Rick's POV

I knew that breaking into Alexis's home office was a risky maneuver, and probably not the best way to inspire trust in our new partnership if I was caught, but it wasn't as if I was going to steal anything. I only wanted to find out as much as I could about her before we went any further in our venture. Alexis was gorgeous, no doubt about it. But previous experience had taught me not to trust witches as a general rule. With that in mind, a little recon seemed perfectly reasonable.

Besides, if I could do it, then others could do it too. Which meant she needed to work on her home security situation. Either way, I would uncover valuable intel. Satisfied with my reasoning, I felt the lock give way and entered, shutting the door gently behind me. It was one o'clock in the afternoon, so I probably had plenty of time before she returned home and found me. School hours. Why someone would voluntarily trap themselves in high school forever made absolutely no sense to me. 

"Freeze asshole," a voice commanded from behind me, and I turned slightly to find Alexis training a gun on my back. "You have exactly thirty seconds to explain what you're doing here. After that, you won't be able to explain anything, because you'll just be a dead intruder in my home." 

She was both incandescent with fury and utterly stunning. Her dark hair was down today, a silk curtain cascading just past her shoulders. I'd always been a sucker for brunettes. Her alabaster skin seemed to glow against the simple black dress that displayed her long, shapely legs. I never had a teacher who looked like her, that's for sure. 

"You wouldn't shoot me in the back now, would you?" I countered, hands raised in the air. "You know, I'm no legal expert, but I'm pretty sure that law enforcement frowns upon that sort of thing. Don't you have to shoot an intruder someplace else for it to be considered self-defense?"

She drew closer, just behind me, and I caught the scent of her skin. She smelled like vanilla cake. Delicious. Unfortunately, that also meant that the gun was now shoved against my spine. I like to play rough as much as the next guy, but firearms had never been something that turned me on. 

"Well turn around then, so I can do it right," she whispered softly, and a thrill ran through my body. The woman had a gun on me and I still felt myself harden in response to her voice. That was new. I hoped I lived to find out if I actually did get turned on by firearms. I slowly turned to face her. Her lips were stained berry red, and I wondered what they tasted like. Vanilla cake and red berries seemed like a delightful combination. I wondered if I could have her for dessert while I gazed deep into her violet eyes.

I stopped wondering about anything when she kneed me in the groin. 

Searing pain exploded throughout my body, as I dropped to the floor in a heap. She gave me a smug smile and lowered the gun. I'd met trained assassins with more warmth than this lady. Note to self - never trust a witch.

"I'll ask again," she said calmly, watching me writhe in agony on the hardwood. "Why is my new business partner poking around in my office when he thinks I'm at work?" At least she didn't have a weapon trained on me anymore. I decided, despite the pain, that it was an improvement. 

"I wanted to find out more about you," I told her between gasps of breath, "if we're going to be working together, I wanted to check you out. Make sure you are who you say you are. Clearly, that was a mistake." 

She sighed and sat down at her desk. I worked on controlling my breathing while she rummaged through her desk drawers. She took out three items and dropped them on the floor beside me.

"This is who I am," she said, narrowing those lovely violet eyes at me in annoyance. "As you can see from my passport, my name is Alexis Annabell Sterling. I went to France once on vacation, and it was ok. That's about the extent of my travel history, but feel free to check if you like. I've also provided you with a copy of my teaching certification, in case you were wondering if that was true. I've taught high school English for fifteen years. That book beside your head is my grimoire. I'm working on becoming a Supreme Witch. And for the record, all you had to do was ask." 

"Some people tell me that I have trust issues," I offered, slowly pulling myself to a sitting position. "I'm not certain that I agree, but, it's been said." 

"I can't imagine why," Alexis replied wryly, picking her prized possessions off the floor and carefully returning them to her desk. "Tell me, do you break into houses often? Or am I a special case?"

Oh, she was a special case all right. It was too soon to tell precisely how special. For the moment I decided to be grateful that I still had all my body parts intact. 

***

Alexis's POV 

This guy was a maniac. I had a half-day for training on our new gradebook system, and with the afternoon free I had intended to relax before meeting with Rick tonight. Maybe watch some mindless television and take my English bulldog, Neumann, for a long walk. Instead, I arrived home to find Rick ransacking the place, and my dog snoring on the couch throughout the process. 

As if I had somehow summoned him with my thought, Neumann came bounding into the room, barking joyfully. Of course he ran right up to Rick and greeted him with a lick and a smile. 

Traitor, I thought, regarding my would-be watchdog. Someone had actually broken in, and not only hadn't he noticed, but he also clearly wanted to make friends with the intruder. Great. 

"And who is this?" Rick asked with an amused smile as my dog flopped down on his back to request belly rubs. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced." He complied with the request and was rewarded with Neumann's goofy trademark grin. 

"That's Neumann, and usually he provides a high degree of protection," I assured him, for some reason feeling the need to defend my dog. "He can be quite vicious if provoked." That last part was a baldfaced lie. The only thing Neumann had ever attacked was a bowl of food. Or a squeaky toy. Once he had gone after a squirrel, but I'm fairly sure that squirrel had started it. Hey, squirrels can be jerks sometimes. Just like business partners. 

"I'm sure he can be," Rick replied gravely, regarding Neumann with a warmth that I hadn't expected. Ok, so he liked dogs. Or at least, he liked my dog. Either way, it was a point in his favor. And Neumann, while an abysmal failure as a guard dog, was an excellent judge of character. In my experience, if Neumann didn't like you, you were bad news. 

I wanted to ask Neumann why he liked Rick, as he seemed to be the epitome of bad news, but I doubted I would get anywhere with him.

"I thought witches were supposed to have cats," he remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Quite the rule breaker, aren't you, Alexis Annabell Sterling?" I wasn't happy about how he'd gotten into my place. I wasn't particularly happy that he now knew my middle name. Especially since the way he said it in that bourbon-honey voice sent shivers down my spine. But for some reason, now that he was here, and making friends with my dog, I decided that I would give him another chance. I still needed him to protect me. However, I was starting to wonder if the protection I really needed was from myself. 

"I guess we have that in common then," I replied wryly, grabbing Neumann's leash from its hook on the wall with a sigh. "Fine, I give up, let's do this. We have a client at five. I'm going to walk Neumann, and you're going to replace the lock on that door. If you can get in, then it's not secure." 

"See, I'm becoming useful already," he growled softly, that look in his emerald eyes implying he could be very very useful in other ways if I were so inclined. My body was very inclined, but the rest of me wasn't, which annoyed me all over again. 

"Excellent," I told him, attaching Neumann's leash to his collar, "the tool chest is in the garage. You can enter through the kitchen. Don't mess around with my potions. I don't want to come back to find you changed into a frog or something." That part wasn't technically possible, but he didn't necessarily need to know that. And I decided he'd seen enough of my life for one day. It remained to be seen whether I'd seen enough of him just yet.