Courted by Karma (The Adventures of Anabel Axelrod) (42 page)

Twisting on my knees and resting my arms on the seat, I
smiled back at her approvingly. “Blanca, I’m Anabel. You did a fantastic job tonight running away. We’re all so proud of you!” Tre J and Jaz rushed to agree, offering their smiles and warm congratulations. I introduced them, too. Then I said, “Welcome to the Axelrod family, Blanca. We’re considering you our adopted niece and our future family attorney, and I hope you don’t hate me for any of this down the road!”

Anna
stifled a laugh and reassured Blanca that I was just teasing her, but Blanca only giggled. “That’s okay, Anna. My Aunt Maria told me Anabel is really funny.” She smiled shyly at me. “I like funny stuff.”

“Oh man, I like the funny stuff, too!”

The Blanca Alvarez Axelrod rescue was an official success.

I texted Luke:
The chicken has landed
.

We stayed at
Stella’s studio apartment only long enough to be sure Blanca was settled in comfortably. Jazy was going to talk to her about Shattuck tomorrow. Thanking my family and friends profusely for their help tonight, we reaffirmed tomorrow’s plans for Thanksgiving. I was happy to see Blanca take to Stella immediately and she was shyly chattering away when we left them.

Boyd whisked us away in the limo.
We dropped Anna off at her house. Reg’s truck was already parked in the driveway. When she gave me a quick squeeze on the way out of the limo, I whispered, “Congratz, Bride!” and she threw me a dazzling smile. I couldn’t wait to tease my brother tomorrow after their announcement was official.

Jazy and Tre J
bantered back and forth the last couple of blocks about Blanca’s upcoming stay at the farm while I rubbed my aching forehead. They decided to drive Tre’s truck home, leaving the limo at my disposal until it came to pick them up tomorrow afternoon at the farm.

Before we split up,
I shot Tre a whisper I’d talk to Crookie and she smiled back.

Jazy
looked at me, hesitated as if to speak, and then stated, “I’m tired!”

Feeling nothing but relief she didn’t want to talk, we briefly hugged
goodnight and they took off.

I
sent Boyd home for the night, but he informed me that a driver was on the clock 24/7. I could text for the limo anytime now through Sunday night at midnight. Much like I know I am Bat Girl and not Wonder Woman, I know I’m sort of cute but no femme fatale. James Byrd’s intentions made no sense to me, but I was too tired to care what motivates those still waters.

Upstairs,
Crookie was home already and looking pretty terrified being cuddled up on while watching TV in the living room. He had CeCe on one side and Misty on the other. Layla was weaving on her feet and declared she was off to bed, despite protests from Celeste and Misty entreating her to stay up. She didn’t argue, just waved her friends off and headed down the hall with me. I verified Layla had everything needed in their attached bathroom, and placed the old soup pan strategically nearby her bed should she feel the need. I was relieved she didn’t want to have our traditional late night girl talk, either. Drunken girl talk when only one of the parties was drunk was never any fun. I left her getting ready to crawl into the single bed set up across from the permanent bunk beds in my old bedroom.

I went back to the living room
. I hoped the movie being watched was a scary one, otherwise the screaming and moaning from the Florida girls was not a good thing. Having no desire to stay up, I said my goodnights and went to get ready for bed. I hadn’t forgot my promise to talk to Crookie, but decided to wash my face first and take a couple of Advil.

I did that, and brushed my teeth
. I took off my clothes. To make myself feel better, I smoothed on a lemon chiffon scented body lotion. I wanted to lick myself after this, but instead, I put on a black velvet robe and crossed the hall to my bedroom.

Flipping on the light
on my mirrored dresser, I closed the door behind me and let out a sigh of relief.

“Come to bed, Anabel
, and take your punishment.”

Chapter XVII

“
Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys

Thanksgiving 11/22/12

12:
41 AM

Smiling
at the man in the shadows lounging uninvited in my bed, I untied the belt and let the black robe fall open. I hoped my punishment would be slow and sweet. Anything else was beyond me at the moment.

At the sight of him in my room,
I wasn’t feeling so tired on the surface, but my reserves were kaput. I didn’t even have the energy to ask Luke the questions on the tip of my tongue--the most urgent being how the heck did he keep getting into my locked building?

I didn’t
say anything, but walked in front of the foot of the antique iron bed and across the room to my lingerie dresser. I just wanted to climb into my cool, comfortable bed, be surrounded by his strong, warm muscles, meekly take my promised punishment, and pass out.

‘Shoot, this would all be after I talk
ed with Crookie.’

Luke
’s made himself right at home against the piles of fluffy pillows propped behind him on my bed. He was sitting with his hand dangling from the forearm resting casually on his bent knee, as he watched me sashay by him with a small smile curving his full lips. The brown silk duvet was pulled back invitingly and pooled at his lap. Surprisingly, he wasn’t nude but was wearing a white T shirt. Through the thin fabric, I could see the outline of a bandage on his chest.

Surprised
by the sight, I paused in taking off my earrings and motioned at his chest with raised brows.

He shrugged
a broad shoulder. “John might have cracked a rib, so I’m taped up. It’s nothing.”

U
sed to my brother always being bandaged up for one reason or another, I took Luke at his word that his injury was no big deal and didn’t fuss. Opening a drawer, I was about to make a selection when there was a soft, furtive knock on my door.

I hurried to the door
. Luke raised a black brow and asked softly, “Expecting company?”

Tying my robe securely,
I grinned at his sardonic tone. I opened the door partway to a flustered Crookie looking worriedly back towards the living room. The look of relief on his face when I answered the door would have been funny if he didn’t brush past me and enter into the room.

“Help me, Bel!”

