Billionaire Bad Boys: A Collection of Contemporary and Paranormal Bad Boys Page 24

  Matthias’ stormy gray eyes flickered which was odd. Normally he was either amused or annoyed.

  One of my eyebrows rose. “Matthias?”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “I’m looking for a ring.”

  The side of my mouth quirked up. “Like a special ring?” I quipped. “Like a precioussssss ring?”

  Matthias snorted and I felt a little trill of excitement roll through me that he got my Hobbit reference. “More like an…” he paused and pinched the area between his brows. “Engagement ring,” he finally said as his expression became pained.

  Surprise roared through me and...something else I couldn’t explain. “Oh? For anyone special?” I asked lightly. I headed over to the case of jewelry I kept under lock and key. “I’m not really sure you’re in the right place. You know I only have used jewelry.”

  “I know,” he said, ending his words with a sigh. “I have delayed too long. My parents told me not to come back without one.”

  A smirk found its way to my mouth. “So you come to what equates to a pawn shop?”

  Those stormy eyes flickered again. “Ava, I wish you would stop putting yourself down.”

  I took a step back in shock. My hand fluttered up to my mouth.

  He held a hand up in apology. “It’s true. You insult yourself at least once every time I step into this store. I’m not sure why but you underestimate the gem you have here.” Matthias swept a hand up across the store. “You’ve managed to amass the most incredible mishmash of interesting objects I’ve ever seen. I’ve been all over the world, Ava.” His gaze flickered to mine. “And your shop is one of the best I’ve ever been in.”

  My mouth turned down. I wasn’t sure what he was playing at. Or why he was suddenly being nice to me. I’d put up with constant sarcastic comments for years every time he stepped foot in my shop. And now, today, on the day he’s supposed to be getting engaged, he’s nice to me? I swallowed down my anger and confusion, not to mention my pride and blinked a couple of times.

  “What’s her name?” I asked, completely ignoring what he just said to me.

  He held my gaze for a moment before he sighed, straightened and muttered, “very well,” under his breath.

  “Karina.”

  “She sounds blonde,” I said before I could stop myself.

  A bark of surprised laughter came from him. “She is,” he admitted.

  I couldn’t suppress the grin that came from me.

  He smiled back at me and we both laughed.

  "Arranged?" I asked him. It was common for elvish parents to arrange marriages between children. You know, keeping the ol' bloodline pure and all that. Plus Matthias' parents were genetic researchers which made it monumentally more important for them. They were responsible for tracing the bloodlines of all of the residents of Midnight Cove through their company GenomesRUs, which was a totally stupid name, but they were so well respected no one batted an eye over it.

  I’d never signed up for their service, mainly because I didn’t want Matthias knowing anything about me, but part of me wondered if I did what I would find out. Why did my hair constantly look like I’d stuck my finger in a light socket and why were my features fuller than the average elf? And why was my voice so low and gravelly when all the other elves sounded like Disney characters? These were the things that kept me up at night.

  Part of me wanted to use the portal to the human world and set up DNA testing that way, but I wasn’t quite sure what would happen if I did that. We were related to humans. Somewhat. But if my DNA came back all whacked out it could expose Midnight Cove and the secrets we’d hidden for eons. So there was either Matthias’ family or...nothing.

  I’d chosen nothing.

  But...Matthias appeared to be desperate. And I was not so good of a person that I wouldn’t try to take advantage of that.

  “Yes,” he admitted. “My mother’s pick. Genetically superior. Pristine magic. Pure blood pool.” His tone was dry and the look on his face was blank.

  “Well,” I said lightly, “she sounds nice.”

  Matthias laughed again. “Do you have anything I can see?”

  By then I was unlocking the case. I planned to show him what I had and when he didn’t like any of it, bring out the big guns. And...ask him for a favor in exchange for the ring. The one I had been obsessed with since my father found it. I had high hopes to one day save up enough money to buy it, but the ring was priceless. Meaning a defective elf running a shop stuffed to the gills with stuff most people in this town didn’t want would probably never raise enough money to keep it.

