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Nicolla wanted to cry. It was so beautiful, hearing a deeply confided feeling straight from the bottom of a man’s heart. She wished Kelly could hear him right now—their flame had not gone from their marriage. “I love you too, Andi. Always. You know it. Everything is going to change from now on.”

“And I’m excited about it.” Andrew pecked a soft kiss on her lips. Nicolla purred. His cock was slowly hardening in her throbbing heat. “I was thinking, since things have changed incredibly in the past few days, what do you think if we go on a vacation somewhere exotic, some island perhaps?”

“A second honeymoon!” Nicolla exclaimed. “I love it.” Kelly would love it too, if they could find a way to switch back soon.

“Verve Island would be perfect. What do you say if we renew our marriage vows there too, you know, to our new beginning?”

“Oh, Andi, yes!” Nicolla cupped his face and plastered a wet kiss on his lips. “I would love to.”

“What about your partnership at the firm? Can you take some days off from work?”

“Rush said I can take as much time as I need. The partnership will still be there when I come back.”

“That’s wonderful. All settled then?”

“Yes, Daddy Bear. Ooh, I can’t wait. Just the two of us in a hotel room all day and night, and nothing but sweaty fucks.”

Andrew smiled. “You know, I adore your potty mouth.”

“No shit.”

“You’re so carefree and relaxed lately. Maybe the amnesia isn’t such a bad thing after all.”

“You don’t know the half of it, Daddy Bear.”

They laughed together. Andrew kissed her. His eyes twinkled. “I think I’m ready. Want another round of a sweaty, jolly good fuck?”

“Do I ever?” Nicolla tightened her muscles, squeezing his cock again. She wrapped her legs around his waist. “Fuck me, darling, fuck me good.”

“Wife o’ mine, you asked for it.” Andrew lurched and slammed hard.

Nicolla threw her head backward, panting. New fire exploded. “Fuck.”

Chapter Nine

The house AI woke Kelly up in the middle of the night, telling her she had received an important call. She jumped and slid down from the bed to reach the nearest vid comm before her brain registered what had happened. The AI turned on the bedroom light automatically, and projected the holo-image of the caller right in front of her. “Gunnar,” Kelly exclaimed, surprised. “What’s wrong?”

He was driving his car, looking frantic. “It’s about Tyler. He flipped out.”

“Flipped out?” Kelly scrubbed her eyes. “Why?”

“He said he’s going to kill Strickland so we could all be free.”

“What?” Kelly was completely awake by now. “Is he nuts?”

“He’s desperate, Nick. I’m heading to Strickland’s house, but I’m going to pick you up on the way there. Maybe we can reason with him before he does something stupid. Get ready.”

“I will.” Kelly hurried to the closet and raided some clothes. By the time she’d finished putting her jeans on, she heard Gunnar beeping his car from the driveway of the mansion. Kelly dashed outside and jumped into the coupé. She slammed the door and buckled up. “Give me a quick rundown of why Tyler did something this incredibly reckless?”

Gunnar hit the gas and sped onto the main road. He looked as disturbed as Kelly felt. “He’s tired. Frustrated. And pissed. He wanted to end the main reason you’ve been so miserable all these years, so you can be free.”

Kelly pulled her hair. “He knows I just a hired a lawyer who could get us out of Strickland’s contract. Why would he do something this stupid?”

“Like I said before, he’s frustrated. He didn’t want you to be used as Strickland’s plaything anymore. That’s why he wanted to end it all.”

“By killing Strickland?”

Gunnar threw her a cursory glance. “You know that Strickland is going to cast you in
Pirates
, right?”

“He told me a couple days ago.”

“Tyler and I weren’t cast in
Pirates
. You’ll be fucking somebody else. Tyler didn’t want that to happen.”

“Tyler thinks killing Strickland will solve everything?”

“I don’t know what’s on Tyler’s mind. I was thinking we run away or something along that line. You’re not fucking any other men than us.”

