Stolen Heart

chapter 5




“Kieran…wake up.”

Kieran heard the female voice deep in his brain and tried to place it.

“Come on Kieran, time to wake up.”

The voice was getting louder. Lying on his side, he opened his eyes slightly and saw the alarm clock on the nightstand read 7:03 a.m.

In a rush, it all came back to him…his incredible night with Ashley. He couldn’t believe he slept past 6:30a.m. And now she was calling for him to wake up. When he rolled over, he would show her the benefits of waking up next to Kieran Dunne. Crap. Could his inner voice sound any more egotistical?

“Kieran. I left a message that we would meet bright and early this morning. Time to get up as I’ve got other things to do today.” A hand smoothed over his back.

Bright and early this morning? That was the message that guy Marcus had delivered from Annika.

Kieran rolled over to look at Ashley. Instead, there was another woman lying in his bed… naked. She was lying on her side, facing him, with the sheets pulled up to her chest. Stunned beyond belief and momentarily freaked out, Kieran scrambled backwards, coming to stand on his side of the bed, staring down at the stranger.

She was stunning in a unique way. She looked like pure innocence. Her hair was midnight black. The kind of deep black that held blue highlights in the sun. She wore it short, in a pixie cut, with soft wispy threads framing her lovely face. Her eyes were pale lavender and he realized he had never seen eyes that color before. Must be contacts. Most interesting though, her left eyebrow was pierced with a small silver bar with a tiny ball on each end. It contrasted well with the purity of her face.

“Who the f*ck are you?” Kieran snarled. And where was Ashley?

“Oh, come on, Kieran,” the woman drawled. “After what we shared last night, I’m surprised you would treat me this way.”

“Ashley?”

The woman’s lips turned up in a quick grin. “Are all men from Vyronas as slow as you?”

Kieran scrubbed his hand over his face in frustration, and then…utter realization. “Annika Foss,” he said with a sigh. “You wore a glamour last night.”

“Yup. And it wasn’t even my best work. But redheads do have fun.”

Kieran looked more closely at her. It was the same exact face as Ashley’s, except the hair and eyes were different. And the piercing was…hot actually. He wondered if she had any others. Her face was delicate, almost elfish, with high cheekbones. Her petite, straight nose rested over those pouty lips, which set off her stubborn little chin to perfection. Now he saw it clearly. He could imagine those red curls cascading around that same face. Dumbass.

Although, he should cut himself a little slack. He had last seen Annika Foss when they were kids, and frankly, the meeting was so unmemorable, he really couldn’t remember what she looked like. Besides, with someone that was as skilled in glamours, I guess you never knew what they truly looked like. Speaking of which.

“So, the way you look now…is that the real you?”

Annika flashed her straight pearly whites at him. “My dear man…you could never hope to know or understand all of the mysteries that make up the real me. But yes, this is the way I look when I’m not using a glamour. Along with a few other piercings you can’t see right now but I’d be glad to share them with you later.”

Kieran had to admit, he thought Ashley’s look was smoking hot, but there was something absolutely ethereal about the way Annika looked right now. He had never been one that liked short hair on a woman, but he had never seen a woman look more feminine and tempting than the way she did now. Those light purple eyes were amazing and that tiny eyebrow piercing added just a tiny bit of toughness to her sweet exterior. I wonder where the other piercings are?

Despite her beauty, though, he was pissed she had duped him. They had spent all that time last night having sex. Amazing sex. But they could have been conducting business. What a waste of time. Okay, he wasn’t going to go there. Last night was awesome and he wasn’t going to regret that. But still, why the dishonesty? Yup. He was pissed.

“So why the need to lie to me?”

“Don’t be mad, Kieran. We had a great time last night. I was just having a little fun.”

“Try again. I don’t think you’re not the type of woman that does something just for a little fun. You had an agenda.”

Annika’s eyes took on a devious gleam. “So you think I had an agenda? How about coming back to bed and I’ll fill you in on my plans. And I’ll show you my other piercings.”

Christ, couldn’t he get a straight answer from this woman? She was driving him nuts. Plus, the invitation to come back to bed was all too tempting. And he’d get to see the other piercings. Focus, Kieran.

“Let’s try one more time. What was your reasoning behind last night’s little acting gig?”

Annika pouted her lips, but looked him levelly in the face. “Fine. I’ll tell you. After you feed me. I’m going to take a shower. Order breakfast and then we’ll talk.”

She then slid the sheet down her body and it was just as luscious as he remembered from last night. And look at that. There was one of the other piercings. She had a small one in her belly button. Another silver bar with a silver ball on one end, and a lavender crystal on the other. It matched her eyes.

He felt his dick hardening. Just great. Kieran turned his back on her to pick up his pants from the floor. Putting them on, he heard her get out of bed and pad over to the bathroom. Do not look at her, do not look at her.

“You have a great ass, Kieran."

Whipping his head around, he saw her backside briefly before she closed the bathroom door. She had a great ass too but that woman was trouble with a capital “T”. If he had his way, he’d leave right now and do this job without her. There was something about her that was very unsettling. She was clearly a prankster and loved the fact that she had tricked him last night. But under that, he could sense something a bit darker. She was too evasive for his liking. He would have to be on guard with her from now on.

Picking up the phone, he dialed room service and ordered breakfast. Not knowing what she liked, he got an array of everything. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, fruit, coffee, tea and orange juice. Then he went to find himself fresh clothes and mentally prepare himself to deal with Annika Foss.

***

Kieran stood looking out the window of the living area of his suite. The New York skyline was dreary with overcast skies and drizzling rain. It soured his mood further.

