Even Villains Fall in Love (3 page)

Evan would win by a landslide. One hundred
percent of the vote without rigging the system. There couldn’t be
an argument because everyone would want him to win. The Election
Ray ensured they would justify why they voted for him. He merely
needed to fine-tune it a little bit, and keep Tabitha from finding
out.

Bad timing on her part. Did she really need to
go back to super heroing now? Not that she would leave him, the
Morality Machine kept that from happening, but she’d be upset. And
then he’d feel guilty.

But really, he thought as he started dismantling
the wave device to adjust the controls inside, this would put her
out of a job. Everyone would agree with him. Everyone would obey
the laws. Everything would be just the way he wanted.

Chapter Four

There are days I miss being Doctor
Charm. I loved the attention and the challenge of being a super
villain. Any thug with a fist can rob a little old lady in an
alley. That doesn’t take talent or brains. But I was never a thug,
or a don, or a mastermind. Smalltime wasn’t my style. I didn’t want
to be another fish in the pond, even if I was a big fish. I wanted
to be the apex predator of the hemisphere. And I was.

***

Evan patted his Election Ray. “We’ll test this
first thing tomorrow.” If the calculations were right, he was one
speech away from the Oval Office. Stretching, he turned to see the
rest of his lab covered in pink and purple streamers.
Crayon-scribbled graph paper covered most of the wall. Good thing
no super hero was likely to stop by for a midnight battle of good
versus evil, or they’d have died laughing. He lifted a multicolored
paper chain off his computer. “Girls, Daddy’s fortress of evil
looks different.”

“We decorated!” Angela said happily. “Now you
have pictures of us so you can love us.” She shoved a piece of
paper at his knee.

Like a good father, he inspected the
balloon-headed, noodle-limbed figures and pronounced it a
masterpiece. Tacking the picture over a diagram of a magnetic
shield he’d been meaning to build, he smiled at the girls. “Let’s
get some dinner going.”

“What are you making?” Maria asked.

“Reservations,” Evan said.

“Pizza!” Delila squealed. Her sisters wasted no
time picking up the refrain.

“In that case, I’ll make a phone call.” Evan
shooed them upstairs, then headed into the kitchen to scrub the
machine grease off his hands as he told them to turn on the TV.

“Daddy! It’s Mommy!”

He turned to see Zephyr Girl smiling for the
camera. She hovered inches off the ground, her hair in a ponytail,
auroras ribboning around just like they had this morning.

Evan licked his lips. Tabitha had worn her hair
back like that last week while they worked in the garden. Her shirt
had clung to her glistening skin. He’d tangled his fingers in her
hair so he could run his tongue along her neck. He remembered how
she shivered, the sweet coo of anticipation she made, the oak’s
rough bark scrapping against his back when he pulled her
close...

“Why did you come back?” a reporter asked as she
shoved a microphone in Zephyr Girl’s face.

“I thought it was time. There was no real reason
behind this, simply a desire to do good.”

The reporter pulled the microphone back. “And
with your return, do you expect to see the return of your arch
nemesis Doctor Charm?”

Zephyr Girl laughed. “I don’t think anyone needs
to worry about Doctor Charm. I handled him the last time we were
together.”

Only Evan knew to look for the slight tweak in
her smile that meant Tabitha was talking to him. She’d handled him
all right. She handled, he’d gone down, they’d both hit their
peaks. Maybe tonight she’d be interested in the fondle variation,
or a replay of the events in slow motion.

“And what can we expect to see from the new and
improved Zephyr Girl?” the reporter asked.

“Me at my best, saving the world!” She tossed
her hair, mugging for the camera and fueling a thousand adolescent
dreams. With a wink, she shot off in a cloud of sparks.

“Why does Mommy get to fly?” Blessing asked.

“Because Mommy is special,” Tabitha answered
from the front door. A breeze fluttered her white cape.

Evan smiled. “Hello, beautiful.”

In a blink, she was in his arms, warm and safe.
She stood on tiptoe, kissing him as she had the first time. “I
missed you,” she said. He caught her hand, keeping her from turning
away as the girls tugged at her cape and peppered her with
questions.

