Kidnapped at Christmas: Otherworlder, #1

Chapter One

Raine stared up at the posh high rise and blew out a heavy breath. Twinkling icicles decorated the azure blue awning, and emerald Christmas lights scoured the side of the building, giving off a Christmas glow to downtown Los Angeles. A warm fall breeze lifted the scent of car fumes and sweat her way. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of people, something she still wasn’t used to after five years in the human world. For as many things as she hated about the Fae realm, the one thing she missed was the smell of nature. The smell of a world unpolluted by cars and factories and machines. 

Her gut clenched at thoughts of the realm she would never see again, and her gaze slid up the side of the imposing building to the penthouse floor. She could just imagine Slade up there, primping and preening and readying everything for her arrival.

Going to see Slade was a blessing and a curse. Her toes tingled in anticipation of what was to come. His very name elicited a cacophony of emotions within her. Comfort, embarrassment, sadness, and empowerment. She hated that he affected her the way he did. But after everything, they’d been through together… 

The break up of their engagement, then being banished from their home realm and shunned by their families, had only been a few of the speedbumps in a long string of betrayals and heartbreaks in Raine’s life. 

She’d told herself that letting anyone get close to her, or opening her heart, was a bad idea. Not that she’d opened her heart to Slade; that was a joke. But they’d bonded in the years since being banished, and he was one of the closest people to kin that she had in the Mundane world. 

She should turn around and say, screw it. Forget what she was. Forget where she came from and live in the human world trying to be a Mundane. A normal human to those from her Otherworld plane. 

You have something new for him to imbue? asked Jordan.

She looked up, up, up to meet his bright green gaze. At five-foot-three, Raine came up only to the hard outline of Jordan’s pecks that stretched against his black t-shirt. 

Nope. She swallowed down a tingle of desire and glanced away from her best friend. I’m gonna wing it.

How did that work out for you last time? He chuckled, a deep resonating sound that reminded her of contained thunder.

She took off her R2D2 backpack and handed it to him. Then she rolled up her leggings under her miniskirt, slipped off her flip-flops, and traded with Jordan for a pair of patent leather, bright red, platform heels. She slid them on and wobbled only slightly. A feat that made her smile.

All right. She nodded. Here goes. She took a step toward the doorman. 

Jordan’s massive calloused hand shot out and grabbed her arm. She turned, and he pulled her into a hug. 

She slammed into his rock hard eight-pack and took in the savory aroma of his cologne. What’s up? I do this all the time. 

I don’t trust him. His strong arms surrounded her, and he kissed her head. Be careful in there.

She breathed him in and smiled. He’d been her only friend since she’d saved him from an obsessed female goblin with a fetish for chest hair three years prior. His overly warm body was so comfortable it felt like being home. His scent turned spicy, and she smacked him on the stomach. He continued to rub up against her. Though the feeling of his body wrapped around hers made her tingle with desire, his overprotective marking riled her.

Ewww…not necessary, Jordan. Pushing against him was like trying to move a Minotaur. You know Slade would never hurt me.

He chuckled and rubbed against her as she squirmed. Never can be too careful. I can’t go in with you, but I want to be sure he knows I’m out here waiting if anything happens that upsets you.

Well, now every Otherworld creature within a mile knows that. For as much as she didn’t appreciate being marked, it gave her an inner strength to face what was coming, knowing he had her back no matter what. In the year since she’d broken things off with her ex, her feelings for Jordan had bloomed into something that she wasn’t prepared for. Jordan had made it abundantly clear he felt the same, but with his father being the Alpha of their were tiger Pride Jordan was destined to be with someone, not a magicless Fae.

She stared up at the brightly illuminated high-rise impersonating a giant Christmas tree and sucked in a deep breath. It wasn’t going to get any easier by standin’ outside. Might as well get it over with.