  So I had decided a few months ago to finally let it go. To the right person of course.

  Never in a million years would I have thought Matthias would be the right person. But he was here. He needed something. And I wanted to know something without alerting anyone else about it.

  I pulled out my worst engagement ring - a massive hunk of yellow gold with brown diamonds. It looked like something an old, rich, fashion clueless heiress would wear just to announce the fact that they could waste money on something so ugly.

  I bit my lip to keep from laughing when Matthias’ upper lip curled in distaste. “This is an 18k gold engagement ring with chocolate diamonds.” I flipped the ring over. “It’s possible you can size it if it’s a little large.”

  Matthias snorted. “Not sure it matters how big it is because it looked like it got ran over by a car then tossed into a volcano.”

  I had to really make an effort not to laugh. He was right, of course, but I wasn’t in the mood to agree with Matthias. “Well,” I said, doing my best impression of an affronted woman. “If it wasn’t your taste all you had to do was say so.”

  One of his eyebrows rose. I wasn’t sure he was buying my act.

  “Fine,” I huffed as I reached back into the case. I put the chocolate diamond monstrosity back and brought out something that wasn’t as much of an eyesore. It was still terrible, but I had to show him I was making an effort. Somewhat. “Now this,” I said with as much awe as I could muster, “came from the most famous mine on Earth.”

  “Which one?” he asked too quickly, which told me he was testing to see whether I was full of shit. Unfortunately for him, I was always full of shit, but smart enough to do my research.

  “Jubilee,” I answered and flicked my gaze back up to his. Those stormy eyes flashed in surprise. “Russia,” I added as I handed over the ring. “There are twelve carats of diamonds featured in this ring. The main piece is six carats and the diamonds scattered down the sides equal to approximately one carat per stone.”

  Matthias turned it over a few times. “Do you like this one, Ava?”

  I blinked in surprise. “Errrm,” I said.

  His low chuckle told me he knew exactly what that meant. He set the ring down and leaned closer to me and over the case. “I want to see what you like, Ava.” The way he said my name slow and lilting made me want to pant.

  I swallowed hard. “I don’t see what that matters,” I said as I tucked the offensive ring back into its case.

  He shrugged. “Part of me can’t help but wonder if you’re showing me crap just to see if I’ll bite and get out of your hair. But I can’t play this game. This is for my fiancee.” He grimaced. “And as such, I have to come home with something presentable.”

  I wasn’t quite ready for the coup de grace. I liked seeing him squirm a little too much. But as I was reaching back in to grab a slightly more passable ring, Matthias reached over and grabbed my hand.

  “No,” he said quietly. “We both know these are trash.”

  I huffed.

  “Save it,” he said. “I’m onto you.” Our gazes met. “You want something.”

  I held it as long as I could before I gave up. “Yes,” I admitted.

  He dropped my hand and stepped back. “Show me.”

  I let out a shaken sigh as I adjusted and locked the case back up. “Fine. But this is going to cost you.”

  His eyes gleamed and he ru
bbed his hands together. The game was on. “I can’t wait. Show me,” he demanded again.

  I had to stifle down the despair welling up inside of me. It was just a ring, I kept telling myself. Just a ring.

  Even though this was the ring I’d wanted for years. No. Coveted, hoarded and obsessed over was more like it. I motioned for Matthias to follow me to the back even though I didn’t want to. He’d never been to the back. It was my haven. My space. Where I spent most of my time at. I’d built my home inside of the shop, but most people didn’t realize it. No one ever asked so I didn’t offer.

  Him being here made my abundance of space squeeze in on me. He was tall. For an elf. But his personality made him seem so much bigger. I pushed through the beaded curtain and held it out for him.

  When he stepped through his first expression was of confusion before it settled into one of confused awe. “You live here?” he asked as he took in the cozy living room scattered with a massive teal shag rug and eclectic furniture in various shades of gray.

