 |
 |
|
Home Biography Books Coming Soon Reviews Awards Appearances Free Reads Links |
FREE READS By Lizzie T. Leaf CHAPTER FOUR “I’m tired.” Riz sat down on the stone wall, slipped off the purple Crock on her left foot and massaged the bottom of the aching appendage. “I don’t think my feet have ever hurt so much.” “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Mel dropped beside her twin and hunched over, holding her head. “It’s getting dark. We’d better get home. We won’t find Rand tonight.” Her sister nodded before responding in a tired voice. “Do you think we should have dropped breadcrumbs or something to find our way home? I have no idea where we are.” Simma watched the two and almost felt a pang of sympathy…almost. Nope, won’t go there. Remember how they tortured you when they were young and still do when they feel the need. It’s about time they got a taste of the real world. The adult witches had protected the twins far too long, which in his opinion accounted for some of their unacceptable behavior. “Come, kittens. I’ll lead you home.” He jumped down from the wall and with tail in the air, led the parade home. The girls followed him into the house and collapsed on barstools at the kitchen island. Okay, he’d give them a few minutes to rest before he demanded dinner. Sure his stomach met his backbone and given its empty state, he’d pass out from hunger soon. He glanced across the room to the desk tucked in the corner of the kitchen and noticed the blink of the crystal ball. Uh-oh. More trouble brewing. Mama called to check up on the home front while they were out and would want to talk to her son. “Sorry girls. I know you’re tired, but don’t you think you should respond to your call? His right ear twitched in the direction of the desk where the light blinked. “Man, oh man.” Simma watched Riz’s panic filled eyes turn toward her sister. “What are we going to do? Mom will want to talk to Rand.” “I don’t know.” The normally assertive Mel sounded as frightened as her twin looked. Simma didn’t attempt to repress a sigh. He needed to take over, as usual. “Okay. Go over and get the communication device and let’s see if your mother is still there. She may have just left a message. “Right.” Mel retrieved the crystal ball, bringing it over to the island and set it down between them. “What do we say if she’s still there?” “Here’s the plan.” Simma padded back and forth across the counter top. “If she’s still on, then you tell her Rand worked late. He told you to order pizza for dinner and he’ll call to check on things later since he needs to finish up the project that’s due tomorrow.” Mel waved a hand over the glass orb and the swirling clouds cleared and revealed her mother’s face. “Hello my darling! I tried to reach one of you earlier. Did you go out to dinner or something fun? Granna and I wanted to check in to see if you need anything.” Her grandmother stuck her head over Jorgia’s shoulder and waved. Jorgia continued. “We’ll be tied up with meetings for the next few days, so tell your brother if needs us, use the emergency signal. We have to run now. Bye darlings. Talk to you in a couple of days.” Both women blew kisses as the fog swirled in, clouding the glass. “Whew!” Riz went limp in obvious relief. The cat became concerned she’d fall off the stool. “So what do we do now?” Mel’s pale face matched her sister’s and her eyes were wet with unshed tears. Here we go again. Why do I always have to come up with the ideas around here? Simma twitched his tail in irritation. “I do have connections. I’ll put the word out for the collection of information. Maybe someone in the animal world saw something and the word is out on our telepathic grapevine.” Color returned to Riz’s face and he knew she felt like her old self when she questioned his logic. “Is it realistic to think cats will pay any attention to a dog? Don’t they run when they see one on the loose? That won’t help much.” He really did have to educate these two on the ways of the world. “Cat, dog, bird…in times of trouble it doesn’t matter. We all become one community. I should have done this sooner. If anyone one has seen our boy, we’ll hear about it.” Rand paced the floor. Amanda had another date with Pretty Boy tonight and she ran late in her efforts to get ready, which meant he’d be stuck with the jerk again. The ringing of the doorbell confirmed his worst fear. His ears picked up the muffled sound of running feet as she rushed to the door. “Sorry, Phil. I’m late as usual. A small emergency right at closing time put me behind.” Amanda stepped back and motioned for the tall man to come in. “You know the drill. Help yourself to whatever. I’ll be ready in a jif.” She hurried down the hall toward her bedroom. “Well, pooch, looks like it’s you and me again.” Rand watched as the man made his way toward the refrigerator. “Shit. She didn’t get the hint about beer. All that’s in here is that microbrew crap.” In spite of his unkind words, he pulled one of the bottles out and found the bottle opener. “So, little black dog, what’s it like snuggled up against that hot body?” Rand glared as Phil took a swig of beer. “She tells me you sleep on the bed, but I’m here to tell you pal, tonight it’s the floor for you. I plan to be the one in her bed.” Wanna bet? Rand resisted the urge to bite the creep’s ankle. Why the hell if his sisters had to zap him with their spell, didn’t they turn him into a Pit-bull or a Doberman? Instead, in their usual amazing ability to screw things up, they turned him into a frigging Scottish Terrier, small even for his breed. “Yep, I plan to get me a piece of that luscious ass tonight.” The inane ramblings from Pretty Boy got his attention with that comment. “Made reservations at a fancy restaurant and I figure with a little dinner and a lot of wine, she’ll be all over me. Hell, we may not even make it back here. I may just do her in the car.” The man placed his hand over his crotch and squeezed the bulge that appeared in his pants as he made his plans to seduce Amanda. How can Amanda be so stupid and not see what a jerk this guy is? Rand still wrestled with that question, but in all fairness to her the guy acted like a different person when she came into the room. In fact, he became such a perfect gentleman when she appeared, he made Rand want to puke. “So mums the word, fur ball.” Phil reached over to pet him and Rand snapped at the hand that almost touched his