Frog Tale (17 page)

Her gaze again darted to Luc who stepped close toward the area where the blue and gray smoke was dissipating. Behind the haze her eyes rested on her worst nightmare in vivid real colors and fluttering wings of reality. If the sight terrified her dreams there was no word describe the overwhelming fright that now plagued her. Her mouth went dry and swallowing ranked as difficult as breathing.

Luc stepped into her vision and lifted his sword. Greeted by a breath of flame, he stepped back in retreat. Death was going to be quick for them both at this rate―they were going to end up charbroiled.

“Fine
, be a bitch.” He growled and with a quick glance to Chloe then crossed the room and grabbed the shield off the wall.

From where she lay on th
e ground Chloe shook off how this was turning out to be a twisted fairytale and circumstances sure as hell better have a happy ending. She darted another look to the paper in her hand and clutched the parchment tight as she came to a standing position. Her gaze darted quick to Luc as he neared the dragon again this time with the swipe of blade.

The dragon reared and narrowed its crimson gaze upon him. A screeching roar echoed the ballroom and the dragon lunged toward Luc with a gnarl of teeth and hot breath. Again he yielded the sword this time making a gash along the scaled neck. The beast snapped its wings in protest and released another screech that chilled Chloe’s blood. The large mouth opened and blew more fire toward Luc.

It’s now or never.

Seeing that the shield had blocked the flames from the man she loved she glanced again at the words in front of her and sent up a silent prayer that her pronunciation wasn’t as rusty as she figured it might be. With a hard swallow back of nerves and uncertainty she read the first few words then paused. The blue dragon swiveled its head and the room feel eerily quiet.

Hatred glimmered in the crimson eyes and the mythological beast leaned its head back before snapping it toward her. The blade of the sword cracked against the jaw and sent the dragon back slightly.

“Chloe I would suggest not pausing and start chanting a little faster!” Luc called as the now very angry beast snarled and blew more flames. He stepped closer to where she stood and lifted the shield to block them from the fire. The corner of the parchment started to burn and she quickly wet her fingers and extinguished the smoldering.

Fear trembled through her as again the sound of the blade coming hard against the dragon’s scales filled the room along with the angry rage of the fiery creature. She struggled to speak but her tongue managed to form the words. Again, she started reading the first part and this time she didn’t pause. A part of her wished she had noticed earlier that the spell was a lengthy one.  However, knowing what rested on her completing the words motivated and pushed her forward. A large crack of thunder echoed from outside and the bizarre atmosphere escalated when icy rain started to fall inside the ballroom.

“Well there’s something you don’t experience everyday,” Luc grumbled as the droplets picked up in size and speed coming down.

The urge to comment overwhelmed her, but she resisted, knowing that at least the man she loved―not to mention herself had some assistance with the flames snorting out the mouth and nostrils with every intent to kill and destroy. She continued with the spell, the dragon reared in agony and gnarled again with a swipe of the claw a large gust of wind joined the hail coming down. The paper was starting to become wet and would soon disintegrate in her hands if she didn’t speed things along.

“Dieeeeeeeee!” The dragon screamed in a blood-chilling shriek and again Chloe went airborne, as did Luc. They landed hard on the floor, the shield falling away from his body.

Shaking off the turbulent experience and the pain entering her body from the abuse she continued. The dragon lunged forward toward them in deadly wrath. Luc shifted, blocking Chloe with his body and the lift of his sword as the angry beast moved in for the kill. More scared than she had ever been, she spit out the final words of the spell and everything stopped.

Silence.

The only sound that fell around them was Luc’s heavy breath and the shallow tremble of her own.  Her lashes blinked as she stared at the sight in front of her. “Oh my…”

Luc didn’t move and neither did she as they stared at the open jaws of the dragon
who had come so close to killing them. Movement from the guards that had been scattered earlier filtered through the air. Still, neither she nor the prince moved as they stared at the frozen beast―frozen literally. The blue color was gone as was the fire and fury, instead a block of ice to precision remained.

Luc slowly came to a standing position and wrapped a hand around Chloe’s arm pulling her to her feet. He tugged her cold and now shaking frame behind him as he lifted the sword. “Rot in hel
l,”he whispered and brought the blade down against the long neck. The head severed from the body and the icy mass shattered as it hit the wood of the ballroom floor. Guards hurried closer as he dropped the sword. Hot tears filled her eyes and her body trembled in a hard shiver.

The clock on the wall struck twelve as he turned and looked at her. “I don’t want you to be a frog.” The words fell off her tongue in a sob and her lashes slammed shut.

Strong arms wrapped around her and held her close to his solid chest. “I won’t be,” he breathed. His hand slid beneath her chin and he tilted her head up while the guards started removing the witch, cleverly disguised now as a beheaded ice sculpture.

Chloe looked up into Luc’s eyes and she feared to believe. “How do you know?”

His sexy mouth tugged in a smile. “The kiss of true love, of course.” He lowered his head to hers and her soaked body warmed from his slightest breath against her. Luc’s mouth covered hers in a hot kiss and she knew then with the witch dead and safe in the arms of a prince that maybe―just maybe, you were never too old for fairy tales.