At the sight of a man on my bed, Crookie stopped abruptly. He threw me a surprised look and squinted suspiciously into the shadows surrounding the bed. Crookie relaxed seeing Luke. I wondered who he thought it might be, until I recalled he didn’t know about Mad Mike in my office today. He was probably worried about my bed-hopping proclivities.

Crooks smile
was harried and he blurted, “Oh, it is you! When did you get here, Luke?” Not waiting for a reply, he agitatedly pushed back his hair and blurted, “Sorry about this, but I really need Bel. This will only take a minute. I hope.”

Luke
negligently waved off Crookie’s apology. My back against the closed door, I could tell from his relaxed posture my Dark Prince got a kick out of Crookie.

“What’s wrong, Crooks
?” I asked, biting my cheek not to give into the laughter bubbling up inside me. The hunted expression clearly visible on my tall friend’s crimson-hued face said it all.

“It
is those Florida girls!” He hissed, and his eyes were frantic behind his glasses.

“What about them?”

He glanced back at Luke, who nodded his dark head encouragingly.

That’s all the
impetus Crookie needed to explode in a loud whisper, “They asked me if I thought it was true that the length of a male penis was in proportion to other body parts, such as fingers, feet, or height. I told them a statistically significant correlation between penis size and the size of other body parts has not been found conclusively in any research. Although, there have been a few studies that have found a weak correlation between the size of the stretched penis and foot size and height; they have been too weak to be definitive.” He looked bewildered. “Bel, they both want to have sex with me! They started arguing who got me first and decided we would all do it at the same time!” He wrung his hands and cracked his knuckles audibly. “What is wrong with them, Bel?” Without waiting for an answer he turned a plaintive voice to Luke, “What would you do?”

“Yes, Luke, what would you do in these circumstances?” I inquired
with genuine interest.

Luke’s laughter
was low and gave me a shiver. “First of all, Crookie calm down, man. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. If you do want to have sex, grab a few condoms and go have fun.”

Crookie’s hands slowed and he repeated
under his breath, “This is true, this is true. I do not have to do anything and they cannot make me. Okay, okay, what next?”

Luke, looking a little nonplussed, replied cautiously, “What do you mean ‘what next’?”

Crookie stopped wringing his hands and started pulling on his hair. “What do I DO with two girls?”

Luke’s
glance at me was rife with so much amusement that I was almost happy to hear two siren voices coming down the hall calling out softly, “Oh Bobby, where are you? Are you hiding from us? Come out, come out wherever you are!”

M
y laughter was covered up by Crookie’s moans, as he clutched my arm and frantically begged, “Hide me, Bel! Do not let them take me!”

I rubbed his arm and calmed him soothingly, “Don’t worry, you’re safe. I won’t let them drag you off, I promise. Now quick, answer this question. What if that was Tre J out there, begging
and pleading with you to have sex with her after stripping off her clothes?”

Crookie stopped spazzing around and peered down at me. “Jesus, Bel, your mind is so strange!”

Hearing Luke’s surprised voice seconding Crookie’s statement, I giggled but insisted, “What does that image make
your
mind think, Crooks?”

He shook my arm and whispered
fiercely, “I am not telling you the sexual thoughts I have in my head about Tre J, and you cannot make me!”

Grinning
at his answer, I motioned him to stand behind me and out of sight. He jumped to obey immediately. I opened my door and stuck my head out. CeCe and Misty had their heads stuck into my walk-in closet looking for signs of their quarry.

“Pssst, girls!”

They both turned to me at once and mischievous smiles lit their faces.

Misty called out,
“Hi, Bel. Have you seen Bobby?”

“Yeah, sorry
girls, but I think he’s with Tre J. Did you know she’s the extremely jealous type?”

They looked at each other in surprise, and then
both shrugged in good-natured resignation.

Misty said, “Okay. I’m
off to bed then. Goodnight, Bel. Sorry we woke you!”

CeCe echoed, “Yes, goodnight
, my love!” She exclaimed nervously, “Wow, I really hope Tre J isn’t going to be mad at us. She could beat the fuck out of both of us at once. Hey, I’m sleeping until noon tomorrow. What about you, Mist?” CeCe turned to me with a smile. “Or do you need help earlier for Thanksgiving, Bel?” She laughed and demurred, “Not that I know how to cook, but I can get up and help you stick a bird in the oven at dawn or whatever.”

Misty
stated, “We’ll sleep in, but don’t worry, Bel. We’ll still get up to help you tomorrow in plenty of time.” She informed her best friend, “Turkeys don’t need to get cooked that long anymore. Also, I don’t think Tre J could take us both on and win. She could obviously beat you up, but not me.”

Celeste
complained, “What the fuck, Mist. She could not beat me up that easy. I’m taller than you!”

Misty said calmly, “Yes
, CeCe, she could. You are tall, but you are weak and don’t know anything about fighting.”

A
s they walked past my door, Celeste smiled sheepishly at me. “She’s right about that, Bel.”

“
Ah, CeCe, you’re a lover not a fighter, girl, so don’t worry. Sleep tight, you two!” I said on a laugh, watching until the squabbling pair made it down the long hallway to their shared room with Layla and closed the door.

I opened my door wide and said to Crookie, “Coast is clear. Run,
Bobby, run!”

He waved to Luke and bolted past with a whispered, “Thanks, you guys
. I owe you!”

I called
after him in a low voice, “Don’t forget to lock your door, and I hope you like the name Theodora!”

Laughing
at the confused look he threw me over his shoulder, I shut my door again and wished I had a lock.

Luke’s shoulders were shaking
as he laughed silently and rubbed his hands over his face. I turned on the bedside lamp and switched off the light on the mirrored dresser. I went over to my lingerie chest again and pulled open a drawer.