Kelly glared at Gunnar. Men. Did their testicles do most of the thinking? She leant forward and pressed the call button on the dashboard. The car’s AI asked her the number she wished to connect to. Kelly gave it Durbo’s number. The AI connected the call and a sleepy voice answered from the other end. “Wake up!” Kelly barked. “We have a problem.”

* * * *

Gunnar slammed on the brakes when they saw Tyler’s car sloppily parked at the kerb by Strickland’s mansion. The engine was still running and the door was ajar. Tyler was nowhere in sight, but they saw the front gate had been forced open. It seemed Tyler had buried a pick-axe into the gate’s security keypad to gain entrance into Strickland’s home. Kelly and Gunnar both swore at the same time. “I hope we’re not too late.” Gunnar unbuckled and rushed out of the car.

Kelly followed suit. “Was Tyler carrying a gun?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see him carry anything. We only talked through the vid comm.”

“Does he own one?”

“You know Tyler. He can be unpredictable sometimes.”

Kelly cursed again. She didn’t know Tyler that much. Gunnar motioned at her to be quiet. She trotted behind him as they slipped past the gate. The mansion was dark and surrounded in dead silence. It looked like Tyler had disabled the house AI so he could exact his rage on Strickland without any interference from Strickland’s securities. Kelly felt panic rising as they entered the front door. It wasn’t locked either. This was definitely not good.

Kelly had never stepped foot inside Strickland’s private residence, so she didn’t know her way around. She tailed Gunnar as he swept to the main staircase. She guessed Gunnar was heading to Strickland’s private home office.

Her guess was right. As they approached the grand hallway, they heard a man’s voice yelling from behind the closed door. Kelly sucked in her breath. It was Tyler. Gunnar kicked the door open without the slightest hesitation.

“What the fuck…” Tyler looked surprised.

“Stop it,” Gunnar barked.

Kelly barged in. She saw Tyler had tied Strickland to a chair. Both wrists and ankles were chained with cuffs, and his mouth had been gagged with plexitape. Strickland looked utterly pissed off. He glared at Kelly when he became aware of her, his eyes full of venom. The tape muffled his storm of curses.

“Get her out of here!” Tyler strode to Kelly, snatching her arm and pushing her out of the room. She saw Tyler had a gun. A big one, with bullets big enough to evaporate a human head. “What the hell were you thinking?” he yelled at Gunnar. “Don’t involve her in this business.” Kelly struggled back into the room, defying him.

“Give me that gun, Tyler. I don’t want you to hurt anybody.” Gunnar went to take the gun from his brother.

Tyler smacked Gunnar’s hand away. “That son of a bitch deserves more than being hurt. He needs to go away, forever, so he can’t cheat and enslave people like us ever again.”

“You’re not thinking rationally this time—”

“I agree with you, babe,” Kelly interjected. She felt the need to interfere with Tyler’s intention. Gunnar’s persuasion wouldn’t work. His brother wasn’t in his right mind right now. Tyler needed a little reverse psychology persuasion. “This asswipe needs to go away forever.”

“What the hell, Nick?” Gunnar turned to her, aggravated.

Kelly stared at Tyler, deadpan. “I agree that Strickland needs to go away. Forever.” She shifted her attention to the bound man, giving him the evil eye. “But killing him won’t solve our problem.”

Tyler pointed his gun at Gunnar. “Take her out of here. Now.”

“Killing him isn’t going to dissolve our contract. His partners are going to take over his assets, which mean us, and we’re going to be working for his partners. We’re not going to be free, Tyler. The contract stays even if he’s dead.”

“What are you talking about?” Gunnar asked.

“I hired a lawyer who can get us out of his slavery forever.”

“We’ve been over this,” Tyler snapped in desperation. “No one was able to help us.”

“That’s because we didn’t find the right lawyer.” Kelly pulled the plexitape off Strickland’s mouth.

He cursed. His lip bled from the tape’s adhesive. “You’re not going to get away with this, bitch. You and your dirty—”

“Oh, but we will,” Kelly answered sweetly. “I know about your account at Amtex. I know all about your shielded investors in Bramer and Andes Island. I also know about your involvement with Lula McNoir.” She pulled closer and grinned. “Harry, dear, I know all of your dirty secrets.”