Four years later…

“I’m too excited to sleep!” Gwen squealed as she bounced on her bed. Her pink nightgown swished around her legs as if a pretty ball gown. “We are going to America on a plane tomorrow.”

Chloe laughed and shook her head at the beautiful little girl. “Sweetheart
, in order for tomorrow to come you have to go to sleep.”

“But grandfather and daddy aren’t home yet.”

“Sure we are!”

At the sound of Luc’s voice and the heavy footsteps at the door she turned to see her husband and father-in law as they entered the room. Luc walked over to their daughter and scooped her in his arms in a tight hug before easing her down and tucking her under the covers. He had away with Gwen that sometimes amazed her. The little girl was truly the best of both of them with Chloe’s features and Luc’s dark hair and blue eyes.

“I can hardly wait to see papa,” Gwen confided to her dad as she hugged a pink teddy bear close.

“Well close your eyes and tomorrow will come sooner
,” her husband said trying to convince the child.

“Tell me a story.”

At the sound of the gentle pleas Mario walked over to his granddaughter and allowed Luc to step out of the way. “I’ll tell you a story, but you have to promise me you will go to sleep.”

Her daughter nodded with love twinkling in her eyes.

Luc stepped next to where Chloe stood watching grandfather and granddaughter and whispered in her ear. “She's becoming as beautiful as you.”

Chloe turned and smiled at him thinking of everything they had gone through. “I love you.”

His lips turned into a smile. “And I love you.” He lowered his lips to hers. The warm breath and gentle touch of his mouth still seared heat through her body.

“Grandfather!” Gwen’s impatience grew by the intensity of her whine.

Mario cleared his throat as Luc’s arms wrapped around her waist. “Once upon a time,” the King of Cammarata started as Chloe deepened the kiss with her husband. “In Beverly Hills, a young, handsome man was supposed to attend a grand, yet boring affair with his father, a king, and mother, a queen. However, raised an only child―and spoiled to the root of his vain soul―he saw nothing wrong with his partying, womanizing, and wild ways. But one rainy night, everything would change for the young man. Especially, since he was a prince from a land, far, far away…”

Captain Hunter Erickson is captivated with the woman whom he thinks stole his car. The more time Hunter spends in the company of Jackie, after an accident that almost costs him his sight and his pilot wings, his curiosity increases and his libido knocks into overdrive. Only, he didn’t count on Jackie being from the future changing his attitude toward marriage or altering his destiny.

Please turn the page

For a preview of

Irresistible

Available August 2013

              “To launch into fragrances is a little too late in the game. This company is struggling. Bloom Cosmetics can’t take the financial risk, nor are the resources available for such an expansion. You’re not thinking straight, but what else is new?” David snapped and glared across the table at her.

             
Jacqueline Bloom detested her ex-husband’s condescending tone. “Odd, you said the same thing when I wanted to divorce you. So far leaving your ass is my best move to date.”

             
Sharp intakes of breath filled the room. Neil Dickens, sitting next to his son scowled over her comment. The bad blood between her and David shouldn’t surprise her former father–in-law, or the board of directors. Yet, their war did often.

             
“Don’t be a bitch.” David’s green eyes reminded her of a mean cat ready to strike.

             
“Why not? I’m good at it.” Her heart picked up speed and her temper inched closer to the surface. She tried not to hate, but the man sitting on the other side of the heavy oak table made disliking damn easy. “Screw you, David, and your opinion. You and Neil are supposed to act as advisers, but from where I sit, you’ve done nothing but offer bad advice and prove to be as big a liability to Bloom Cosmetics as your spending habits were to my bank account.”

             
His eyes glowered and the urge to buy him a scratching post overwhelmed her. “You are in fine form today, Jackie. Tell me—”

             
“Enough!” Sophia’s word and tone silenced not only David but also the entire room. She narrowed her steely blue gaze on the two men. “I think this meeting has covered an adequate amount for today. Everyone, out!”

             
Jackie should have controlled her anger and animosity but annoyance fogged her better judgment. She didn’t understand why her grandmother kept Neil and David Dickens around, especially knowing how bitter and expensive the separation had been. Then again, Marty Bloom liked Neil and counted on him. Only now her grandfather wasn’t here. He’d passed away shortly after Jackie had filed for a divorce. Her guess, their involvement with the company had gone on so long that her grandmother perceived them as part of the furniture. In which case, time to redecorate.

             
Rising from her chair, she wished she could go home, soak in a hot tub, and have a glass of wine while the bubbles dissolved with the tension currently working across her shoulders.

Sophia’s hand covered hers. “I want
you
to stay.”

             
She nodded her head, lifted her gaze from her grandmother’s large diamond dinner ring, withdrew her hand and walked over to the windows that spanned the length of the wall. Her eyes devoured the Los Angeles skyline as if searching for an answer to a question never asked. The morning had struggled for sun, but lost out to gray clouds now hanging above and turning the day bleak.

             
“I know, I lacked professionalism,” she confessed, then waited for her grandmother’s lecture.