  I nodded. "I've lived here from the moment I reached adulthood." Elves were a little different. There was no college or further education for us like others who lived here. We were educated from the moment we were born and our formal education ended once we reached the age of eighteen. From then we either stepped into our parent's positions or we left to seek our own fortunes. Considering I couldn't be bothered to step outside on my best days, I'd chosen to err on the comfort side. Plus my father had loved this place and he instilled the same love for it within me.

  “Hmmm,” he murmured to himself.

  “Have a seat,” I said. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

  His nose wrinkled. “Tea is horrid,” he said, completely oblivious to the rules of hospitality basically everywhere. “Have any coffee?”

  It was my turn to wrinkle my nose. I did have coffee for when my father came to visit, but I didn’t like the way it made my kitchen smell. I sighed. “I do. If that’s what you’re into.”

  His eyes glittered. “I’m into so much more than coffee, my dear,” he quipped as he made himself comfortable on my couch.

  It was a disconcerting sight. The couch was full of wildly patterned, bright pillows, but he looked right at home. I went into the kitchen, popped a coffee pod into the machine and hit the button.

  “Cream or sugar?” I asked him.

  “Black.”

  “Like your soul?” I quipped as I walked the mug over to him.

  “You wound me, Ava. You wouldn’t know the first thing about my soul.”

  I gave him a dubious stare. “I’ll be back.”

  “Don’t trust me not to rifle through your lady things?” he said as I walked away.

  I flipped Matthias the bird and headed to the back of my house, his warm chuckle following me out.

  The back of my neck tingled. Matthias was watching me walk away. I held my head high but couldn’t help adding an extra sway of my generous hips. Part of me wondered if he would be disgusted by it. I wasn’t the most typical elf in shape or personality and I knew Karina would be built like a diving board - slim, straight, and bland. As most elves were.

  Except...Matthias wasn’t. The thought disconcerted me as I stepped into my bedroom and back into the closet.

  I shut and locked the door behind me, shut my eyes, and whispered the spell to unlock the concealment. A tingle spread over my skin as I opened my eyes to see the large golden box holding my most precious things. A scattered assortment of notes collected over the years from friends and my father, a tarnished BFF necklace from a friend who was no longer in my life, a dog collar from a cherished pet who passed away and left me devastated for months, a cookbook left to me by a great-grandmother I never knew, and the ring. I inhaled a shuddering breath as I picked it up. Magic rolled across my skin. I wasn't quite sure what my father had brought home with him, but I knew it was powerful. But I didn't feel evil when I touched it. I just felt...strong.

  The band was a metal I'd never seen before. It had the appearance of platinum, but there was a sheen reminiscent of the stone labradorite with blues, purples, and greens. I'd tested the metal for silver, platinum, rhodium, and anything else I could think of. Negative. Whatever it was, it didn't exist on the human plane or on ours. The middle stone appeared to be a large green diamond, but it wasn't. I could not identify the stone, but it surpassed the hardness of diamond and glittered with an unearthly glow every time the light hit it. Surrounding it in a circular pattern was chocolate colored stones, but these were diamonds. Odd since I couldn't identify the other stones. It was an odd yet beautiful piece. It was both unnatural yet beautiful, and if Matthias had any brain in his pretty head, he'd recognize it for the treasure it truly was. I held the ring for a few moments cursing my fanciful thoughts about a massive wedding and a handsome man walking toward me extending this ring out to me, before I whispered the spell again, concealing my treasures. I stepped back out into the living room to see Matthias standing close to my fireplace mantle examining my pictures with great interest.

  “Something catch your eye?” I asked, clutching the ring tightly in my fist.

  My tone didn’t faze him. “I assume this is better than finding out what kind of frilly underwear you wore?”

  “I don’t wear frilly underwear,” I snapped only to flush crimson at my admission.

  “Ah,” he said lightly, “a utilitarian personality. Someone who gets down to business. Not surprising.”