Strickland clenched his jaw, looking as if he was assessing Kelly’s threat. “You’re bluffing.”

“I’m not. Your ass is going to be toast. Crisp, burnt toast.”

Tyler let out an impatient snort. He grabbed Kelly’s arm and semi-dragged her to the door again. “Get her out of here,” he barked to Gunnar. “Now.”

Kelly protested, trying to wriggle free from Tyler’s grip, but he was too strong. Tyler stopped suddenly when he realised someone was at the door. Durbo had just arrived. “I got here as fast as I could,” he told Kelly. “What’s happening?”

“Who the hell are you?” Tyler glared at him.

“I’m Hank Durbo, attorney-at-law. Miss Evers has hired me as her legal counsel.”

Kelly wrenched free from Tyler’s grip. “Thank God you’re here. My boyfriends here want to kill my manager.”

“That conduct is highly illegal, Mr Roche.” Durbo slipped into his lawyerish manners. “You’ll get life in prison for premeditated murder.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Tyler barked. “Get this clown out of here. I’ve had enough of this bullshit.”

“Babe, just listen to me, will you?” Kelly pleaded with Tyler. She turned to Durbo. “Tell him that you’ll be able to help us.”

“Mr Roche, I assure you that I will get Ms Evers out of the contract.”

Tyler still wasn’t convinced. Gunnar snatched the gun from Tyler’s hand. “This is not the way we want to go, Ty.”

“All of you need to leave these premises.” Durbo set his briefcase on Strickland’s desk. “I’ll tie up this loose end. I’ll call the police and explain to the authority about our little misunderstanding here.”

“Misunderstanding?” Strickland was outraged. “That son of a bitch was trying to murder me.”

Durbo tutted. “It’s unfortunate for you that I came just in time to prevent that from happening. You’d be a luckier man if I was late, Mr Strickland.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are? You—”

“I’m surprised you’ve never heard of me.” Durbo grabbed a vid comm console to call the police. “I’ve never lost a single case. Never. You should be very, very afraid.” Durbo grimaced, showing too many teeth. Kelly shivered. “Now, get out of here,” Durbo ordered her. “In a few minutes, this place will be crawling with police. It would make my job a lot easier if the three of you are somewhere else in the meantime.”

She didn’t need any more encouragement. Kelly snatched both Tyler and Gunnar’s hands and dragged them out of Strickland’s office.

Chapter Ten

Three days later

Nicolla observed Kelly. “You look…different.” It still felt weird watching somebody else wearing her body, but Nicolla noticed the difference, nevertheless. When they’d first met, Kelly had looked tensed and harried. Now she was relaxed and radiant. Ms Prissy was glowing. “How’s all that sex working out for you? Ty and Gunnar are good, aren’t they?”

Kelly let out a sheepish grin. “For your information, I haven’t slept with them again after Café Columbia.”

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t feel right. They’re your men and I have a husband.”

“Ethically, yes. Technically, no. You forgot the fact that you’re now Nicolla Evers, the porn star, and I’m Kelly White, the prissy lawyer.”

Kelly’s grin widened. “Prissy? Am I that bad?”

“Nah. You just have to learn to have a good time, that’s all.” Nicolla stirred her cocktail and took a sip. They were on the rooftop of the Havana Grill, having a girls’ night out. Romana’s sun had just faded across the horizon and the city was bathed with brilliant lights. From where they were sitting, the cityscape looked spectacular. “Now, Ms Prissy, are you ready for the good news?”

“Goody.” Kelly rubbed her palms together. “Do tell.”

“Andi wants to take me on our, your, second honeymoon to Verve Island. He wants to renew your marriage vows.”

Kelly’s mouth fell open. “For real?”

“Do I look like I’m shitting you?” Nicolla told her the details about the session with Diego Luca in Club Arcana, and how they had talked for hours after hot sweaty sex, where Andrew had spilt his heart out to her until morning.

“Outrageous,” Kelly commented after Nicolla finished her story. “That explains why you’re wearing a slave collar. I had no idea he’s that kinky.”

