Magic and Mayhem: London Howl (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Southern Shift Book 3)
Text copyright ©2017 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Robyn Peterman. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Magic and Mayhem remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Robyn Peterman, or their affiliates or licensors.
For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds
LONDON HOWL
H.M. McQueen
Table of Contents
About LONDON HOWL
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
About H.M. McQueen
Amazing Magic & Mayhem Authors
Other Books by H.M. McQueen
LONDON HOWL
When a highly recognizable international male model David Wolfe hires Genise Snow to be his fake girlfriend, the last thing she expects is to find herself enthralled not only by the wolf shifter, but by the complications of pack leadership and his overwhelming lifestyle.
Her ultimate plan is to get as many selfies as she can with the shifter before he realizes she is the crazy fan girl from Tennessee, who once hit him in the face with her panties.
David Wolfe seems to have everything. However money and fame cannot take the place of love, a mate or being an integral part of his pack.
International settings, a super hot wolf shifter and off the charts chemistry make this a sizzling and funny read.
Chapter One
“Give me that!” Zelda slapped Genise Snow’s hand out of the way. “I need that sticker.”
It was late on Friday night and for a change things were quiet in Buttlick, West Virginia or whatever the name of the town was Zelda lived in. Genise loved hanging out with the people she grew up with, Jane was a shifter and she a witch…or as she preferred to refer to herself as, magically gifted.
Unfortunately, the only magic she could manage lately was levitating things or simple spells to fix headaches and janky necks. Of course those with a crick in their neck were very appreciative. Boorring.
Jane studied Zelda’s planner. “Your stickers are all crooked.” Genise snapped her fingers and the stickers straightened perfectly in alignment with each other. “There.”
Zelda had awesome healing powers. Unfortunately, her magic seemed to be more geared toward shifters than anyone else. But fortunately, it also meant she scored a hunky wolf shifter, who she was now married to.
Jane, who was also married to a very handsome pack leader laughed and added. “Yes, way better.”
The witch stared agog at her planner. “What the fuck Genise? Now it doesn’t show my personality.”
“You have a crooked personality?” Genise asked laughing and then eyed her own planner. “In that case I am a pink person. Pink everywhere, not a page without it. What does that say about me?”
Zelda snorted and a puff of smoke came from her nostrils. “That you’re a girly witch with bubble gum for brains.”
“Oh shut up.” Genise placed a sticker down, a gold one. “There, how about that?”
Their three heads came together as they studied the layout.
“So tell me about your interview tomorrow?”
There it was, the reason she’d come to Zelda’s and the subject that made her want to pee so bad each time it came up. She was not only offered the job of her dreams, but would finally meet the one man she’d been obsessed with for years.
She’s made plans to come to Zelda’s because before heading back to her new home in New York, she needed not just moral support, but hopefully help in zoning her magic.
“I have to pee.”
Jane grabbed her arm. “Oh hell no sister. You better spit it out.”
“I can’t barely fathom its happening, much less talk about it.”
Zelda huffed and pointed to a sticker with a picture of David Wolfe, the world’s highest paid male model on it. “Maybe you can tell us the story in stickers.”
Her friends fell over laughing as she attempted to frown. Finally she gave in and laughed along. Genise’s life was about to take a drastic turn.
Whether she ended up with a fairy tale ending or in a puddle of tears and snot depended on what happened in the next few weeks.
Where are you meeting him?
“In New York.”
That evening they pulled into the Johnson compound. If Genise left town without first stopping to visit Jane’s aunt Scootie or Scootie’s sister Charlene, there would be hell to pay.
Once they drove past an electric fence that took approximately half an hour to slide open, Jane pulled up in front of one of three dilapidated looking houses. Lined up like soldiers who’d been through an uphill battle, the weary looking homes made a pitiful scene. There was one, however, that stood in pristine condition on the far left.
“What do all the houses look like shit except for that one?” Genise pointed to the small house with a white picket fence surrounding it.
Jane followed her line of vision. “Strange isn’t it. Aunt Scootie complains constantly to uncle Walt, but he doesn’t do anything about their house. The twins moved into Aunt Charlene’s, next door since she married the butcher in town. I don’t expect that one to look better anytime soon either. The other one belongs to Uncle Mike and his wife Arlene. They never go anywhere. You’d think they’d have time to fix it up.” Jane shook her head. “You can say the Johnson’s concentrate more on the interior than the exterior of their homes. Except for cousin Junior, he married Bonnie who is a member of the Junior League. All of the members are blonde, where khaki shorts and have houses that look like Southern Living magazine.”
A door flung opened followed by the slam of the screen door against the exterior of the house. The screened door, which had been lopsided came off the hinge and fell forward to land flatly on the porch.
Aunt Scootie in all her black, pink and red polka dot spender stood at the entrance with a wide grin. “Well slap me across the ass with a frozen pole. Two beauties gracing the compound with their presence.”