“I’ll go make dinner,” he whispered in her ear
as he watched a bead of sweat pearl on her neck and slip down her
cleavage. He wanted to run his tongue down her neck after it and
then head lower. His jeans tightened.

Tabitha stretched. “I’m out of shape. I forgot
how much work it takes to fight.”

“Sore?”

“Everywhere!”

“I’ll give you a rub down tonight.”

Blue eyes went wide with desire. “Promise?” she
nearly purred.

“Promise. I’ll rub everything.”

By the time Evan returned from tucking in the
girls, amber and amethyst candles lit the bedroom. He locked the
door and watched candlelight dance across his wife’s bare skin as
she lay on the black satin sheets, like an offering to some ancient
god. Golden hair flowed like a molten river over her pale skin.
Evan slipped onto the bed and kissed a thin white scar on her upper
arm. Flying glass in the lab had cut her the first time they’d
fought. He’d realized then that he could never win against her.
Every bruise on her body tore him apart.

Running his fingers down her back, he savored
her scent and her quiver of anticipation. Evan smiled and leaned
down to whisper in Tabitha’s ear, “Do you really want a back
rub?”

“To start.”

Taking a bottle of lavender oil from the
nightstand Evan warmed it in his hands, and massaged the knots from
her back. She hissed in pain and he lightened his touch. “What did
you do today?”

“Git Kraken was terrorizing Key West with his
latest genetic constructs.”

Evan chuckled. “Really?”

“Truth is stranger than fiction. Apparently he
was offended that he wasn’t invited to host a drag queen beauty
pageant.”

He caressed her, basking in her presence like
ancient man worshipping the first goddess. “This is the man with
tentacles, isn’t it?”

“That’s the one. He has tentacles and ego, but
not much else.” Tabitha rolled to the side and stretched a long leg
onto his lap. “My hip is sore.”

He obediently focused on her hip, watching her
body melt in pleasure.

With a languid sigh, Tabitha rolled to her back.
“Mmmm. Evan, I was thinking of something this morning.”

“So was I,” he said, his voice low and
smoky.

“Really?” She pushed up on one arm. “Have you
thought about where to go?”

“I was going to start here.” He moved one hand
inward of her hip. “Then work my way down—”

She swatted his hand away. “I meant a job,
Evan.”

He frowned. “You went to work today, sweetie,
what else is there?”

“I want you to get a job!”

“I have a job.”

Tabitha rolled her eyes. “You lock yourself in
the basement and fiddle with a computer.”

“It’s a job.”

“I want you to get out of the house. You need
friends.”

“I have friends.”

“Minions don’t count.”

“If I can watch movies with them, they
count.”

Tabitha propped herself on her elbows. “Look at
me.” Her nipples peaked in the cold air, begging for his
attention.

“I am.”

“You’re wasted in the computer field. Why don’t
you go work at the university? You’d make an amazing teacher.”

He lifted his eyes to her face. “Would you stay
home with the girls if I went to work?”

“Is that the only way I can get you out of the
basement?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you want me at work?” Tabitha asked
with a frown. She sat up and crossed her arms.

“I don’t want you hurt.” He traced the scar on
her arm. “Do you remember this?”

“It was a scratch.”

“You don’t heal fast, Tabby-cat, and I can’t
risk losing you. You have too much of me. Without you, I would fall
apart.”

“No you wouldn’t. You’re a handsome man, you’d
find someone else.” She flopped back in the bed with a sigh. “All
you have to do is smile and women trip over themselves to have you.
Last time I let you go grocery shopping someone wrote her phone
number on the minivan with shoe polish.”

He chuckled. “There’s only you, love. Always and
forever, only you.” He leaned down and kissed her. “And, as I
recall, it took more than a smile to catch your attention.” He
nudged her over so he could finish her backrub—and think. “Would
you really give up Zephyr Girl again?”

“Until the girls start school. If you taught
morning classes, you could be back by the time school was out.”

He fingers found a subtle dent in her skin where
stretch marks had left their tracks during pregnancy. She’d hated
the eighty pounds she gained carrying quads, but he’d loved her
full form, almost missed it some days. That was an idea. “What if
we want another baby?”

