Gerard's Beauty (19 page)

His lips quirked. “Do share?”

She planted a kiss on his lips, even knowing they had forever, she didn’t think she’d ever get tired of her brutish man. He was so perfect for her, so wonderful, and love settled deep roots into the soil of her heart. “Trisha’s going to be set up with one of your boys.”

It took him a second to think it through. “
Non
.”

She nodded. “Oh yeah. Definitely. Which one do you think? Jinni?”

Gerard’s crooked grin had her toes curling. “
Non
, he prefers dark meat.”

“Wolf?” she scrunched her nose, trying to imagine her impetuous friend doing the nasty with a shape-shifting werewolf.

Gerard snorted, his fingers gently caressed her shoulder. “I’d imagine Red would have something to say about that.”

They gasped at the same time. “Hook!”

“Oh my gosh, poor Trisha,” Betty giggled, only imaging how impossible that awful pirate would be.

Then she had another thought. “Gerard?” She grabbed her pendant.

“Hmm?” His fingers stroked her lower.

“Now that I’m with you, can I visit Kingdom?”

His smile was huge. “Would you like to?”

She nodded. “I’ve always wanted to see Neverland.”

He scoffed. “My hamlet is infinitely better to Neverland. Anytime you want,
Cherie
, tell me. Danika can take us between realms. I’d love to show you my home.” His blue eyes blazed. “Our home.”

Her heart trembled and she nodded. “Though I’d still really love to see Neverland. I’m curious what Hook looks like. Just so I know what to tell Trisha.”

Gerard shuddered. “I’ve a nude, beautiful woman in my bed. The last thing I want is to think about that ugly pirate. Come here, harpy,” he growled, pulling her in for a kiss and when he slipped inside her, he moved slow and sure, filling her body and her soul.

“I love you, Betty Hart. Forever and always,” Gerard said and proceeded to show her just how much the rest of their long lives.

Author’s Notes:

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Kingdom Series novellas. I’m far from done, and am currently working on Red and Her Wolf. I’m hoping to complete it by late October of 2012! A retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, though the story is vastly different from the one you know. Poor Wolf has been given a bum rap. However, in the meantime I’m offering a sneak peak of my next full-length novel:
The Witching Hour (Grim Reaper Saga)
Due September, 2012.

I love to hear from my fans and can be reached at: [email protected]. If you’d like to see my latest news, visit me at
mariehallwrites.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

~Marie Hall

Sneak Peek at Her Mad Hatter

Book Two in the Kingdom series:

Danika, fairy godmother extraordinaire, ran her glowing hand over a shadowy bump in the mushroom cap wall of her home. It was the hiding place for her most treasured and valuable item-- her wand. She grabbed hold of the smooth wood, the hum of its power echoing down her fingertips like the swelling vibrations of water dripping on thin metal. Worn down from years of granting wishes. She was the best at what she did. No doubt about it.

Of course that stupid fat cow- oh what was her face, the one who worked with Cinderella- thought she was the best. But honestly, what was her claim to fame? Turning a pumpkin into a coach? Or, how about making mice footmen?

Preposterous.

She was a disgrace to all the fairy godmothers out there with her ridiculous bippity-boppity-booing.

Not to mention her clientele. That simpering little doll-- a classic Mary Sue if ever there was one.
Oh save me, Prince Charming, for I am pretty and cannot do a thing for myself.
*Bat lashes, wiggle bottom, ad nauseum.*

Blah!

Pathetic little creature. Danika would rather gouge her eye out with a spoon. A rusty one! And... and... roughened at the edges. She humphed. That’s how much she hated the simpering princes and princesses of her world.

Thankfully, she’d never have that problem. The moment Danika had graduated from Fairy Godmother Inc.- three hundred years ago- she’d applied to work as godmother to the lowly. Since none of the other godmothers wished to work for them, they’d given her the position posthaste and left her to do her thing. Quite happily too, she might add.

Danika worked for the bad boys of Kingdom.

The degenerates; low lifes, and naughty villains. She snorted, shaking her head at how little anyone knew about her boys. Why any self-respecting fairy godmother would pass them over for an inane twit who relied on animals to do her housecleaning was beyond her. Grabbing her star-dusted cloak from off the coat rack, she tossed it over her shoulders. Glittering bits of stardust drifted to the floor.

A golden bolt of power flowed down her arm, through her fingers, and out the tip of the wand. It swirled like a flame, dousing out the candles. She shut the door behind her.

Tiny iridescent wings broke free of her vest, lifting her high into the bejeweled night. Her path cut through trees with branches thick as the fattest snakes.

Stargazers shivered at her passing.

“Thank you, Fairy Godmother!” they crooned as the stardust settled on their beautiful pink petals. They swiveled on thin green stems, lapping up the powder like a fine wine.

Danika winked, gave them a jaunty wave, and continued on. Most days she’d stop to chat, maybe sing a song or two, but tonight she traveled in haste.

Once a year, the Bad Five (the truly worst of the worst of her boys) gathered, to drink, to discuss who’d they’d plot against next, and generally muck it up together. It was perfect timing for her-- because she had five birds to kill and one stone to do it with.

Miriam the Shunned-- fairy godmother of wishes and visions-- had given Danika some sobering news last month. Either get the Bad Five hitched, or great misfortunate would befall them.

