Excerpt of Lucky in Love
Bethany Shaw with Michelle Fox
Misfortune is Elly's new middle name. It follows her everywhere ever since she fled her psycho ex-boss and wound up in Vegas working as a showgirl. She's got the worst luck in the world, and what's worse, she's just embarrassed herself in front of the hottest man on the planet.
Laik is drawn to the sexy human from the moment he lays eyes on her. Elly is sweet and innocent, but she's been hurt by dark magic, cursed to be clumsy by a powerful warlock. Can Laik win the enchanting human's heart and stop the bastard who's hurting her?
***
Elly tiptoed out into the front room. The pale light of the moon filtered in through the window illuminating the kitchen. Please don’t let me trip over something and wake the whole house. Her roommates already worried about her enough as it was. Mishaps followed her everywhere.
She’d spent the better part of the day worrying about her debut performance as a showgirl at the Old Moon Casino, only to have the show canceled at the last minute. I don’t know why the fire alarm went off. I’m just glad it did. That had been the only positive thing to happen all day. The worst part of the day was making a complete fool of herself again. This time in front of a total hottie. She was never going to forget that horrific moment when she fell on her ass in front of him. Hopefully, she could get a bite to eat without further embarrassing herself in some way, though, that was unlikely.
She placed a hand over her belly as it grumbled. The other hand combed its way through her charcoal-colored hair while her sea-blue eyes scanned the floor for objects she might trip over. Her stomach had been in too many knots to eat dinner earlier, hence her 2 AM raid on the fridge.
She’d come home, showered, and crashed into her bed without another thought. Who wouldn’t after humiliating themselves the way she had.
Her fingers trembled as her stomach gurgled again. When was the last time she ate? Lunch? Breakfast? She tugged the fridge open and examined the contents. I don’t want something too filling. It’s the middle of the night.
She grabbed a gallon of OJ and then opened the freezer grasping a few frozen pastries. She shoved two of the sweet treats into the toaster before snatching a glass from the cupboard.
Her hand bumped the tumbler and it tipped to the side. She reached out, trying to catch it, but it toppled onto the counter, bounced off and shattered into dozens of pieces on the floor.
Elly squeezed her eyes shut while cursing her clumsiness. “Shit,” she mumbled as she set the OJ down and stretched across the counter to flick the light on.
“Everything okay?”
Elly spun around with a squeak, taking a step back as she came face to face with Laik. Her roommate’s brother had arrived that night and apparently he was staying the night. Not only had he witnessed her at her clumsy worse, he was sexy as sin. It was like meeting the man of your dreams in the middle of a never-ending pratfall. He was shirtless, giving her a perfect view of his sculpted chest. She shuffled forward as her hand reached out to touch him but stopped.
Heat exploded across the bottom of her foot and she hissed as the pain sliced through her. She hopped forward on her uninjured foot with a grunt.
“Damn it,” she groaned.
Laik’s hands flew to her waist and she gasped as he lifted her up and set her on the kitchen island. “Are you okay?” he asked as his hand traveled down her calf. His hands were hot, igniting an inferno within her as they slid down her skin. He lifted her foot and inspected the bottom of it.
Elly swallowed as gooseflesh pimpled her skin where his fingers had been. Tingles shot to her core, and she shifted on the counter, wishing his hand would graze her leg again. Thank God I shaved earlier.
“Elly?” he questioned, when she didn’t respond.
For Christ’s sake, Elly, you’re bleeding; get your head together.
“I’m sure it’s not too bad,” she breathed as her heart pounded against her ribs.
“Don’t move,” Laik instructed as he hopped over the broken glass. He pulled a few paper towels from the roll and wet them under the sink before returning to her foot. “I don’t see any glass in there,” he told her while pressing the cool compress against her skin.
“You should be careful too. There’s glass all over the floor. I’m such a klutz lately. I don’t know what’s going on with me,” she grumbled as she smacked her head with her palm.
“Hey, accidents happen,” he soothed with a smile. “I’ll go get some bandages. Can you hold this here?”
Elly reached forward, placing her hand over the towels. Her fingers brushed against Laik’s and heat ebbed into her hand like a jolt of lightening. Damn, what is it about him?
“Where are the bandages?” he asked her as he met her gaze.
His eyes were a beautiful amber with a tiny glint of fire flaring in them. They were unlike anything she’d ever seen before. His cocoa-colored hair was mussed sexily, and she wanted to reach up and thread her fingers through it. Laik cleared his throat and she blinked, remembering he’d asked her a question.
“Oh...um...in the bathroom, third drawer on the right,” she told him. “But please before you get hurt too, let me clean up my mess.” She scooted forward. Glass was everywhere and he too was going to end up with a cut foot.