Rushing to greet them, she tripped over the screen door and stumbled forward as Genise and Jane watched wide-eyed. Just as Scootie reached the edge of the fence, she flapped her arms and for a moment Genise thought she’d recover, but instead the woman fell forward landing in a heap of dots and curses.
“Boooooyyyyyssss!” Scootie screamed so loud Genise stopped on her trek to help and covered her ears instead.
When Jane and Genise tried to help Scootie up, she shoved them away. “No I want those two to see what they did to their mother.” She looked around. “Too bad Walt is gone. He’d be getting an earful too.”
Two identical hunky guys burst from the house next door. One wore boxer briefs and the other what looked to be a diving suit. They rushed past Genise to their mother who sat up on the ground and looked down at the torn spot on her leggings. “Well shit. Got a hole in my new Lulalas.
The guys came to a screeching halt seeming to be at a loss as to what the best way to approach was. “Mama, what happened,” one of them asked, while the other looked to the screen door and then wide-eyed to his mother.
“Don’t just stand there like two turds on a wire. Come help me up.” Scootie huffed and jumped to her feet as soon as the boys touched her. “Dad gummit, fix the damn door. Waiting on your father to fix it, I’ll grow a new asshole before it get’s don
e.”
Her expression changed to a smile as she looked to Genise. “Come on in girls. I’ll change my bottoms while Jane pours us some wine. Charlene is on her way over. She wants to show me her new dress. Lord help us if half her ass is hanging out.”
The next morning her friend Sally greeted her at the airport. They hugged and talked excitedly about her meeting the following day with David Wolf.
Once depositing her suitcase at home, they turned around and headed out to shop. Genise decided she’d splurge on a special outfit for the following day. After all it wasn’t every day one met the sexiest man on earth. In her estimation anyway.
She and Sally spent the entire day shopping, lunching and getting manicures. Anything was preferable to going home where she’d fret over every detail. Instead she managed to come up with enough activities to not have to return home until that evening.
Just as she settled on the couch to watch mindless television, her cell rang. Her mother.
“Promise me you won’t sleep with him on the first date.” The sound of ice clinking told her it was cocktail hour at her parent’s home. A nightly ritual.
“Mom I doubt I’ll get to be in the same room with him alone, even more doubtful that he’ll be interested in sleeping with me.”
“Oh honey, men don’t care. They’ll sleep with anyone willing. He’s famous, so he’s used to women throwing their naked selves at him.”
“I promise not to throw my naked self at him.” Genise giggled. “Unless he’s naked too, then all bets are off.”
A huff sounded. “No Martin, I am not talking to myself. I’m giving Genise advise.”
His father’s voice sounded. “Who is she naked with?”
“Tell him I’m not naked. Why are we talking about nudity?” Genise took a long drink of her iced water. “Please tell him I’m fully clothed alone watching television.”
“She’s going to meet with that handsome male model. I’m telling her not to sleep with him.”
There was silence and Genise wasn’t sure if her mother muted the phone or if her father had fainted. “Hello?”
“Oh my goodness, your father just hurried away. I think I shocked him.”
Barks sounded. “Never mind, the dog was scratching at the door and he went to let him in.”
“Gotta go Mom.”
She ended the call and let out a huff. Tomorrow she’d meet David Wolfe the man of her dreams. Her stomach tumbled and she covered her cheeks with both hands. “Ohmygod.”
Chapter Two
He sauntered. The tall man sliced through the center of the room heading towards her and everything else ceased to exist. The entire atmosphere changed, both men and women stopped midsentence to watch him as he passed. Behind discreet coughs and sliding of eyes, men pretended not to notice while the fairer sex openly gawked.
Genise sat up straighter and waited for him to near. Although she’d seen plenty of pictures of David Wolfe and watched online interviews to prepare, none did him justice.
“Holy hot shit on a ledge,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Hello, Genise.” His sensuous lips curved and he held out his right hand. “Thank you for meeting me.”
“Mr. Wolfe.”
Her hand enveloped in his, he met her gaze. “Please, call me David.”
It would be an interesting meeting, she surmised. What started as an online interview to do marketing work for him just a week ago, had become a discussion with the famous model to play his girlfriend for the press.
In a plain white t-shirt and jeans, he could have passed for any guy out for a beer or burger with a friend. But in this case, it was David Wolfe, the highest paid top model in the country…hell, maybe the world, and damned if he didn’t fill out the t-shirt, his toned arms and well-formed abs visible under the taut, thin material.
He slid into the booth beside her and casually draped an arm over her shoulders.
“What are you doing?” She turned to him just as two flashes made her blink. It hadn’t taken the paparazzi long to find him. Of course, by his grand entrance, even those who didn’t know who he was had to take notice.
He’d not been discreet, maybe set up the whole thing. Who knew with the famous, sometimes simple things were turned into publicity moments.
