Holiday Mates: Supernatural Enforcers Agency Short Stories (15 page)

“Oh?”

Boris took her hand and led her away from Diaz, out of the curious jaguar’s earshot.  He grunted and scowled a few times.  She squeezed his hand, and he sighed.

“I wished you would think I was your hero,” he said resignedly.  “I wished you would want to be with me.”

Her hand flew to her mouth in surprise.  “Do you think that’s why I’ve had so many near misses?”

Boris growled and looked at the floor.  “Yes.”

“Oh, my.  So whenever you were near me, bad things happened so you could be heroic.”

“Yes.”

Something niggled at her.  Something that she didn’t pick up on at the time.  “So when my house caught fire, you were already there in the middle of the night?”

His already tense body actually managed to stiffen even more.  “Ah… I sometimes jog past your house.”

“Naturally or because it is
my
house?”

His expression told her the answer and her swan honked in encouragement.

“You know,” she said, “every morning for the past three months, whenever I arrived at work I would wait in my car for twenty minutes, so I could say hello to you when I came into the building.”

Boris looked up.  “What?”

“I’m an early riser, and I have a routine of when I leave for work,” she babbled, feeling her whole body heat under his scrutinizing gaze.  “So I had to wait for you to be on duty.  I would usually sit in my car and listen to books on tape all because I wanted to say hello to you.”

His face was fifty shades of baffled.  “Why?”

“Seeing you has been the highlight of my day since I met you.  I already wanted to be with you before you made your wish, I was just too afraid.  I guess all the incidents just gave me the nudge I needed.  But, to be clear, you can be my hero without saving me.  Just being punctual, not hogging the blankets, date night once a week and taking out the trash is more than enough heroism for me.”

His eyes lit up for a second before he turned grim again.  “You don’t know me.  Who I used to be.”

Her inner bird huffed.  “I do know.  And it doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you like potato chips on your sandwiches.  You collect baseball cards.  And you always stop to give homeless people money.  Those are the things that I love about you.”  She giggled at his expression.  “Don’t look so shocked.  You’re not the only one who knows how to stalk.”

“Cecile,” he growled, pulling her against him.

She smiled and gave him a soft, brief kiss, mindful that Diaz was nearby and undoubtedly watching.

When they finally separated, Diaz gave them a meaningful leer.  “I won’t ask for the details.”

“You won’t get them,” growled Boris.

“But I take it the wish is over and everything… worked out.”

Boris looked down at her, and she smiled as her swan swooned.  He nodded at Diaz.  “Yes.”

“Good, just one more leprechaun infected victim to go.”

*

“Winnie!  Winnie!  Some men are here to see you.”

“Mom, I’m right in the middle of something!” yelled Winston, hastily stashing his Wolfman costume under the couch cushions.

He turned to find two burly men stomping down the basement stairs.  By their scents, he could tell they were a jaguar and a liger.  They wore bemused expressions, which was usual for anyone who’d just met his mom.  He vaguely recognized them.  One of them pulled out an SEA badge.  His wolf backed away instinctively, his eyes flicking to the couch.  Technically his late night activities were illegal after all. 
But how could they have known it was him?

“Winston Strong?  I’m Diaz,” said the jaguar.  “And this is Granger.”  He nodded to the liger.  “There was an incident at the SEA offices the other day involving a leprechaun.”

Winston nodded effusively.  “Yes, that’s right.”

“Winnie,” called his mom, “would you and your friends like some homemade cider and apple cinnamon cookies?”

“No!” he shouted.

At the same time, Diaz called, “That sounds wonderful, Mrs. Strong.”

And Granger added devilishly.  “Thank you, Mrs. Strong.”

Winston shrugged.  “She has a bunch of apple trees in the backyard.  They’re magicked to produce fruit all year round.  Pretty much everything we eat has apples in it.”

“About the incident with the leprechaun,” said Diaz.  “Since it happened have you noticed anything… strange?”