Laik reached out and placed his hands on her thighs. She glanced down at his hands and wondered how it would feel if they traveled just a little farther up. Heat crept over her cheeks as she realized she was wearing her teeny, tiny boy shorts and a tank top with no bra. It’s not as ridiculous as my gold bikini that I wear during the show at the casino, she reasoned.
“Stay here. I got it,” he replied as he met her gaze.
Elly licked her lips then swallowed the lump forming in her throat. I could get lost in his eyes.
Laik cocked his head staring a moment longer before spinning away and heading off to the bathroom. Elly watched his backside as he sauntered away. His black lounge pants hung low on his hips and she nibbled her lip as she watched his firm ass. He probably spent a lot of time at the gym.
He disappeared into the bathroom and she sighed, turning her attention to her injury. She lifted the towel and huffed. The cut was almost the width of her foot. That will make dancing in heels fun, she mused.
Laik’s footsteps drew her attention back to him. Her gaze fell on his chiseled chest and she forced her gaze up to meet his eyes. If he can manage not to ogle me then I can do the same. Of course he might not be interested in me too.
She bit her lip at the realization. A relationship wasn’t something she should be pursuing right now anyway. Her psycho boss had driven her from LA. He was most likely looking for her. Ian Palmer was a nut and she wouldn’t put it past him. He thought they were destined to be together and had insisted she move in with him or else she’d be sorry. He’d given her 24 hours to come to her senses. She hadn’t stuck around to find out if he’d follow through on his threat. But she was sorry—sorry her luck had turned from bad to downright rotten. Perhaps her luck was changing...
Her eyes narrowed, glancing over Laik as he strode into the kitchen with a box and a few other items.
“Careful where you step,” she warned as he padded over the tile without watching where he was walking.
“I’ve got thick skin. I assure you, I’ll be fine,” he promised. “Let’s see that foot.” He set the items from the bathroom on the counter as he grasped her foot again.
Elly propped her leg up as he set to work bandaging her. “Acelynn didn’t tell me you were staying the night,” she said breaking the silence.
“My sister felt obligated to let me stay since she invited me,” he explained.
“Oh...right, you probably stay in my room normally?” Elly sighed, as she threaded her fingers through her hair. It had been the guest room until Acelynn had offered it to her. That’s a great way to make a good impression. Steal the guy’s room. I’d be grumpy if I had to sleep on the couch. Laik was tall; she’d guess him to be over six feet. He wouldn’t fit on there easily.
“It’s no problem at all,” he told her as he rubbed something over her cut.
She hissed as the wound burned. Her fingers gripped the edges of the counter while the sensation seared its way over her cut. Tears pricked her eyes and she closed them to keep them from falling.
“Sorry. I had to disinfect it,” he apologized, without looking up.
Elly opened her eyes, letting them wander over him while he was preoccupied with her foot. Her gaze darted to his hands as they blotted at her foot.
On his right hand he wore a thick-banded ring. It was unlike any jewelry she’d ever seen before. Made of solid gold, the ring featured a dragon surrounded by a ruby stone in the center. She opened her mouth to ask about it but stopped when he crinkled his nose and sniffed with a frown.
What do my feet stink?
“Something's burning,” he commented as he turned around to look at the counter behind him.
Elly followed his gaze. Black smoke trickled out of the toaster. “Oh crap! My pastries,” she cried out.
Laik lunged to the opposite counter and flicked the lever on the toaster. The charred pastries popped out. Steam billowed off the blackened food. She groaned and shook her head. So much for a late night snack.
“What is wrong with me? I can’t even get a drink and snack without causing bodily harm to myself or someone else. I should come with some sort of a safety warning,” she mumbled.
“It can’t be all that bad, can it?” Laik asked as he wrapped gauze around her foot.
She lifted her brow and met his eyes, causing him to chuckle.
“Have you always been so...” he trailed off, clearly not sure the best way to word his question.
“Uncoordinated?” she finished for him. “No. I’ve thought about going to the doctor to make sure nothing is seriously wrong with me. I was head of the cheerleading squad in high school and I also played soccer recreationally up until I left Los Angeles a few weeks ago. I’ve always been sure on my feet...until recently, that is. Now, I half expect to fall on my ass every time I leave the house,” she told him with a smile. When she decided to start dating again, she’d have to remember that hot guys were all too eager to rush to help when she had a mishap in public. Who’d have thought embarrassing yourself would lead to getting asked out?
“When did your bad luck begin?” Laik asked.
Elly heaved in a deep breath and let it out. “A few weeks ago after I left my job at Palmer Inc. It started out as little things, but has gotten worse since my move to Vegas. And here I thought Vegas was supposed to be lucky.”
“That’s a common misconception,” he chuckled before sobering. “Why did you quit Palmer Inc.?”
How much should she tell him? What did it matter? Might as well get it all out.