“I have not agreed to your proposal yet, Mr. Wolfe,” she told him with a bright smile, well aware of the cameras.
He pressed a light kiss to her lips and turned his body just enough to protect her from a photographer who hovered too closely. The expensive, spicy cologne, which suited him perfectly, tickled her nose when he slid closer and whispered into her ear. “David. And by being here, we both know you are accepting every single phase of my proposal.”
It was true, of course. She’d decided not only would it be fun to play a hunky, rich man’s girlfriend, but also the incredible salary offered was impossible to turn down. “Can we go somewhere more private to talk?”
He motioned a smartly-dressed server over. A blonde hustled over, her overly bright smile directed only at him. “Good evening, Mr. Wolfe. Welcome to Le Visage. What can I get for you?” She didn’t spare Genise a glance.
David ordered drinks for both of them, which normally would bug the shit out of Genise. But being the waitress only had eyes for the model, it was just as well this time.
As the woman left, David turned his attention back to her. “My apologies, I don’t have time to go anywhere else today. I have a meeting in an hour. I needed to meet you in person. It gives the press time to begin speculating. Also, we can discuss the schedule for the next two weeks. An airplane ticket and money will be delivered to you tomorrow.” He reached for her hand and brought it up to his mouth. His lips brushed across her knuckles, his piercing blue eyes meeting hers.
It was just an act, which made the tingle in her insides doubly embarrassing. “When are we leaving?”
“The day after tomorrow.” He glanced at his watch. “I have a show in Milan and it will be the first time I bring my new girlfriend along.”
He let out a breath and turned to the photographers who’d parked in a booth across from them. A small muscle on his jaw tightened. Barely noticeable under the smooth surface of his expression, annoyance simmered.
There were so many questions she wanted to ask. She’d kept the entire thing secret from her parents and friends. Genise knew they’d protest. Tell her it was foolish to involve herself in a game of deceit.
Of course, she knew it was a dangerous game in which not only her self-esteem, but also her heart could be hurt beyond repair. Her heart already beat erratically and she swallowed to ensure drool didn’t plop onto the table surface. If she didn’t die of a broken heart, maybe a heart attack would do her in.
Her family already knew she’d been obsessed with David Wolfe since first catching sight of him in a glossy magazine advertisement. The torn sheet remained in her nightstand drawer to this day. Genise made a mental not to never allow her mother or any other family member to ever speak to David. Oh the embarrassing things they could share.
His cell rang. “Sorry, I have to take this.” During his short conversation with someone who sounded like a personal assistant or secretary, several flashes blinded her. New reporters arrived, not shy in the least to let their presence be known. One in particular waved at David. He nodded back in acknowledgement.
The maître d’ rushed over and ushered the paparazzi out the door. He returned to the table, his face flushed, just as David ended the call. “I apologize, Mr. Wolfe. I will ensure no one without a reservation enters while you are here.” He gave the table across from them a pointed look. “I have ensured you and you companion can dine in peace for the rest of the evening.”
David waved it all away. “Everything is fine. Please don’t go out of your way for me, Elwood. We won’t be too long. How about two of what I usually have to speed things along?”
“Very well. I will see to it right away.”
“How do you deal with it?” Unde
r the pretense of sweeping her hair aside, she studied the reporters in the booth across from them. The group didn’t try to hide that they watched them in return.
Just as he was about to answer, the server returned with their drinks, fawning over him, the placing of drinks taking longer than Genise would have ever imagined possible. Finally, when he took Genise’s hand and leaned to whisper in her ear, did the waitress walk off.
“I am used to it.” David ignored the drinks. “It’s you who has to become accustomed to them. Act as if they are not there, as if they are invisible. For the next few moments, we are on a date. Since it is expected for you not to be accustomed to the attention, they will find it natural for you to be a bit…nervous. They will surmise we’ve not dated long if we are not completely at ease around each other. However, we must appear to be a couple who’ve been intimate. We laugh easily and feel comfortable touching one another.”
With each delicious English-accented syllable, the room became warmer and the space between them sizzled with electricity. From her perspective anyway. Genise leaned against him and whispered into his ear, “I don’t like white wine. But I suppose we have to drink it.”
He turned, his lips brushing the corner of hers. “I should have asked you. I don’t, either.”
Genise laughed when he lifted the glasses, handing one to her. They both drank at the same time. It was horrible. Although she was sure it was expensive, the dry, light liquid was not as good as she hoped. “Yum,” she murmured, enjoying his grimace.
In spite of the wine, which tasted just a bit better after a second sip, and the attention across the room, it didn’t take long for Genise to focus only on David. He rattled off the itinerary for the next two weeks. It included Milan and after that they’d spend two days of rest at his flat in London. They’d attend Fashion Week in Paris, which he promised to be exhausting, directly followed by a Jaguar event back in London. They’d then spend the following week splitting their time between New York and Los Angeles to keep up the pretense before a break up, which both would agree was amicable.