His wolf held his breath.  “Like what?” he asked in what he worried was an abnormally high voice.

“Just out of the ordinary.  The leprechaun really does grant wishes, but he doesn’t always use the most direct methods.”

Winston pretended to think, tapping his chin while his wolf paced nervously.  They didn’t know he was Wolfman, but he did need to get rid of them.  “Well, I just got past a level on Wolfgames that I’ve never been able to complete.”

The two agents gave him blank looks.

“It’s an RPG,” he explained.

They still looked blank.

“An online role-playing game.”  Understanding finally dawned, and Winston tried to act surprised.  “Actually, come to think of it, it was really easy.  I was struggling with that level for months, and then I finished it in minutes last night.”

Granger squinted at him, and Winston maintained a guileless look while willing his heart to stop booming quite so damn loud.

“Your biggest wish was that you could complete a video game?” asked the liger, slowly.

Although it was a lie, Winston couldn’t help the mental eye roll. 
Muggles
.  “Not complete, just get past a difficult level.  No one ever finishes the game.  It’s ongoing.”

Granger looked like he was going to ask what the point was, but Diaz interrupted.  “So, I guess your wish was granted.”

“Looks like.”  He tried to smile but gave up and swallowed a few times until his mom came tramping down the stairs.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever been so happy to see her, and actually ran to help her with the overladen tray.  And after a few cookies, a glass of cider and twenty minutes of his mom telling them everything her neighbors got up to, they were happy to leave.  Winston and his wolf exhaled in relief.

*

Penny wiggled her fingers, flashing her engagement ring, and beaming smugly.  It was St. Patrick’s Day and everyone at the bar was having a rollicking good time.  The beer was green; everyone was just a little tipsy, and she was celebrating with her fiancé.

Diaz pulled her against his chest, hugging her tightly.  It was a sweet gesture but probably had more to do with his desire to cover the slogan on her t-shirt. 
It said ‘I’m not Irish, kiss me anyway’
.  She thought it was cute; he thought it was an invitation for drunken buffoons to grope her.  He needn’t worry - there was only one drunken buffoon she wanted groping her, and he already had that covered.

They were surrounded by Diaz’s friends, who were ribbing him gently -
or not so gently in Isis' case
- about getting mated and married.  He responded by leering and grabbing Penny’s ass.  He was proud she was his mate and wanted to show the world, and that made her happy little penguin dance for joy.  Her neck now bore his bite mark from their bond, and she was glad to have it.  Admittedly, it still stung like hell, but it was healing.

Her penguin suddenly squawked as she caught a familiar flash of green.  She tried to disentangle herself from Diaz’s steely grip.  After wrestling for a few moments, she slapped at his chest.  “Let go, doofus!”

Diaz harrumphed while his friends didn’t even bother to hide their chuckles.

“Where are you going?” he pouted petulantly.

“I thought I saw Seamus Fitzpatrick over there.”

His eyes narrowed.  “Who’s that?  An ex-boyfriend?”

“No, dummy, the freaking leprechaun!”

“Oh.”  He was relieved for a moment before anger reared its head.  “Oh!  Where?”

Penny took his hand, and they weaved through the heaving crowd, searching for green.  Which wasn’t easy. 
Everyone
was wearing green.  Even one of Diaz’s heavily pregnant teammates, Erin, had managed to find a green smock to wear. 
She looked like a stuffed avocado
.

But there was something different about the green the leprechaun wore.  It seemed more… green than everyone else’s green.

She found him at the back of the bar, ensconced in a booth with a pretty young woman.  Or at least, a woman who would be pretty if she weren’t scowling at Seamus.

“Aha!  I knew it was you!” shouted Penny.

Diaz gave him a dubious look.  “That’s the leprechaun?”

“They come in all shapes and sizes,” she told him, knowledgeably.

