ELEVEN

Elodie

I poke at my eggs, bursting the yoke so yellow spills out into the dark beans and mixes with the red tomato. "Where do I start?"

"At the beginning."

"I met him when I first moved to Heartstone. He was one of the first people I met. I guess I was lonely, and he was keen to take me out, and it kinda went from there."

I stare into my breakfast, trying to bring back the feelings I had in those early days. Heady, lighthearted. Like everything was going to work out just the way I dreamed.

"You know what hurts the most? I don't even know how long he cheated for. He's never given me a clear answer."

Azeroth doesn't say anything, just watches me over his empty plate. He polished off the French toast in about nine seconds flat and is now eyeing my eggs. It makes me smile how much he loves to eat.

"I get the feeling it was longer than I thought."

"Mmm. But would you really want to know?"

I consider his question. "I guess I want to know how badly he had me fooled. Like how didn't I see it? All that time?"

He nods. "But what does that get you?"

I toy with my eggs, not eating much. I'm suddenly not that hungry.

"Let's focus on your revenge," he says decisively. "You want to make him jealous? To show him you've moved on? What do you want people to think? We need a story."

"Oh. I suppose we do. I don't know. I hadn't got further than making Dustin jealous."

Azeroth smiles. "Let's imagine we got together the night you summoned me. Perhaps I ran into you on your way home. Offered you a lift?"

I flush. Something in his teasing smile and the intensity in his bright eyes makes it hard to hold eye contact for long. It doesn't help I'm getting flashbacks to the incredibly erotic dream I had about him last night. My pussy flutters as I remember his fingers inside, him pressing my back against the wall. Shit. What were we talking about?

"Right. And then?"

"And then you spent the entire day Saturday in my bed and I refused to let you leave."

The flutter is back. I press my thighs together beneath the table to resist the urge to squirm in my place. "O-OK. That sounds... is it hot in here?" I fan myself with the napkin and Azeroth laughs.

"So how do we get Dustin's attention? Shall we accidentally run into him today? Put on a gratuitous display of public affection?" As he says this, he scoops a drop of maple syrup from his plate and licks his finger. His long red tongue is forked at the end and the way it curls around his finger before he puts it into his mouth is highly distracting.

Dustin who?

"Public affection?" I swallow. Of course, I'm back in the dream to the moment he smothered my cries as I came around his fingers in the club. Mercy. I could really go for some public affection right about now.

Azeroth smirks. "Yeah, are you a hand holder? A food sharer? We don't have to kiss, but it's not off the table."

Right. Kissing. Hand holding. He is not talking about fingering me to orgasm in the corridor of a busy club.

I nod. "That sounds fine."

"Are you OK? You seem distracted."

I swear I feel the flick of his tail against my ankle. "I'm fine. That sounds fine." I'm flustered. "How do we find them, though?"

Azeroth holds out his hand. "Phone, please."

When I hand it over, he unlocks the screen without asking for the passcode. I would ask, but I'm too interested in what he's going to do. He opens something, concentrates for a moment as he scrolls. "Ha!"

"Can you magically track him or something?"

He laughs. "I can, but I don't have to. He just posted this on Instagram." He turns the phone toward me and I see a picture of Dustin leaning in to kiss his fiance's cheek. They're sitting on a picturesque bench by the harbor downtown. The post says it was uploaded two minutes ago.

"Let's go." Azeroth waves for the waitress who rushes over.

"Is everything OK, sir?"

He smiles. "Everything was wonderful. I'd like the check, and we'll be on our way. My girlfriend sends her compliments to the chef."

I flush. It's silly. We're fake dating after all. Him calling me his girlfriend is kinda the point. It just sounds so... good.

The waitress returns his smile and presents the bill on a digital pad for him to sign.

When we step out onto the sunny sidewalk, I look around for Azeroth's car. He takes my hand. "No time to waste."

I'm about to ask what he means, when I feel a whoosh and I'm swept off my feet. Lights rush past my eyes and I'm buffeted by a strange wind that smells vaguely of sulfur, but doesn't ruffle my hair at all.

I stumble when the feeling ends abruptly. Azeroth wraps an arm around me, steadying me. "Come on, lover. Let's take a walk."

I blink.

We're standing on the boardwalk beside the harbor. A few hundred yards away is the bench where Dustin took the photo. In fact, he's still there, sitting on the bench, apparently unaware Azeroth and I just appeared from nowhere.

"How did you do that?"

Azeroth laughs. "Magic, cherie. Isn't that what you wanted me for?"

I'm too dazed to reply before he is guiding me along the boardwalk in the direction of Dustin and his fiance. Dazed and slightly nauseous as we get closer, I can make out her Insta-perfect hairstyle and her designer sunglasses.

There's a little puff of smoke and my handbag disappears, replaced with a Carmez bag I've lusted after all month. I gasp, but Azeroth propels me onward. Then I notice my shoes are different from the sneakers I was wearing when we went to brunch. Instead, I'm wearing a ridiculously cute pair of open toe tan heeled boots that look amazing with my weathered boyfriend jeans.

A moment later, we're close enough to overhear Dustin and Jessica.

"...I don't want to go to the Harts game on the weekend. I want to go on a mini break." Jessica's voice is whinier than I imagined. It's almost nasal.

"Aw, babe," Dustin says. "You know I love the Harts."

I'm not looking. I feel all hot and prickly.

Azeroth's hand slides from my shoulder to my waist and my thoughts slip back to him. "What do I do?"

"Nothing," he whispers. "We haven't noticed them yet."

I'm about to ask what that means when his hand slides over my ass and my breath catches in my throat.

Azeroth lets out a low rumble of satisfaction and gives my ass a little squeeze. "Remind me why I let you out of bed this morning?" he says loudly.

My mouth drops open. "I-I—"

"Oh, Elodie, you are so cute when you're all flustered. I might just take you straight back to bed again if you keep looking at me like that."

We must have walked past Dustin and Jessica by now. I can't see them. I can't look away from the seering look Azeroth is giving me.

"Elodie?" Dustin sounds astonished.

When I turn, he's jumped out of his seat on the bench, leaving blonde bimbo pouting.

"I thought that was you." He scowls. "Who's your friend?"

My mouth flaps and absolutely nothing comes out. Luckily, Azeroth leans in and offers Dustin his hand. "Azeroth. And you are?"

Dustin looks astonished. He takes Azeroth's hand, because who wouldn't in this situation? He tries to shake it while clearly his expression says he's trying to calculate what's happening. "Dustin Robertson."

Azeroth narrows his eyes. "Dustin? Dustin? Doesn't ring any... oh! Dustin!" He shoots me an absolutely wicked grin. "Cherie, is this your ex?"

I nod silently. He sure is a brilliant actor. Just like his performance last night on the phone, I'm hanging on his every word, waiting to see what he'll do.

Azeroth sneers and gives Dustin a look up and down before lingering on his crotch. "Ah, no wonder you told me last night you needed a minute to adjust."

"W-what did you say?" Dustin splutters.

I'm too busy smothering a laugh to respond.

Blonde bimbo gets up and huffs over, looking around at us all. "Isn't anyone going to introduce me?"

"Oh, my apologies," Azeroth cuts in. "We have somewhere to be. So nice to meet you, Justin."

He drags me off before Dustin or his fiance can say anything else. His hand is on my ass all the way along the boardwalk.

I don't hate it.

"That was. Wow." I have no right to still be so breathless.

Azeroth gives my ass another little squeeze. "Oh you're most welcome. I enjoyed that. Now tell me, have you ever been hot air ballooning?