“My boss, Ian Palmer, got weird, so I quit. I’m not just talking a little weird either. He became possessive. Ian wanted to know where I’d be at all times, what I was wearing, and who I was seeing. I tried to blow it off. The pay was great and my student loans are insane, but then one day he insisted I move into his house with him so he could keep an eye on me. He didn’t like the fact that a guy from accounting had asked me out and that I’d accepted. Ian said I couldn’t be trusted by myself and I needed to be supervised by him 24/7. I told him hell no and quit on the spot. Then he got downright creepy. He made it so I couldn’t even get an interview anywhere; one of the secretaries told me as much when I called to follow up on my resume. Ian started following me around—everywhere. I couldn’t get him to leave me alone. Everywhere I went, he was there. He proposed to me one night out of the blue. I turned him down again. He said that I had to be with him or else. That’s why I packed up and left,” she admitted.
“Really? It was that bad? Did you go to the police?” Laik asked.
“I did after I quit. He showed up to one of my dates and threw a huge tantrum. He threatened to make my date disappear—needless to say, I didn’t get asked out a second time. I called the police when I got home to file a complaint. They didn’t believe me. In fact, they tried to turn things back around on me, like I was stalking him. I didn’t try to call them again after that. Who knows what they would have accused me of?” She looked away as she fisted her hands at her sides. It was silly to think that any of her misfortune since leaving LA had to do with Ian, but the timing was too much of a coincidence. Don’t be crazy. It’s not a coincidence. He threatened you and promised you would pay if you angered him. His threat had been real—real enough to make her leave LA that night. I just wish I knew how he was doing this to me. She debated whether to tell Laik about her theory. He’d probably think her loony for suggesting her bad luck had to do with Ian. “Anyway I came out here and got a job at the Old Moon Resort and Casino.”
“I’m guessing Acelynn helped you out with that too,” Laik grumbled, with a huff.
“Yeah, she did. Why?” she frowned. Was he upset Acelynn had helped her?
“I’m not sure you’ll be doing any dancing,” Laik said, as he tucked a piece of medical tape over the gauze to hold it in place.
Elly sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I was thinking the same thing. I didn’t want to dance tonight, and ironically, now I can’t. Perfect.” How the hell am I going to come up with my share of rent if I can’t work? Acelynn’s done so much for me. I can’t let her down now.
“Why didn’t you want to dance tonight?” he questioned.
Elly shrugged. “The outfit is ridiculous, for one. For whatever reason I’m moving like I have two left feet. I loved cheerleading and soccer and always felt I was coordinated. Now I’m terrified I’ll hurt myself or someone else. I’m probably being silly for this, but when I went to school and studied business I thought I’d be doing something more prestigious than being a back-up dancer for Elvis on the Las Vegas Strip. My parents would flip their lids if they knew. But it’s work, and Charlie does an amazing Elvis impersonation. The dances we perform don’t really go with the flow of the music, if you know what I mean.” The dance was sexy and more seductive than dancing to the beat of the music. It was an odd combination, but the show was always sold out according to Charlie.
“I’m sure everything will work itself out,” Laik assured. “All done.” He set her foot down.
“Thank you for your help,” she whispered as she got lost in his gaze again. Damn him and his amazing eyes.
“My pleasure. Let me clean this glass up and then I’ll whip you up something to eat. Stay right there,” he said as he went to the corner and grabbed the broom and dustpan. He swept the broken pieces into a pile, then crouched down, collecting the shards on the dustpan. He gathered her crispy pastries from the counter and tossed them out with the shattered glass.
Elly bit her lip as she watched him. Laik seemed perfect, but then again, so had Ian when she’d first started working for him. She just hadn’t realized how big of a creeper he was until it was too late. What if she was wrong about Laik too? “What can I make you?” Laik offered as he stopped back in front of her.
Elly opened her mouth and let out a breath. Her belly rumbled at the prospect of food, but if she were going to follow her own rules, she’d be better off going back to bed. There was probably a granola bar or something stashed in there anyway.
“Thanks, but I think I just want to go to bed.” She shoved off the counter, but her feet never touched the floor.
Laik whisked her into the air and carried her to her bedroom, setting her on the plush mattress.
She blinked up at him, surprised by his actions. Men like Laik weren’t real. They only existed in fairy tales. He was too perfect. There had to be something wrong with him and she wasn’t going to find out what it was. Bad luck followed her everywhere. She wasn’t going to risk a relationship with anyone right now.
“Sweet dreams, Elly,” he breathed.
“Thank you for all your help tonight,” she told him.
Laik reached out and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. He licked his lips as his mouth inched toward hers. Elly gasped in a ragged breath letting her lips part in anticipation. She shouldn’t kiss him, but God, she wanted to.
Laik blinked, shook his head and strolled out of her room, tugging the door shut behind him.
Elly flopped back on her bed as the door clicked shut. What the hell just happened with Laik?
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