Seamus looked up and grinned.  “Ah, I see your wish came true.  No need to thank me.  Perhaps you could explain to Caitlin here about my wish granting abilities.  She doesn’t seem to be very interested.”

“Thank you?!” snarled Diaz, grabbing him by his green collar.  “I ought to tear you a new lucky charm hole.  Penny got kidnapped because of you.  Anything could have fucking happened!”

“Kidnapped?” snapped Caitlin.  “And you actually expect me to make a wish, you perv?”

Penny frowned as Seamus squirmed in Diaz’s grip.  “I thought you only granted three wishes if you were caught.”

Seamus actually blushed.  “Ah, yes…”

“I caught him feeling up my panties on my washing line,” hissed Caitlin.

“How lovely,” murmured Penny.

“I have a problem,” said Seamus, “for which I am receiving treatment.”

“Doesn’t appear to be working,” chuckled Isis, sidling up behind the bunch of them.  She had one arm wrapped around her human mate, Raf and was eyeing Seamus with a mixture of amusement and contempt.  “Why do you think we arrested him in the first place?  He was caught trying to steal a thong from Westcott’s Department Store.”

Seamus sniffed.  “I’ll have you know that it’s a real disease.”

“It’s because of pervs like you that I no longer wear underwear,” declared Isis.  Raf grinned and waggled his eyebrows as everyone stared at his mate for a couple of beats.

Finally, Diaz remembered what he was doing –
trying to strangle the irritating leprechaun
.  However, Penny was feeling a little merciful.

“C’mon, babe,” she said, patting his arm.  “No harm done, and he can’t help being a leprechaun. Although I’m pretty sure, the underwear thing is voluntary.”

Diaz snorted but slowly let go of his collar.

Seamus straightened out his clothes and smirked at Diaz, and then ducked behind Penny when the jaguar’s eyes flashed.

“This was fun catching up,” said the leprechaun.  “But I have a matter of business to attend to with Caitlin.” He looked at her and grinned.  “I won’t go away until you make your wishes.”

“I’d be wary about what you actually wish for,” said Penny.

Caitlin rolled her eyes.  “Great, so what am I supposed to do with him?”

Diaz cracked his knuckles.  “A few suggestions come to mind.”

“Wish for a couple of simple things like for him to buy you a drink and then for a big finale you could wish him to be on the other side of the world,” suggested Raf.

“How about on the other side of the world from you at all times?” added his mate.  “That way, no matter where you are, he’ll always be a long way away.”

“No, I don’t…” started Seamus looking worried.

Caitlin beamed.  “What a good suggestion.”

“Now, hold on!  I could end up in the middle of an ocean!”

“Why don’t we start with the drink and then I’ll see how I feel?” said Caitlin, just a little evilly.

Seamus ran off to get her a Cosmo.

Raf and Isis wandered away to enjoy a little alone time.  The horny tiger was practically climbing all over him before they even got outside the door.

Diaz kissed the end of Penny’s nose.  “Well, all’s well that ends well.  You happy, Mrs. Soon-to-be Diaz?”

“Very, Mr. I’m-keeping-my-last-name-Diaz.”

He snickered.  “How about another green beer?”

“You read my mind.”

*

Cecile smoothed her hand over Boris’ chest, rubbing her fingers through his soft hair.  Yes, this was how a man was supposed to look.  Her second husband insisted on waxing his chest, and she never liked how it felt.  The idea of Boris waxing anything was laughable.  He was of the ilk that believed real men had hair. 
He was testosterone on legs.

He kissed the top of her head as their bodies finally stopped quivering from the aftershocks of their orgasms.  She was pleased that he could be so tender after such vigorous and untamed lovemaking.  Her swan agreed –
he was a keeper
.

At his insisting, she was staying with him while she sorted out her house.  Although she suspected at the speed they were moving, they would simply buy a new house together.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go out tonight?” she asked tentatively.  “It is St. Patrick’s Day, after all.  I know a few of the SEA agents are…”