             
“Your ex-husband is an ass, and his father equally so. I should have gotten rid of them when the divorce became final. I realize my mistake with every argument the two of you insist on getting into. I’m sorry, Jacqueline. I lacked sensitivity.”

Nope, demonstrated poor taste possibly, but who am I to say anything? I should never have married him.

Her thoughts of sarcasm and bitterness kept in check; she remained silent and waited for her grandmother to continue.

“Things certainly
haven’t improve between you and David. I wonder sometimes if they will only get worse.” The wheels and leather creaked slightly and her grandmother’s footsteps crossed the carpet toward her. “I still think we should have launched perfume when we first started, but the fragrance wasn’t ready in time. Problems in the early stages delayed things, and then we couldn’t afford such a move. Something always came up and needed the cash.”

             
Jackie shifted her gaze and smiled. “I never realized having perfume was an option at one point.”

             
“We would’ve had to invest extra money and we didn’t have the finances. Heavens, child! We started this company on a shoestring. I still don’t know how we ever managed to keep the house in Citrus Grove and the one in LA. In an era where having two cars was a luxury, owning two homes was unheard of. Families in the east were more inclined to live that extravagant, but only the wealthy ones, old money mostly.”

             
Her heart tightened and an invisible heavy weight settled across her chest. She recognized the sensation as the sadness she experienced whenever she missed her grandfather. ”Grandpa told me once he kept the house because he wanted to return to a normal life when the company didn’t work out.” She shook her head at the irony of the moment. He and her grandmother had come so far to fail now.

Jackie bit back the pain from her heart, seeping now into her blood, and smiled despite the bitter sweetness. “Only after awhile, when Bloom Cosmetics was going to survive and flourish, he would go to the house and think. He told me the importance to remember where one came from.”

              Sophia’s lips thinned in a weak smile. “I’m not as sentimental as your grandfather. In fact, I’m thinking of selling the home.”

             
“Since you had new marble tile put in the house here in LA, my guess is you are referring to the one in Citrus Grove.”

             
“I always proclaimed you the smart one of my children.”

             
“Maybe that’s because you had girls and I’m the only grandchild.” She breathed a half-hearted laugh, and then frowned. “I love the house in Citrus Grove.”

             
“I know.” She rolled her eyes and a wry smile curled her lip. “My daughters express no interest in a house in a small town. Then again, they weren’t interested in Bloom Cosmetics once they were grown and married. Your mother is happy being a homemaker and Aunt Sue loves to travel. You have my business sense and loved this company before you knew what lipstick was.”

She remembered playing on her grandmother’s office floor as a child and later wanting to know how everything worked. By the time she was in her late teens, leaving her mark on the family’s legacy became more than ambition, but instead, a part of her soul.

“I was in Citrus Grove about a month ago, to pay a maid service and landscapers to keep the place up. I don’t find much sense in keeping the small home.”

             
Her happiest memories were at the little blue two-story with the porch. She always felt relaxed when surrounded by the gentle ambiance. One of her favorite things was the orange tree in the front yard. That orange tree, standing proud in front of the large window was always a part of her, relaxing her with its gentle ambiance. What could she say? When Sophia Bloom made up her mind about something it was game over. Nothing and no one changed her opinion.

             
“Of course,” her grandmother’s voice interrupted her momentary pity trip. “If you want the house, I’ll give it to you.”

             
Invisible weight on her chest lifted and, for some crazy reason, the thought of owning that slice of her family’s history brought a sentimental tear to her eye. “The blue two-story makes me happy. Thank you.”

             
The older woman slowly nodded. For eighty-seven, she certainly didn’t look or act her age. “The money situation with the company is taking a strain on you.”

             
“So is having David lurking around and running Bloom Cosmetics into the ground.” She sounded sour. Who was she kidding? She was bitter, positive David’s poor judgment and bad financial solutions were part of the company’s problem.

             
“You need to take a page out of your grandfather’s book and go to Citrus Grove. Hang out at the house, get some sleep and relax. Maybe think on how you’d like to decorate. I don’t doubt you will figure something out to help this company.”

             
A tempting offer and she needed to get away. Citrus Grove wasn’t far, about an hour south of the city. Two hours with heavy congestion, and if an accident delayed traffic, the time could easily be longer.

             
“I certainly think it’ll do you a world of good and will put some distance between you and David.”

             
“So would punting him in the ass and sending him through the air to somewhere over the ocean.”

             
Her grandmother lifted her brows and a sparkle danced in her blue eyes. “You certainly are blessed with my temper. However, remember darling, there are sneakier ways to get back at him. Think on that while you’re on vacation. I will see you Monday.”

“Gram, today is Tuesday.”

“I think you need more than a couple days.” Sophia stepped forward and kissed her cheek. “I know how much Bloom Cosmetics means to you. If anyone can get us out of this mess, the person will be you.” Her arms wrapped around Jackie in a hug.

Jackie’s
mind raced. The only thing to save the company at this point would be nothing less than a miracle and, at present, she was freshly out of those.