Chapter Twenty-Five
“Halle!”
Viktor tensed and shoved Halle behind him until he seemed to recognize that it was her brother yelling out for her as he tried to push his way through the crowd of onlookers.
“Tavin?” Burton cringed when he saw the tattered and bloodstained clothes her brother was in as he gathered his sister into a tight hug, “Good Goddess, you look like shit. What in the hell happened to you?”
“That’s how Dair got his hands back on Halle this morning as we were coming to our appointment. He was threatening to kill Tavin unless she came and signed the papers with him,” Viktor explained.
“I had wondered about that when I saw them listed in the appointment book. I have to find out who that bastard bribed to get in here this morning.” Burton frowned and looked towards the body of his fallen comrade laying on the stone floor. “Someone will pay for this, Jackson was a good man.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Tavin.” Halle ran her hands over her brother’s arms, checking to see that his wounds were beginning to heal. “You need to go home and rest.”
“Burton, do you have someone that can take Tavin home?” her mate asked, and she rewarded him for his thoughtfulness with a smile.
The Council member called over a couple of enforcers to help and escort Tavin home, and as soon as she watched her brother safely leave the building Halle was burrowed back into his arms once again. She noticed that Viktor turned her away from what was left of Conrad’s body, which was just fine. She didn’t want to have to look at that bastard ever again.
“Well, shall we go upstairs and complete your registration?” Burton asked, rubbing his hands together like they weren’t talking over the decapitated corpse of an evil sociopath that was slowly turning to ash. “I think I’ve got a business proposition for you, Viktor.”
“Do you have somewhere we can clean up first?” Viktor asked, frowning at her. He appeared to be fixated on the amount of blood spatter that had hit Halle, not to mention the healing wounds that were still showing on her throat from Conrad’s claws. Her hand moved back up to her throat as she remembered his nails digging into her skin. When she brushed against the amulet that Molly had given her at breakfast, another small wave of magic flowed from it—but this time it was a soothing balm on her tattered nerves. She certainly couldn’t claim to understand the wild nature of the Brownie’s magic, but she was thankful for it all the same.
The elevator doors dinged open, and Dori was already standing inside, causing the two men to curse and Halle to jump in surprise. Damned tricky fairies.
“Goddess, Pandora, I told you that you can’t just pop into the Council building. You shouldn’t even have the ability to do that with the wards we’ve paid for around here!” Burton yelled at the little goth fairy in a tone that clearly implied that he’d known her for some time, as the three of them joined her in the elevator to go upstairs.
“Sure thing, Huggie Bear. I’m just here to take care of my charges and I’ll be right out of your hair,” she answered with a wink before she waved her little wand that looked suspiciously like a riding crop.
Halle had to stifle a grin at the look that crossed Burton’s face when he noticed what Dori was waving at him. It was a bizarre mixture of sexual interest, embarrassment, and then confusion. She knew that Dori didn’t need a wand to use her magic, as she hadn’t had one at any other time that Halle had seen her use her abilities, so she assumed that the prop was for the handsome bear shifter’s benefit … or simply for her own amusement.
Seconds later, she felt Dori’s magic roll through the entire space of the elevator, and suddenly she found herself in a brand-new dress. Once again sans undergarments—cheeky fairy. When she looked over at Viktor, she had to do a double take, as he was now dressed in tight black leather pants and a body molding black t-shirt. Since she’d only seen him wear dress shirts and slacks, this bad-boy version of her mate really kicked up her libido. The look on his face once he realized what Dori had done was the best part, though. He looked down and cringed as he flexed a little in his new pants.
“Was this really necessary, Fairy?” Viktor growled out, as he tried to casually find a comfortable way to stand in the skin-tight leather pants.
“As the female contingent in this elevator can attest to, hell yeah it was necessary. I’ve been fantasizing about you in skin-tight leather ever since I first saw you in the bar,” Dori said with a wink.
“Hey!”
Halle turned her eyes away from her delectable mate just long enough to protest the statement and hear Burton’s laugh at the red flush that flared across Viktor’s cheeks.
“Relax, sweets,” the fairy answered her with hands up. “I had him tagged for you right from the start. I never would’ve touched!”
****
“Why are you here, Fairy?” Viktor asked, as the elevator doors swung open, and they all walked out into the council chamber foyer, his head still spinning from how quickly everything had just happened. It was almost too good to believe that Conrad was finally dead and Halle was safe and relatively unharmed.
“You’ve just been Fairy Godmothered, hotness. No need to thank me.” Pandora stood looking very impressed with herself. “Welcome to your Happy Ever After, Viktor.”
With those final words, the odd little woman magically popped back out of the room, leaving Burton once again cursing and yelling down the hall to his tech witches about the damn wards and how useless they were if a tiny fairy could get in and out at will.
Halle’s delicate snort of laughter brought his attention back to her, and he pulled her into his arms. When he ran his hands down her back, he couldn’t stifle the growl when he noticed that she wasn’t wearing any bra or panties.
“We need to leave,” he whispered in her ear, as he lightly nibbled on her delicate neck.
“What? We just got up here, Viktor,” she giggled as he must have hit a ticklish spot. “And after all that, we still have to see the council and complete our registration. Then we can go home and lock ourselves in your bedroom for a couple of days.”
“Burton! Hurry up!” Viktor yelled down the hall as he yanked Halle into the council chambers.
The big bear came running back down the hall and around the corner.
“Bad news, guys, the council was evacuated when the alarm was triggered at Conrad’s attack. But the good news is that I can file your paperwork on my own once you sign it, now that he’s out of the picture and there’s no one to contest your mating.”
“Then why are we still here?” Viktor growled as he signed the forms Burton gave them, then handed the pen to Halle to do the same, while the shifter stood grinning in front of them.
“You guys can go on home now,” Burton answered, still smiling at him for some unknown reason. “But I still have that proposition for you that we need to discuss, so I’ll call you next week, okay?”
“Fine, let’s go home, Halle,” Viktor said, as he swept Halle off her feet and carried her back out to the elevator.
When the elevator doors closed leaving the too cheery bear on the other side, Viktor pulled Halle in close for a slow kiss. He had no idea why he’d been given such a gift as to have her as his mate, but never would he take it for granted. As they continued to kiss, his hands wandered down to her ass and once again he was reminded that she wasn’t wearing any panties. He moaned and pushed her back against the wall, letting her feel what she did to his body.
“It’s nice to see that my undergarments weren’t the only ones that ridiculous Fairy forgot when she conjured our new clothing,” he whispered, nibbling on her neck again as she rubbed herself against his hard shaft.
“Ugh, that’s the second time she’s done that to me! Dori seems to think it’s hilarious. But to tell you the truth, I don’t mind so much at the moment,” she said with a mischievous smile, as she slid her fingers down the front of his pants, teasing him.
“I guess I can’t fault the fairy for her results, can I?” he whispered an inch away from her lips.
“Nope, now let’s see if you can give me a ‘happy ending’ before we reach the lobby,” Halle whispered back before she grabbed Viktor’s hand and slid it up her thigh, under the hem of her dress to where she was aching for him.
“Anything for you, mate,” was his answer before he brought his lips back to hers.