Pixie Dust (Karli Lane #1)

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

This book is dedicated to my dear friend and fellow avid reader, Jamie Clark-Frost. Thank you for all of your feedback and suggestions throughout the creative process.  I would also like to thank my wonderful husband and beautiful daughter for your never ending patience and support while I locked myself away to write. To my editor, Ashley Maine, your help was invaluable. I feel the finished product is so much better because of you. To my readers, thank you for your purchase. I hope you enjoy the story. I tried putting myself in your shoes as I was writing it. Happy reading!

Chapter 1

*****************

“Hey Tink, whatcha thinkin’ about?”

 “Tink? Ha! Ha! You’re a funny gal, Erica.” I replied sharply. Softening my tone, I added, “I was just thinking about how we became friends.”

She gave me a disgusted look as she dipped her toe into the pool. “Ugh! The only thing you should be thinking about right now is making sure your tan is even or getting another beer! Why are you wasting brain cells on that demon scumbag anyway?”

The scumbag in question is my ex, Chad O’Brien, also known as my first and only serious boyfriend. To put it mildly, I fell victim to his charming ways…hook, line, and sinker. When I first met him, he was a charismatic frat boy who had all the girls around town lining up to be with him. I felt special when he chose me. We had amazing chemistry from the start and he was always fun to be around. I started picturing our future together. (You know, marriage, babies, the whole nine yards.) That may seem like a perfectly normal thing to ponder when you’re in love, but it really isn’t when the likelihood of having
any
kind of future was bleak for someone like me
. He promised me the world and I fully believed that he was capable of delivering. After many internal debates, I decided to take the plunge and move in with him shortly after graduation.

Unfortunately for me, it turns out that I wasn’t so special after all. I was an idiot. One who was completely oblivious to his lewd behavior over the course of our two and a half year relationship.  Apparently, Chad was a frequent visitor to any type of sexually related gathering. In fact, he had acquired quite the reputation and a large flock of bimbos. He came into my work one evening and Erica recognized him immediately because they had multiple friends in common. I use the word friends loosely, mind you. They were more like fuck buddies.
Exactly like
group sex fuck buddies. Chad and Erica had been involved in a threesome together only a few days earlier. She had no idea he was supposed to be in a monogamous relationship and felt a moral obligation to tell me all the gory details since ho’s before bro’s was her mantra and all.

I confronted him and he never even tried to deny it. Instead, he blamed me for not being open-minded enough, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I was always willing to try new things with him and would never judge anyone for their kinks. Whatever floats your boat was perfectly fine with me, as long as each party consented. Personally, I prefer sex to be a private event between two individuals. I guess that was his definition of closed-minded and the reason he felt the need to stray. He gave me some bullshit line about men being biologically incapable of monogamy. Needless to say, I was completely crushed and immediately broke it off with him.

In retrospect, all the signs of his duplicity were there, but I willfully ignored them, wanting so desperately to have that connection with someone. I was even planning to reveal my most guarded secret to him on the first night in our new place together. Ironically, I figured that complete and total honesty was the only way to start the next phase of our relationship. Who knows where I would be right now if I had gone through with it? I was so thankful to Erica for saving me from the biggest mistake of my life that we formed a tight bond right away and have been best friends ever since.

“Well, at least one good thing came out of that relationship.” I offered her a smile as I stretched out on the plastic lounge chair. “I wouldn’t trade our friendship for the world.”

She raised her Corona and said, “True dat’ Bitches!” then took a big swig.

My smile grew bigger. I adore her carefree attitude. Erica comes from a long line of pure bred practicing witches who have made a very healthy living selling potions and other services since supes came out of the closet almost ninety years ago. She sets her own course in life though, refusing to give into the pressure from her family. And believe me, there is
a
lot
of pressure. She has twelve older sisters who have all embraced their magical destinies. If all thirteen of them practiced together, their powers would increase exponentially.  Thirteen was a very lucky number in the world of witchcraft. Waitressing and witchcraft pay the bills, but her dream was to become a headlining Vegas showgirl. Or maybe Hugh Hefner’s number one girlfriend. She hasn’t quite decided yet. She’s the consummate party girl….always looking for a good time and the next lay. I wouldn’t want to adopt any part of her lifestyle; that’s not me. But I can’t help being a little envious that she doesn’t have a deadline looming over her head like I do.

On the surface, you’d probably think that I had the perfect life. I’m a healthy twenty-four year old female. The modeling jobs that put me through college tell me that people find me attractive. I have a long mane of easily managed brown hair, with bright green eyes, tanned skin, and an athletic, but feminine build. My respectable 34C cup breasts are natural, which is an anomaly in this town, but I figure if it ain’t broke, why fix it? My degree from UNLV is in Economics, something I could use when I’m ready to be chained down to a desk. If only I can stay alive long enough to see that happen…….

I must be scrunching my face again because Erica asked, “
Now
what are you thinking about?”

“I was just worrying about the change again.” I started fidgeting; a horrible habit of mine that always surfaces when I’m nervous. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Irina like a mother. You know I do. Sometimes I just think it would have been easier if she had sent me away instead of trying to raise me as something I’m not.”

“Oh sweetie, don’t tell me you miss your pointy ears. You know those were
so
last season!”

“Cute, Eri.” I replied mockingly. Irina, my mother’s best friend had magically altered my ears when I was a child. They were the only physical feature that would mark me as a fairy. Now, I could easily pass as a witch or a human. There’s nothing to really differentiate between the two, besides the magic and the immortality. Growing up, she taught me basic spells and potions since I could never fully conceal my magicks. She wanted to help me keep the façade going for as long as possible. So far, it’s been working but I fear that will not be the case for long.

 I really try to be optimistic, but the older I get, the harder it becomes. Vampires had driven my kind to near extinction once they discovered how intoxicating our blood was. My parents were planning on taking me with them back to Faerie, the enchanted kingdom of the Fae. The elders were going to seal off all access from this realm to protect our race once everyone had safely returned. Unfortunately, my folks never had the chance because immortality does not necessarily equal invincibility. They died in a car accident three days before we were scheduled to leave. They weren’t wearing their seatbelts when a semi-truck jackknifed and plowed right into their car. They were both thrown through the windshield and decapitated upon impact. It’s pretty hard to go on when you’re missing something as important as your head. I had nightmares about it for years, which was strange considering I wasn’t even there.

Irina knew my maternal grandmother was alive in Faerie and wanted to send me to live with her. She attempted to consult the elders, needing their assistance, but wasn’t allowed to pass through the portal. Apparently
,
only those with Fae blood were allowed to enter their sacred land under the circumstances. She was forced to make a decision between sending me alone, hoping I would be able to find my grandmother, or keeping me here and raising me as one of her own. Either way was a risk since I was only four years old at the time and she had no idea what Fairie was like or what dangers it may hold. In the end, she decided that she could better protect me if she raised me under the guise of a witch. Fast forward twenty years and here I am, the only fairy left on this plane of existence; wandering through life with no idea how to control most of my magic, and with no one to teach me how. Erica is the only other person who knows the truth about me.

”I love you Eri. You know that, right? I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have someone to help me get through this.” She tried dismissing my praise by waving her hand but I continued, “My twenty-fifth birthday is in less than six months which means my immortality could hit at any time. Once that happens, my magicks will become much more difficult to hide. And what do I do about the blood thing? Do I try to pass it off as a perfume? Is that even possible?” Immortal fairies have a unique honey almond blood scent. It can easily be detected by vampires, making them, or rather me, a target for bloodlust.