve times wouldn’t blind you? Consider me convinced of your teaching skills, Teal.” Pansy blinked and admired the fact that her eyes seemed to be recovering nicely. They also appeared deep and mysterious, the purple in the shadow made the green flecks in her eyes quite a bit stronger.

  “You will lose your makeup if you shift, so keep that in mind.” Teebie was eating popcorn and watching with her feet propped up on one of the antique chairs.

  Lipstick was complicated. The shade that Keelie had selected was good, but Teal had run out to get one that was a touch more vivid. With the powder, the liner and the top up of gloss, it was quite the layering effect.

  “This is a worst-case scenario. If you have to head to a formal event, this is what you would have to put on your face. For a normal day, just a bit of liner and the matte lipstick is good. With your skin, nothing else is necessary.” Teal sat back and finished her handiwork.

  Pansy looked in the mirror. Her hair was matte black, her skin was pale with a hint of rose and her eyes were huge and mysterious. “Oh wow. This looks different.”

  “Do you feel up to a trip to the Crossed Star?”

  “Like this? Shouldn’t I put my hair up or something?”

  Teal shook her head. “No. Scent is carried in the hair as well as the skin. You will need to move though. Can you dance?”

  Pansy blushed again. “No, it wasn’t something that was on my regular schedule.”

  Teebie chimed in. “Andy is coming tomorrow around eleven to give you dance lessons.”

  “Andy? Andy from the general store Andy? Well, I guess he has already seen my underwear, how much worse could it get?”

  The two women with her laughed.

  Apparently, it was time to head to the bar.

  Chapter Seven

  The music was loud enough to mask casual conversation but not so loud that the sensitive ears of shifters were overloaded.

  Their trio took a seat at one of the tables.

  Teal looked at them. “What would you like to drink?”

  Pansy blinked. “Beer?”

  “Easy enough. I will be right back.”

  Teal slipped from the table and walked up to the bar.

  The man behind it looked toward them, and he grinned, a serpentine fang visible even from across the room.

  Teebie smiled. “That is Chuck. His mate, Ivy, is just over there. And she is coming over.”

  Ivy came up, her midnight hair sliding around her and her smile bright. “So, you are the one who blew the centre? Very nice.”

  Ivy extended her hand, and Pansy answered it. The light spark that Pansy always felt when she touched a shifter ran up her arm. Ivy was a strong shifter. Pansy had looked into the different hierarchies among her own kind.

  The library of a pack was a wonderful thing. All sorts of books could be found inside the library of a pack, even books on reproduction. Her father hadn’t been interested in explaining things, so she had to figure it out for herself.

  Shifting and watching couples in cars had filled in some of the gaps as to what foreplay actually entailed. It was handy to be a beast in a tree sometimes. It was certainly educational.

  “I didn’t intend to blow the centre.” She smiled as Ivy settled in with them and Teal brought a tray full of drinks. Pansy took her beer and sipped while the rest of the women compared what they had seen at the moment of her arrival.

  Teal saw light and nothing else for several minutes. Teebie felt the wave of magic as it rippled outward. Ivy saw a blast of fire as the roof came off the centre. She had been one of the first responders, right on Lee’s heels.

  Her arrival had definitely made an impression on the Crossroads.

  They sat together, and Pansy felt the rhythm of the place. She watched men and women meet, flirt, dance and occasionally depart together.

  Her gaze fixed on one man in particular. Axander. He danced, he flirted, but he didn’t leave with any of the women. He stayed, had a few drinks and finally left. He left alone.

  Pansy’s heart tripped in her chest every time he glanced her way, but she hid behind the more dramatic colouration of Teebie, and they never made eye contact.

  Finally, her host said, “If you are done playing peek-a-boo, we should get going. You have to chisel that makeup off and get a full night’s sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, Cinderella.”

  The ladies got up, swayed a little after four hours of drinking and split up with a round of hugs.

  Pansy and Teebie staggered off arm-in-arm. The comfort of the Open Heart awaited them, and Pansy really could use a good night’s sleep.

  Dawn stroked her lids, and she flipped back the fluffy duvet. Pansy yawned and stretched, smiling at the peculiar sensation of rising at dawn but not having anywhere she had to be.

