Great Hexpectations, A Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy (Dulcie O'Neil Series #3) Read online

  Other Titles by H.P. Mallory:

  TO KILL A WARLOCK (Book 1 of the Dulcie O’Neil series)

  The murder of a dark arts warlock.

  A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose.

  A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate.

  Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld

  is a real bitch.

  Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens.

  She’s a Regulator—a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world.

  When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she’s either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim.

  Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie’s got her hands full.

  As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.

  A TALE OF TWO GOBLINS (Book 2 of the Dulcie O’Neil series):

  A Dreamstalker— a creature that stalks and kills its victims in sleep.

  A fairy in law enforcement determined to stop him.

  A potions smuggler who possesses something she wants.

  A vampire with his own agenda.

  And a partner who couldn’t possibly be sexier or more frustrating.

  Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy working in law enforcement for the Netherworld.

  When Knight Vander approaches her with a case regarding comatose victims, she agrees to help him, imagining the most difficult part will be combatting her attraction to him.

  But, what Dulcie isn’t betting on is the fact that the case becomes personal when she learns all the victims are somehow linked to her.

  When her best friend falls victim to the Dreamstalker, Dulcie must do everything in her power to ensure her friend’s survival, including associating with criminals and accepting the fact that desperate times do definitely call for desperate measures.

  FIRE BURN AND CAULDRON BUBBLE (Book 1 of the Jolie Wilkins series)

  A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead.

  A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover.

  A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches.

  The Underworld in a state of chaos.

  Let the games begin.

  Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

  Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

  Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

  TOIL AND TROUBLE (Book 2 of the Jolie Wilkins series)

  The Underworld in civil war. The cause? A witch who can reanimate the dead.

  A sexy as sin vampire determined to claim her.

  An infuriatingly handsome warlock torn between duty and love.

  Who says blonds have more fun?

  After defending herself against fairy magic, Jolie Wilkins wakes to find her world turned upside down—the creatures of the Underworld on the precipice of war.

  The Underworld is polarized in a battle of witch against witch, creature against creature, led by the villainous Bella, who would be Queen.

  While Jolie has one goal in mind, to stake the vampire, Ryder, who nearly killed her, she also must choose between the affections of her warlock employer, Rand, and the mysteriously sexy vampire, Sinjin.

  And as if that weren’t enough to ruin a girl’s day, everything Jolie knows will be turned inside out when she’s thrust into the shock of a lifetime.

  Great Hexpectations

  by

  H.P. Mallory

  Copyright © 2011 by H.P. Mallory

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  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 the memory of my cousin,

  Shelby Elizabeth Barnes

  1990-2011

  Acknowledgements:

  To my mother: thank you and I love you

  To the most important men in my life: my husband and son, I love you both

  To Caressa Brandenburg and Alexandra Fields-Gerrity: Thank you so much for entering my “Become a character in my next book” contest and I really hope you enjoy seeing yourselves in print!

  To Caitlin Boberg: Thank you for entering my contest to name this book and coming up with the title Great Hexpectations! I absolutely love it!

  To my beta readers: Sofia Oberg, Evie Amaro, and Mary Genther, thank you so much for your help!

  To all my readers: I cannot thank you enough for your continued support—you all mean the world to me!

  One

  So, Knight was right—I hadn’t exactly surrendered myself to the idea of going on a date with him. In fact, I’d been doing a damned good job of trying to talk myself out of it because the sensible part of me thought it wasn’t a good idea to mix business with pleasure. Granted, Knight and I didn’t work together anymore (not in the technical sense of him being my boss), but I still managed to find myself on cases with him, so for all intents and purposes, we were working together. And as any smart person will tell you, business should be just that, business.

  Okay, so that was the practical side of me. The less practical side of me couldn’t stop thinking about the last kiss Knight and I shared in my kitchen—when I’d been straddling the incredibly hot man, er Loki (Knight is a creature called a Loki—forged from the fires of the Netherworld god, Hades), and played the game of “let’s see how far my tongue can go down your throat.” I would’ve actually had sex with him right then and there if it hadn’t been for my best friend who coincidentally was staying with me. And, really, looking back on it, I’m glad Sam was my roommate that evening because I wasn’t quite ready to surrender to my more carnal feelings for Knight. Not yet anyway.