The elevator rendition of Grandma got run over by a Reindeer grated against Raine’s eardrums like sandpaper. She tapped her nails on the metal railing as nervousness took over. She watched the numbers light up one by one, pulling her higher and higher. Memories tried to surface as they always did when she went to see Slade, but she pushed them down to where all her painful issues were stored away. She didn’t have the patience to deal with her own crap at the moment. 

The elevator doors opened to the penthouse, and Raine took a deep breath. The sickly sweet scent of wild orange blossoms overpowered her and made her stomach sour. The aqua and green interior brought another blast of memories from her homelands. The hum of magic permeated every surface in a thin layer of shimmery dust. A cluster of butterflies flitted past her face and landed on a majestic wisteria tree growing in the dining room. 

The sounds of running water and off-key singing caught her attention. She rolled her eyes and headed for the iridescent couch. She fell into it and was immediately comforted by the waves that rocked beneath her. Slade was the only Fae she knew who used his magic for stupid pleasures like turning a normal couch into a water couch. Or making trees grow in his apartment. Or teaching a griffon to deliver pastries from the Otherworld. She shifted her position on the couch. She had to admit that it was comfortable. 

A beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the corner caught her eye. It was a sight even Martha Stewart would be envious of. Inside the brightly colored balls, little animated scenes of snow falling in the Rockies, elves working in Santa’s workshop, people decorating Christmas trees in their homes... and of course a stripper dancing on a candy cane pole. Raine shook her head. The hand-blown glass ornaments made her little tree from the year before look like a twig covered in trash. Tiny fireflies lit the tree, swirling and moving from branch to branch bringing the whole thing to life. Beautiful blossoms in every color had been placed in a shimmery garland around the tree. Her gut clenched at the sight. Several of them had only been grown in her homeland. Guess the griffon was delivering more than just pastries this year.

The running water stopped. Within seconds, a naked man brandishing a baseball bat ran into the room. Raine lifted an eyebrow as he scanned the room. His tall, wiry frame wound tight as a rope dripping water on the plush violet carpet. Her gaze traveled to his nether regions despite telling herself not to look. He was still quite the specimen of male sexiness.

She stifled a sigh. Holy living Adonis.

He smiled and dropped the bat. Hello, Princess. I forgot you were coming tonight.

Yeah, sure ya did. She brushed her hair over her shoulder and leaned back on the couch, crossing her legs.

Slade set the bat on a stained glass table by the door and walked further into the room, shaking water out of his short, blond hair. He sat his fists on his hips and stared at her. Her cheeks heated, and she glanced away despite herself. He loved making her squirm, always had.

Look, I don’t have much time tonight, so can we get on with it? she said.

Your shifter boyfriend waiting for you downstairs?

She cocked her head to the side. Jealous?

He pushed up an eyebrow and gave her a smirk that dripped sex. Maybe.

Slade being jealous of anything was new. Especially when it came to her. 

You wore the shoes. His smile broadened, and his eyes lit up like blue diamonds.

Kicking up a bright red-clad foot, she swallowed hard. You know me. You ask and I obey.

He walked toward her. His eyes fixed on her feet. His obsession made worms crawl under her skin.

She kicked at him, breaking the spell. No touching till you put something on. She wagged her finger up and down his naked frame.

He nodded and ran to his room, giving her a fantastic view of a tight buttocks that gave bouncy balls a bad name.

Damn. Raine fanned herself and crunched several candies off her candy necklace.

Once again, she was reminded how sad it was that they hadn’t been able to make it work years before. But he had proclivities that she was only able to bear when she absolutely had to. Like when she needed his magic. 

Being a Fae with no magic abilities was worse than ironic in her situation. It was tragic.

Slade returned wearing a pair of boxers and tube socks. A sight that always made her pant.

He crossed to the couch and sat next to her. His gaze traveled to her feet again, and his fingers trickled down her arm.

They look amazing on you, he said.

They don’t feel amazing. They feel like Chinese torture devices attached to stilts. I swear, walking in them, I feel almost six feet tall.

His warm fingers traced a circle on her knee. "So, did you bring your skapare?"