  The shower was wonderful, and she brushed her hair afterward, noting that the colour had shifted from dark brown to jet black since her arrival at the Crossroads. It could have been the explosion, or it could just be the magic that she could taste in every breath she took.

  “Hmm…what to wear?” She exited the bathroom, laughing because she only had the one outfit from the day before.

  She looked around the room and jerked in surprise. Between
her rising and taking the shower, all of the clothing from the shopping trip the day before was neatly laid out in matching sets.

  “That isn’t creepy at all.” She snickered. The residue of djinn magic hung in the air.

  Humming to herself, she picked one of the matched outfits. Since she was going to practice dancing, a dress and heels was probably a good bet. The dress she picked was a blue cotton sundress with ivory eyelet lace around the neckline. The t-strap shoes were the same matching ivory.

  With a nice new set of matching underwear and the dress and shoes, she felt very grown up when she walked down the stairs to greet Teebie in the dining room.

  “Wow. You seem to have taken to being girly with a bit of a vengeance.”

  Sudden insecurity assailed her. “Is it too much?”

  “No, it is perfect. I am sorry to have commented. What you are wearing is ideal for today’s activities. You look like a fairy-tale princess on her regular day off.”

  That made Pansy feel remarkably better. She swung back and forth with her skirt, loving the way it swayed around her knees.

  “Coffee?”

  “Oh, sure. Thank you.” She sat and waited. Coffee was the first thing then muffins, bacon, toast, the offer of eggs, which Pansy wasn’t in the mood for.

  They sat, talked and Lee cruised in halfway through Pansy’s second muffin.

  “I hear I missed girls’ night.”

  “You were asleep, Lee. I asked about you at the bar, and apparently, you were under lockdown until you caught up on some of the time you spent watching Pansy.” Teebie sighed and poured another cup of coffee, sliding it in front of the lioness.

  Lee wrinkled her nose. “That sounds like one of Jim’s orders. Butthead. I would miss the world if he had his way.”

  Teebie laughed, “You would miss the world and spend eternity in his arms. Not a bad way to spend your time.”

  Lee grinned. “You have a point. Chuck has remarked that since I came along, James looks very…rested.”

  Pansy was blushing, and she tried to keep the thread of the conversation. She thought they were discussing sex, but she couldn’t be sure and didn’t want to ask.

  Lee smiled at Pansy. “Can I see one of your quills?”

  Blinking, Pansy reached behind her head and tugged out one of her quills from her weapon segment. When she was young, she had marked out a section of skin and practiced summoning quills in that one spot. It served her well when she needed one.

  She held the quill in her hand and extended it to Lee.

  “You know, they are researching porcupine quills in an effort to make a more effective hypodermic needle. Because it has barbs to keep it from being removed, it can be a most effective tool.” Lee took the quill carefully and held it reverently. “May I keep it?”

  “Sure. When I get really bored, I make jewellery with them and sell them on eBay.”

  Lee laughed and Teebie snickered.

  A knock at the door produced Andy, and the day took a sudden turn for the strange.

  “I think you are ready, Pansy.” Andy was barely limping anymore, and he looked proud of the progress she had made in one afternoon.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Don’t think, just let him lead, and from that moment on, he is to blame for the success of the dance. Your weakness lies in you wanting control. Want it all you like, but give it up for those few minutes on the dance floor.”

  She snickered and curtsied. That had been Teebie’s contribution while Andy got treatment from a very amused Lee for a stomped arch.

  Teebie loitered in the doorway. “Well, if dance has been introduced, it is time for her to change and take it for a spin. You have half an hour, Pansy. Let’s see what you come down looking like.”

  Pansy kissed Andy on the cheek and headed up the stairs.

  Teebie looked at the smitten expression on his face and shook her head. “She’s not the one, Andy. Bear with me. I will tell you when you have met your match.”

  He sighed, “Well, I can still dance with her.”

  Teebie winked. “That you can do. Now shoo. You have your own matters to attend to.”

  He left, and Teebie altered her clothing to eveningwear with the wave of her hand.

  Teebie watched the clock, curious to see how much Pansy could accomplish in half an hour.

  The slow applause that greeted her brought a smile of relief to her lips. Her gauzy silver top fluttered as she walked, the jeans were dark and had a glittering touch at the hip and back pocket. The shoes were black t-straps, and she held her head high as she walked with a compromise between the formal and casual makeup.