  So you’re probably wondering what in the hell is wrong with me, right? Why would I not want to get involved with an incredibly hot and mos
tly nice guy? (Well, Knight can be a bit of a cocky bastard but I guess that comes with being the head of the Association of Netherworld Creatures here in Splendor, California—think police detective). So, yes, he’s the best looking guy I’ve basically ever seen in my life and yes, he seems to be into me; but I guess I have hang-ups, namely my ex-boyfriend, Jack, who cheated on me and really screwed me up.

  My first issue with Jack is that he’s human. Now, before you start thinking I’m some sort of weird alien life form, I’m not, (although I once spent about five hours transformed into a mass of green goo). I’m a fairy and I’m attractive, if I do say so myself. I’m also a law enforcement agent working as a consultant at the moment for ANC Splendor, and, yes, for Knightley Vander.

  But, back to the subject of a date with Knight. Yes, I’d gone back and forth, basically having a full-blown argument between my rational side and the side of me that hadn’t gotten any in a while. The side that hadn’t gotten any in a while won, but, not for the reasons you might be thinking.

  I’d decided to go on a date with Knight for two reasons: First, because he mentioned that he didn’t think I would go on a date with him—that I’d talk myself out of it (I guess he’s beginning to know me better)—and I wanted to prove him wrong. Second, as I mentioned earlier, Knight is a Loki which is a creature I’d never come across before, since they seem to only exist in the Netherworld. But, that’s not why I wanted to go out with him…Knight has this weird condition, for lack of a better description, where his eyes start randomly glowing. So, naturally, I was curious as to why the hell his eyes glow and he said he’d tell me the hows and whys of it but only if I agreed to go on a date with him.

  Sigh.

  So, here I was, dressed in my evening best and waiting for the Loki to show up. I was wearing a short red dress with long sleeves and a plunging neckline. The material had to have Spandex in it because it seemed to hug my curves. And, no, I hadn’t magicked this one although, as a fairy, I could have, had I wanted to. Sometimes, though, it just takes too much creative juice to make your own clothes; after a while, my wardrobe starts to all look the same. This outfit was purchased from the Juniors’ section of Macy’s in preparation for my date with Knight.

  Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I stepped into my black stiletto heels and said a silent prayer that I wouldn’t stumble and kiss the pavement. Truth be told, I really wasn’t used to high heels—I preferred my tennies because they were the best shoes to fight in. When you’re in law enforcement, you never know when you might need to pull out a can of whoop-ass. And pulling out a can of whoop-ass is definitely easier when you aren’t wearing stilettos. But, tonight, I planned to leave the whoop-ass cans to Knight, that is, if we even needed them.

  I ran my fingers through my elbow-length honey gold hair, covering the tips of my ears. As a fairy, my ears come to points at the top and I’m not exactly thrilled with them. I always wear my hair down to cover the points. I once actually considered getting ear surgery but decided I wouldn’t allow myself to be so vain.

  My eyes are green, as in the color of emeralds, and I’ve got an oval-shaped face with decently plump lips. People seem to think I’m pretty but I don’t really see myself that way. It’s not like I’m self-conscious or anything—I’m just less concerned with my looks than with making sure my body is fit and healthy. That’s because, really, as a fairy, my body is my best weapon. Beauty won’t save you in a fight.

  As I glanced at my small frame (I’m five-foot-one), I was pleased to see that, if anything, I looked leaner. Yes, my breasts still filled out my C cup bras and my hips remained on the curvy side, but the rest of me was solid, sculpted. My muscles were well defined which was good news—it meant I’d be that much faster and better when it came to combat.

  At the sound of the doorbell, I grabbed my black leather jacket and my purse and, after nearly tripping over my ridiculous heels, I started for the living room.

  I glanced through the peephole and after ensuring it was Knight, I pulled the door open.

  “Hi,” I said.

  Knight didn’t answer. Instead, he made it very obvious that he was taking me in from head to toe, his gaze pausing a little too long on my bust. Well, it did serve me right, I guess—the dress had a pretty deep neckline and I was wearing my Wonder Bra.

  “Um, hello Knight,” I grumbled again and pointed to my face as his eyes continued to ogle my bust line. “If you’re waiting for my boobs to talk, don’t hold your breath.”

  A huge smile appeared as his gaze moved back up to my face. “Nicely done, Dulce.”