Tabitha laughed. “No.”

“A little boy?”

“Couldn’t we adopt?”

“We could, but I’d miss the libido boost from
the second trimester.”

“Tell you what,” Tabby said, flipping over.
“Take your clothes off and I’ll fake it.”

With a grin, he unbuttoned his shirt. “You have
to fake it with me?”

“Every day,” she said, putting a dramatic
hand to her forehead as she laughed. “It’s an absolute
chore
trying to fake all those
orgasms.”

“I hate to make you work. I’ll let you off
tonight.” He dropped his shirt and reached for his pajamas on the
nightstand, still folded from the day he’d bought them. Eventually,
he’d actually wear them.

Tabitha caught his hand, pulling him down to the
bed. “Kiss me.”

Chapter 5

At fifteen, power was my first love.
It promised me the world—if I could only break the shackles of a
wholesome middle-class upbringing where ambition came second only
to defying the home owner’s association in terms of
evil.

Ambition was my fatal flaw. Sometimes
good ideas got ahead of me. A plan would come together and I would
be in the middle of everything before I stopped to ask if this was
right or wrong or even possible.

I tinkered with the Agree-With-Me Ray
for years. It was a toy, really. Something I pulled out when I
needed things to go my way. That changed when I saw the report
about the millions of dollars in stolen, embezzled, and otherwise
illegally obtained cash floating around, and realized, “It should
be mine.”

I turned the Agree-With-Me Ray on high
and started making phone calls. A quick, amiable conversation and
the thief bundled the stolen money in an envelope, sent it to my
house, and forgot any of the above had happened. A perfect
plan—until I cold-called a super hero.

For some reason, I never learned to
regret that mistake.

***

Manicured fingernails dragged up Evan’s spine.
He arched, rubbing against satin sheets, and rolled over to capture
his wife. “I thought you were going to work.”

“Nothing is going to happen before eleven,” she
promised. A wicked smile curved her lips. “At least, nothing bad.”
She darted forward, teasing him with her tongue before retreating.
Pale morning light played across her skin, throwing luscious curves
into shadow and highlighting her golden tresses.

“Tease.” He pulled her close so he could feel
the heat of her body on his. “How do you know nothing will
happen?”

“How do you know a piece of coding will
work?”

He traced the curves of her body, committing
every soft, sensuous turn to memory. “I just do.”

“That’s how I know.” Tabitha’s naked body rubbed
him in all the right ways as she arched into his touch. “That’s
also how I know what I want right now.”

He nipped her ear. “Right now?”

“Two or three times.”

“Only three?”

“Maybe a few more in the shower if the girls
don’t wake up.”

“And one for the road?” he asked hopefully.

“Maybe. If you’re up for a marathon.”

He chuckled and rolled onto his back, pulling
her on top of him. “Staying up for you will never be a
problem.”

Tabitha flew away at a quarter after ten,
leaving Evan feeling limp and hungry for more. Science liked to
prove that the average man possessed only limited abilities. That
was probably true, but Tabitha had a voracious sexual appetite, and
he learned to keep up with her.

He lay on the bed, watching the ceiling fan
slowly turn, thinking about his long to-do list. For some reason,
images of Tabitha stretched out under him kept invading. He wanted
her against a wall tonight while she was wearing that pair of high
heels he’d bought her last month. And then they could take a bubble
bath. Mmmm, slipping his hand across her body in the water was
always fun. A touch of his finger and she’d be begging for more. He
could tease her until she was incoherent with need. And then—

“Daddy!” Blessing screamed from the living
room.

Evan rolled off the bed and pulled his clothes
on. His jeans were easier to put on without Tabitha around. Not to
mention the lust killing effect small children had on him. “What is
it?” he asked as he tripped over a fluffy unicorn.

“Daddy, I’m bored,” his youngest announced in
funeral tones as she sat in the middle of a sea of stuffed animals
and building blocks. “Delila locked me out of the toy place.”

“The toy place?” He kicked a path through the
disaster and sat on the old blue couch, confused.