“Mmmmm…this spread of food looks awesome. Thanks.”

Turning, he saw Annika taking a seat at the dining table that took up the left corner of the living area. She was wearing the tight mini-dress she had on last night, and he knew for a fact that she didn’t have any underwear on. Focus, Kieran. She was barefoot and her hair was still wet from her shower. She looked fresh, young and innocent.

After filling her plate, Annika started eating. When she opened her mouth for the first bite, he got a glimpse of her pink tongue and there was another piercing. He glimpsed the small silver ball briefly before she forked eggs into her mouth. Wonder what that would feel like while she was giving him a blow job?

F*ck! Concentrate Kieran.

After fixing himself a plate, he sat down on the opposite end of the table. “So, you were going to enlighten me on the reason for the sexy librarian act…”

“Works every time.” Her face held an amused grin as she shoveled a huge forkful of pancakes into her mouth.

“You do this a lot, huh?” Somehow, that didn’t surprise him and it didn’t set well with him. He wasn’t a prude by any means but the thought of Annika pulling the sexy librarian act on another man had him fuming. That act was too special…too unique. It should have been for him alone.

“Oh, it comes in quite handy.”

Kieran didn’t say anything and clenched his teeth. He wasn’t sure he’d get an answer out of her, and frankly, did it really matter? They had wonderful chemistry in the bed so could he really be mad about last night? Maybe a change in tact would work.

“Why did you take a shower rather than just spell cleanse yourself?”

Annika merely shrugged her shoulders as she continued to eat. “When in Rome…”

“So by your accounts then, every inhabitant of The First Dimension goes about pulling glamours to trick unsuspecting people?”

Annika swallowed her food and set her fork down. Her jaw was clenched. That clearly hit a nerve. “I won’t apologize for what I did if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“I’m not asking for an apology. I’m just asking why.”

Annika wiped her mouth with her napkin and threw it on her plate. She settled back in her chair, stretching her legs out in front of her.

“I’m an empath.”

“You can read people’s emotions, right?”

“That’s right. So when word was sent you wanted to meet with me, I wanted to check you out first, to figure out if you had any ulterior motives.”

“So you spied on me?”

“Essentially. But again, not going to apologize. I wanted to know who I was dealing with and what your intent was.”

Kieran let that settle on him for a minute. He couldn’t blame her. She had left Vyronas a long time ago, an outcast to her family. She went to great lengths to cut ties to that world. Then someone from Vyronas shows up wanting to talk to her. He could see how it might make her a little nervous. He’d let it go.

“Okay, let’s forget why you pulled the wool over my eyes last night and let’s concentrate on the proposition I have for you.”

Annika poured herself a glass of orange juice and then stood up from the table. She walked over to the L-shaped couch and sat down, curling her legs up underneath of her. “I’m listening, big guy.”

Kieran stood up from the table and walked into the living area. He didn’t take a seat but put his hands in his pockets and stood in front of her. “I’m not sure how much you know about what has happened in Vyronas over the last several years…”

“I’m aware of the war that was waged by Ava Clairmont to regain her throne. I still have contacts with people from our AltVeritas.”

Kieran nodded. That would make his story a lot shorter.

“Then you would not be surprised to know that Ava Clairmont prizes the protection of our world above all else. A magical object that she imbued with the power of protection has been stolen. I’ve been asked to retrieve it.”

Annika did nothing more than watch Kieran with a bland expression on her face. She wasn’t showing real interest, but she wasn’t showing any real disinterest either.

Taking another small sip of her juice, Annika asked, “So why are you telling me this?”

“Because I want to enlist your help to retrieve the object.”

Kieran was watching her closely and he saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes, and then it was gone. Back in place was the bland expression.

“I’m flattered, but why me?” She sounded bored.

“You demonstrated well enough last night why your skills would be useful. Your ability to glamour will get us into places we wouldn’t ordinarily be able to access.”

Annika’s gaze drifted off to the window overlooking the skyline. She was silent for several long seconds, and he assumed she was processing what he had just told her. He started gearing himself up for the negotiation of her price.

He had no clue what motivated her or what her needs were, but he was willing to pay a hefty price to get her cooperation. The Clairmonts were sinfully rich and it was easy enough to exchange Ava’s wealth into American dollars if that was needed to convince Annika to help. Whatever she said next would give him a clue as to how she could be bought.

Annika finished off the juice in her glass and set it at the table. She stood up from the couch and looked at Kieran. “I really appreciate the offer, but I’m just not interested. I wish you and Ava the best of luck.” Annika turned to walk back into the bedroom.

Dumbfounded, Kieran just watched her. He couldn’t believe she just flat out refused without even naming a price. He followed her.

Annika was sitting on the bed, buckling up those sexy shoes when he walked in. He wondered if there were any other condoms hidden in them.

“You are just going to say no without even hearing what I have to offer you?”

She gave him a little smile and shrugged her shoulders. “I really don’t need anything. Thus, I doubt there is anything you could offer to entice me.”

Kieran was stumped. He had no clue what to say. Annika stood from the bed, both shoes firmly in place and walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers in his hair. She pressed her body up to his. Lifting her face up, she planted a small kiss on his cheek. Then she moved her lips to his ear to whisper.

“Last night was fantastic. Thank you.”

Kieran watched as she walked out of the bedroom. He didn’t bother to follow. He had to regroup and figure out what to do. He heard the suite door open, and then softly shut.

Grabbing his grounding object, he decided a quick trip to Kestevayne to discuss this with Ava and Carrick was what he needed.