Page 21 of Awakened and Betrayed
Ishut my door and glare at Pebble as he makes his way around the Jeep to me. I cross the street, quickening my pace to put as much distance between me and Pebble as possible. I grumble to myself as his heavy boot-clad steps sound off behind me. When my Jeep showed up this morning, I immediately jumped in, eager to put some space between me and the coven of casters I’ve shared too much of myself with over the past twenty-four hours.
Every single one of them worked out with me for hours this morning. I just wanted to work the feel of panic and death out of my system, but instead I was painfully aware of their eyes on me and a strange energy in the air. I set a punishing pace for myself, in an effort to distract from whatever the hell was going on, but it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.
When everyone broke off to get cleaned up, I took the fastest shower ever and worked on a plan to get the hell away from all of them for a little while. The sight of my baby-tank Jeep being driven through the front gates was all the invitation I needed. I was on cloud nine as I made my unnoticed escape. Well, until a sneaky Pebble opened the passenger door and climbed in. I had to make the split-second decision to either try and get him out of the vehicle and blow my chance to get some time away, or just accept that today I’d have a babysitter.
I approach the tattoo shop, and I can’t help but chuckle at the name.I’ll Get You My Prettyis stenciled on the windows in a green color that matches the face of the fictional witch that made the saying famous. I open the door, and instead of a chime a shrill cackle announces my arrival. A short, bald man in a well-fitted aubergine suit gives me a quick once-over.
“Who’s your appointment with, my sweet?” he asks me.
His voice would make James Earl Jones jealous. It’s deep and smooth, and I’m completely taken aback. I would never have guessed that voice belonged to this pocket-sized man. He gives me a warm smile, and I match it. It’s probably a safe guess that I’m not the first, and won’t be the last, to show shock over the dichotomy of his size versus the depth in his voice.
“I’m here to see Mave,” I tell him, just as my svelte pink-haired shifter friend rounds the corner.
“Vin!” She greets excitedly, skipping over to me and pulling me into a strong hug. “You finally here for those nipple piercings we talked about?”
Mave gives me a cheeky wink and a teasing smile as we pull apart. But a choking sound has both of us looking behind me to find Pebble giving himself a hard slap on his chest and coughing to clear his airway. Mave gives him an appreciative scan, and me a questioning look.
“No piercings for me, but Pebble here has been begging for a magic cross. I thought you’d be just the girl for the job.”
Mave’s smile is blinding, and she shakes her head, amused. “Just when I think I have your kink level figured out, you go busting out terms like magic cross.”
She chuckles. I flutter my lashes at her innocently and give her a sweet grin. She looks back over at Pebble and gives him a wink, motioning for him to follow her. He blushes ever so slightly and does exactly as instructed—such an obedient little puppy.
Well, well, well what do we have here?I muse, as I watch Pebble’s gaze fix on Mave’s ass. His eyes shoot up to her face when she turns around and ushers us into a small, clean room.
There’s a chair that looks like something I’d find in the dentist office, and Mave directs Pebble to have a seat.
“So, were you looking to have both piercings done at the same time, or one now and the other when you’ve healed?” Mave asks, her professional mask slipping into place.
Pebble looks at me for guidance, and it’s all I can do to keep my face straight and not crack up.
“Um, what exactly is a magic cross?” Pebble finally asks.
“I’ll show you,” Mave answers sweetly, and she moves to get something from a cabinet in the corner.
When Mave gives us her back, Pebble shoots me a glare, clearly not appreciating being out of the loop. My overly sweet facade completely falls to pieces, when Mave turns around abruptly holding a very lifelike replica of a man's lower torso; ass, dick, balls, and all. Pebble’s eyes grow huge, and he freezes when she wraps a hand around the generous prosthetic member and proceeds to shove a needle through the tip. The first needle goes through vertically and then she adds another needle through the tip horizontally.
“See, a magic cross,” Mave announces, as she slightly wiggles the fake phallus at Pebble.
He scrambles out of the chair and as far away from the needle-tipped, replica-cock as possible.
He covers his crotch with both hands and stares at the needles with pure panic. “Oh, fuck no.”
He narrows his eyes at Mave, and then at me, as we both burst into hysterical laughter. Just when the laughs start to die down, Mave shakes the needle-cock at Pebble and the squeal that he lets out as he tries to get away from it would put aBelieberto shame. I wipe tears from my eyes as I get my shit together, and Mave pulls the needles out of the fake dick and drops them in a sharps container. Pebble winces and moves further back into the corner of the room.
“Oh man, that was too easy,” I admit, my laughter finally beginning to taper off.
“You really should be nicer to the casters you’re collecting for your harem, Vinna,” Mave playfully scolds me.
“Please, he should be so lucky.” I wink at Pebble as he glares back at me. “Mave this is Pebble; Pebble, Mave. He’s my assigned babysitter. Not a contender for futurematestatus.”
Mave’s smile falls, and her face becomes serious. “What’s going on, everything okay?”
I run my fingers through my hair and huff out a resigned breath.
“The elders yanked me from my uncle’s house. Things weren’t going so great for me there, and it gave them a chance to start meddling in my life,” I grumble, and shoot a scathing look over at Pebble.
He’s unfazed by my ire, too busy checking Mave out to notice my glare.