Not like Danika hadn’t made many love matches already. Her resume was quite hefty. Why just last week Mr. Fee Fi Fo Fum himself had fallen madly for the wicked witch of the West. Next month was to be their nuptials. Danika had received her invitation to the gala only today. And last month she’d introduced Tweedle-De to La-Di-Dah, sparks ignited, and Danika was fairly certain there’d be a second wedding in the future.

Danika was good at love matches when given sufficient time, but love matches weren’t as simple as poof there she is, kissy kissy, and sailing off into the sunset. Finding a perfect mate took patience and due diligence. To suddenly be told the Bad Five had less than a year to find their mates... the thought twisted Danika’s stomach in knots.

Not like Danika hadn’t tried already, many times. But love was much more than chemistry; it was a melding of hearts and minds. Of seeing someone and knowing unequivocally she or he was
it
.

Thankfully, Miriam had owed Danika a boon. There’d been an incident several years ago, one nearly forgotten by all but Danika and Wolf. A sad affair really… Danika shook her head, shoving the haunting memories aside before they grew too strong and claimed her thoughts, now was not the time to think on that, eventually she’d have to address the wrong and pray to the gods she could make it right. But today was for her boys and thanks to Miriam’s
sight
Danika now knew the names of the women, the very ones her boys were destined to be with.

But she’d been shocked. Not at the names, rather at the reality of just how close she’d been to finding Hatter’s match once before. All within Kingdom knew
Alice
was destined for Hatter. Their story had been entwined since the very beginning; problem was of the millions of Alices in the world, ‘twas hard to know exactly which one she was.

When Danika was around a viable option her entire body would tingle. Her body had tingled many times and each time she’d been wrong. But a few years ago she’d come across an Alice who did more than make her tingle; her body had surged with power so intense that Danika had momentarily blacked out.

Her name had been Alice Hu.

Miriam had told Danika that Hatter’s true match was also named Alice Hu, great-granddaughter of the original. And Hatter had
hated
the original.

Flapping her wings harder, Danika tried to ignore the sick pit in her stomach. She’d agonized about this all night and finally came to the only conclusion there was: she would not tell him who the girl was beforehand.

A squawking noise broke her from her musings. Startled, she looked up and just in time too. A large white stork carrying a blue bundle in its long beak headed straight toward her.

“Stork!” she cried, and beat her gossamer wings in a furious fashion, hoping to sail clear of the sharp dagger that was his beak tip. She clutched her chest, breathing deep to calm frazzled nerves.

“Mmm, so shorry, Danika. Muss make me drop time, hiss Excellenshe will tar and feather me if I’m late.” His words were slurred, unable to open his beak too wide lest the babe drop out.

“Honestly.” Danika straightened the ends of her dress in an attempt to settle herself.

The stork didn’t pause, but he dipped his head in apology. Ruffled, but not vexed, she nodded back. He was, she supposed, in a hurry much as herself.

A tiny green fist poked out the top of the bundle.

Danika curled her nose.

She hated ogres, no matter what form they came in. Nasty little boogers they were, always smashing through trees, destroying her precious forest home with their big gigantic ham fists and warty feet.

With a shake of her head she hurried on. She couldn’t wait to see the Bad Five. Of all her charges they were her favorites and for the life of her she could never understand why more fairies didn’t feel as she did. Bad boys needed love too. Her boys weren’t dangerous— just naughty. But naughty could be very, very fun. Unfortunately, Kingdom was mostly made up of goodie two shoes with a very dim view of good and evil. They were completely unable to look beyond her boys’ slightly colorful pasts. So the Wolf had killed a time or two. Big deal. He was a wolf! What did they expect? That he’d lick his balls all day and howl at the moon?

She chuckled at the thought.

In no time she spied the lights that Leonard-- the Hatter’s pet mouse-- had hung branch to branch. She hovered in the air directly over their table. The Bad Five were already thick in their cups, laughing and eating. Danika took a moment to study her motley crew before they noticed her presence.

The Hatter, as always, slouched in his seat at the head of the table with a fist tucked under his chin. His dark eyes stared blankly into the night, distant, thinking... who knew what thoughts.

Hair disheveled, clothes ripped, but all of it with that flair of style that made it seem possible he’d contrived his appearance to look just so.

Danika had known him several years now, and each year he seemed to sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire of his mind. He needed a mate, someone to help offset the residual madness that built up like toxins in the bones without an outlet. A mate would force him to get out of his head

Wonderland was wonderful, but without a counterbalance, it could turn its inhabitants completely insane.

The man was dangerously close to irreparable damage. He’d been here too long, with no one to pull him from the cliff’s edge. And now, with Miriam’s warnings ringing in her ears, she knew he’d only a year left before the madness completely consumed him. Maybe even less. Her heart clenched— what would Wonderland be without him? Not near as fun, that was for sure.

Hatter took a sip of his tea. She sighed. He truly was a lovely man, with a face that seemed a kiss from the gods, a strong jaw, molten brown eyes, and a mouth made for sin. Her pulse raced. Old as she was, she was not impervious to his charms. Charms he never seemed aware of. Hatter simply was what he was.

 “Has the witch arrived yet?” The deep timbre of Gerard’s voice shivered through the cool night. He tipped his head back and chugged from the tankard he held fisted tight in his hand.