head. Unfortunately, Amanda walked in the room in time to see the attempted bite. “Alistair!” Amanda sped across the room and grabbed his collar. “Bad dog.” She turned to look at Pretty Boy. “I’m sorry Phil, I don’t know what’s got into him.” “The little fucker doesn’t like me. Has he had his rabies shots?” Amanda let go of Rand’s collar and stood up. She took the man’s hand in hers and examined it. “Did he get you? If he broke the skin I’ll get some antiseptic.” “No, it’s fine. Take more than a little pansy dog like that one to get through Phil Robert’s hide.” He brought Amanda’s hand to his lips and nuzzled it before she pulled it free. “We’d better go. I made reservations for a pretty special place tonight.” “Right.” She looked around the room. “Let me get my purse and I’m ready. I tossed it around here somewhere when I saw Alistair snarl at you.” The missing purse lay on a chair. “I’m ready. Let’s go.” Rand watched the couple close the door behind them. She didn’t even say goodnight to him. He’d really upset her this time. Pacing back and forth, he knew a long night loomed ahead of him. What would he do when they returned if Amanda decided to take Phil into her bed instead of him? Rand heard the key in the lock and jumped to attention. He stood on all fours, ears cocked toward the door in order not to miss any sounds. Instead of spending the evening working on a plan to get out of here and find his sisters, he’d fumed and worried about Amanda needing to fight off the brute in the car. Her poor choice in men needed discussing, but unfortunately, he wasn’t in any position to do it at the moment. “Thank you, Phil. I had a lovely time, but I’m afraid I drank too much wine.” The sound of Amanda’s voice caused Rand’s heart to race. He should have been the one who sat across a table from the woman who owned his heart and shared a gourmet meal and wine. No, not wine. Champagne to toast her beauty would have been his choice. “I’m glad.” The oiliness of Phil’s voice grated on Rand’s nerves. Even in his human form, this man would have sounded too smooth to him. “Are you going to ask me in for a nightcap?” “I don’t think I’m up to anything else to drink.” Amanda smiled, but didn’t move to invite him in. “Then let me make you some coffee.” Phil slipped past her and headed toward the kitchen. Amanda followed behind him, the expression on her face none too happy. “Please Phil, I don’t want coffee. I think I’m ready for bed. It’s been a long day.” Rand cringed when he saw the smirk play around the man’s lips before he turned to face Amanda. “I’m sure you are, darling.” He pulled her into his arms. “Let me make you feel better.” Phil’s mouth claimed the soft pink lips. Amanda made no resistance and the kiss continued much too long from Rand’s point of view. Relief surged through him when she finally pulled her mouth away from the hungry man. One would never know he’d had dinner the way Phil feasted on the pretty lips as if he was at an all you can eat buffet. “Come on, baby. This is our third date. Don’t you think you can warm up a little?” His hand snaked up and cupped a breast. “Phil, stop it.” Amanda slapped his hand away. “Just because you bought me a few dinners doesn’t mean you get free access to my body.” Woohoo. Rand felt a happy dance in order and pranced around their ankles. She finally got the true character of the ass. “Honey, for what I’ve spent on meals, I could have invested in a high priced hooker without having to work so hard.” Phil moved in again and put his hands around her waist. “I’ve spent a lot of hours listening to you rave about this fucking fur ball,” he kicked at Rand’s attempt to wiggle in between his legs, “and all the other stupid animals you deal with. For Christ sakes, most fellows would have dumped you after the first date.” He kicked out again. The little dog yipped and jumped to avoid the wing-tipped shoe. Okay asshole. You want to play it that way do you? We’ll just see about that. Rand lifted his hind leg, delighted at the sound of water splattering against perfectly shined leather. “Why you little mother fucker. I’m going to break your skinny little neck.” Phil forgot his pursuit of Amanda and lunged to get at Rand. “What do you think you’re doing?” Amanda leaped between the angry man and her dog. She scooped up Rand in her arms and turned on Phil like a mother tiger defending her young. “Don’t you dare hurt my animal.” “Ah, come on baby. Let’s be friends. I didn’t mean to hurt the little fur ball. Just got a little upset when he pissed on my shoe. What man wouldn’t?” Phil extended a hand toward Amanda and Rand bared his teeth, a loud growl emitted from his throat. “Why don’t you lock the mutt up so you and me can retire to the bedroom for some slap and tickle?” What an ass. The idiot didn’t have sense enough to realize he’d struck out. Rand would have shouted with glee if he’d been able to, but settled for several short barks. Pretty Boy didn’t have to worry about the bedroom tonight or any other night. He’d just sealed his fate. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, buddy. “The only slap that’s going to happen here is when I slap your face.” Amanda shifted Rand to one arm and raised her free hand. Rand was impressed with the force in which she applied her palm to the man’s cheek. “You stupid bitch.” Phil took a step forwarded and Rand went wild, impressed with his ferocious barks and snarls and how quickly they caused Phil to jump back. “Hope you have fun with that fucking dog because with your holier than thou attitude you’ll never get a man in your bed.” Phil stalked toward the door and slammed it on his way out. “Whew. Ugly scene and I for one am glad it’s over.” Still cuddling Rand in her arms, Amanda sat down on the couch. “I should have listened to you. You seem to have better instincts about men than I do.” That’s because I am a man. I know how we think. He lifted his head and licked Amanda’s chin. “Oh, Alistair, why can’t I meet a man like you?” She buried her face in his fur and he felt the hot release of the tears she’d held back during the confrontation. After crying for several minutes, she let the dog go and stood up. “We’d better get to bed. I have a super long day ahead of me tomorrow.” Rand jumped down from the couch and followed her toward the bedroom. Plus, he had a super long night ahead of him in an attempt to heal her pain. A night that promised a lot of snuggling. |