  “Well done, Pansy. Now, let’s head to the Crossed Star and see how well this makeover goes over.”

  Pansy nodded. This was her test. She would walk into the bar and see if she ran or if she stayed. If she found a compatible partner she was hungry enough to go for dinner and that was a good thing.

  It was time to see if Axander was really the one.

  She tried to walk without a wobble, but after a day in heels when she wasn’t used to them, her thighs ached with every step.

  Pansy walked into the bar, waved to Ivy and continued on to order a drink from Chuck. He handed her her beer with a grin, and she perched at the edge of the bar, well in the visible zone for any of the males in the Crossed Star.

  The music was easy to listen to, so when she was first asked to dance, the male in question brought her out of a trance. She jerked, smiled and put her hand in his. After an entire day plastered against Andy, something different had to be on the menu.

  This male was tall, had dark hair and a slow, shy smile. They danced, she felt his body against hers, but it was nothing special. It was good—but not amazing—when they moved together.

  When the dance was over, she thanked him with a smile and sat down again. A new beer on its way to her in seconds. She only had time to sip it for a minute before she was asked to dance again. It set up a pattern that ran through the next hour until the hand that was held out to her was Axander’s.

  She smiled at him and bit her lip as she walked with him to the dance floor. Pansy turned into his arms, and she felt the click of rightness when she swayed against him. Now, she just needed to know if he felt the same.

  Axander pulled her closer and pressed his cheek to her temple. She could feel him inhaling, and a shudder rolled through him. Pansy wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  When he held her to him and she felt the erection that was making itself known, she decided that it was a good thing.

  When the song ended, she pulled away, but he held on. “What is your name?”

  She blinked. Of course, he wouldn’t recognize her. She was outside of his frame of reference for her. She beckoned him down. “Pansy.”

  He blinked, leaned back and looked at her in the dim light.

  She saw the moment that he recognized her and an excitement took over his features.

  “My name is Axander, but I am guessing you already knew that.”

  She grinned and nodded. “Would you like to go somewhere quiet?”

  He sighed and nodded. “Please.”

  She led him out of the Crossed Star and headed for the restaurant. “I apologize. I am a little peckish. Do you mind if we have dinner?”

  Axander shook his head. “Please. I would love to have dinner with you.”

  She looked at him, and there was still a stunned pleasure on his features.

  Once seated, he looked at her over the menu. “So, you are really Thomas Medeela’s little sister, the mechanic?”

  She sighed and put the menu down. “I am. I creep around under cars in my family’s garage. That is my day job.”

  “You look…I mean, I heard about your beauty in school, but there was a rule against even looking at the Medeelas’ sister. It just never occurred to me to actually see what I was missing.”

  She blushed. “Well, I d
o normally dress for the job. There is no reason that anyone should have noticed me.”

  “It wasn’t you, it was always the brother behind you scowling and snarling a threat.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that you are never alone when you are at the front desk. There is always one of your siblings or your father there, silently threatening any male who would mention anything other than business.”

  Pansy thought about it, and with dawning horror, she realised he was right. She really was never alone. “Well, that would explain a few things.”

  He started to laugh and finally turned his attention to the menu. “I have wondered if you were dedicated to your pack, but I have also heard that you aren’t a wolf at all.”

  She read her menu carefully. “That would be correct. I am not a wolf. My mother was a wolf, my father is a wolf and I am a random.”

  “Wow. May I say that you look lovely this evening?”

  She blushed and began the first date of her life.

  They stayed at the restaurant for three hours, discussing events back home and their hopes for the future. He wanted a family; she wanted a family. He was nocturnal; she was nocturnal. His mother had signed off on any woman he would bring home; her father had agreed to the same regarding her mate.

  She bit her lip. “In the interest of full disclosure, I am bound to our area. It has something to do with my not matching my parents. I have a number of properties given to me by my fairy godmother. Is that a problem?”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “Nope. My godmother is a fae, and she is generous. She knows about my handicap and has gifted me accordingly.”

  “You are serious? She is an actual fae?”

  “Yes.”

  “Cool. How old is she?” He had the same curiosity that Pansy did.

  “I am guessing that she is over four hundred. She doesn’t look a day over thirty.” Pansy sat back and sighed. “I have no idea what happens next.”

  He cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean now. This is my first date. I have no idea what to do now.”