punching the air in emphasis. “I told you it’s the quiet ones.”
“You have no idea,” Ava purred, finally looking up to see Reggie turning a peculiar shade of magenta. “Why, Regina Elaina McNeill, I am shocked. You are quite the little vixen, aren’t you?”
“What’s it say already?”
Ava smiled. “It says that our dearest friend thought she’d be pulling a fast one on us. Sorry to disappoint you, Regina darling, but you are getting Fixed, whether you like it or not.”
Missy frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Ava held up one piece of paper and read aloud. “Regina says she wants to be, ‘seduced by a sexy, mysterious vampire.’”
Corinne turned a glare on Reggie. “That is not fair, Reg! Your fantasies have to be plausible. You can’t hold us responsible for not being able to find you someone who doesn’t even exist!”
Reggie wiped the grin off her face, which had appeared when Ava read her fantasy, and prepared to do battle.
“Hush. Don’t get your panties in a twist, Corinne, dear,” Ava soothed. “You are not destined for celibacy. We will provide Reggie with what she asked for.”
Danice rolled her eyes. “You had a few too many glasses of that wine, Ava. Vampires aren’t real.”
“I know that, and since Regina is perfectly sane—relatively—she knows it as well. If Reggie actually wanted us to find her a genuine vampire, she would be cheating, and I know our friend would never do that. Which means we need to view her fantasy in a more creative light.”
“Like how?”
“I’m so glad you asked.” Ava purred her answer to Missy’s question, but her eyes never wavered from Reggie’s. “It just so happens I know of a certain club in the East Village that hosts a regular event on the last Friday of each month. They call it The Vampire Ball.”
Corinne laughed. “So we can find Reggie a man there! Since she knows she can’t have a real vampire, she’ll have to accept a man who could pose as one. Ava, you’re brilliant!”
“I try, dear.”
“Yeah, you’re very trying.” Reggie scowled. “I can’t believe you’re going to pawn me off on some freak who is so out of touch with reality he pretends to be a vampire to get his kicks. That is so pathetic.”
Ava’s Cheshire cat grin turned steely. “You agreed to the enterprise, Reggie, and you submitted the fantasy. You’re bound by the rules just like the rest of us, so unless you want to submit something more realistic, this is the fantasy you get.”
“One of them, anyway.” Bless her mediating heart; Melissa stepped between the two women before they could come to blows. “What does the other fantasy say? Does she want to be abducted by aliens, or have Elvis’s love child?”
Missy tried to joke about it to lighten things up, which Reggie appreciated, but when Ava shook her head and smiled wider, Reggie got nervous.
“Neither,” Ava purred, holding up the other slip of paper. “She doesn’t want to be Bigfoot’s love slave, either.”
Oh, no! In that moment, Reggie knew for certain the gods had abandoned her to an ugly fate. She knew which other fantasy Ava had selected. The need to escape suddenly overwhelmed her.
“I need a drink.” Reggie pushed off the sofa and attempted to head into the kitchen to hide. She never made it past the end of the coffee table. Danice grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her back to her seat.
“Ah-ah, Reg. Sit your butt back down and prepare to get Fixed.”
“Come on, guys. I’m sorry for making up the vampire thing,” the victim wailed. “Can’t we just forget about it? I’ll write a real fantasy this time. I promise. Let’s start over. Please?”
“Not a chance. Now that we know you want to be—” Ava consulted the slips of paper, “as you say here, ‘seduced and overpowered by a lover,’ we are not going to let this go. Especially not when you also have this burning desire to be ‘bound, spanked and dominated’ by a sexy,