  Knight, as I mentioned before, is basically the definition of gorgeous. He’s insanely tall, (I’m not exactly sure how tall but over six-three for sure). He’s like looking up a flag pole. His hair is pitch black and his eyes are blue, that is, when they aren’t glowing. Tonight he had the beginnings of stubble decorating his chin and cheeks and looked every inch the rogue that he is.

  “Thanks, are you ready?” I asked, never exactly comfortable with compliments, especially compliments from a Loki.

  “Aren’t you going to say I look nice?” he asked, holding his hands out as I examined his figure. He was wearing dark grey slacks and a black v-necked, short sleeved, dress shirt. The sinewy muscle of his forearms hinted to the fact that this guy was built like an ox—strong, almost intimidatingly so.

  “You look very handsome,” I said reluctantly and managed a half smile. “Handsome” didn’t even begin to express the way he looked. “Handsome” paled in comparison. “Killer sexy” might have been more apropos.

  “Wow, handsome huh?”

  “Stop trying to get more compliments out of me,” I retorted and started for the door, grasping the doorknob. “So where are you taking me?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Knight answered and offered his arm. I closed the door behind me and then took his arm, silently appreciative of the fact that he’d offered it. It definitely would make walking down my driveway in stilettos that much easier.

  “You look beautiful, by the way,” Knight said and snuck another glance at me, this one at my backside. “Not that you don’t always look beautiful.”

  “Thanks,” I answered and felt something warm boil up inside me—something decidedly girly and decidedly unlike me.

  “I was pretty surprised you didn’t talk yourself out of our date,” Knight commented as he opened the passenger door of his silver BMW M3 for me.

  I smiled up at him. “I came close, believe me.”

  He chuckled. “I DO believe you.”

  He walked around to the driver’s side and opening the door, seated himself before he glanced over at me again. “So what made you decide to see it through?”

  I shrugged and figured I’d go for honesty. “I wanted to find out about that eye glowing bit.”

  He nodded and looking over at me, offered me a boyish smile. “I had a feeling that would do it.”

  “So seeing as how we’re on a date and that was the agreement, spill the beans.”

  He chuckled again as he started the engine and the Beemer purred beneath him. I couldn’t help but think everything would purr beneath him.

  “Our date isn’t over yet,” he said with an evil smile. “I’ll tell you at the end of it.”

  “I thought you’d probably milk it,” I said and shook my head, sighing over the injustice of the whole thing.

  “Gotta pull out all my tricks with you, Dulce.”

  For the next ten minutes, we made small talk as Knight managed to break more than one traffic law as we drove through downtown Splendor. There weren’t many people out and about for a Friday night, not that Splendor was a happening spot. In fact, it wasn’t happening really at all. It was more of a bedroom community, although we did have a decent population of Netherworld creatures.

  Those with super human abilities had come out of the proverbial closet fifty years ago. Even though things had definitely simmered down since the dawning of the truth regarding the fact that vampire
s, werewolves and witches not only existed but had also been living among humans undetected for hundreds of years, we were still subject to ignorance and misunderstanding.

  Knight pulled into the parking lot of Bliss, a nightclub that had just opened and played rival to the only other night club in Splendor, No Regrets, which was run by the vampire Bram, whom I guess I could call my friend.

  “I thought we were doing dinner and drinks tonight?” I asked, turning to face Knight.

  He shrugged and coaxed the Beemer into a spot by the back door. Then he glanced over at me with a wide smile as he turned the engine off and opened his door. “Will you just trust me?”

  I undid my seatbelt and was about to let myself out when Knight appeared beside my door and opened it for me. Yes, he was lightning fast but I wasn’t really surprised. As a Loki, Knight has a plethora of powers but he’ll never tell me everything he’s capable of. That relegates me to picking up on his abilities here and there, basically whenever he feels like showing off.

  I took his proffered hand and stood up, quickly finding my balance. “You know, Bram won’t like the fact that we’re here and supporting his competition,” I remarked, feeling a little guilty over the fact.

  “What the hell do I care?” Knight asked with a bit too much acid in his tone. Yep, Knight didn’t like Bram and vice versa. I think it was because they were both jealous of one another.

  “Well, I care because I need Bram’s support,” I answered, throwing his nasty tone back at him as we started for the door of Bliss. Bram seemed to walk the line between good citizen and outlaw. I usually kept a blind eye to his less than noble pursuits because he was good about giving me leads when it came to catching the bigger bad guys.