  I choked on outraged laughter. “My underwear is none of your business.”

  He shrugged. “I find everything to be my business. It’s other people who have the problem.”

  I choked down a snarky response and held the ring out to him.

  He took it and gasped in surprise. An expression I couldn’t figure out crossed his face and I saw something else there. Hunger? Need? I wasn’t sure, but it made me uncomfortable. “Where did you get this?” he asked when the silence started to get uncomfortable.

  “My father. He used to take several trips a year for items.” I was leaving a lot out. My father didn’t find this at an estate sale or in a junk pile. He’d been out exploring the Irish coasts when he’d sat down on a large flat stone. Idly he’d begun pushing his toes through the sand, only to push the ring up. It was almost like he’d been meant to find it. He brought it home, still stunned, only to delight in my awe when he showed it to me. It was one of his most precious finds and I’d kept it hidden until today. I knew there might come a day when I’d need to sell it, but I never thought this would be the time I chose.

  My father would be devastated. My mother would turn her nose up and judge me from afar, just like she’d always done. That was why I had to keep it quiet. But now? Now I was on my own. I had no relationship with my mother and my father was still quietly sourcing items for this store from lands afar. He and my mother seemed to have no true relationship. I loved him, but there was something that was holding him back. I knew it and I think he knew I knew it, so he had begun to maintain a distance from me.

  I hated it. Mostly because I suspected it had something to do with me.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he said. His eyes narrowed at the corners as he studied me. Matthias was too smart for his own good.

  “I half answered your question.”

  “Half then. Where did he find it?”

  “Does it matter?”

  Matthias shrugged, even though I could tell he didn’t want to let it go. “I suppose not. What do you want for it?” He held the ring up to the light. The awe on his face was apparent. I feared Karina would not appreciate the ring as much as we did, but it didn’t matter. This was my ticket to figuring out the truth.

  I thought carefully about my next words. “This ring is priceless. The material it’s made out of is not of Earth. Most of it anyway. There is something I need done. Discreetly.”

  At that, Matthias’ head jerked up. “Oh?” he asked, a question in his gray eyes.

  I swallowed hard a
nd nodded. “This doesn’t mean you’ll get it free,” I amended. “I’m still going to have to charge you an egregious price just so people don’t think I’m a pushover, right?”

  "Right," Matthias said, his lips quirking up at the side.

  I named an amount that had my heart thudding against my chest, but Matthias didn’t bat an eye. “Done.”

  Shit, I thought to myself. I wondered how much higher I could have gone. Still, though. That amount would set me up for the rest of my life and then some. And we elves didn’t have short life spans. I’d never have to sell a single item again.

  I nodded.

  “And the other matter?” he inquired.

  “Would you like another cup of coffee?” I asked.

  “That bad?”

  I breezed past him into the kitchen. “Even worse,” I admitted.

  “Fill me up then, Ava.”

  2

  I’d never forget the expression on Matthias’ face when I told him what I wanted.

  "You're insane," he whispered. "Do you have any idea the number of strings I'm going to have to pull to get this through?"

  I sat back and sipped my tea. Matthias’ cup was rapidly cooling on the table. I knew it would be difficult. His mother not only headed up the Genome company, she personally oversaw every single test request coming through. He would have to personally supervise the handling of the test and keep it out of the hands of his mother.

  I knew this would be difficult, but I also felt the secrecy was necessary. I felt it in my bones this test would tell me that I wasn’t a hundred percent elf. I wasn’t stupid. Nor was I the product of “recessive” genes like my father used to tell me all of the time when I had questions. I’d never in my life met an elf who looked like me. Nor had I ever met one who wore glasses.

  “Why are you doing this?” He didn’t look angry. Just curious. And maybe a little concerned.

  I toyed with the edge of my mug. “Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong?”

  His gaze shuttered. “What kind of question is that, Ava? We live in Midnight Cove. All of us are different.”