“It’s not about being kinky. Your husband is a lonely man, and when he’s lonely, he tends to withdraw into his inner self. He thought you were too independent, to the point you don’t need him anymore. Let’s face it, as a hotshot lawyer, you make more money than he does, and with you micro-managing every project down to the little details, it’s just plain annoying. You make every decision, even ones that should have been decided by the two of you. What you do makes him insecure as a man.

“I took him to Club Arcana and had that D/s session so I could restore his confidence, giving him back his control. Sometimes, what a man needs is to have his dominant side acknowledged. Don’t ask me why, it’s just the way men were genetically wired. And this thing”—Nicolla fingered the sleek, black leather collar on her neck—“it’s a little reminder that I respect and need him as the most important man in my life. Plain and simple.”

“Wow.” Kelly’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “All these years, I’ve been so blind.”

“You should pay more attention to your surroundings. There’s more to life than your job and career.”

“I realise that now. Well.” She clasped her hands together. “Do you want to hear about your good news?”

“You’ve had enough of Harry and couldn’t resist finally killing him?”

“Even better. I blackmailed him.”

Nicolla sat straight in her seat. “Blackmailed? Harry? I never thought those two words could be in the same sentence.”

“It was a shakedown.” Kelly told her how she’d found out about Strickland’s money laundering scheme and his other illegal activities by hacking into his server.

“Strickland was connected with a kingpin named Laureen ‘Lula’ McNoir who set up dozens of non-existent companies in Andes Island in order to pump the mafia’s money in and out of the Romana system, under the government’s radar. Through his connection in the SEA, Hank Durbo was able to get proof of Strickland’s illegal ventures and used it to blackmail the big man himself. Durbo demanded that Strickland annul Nicolla and the Roches’ contract, and forced him to pay damages to Nicolla for years of suffering his abuse. Strickland had no choice but to agree.”

Kelly’s brilliance for masterminding such a plan amazed Nicolla. “I’m now free? I’m no longer under that contract?”

“Yes. We just closed the deal this morning.” Kelly grabbed her purse and fished out a holo-cube. “Here are the documents. Signed and sealed. Harry Strickland is officially out of your life for good. He can’t harass you anymore.”

“Holy shit. No more Harry Strickland ever. How can I ever thank you?”

“I’m the one who must thank you. You saved my marriage. I thought I was going to lose Andi for sure.”

“Uhm, correction, it’s still officially my marriage. We have to find a way to switch back. Andi made some arrangements this morning. We’re scheduled to fly to Verve Island by the end of this week.”

“I’ve done some research about body switching, and so far, I’ve got nothing. But I have a hunch that it might be because we’re both lynxae. I heard Santa Anna has extensive records about our ancestors dated before the Separation. I was planning to fly to Essex as soon as Durbo had finished finalising the separation of your assets.”

“What if we can’t change back? I’m not a lawyer, Kelly. I can’t do your job.”

“Well, I haven’t really thought about it. When are you supposed to get back to work?”

“Rush gave me a month medical leave.”

“Then we must find a way to switch back before then.”

“But what if we’re stuck like this forever? I mean, there was no indication whatsoever, and bam! One morning we woke up in each other’s body. How freaky was that?”

“We’ll find a way. Think positive.”

They fell into silence, both drowning in their own thoughts. Nicolla sighed and played with her drink. She noticed the rooftop was jam packed with people. “What’s with the crowd tonight? They’re gonna have a band outside or something?”

Kelly looked around. “I think these people came to watch the falling stars. I heard on the news there’s going to be meteorite showers tonight.”

“Falling stars, huh?” Nicolla snorted. “Funny story, that night before we switched, I saw some falling stars too and made a wish. People say if you make a wish to a falling star, your wish will come true. And the wicked thing is—it came true, in a sort of twisted way.”

“You don’t say. I did too. What was your wish?”

“I wished I had a normal life, not living as a smut peddler, and had a nice husband, a great job and a house outside the District, living a boring, steady, normal, suburban life.”

Kelly covered her mouth. “Oh, God. That night was when I found out what Andi’s stalker looked like, and I wished that I was pretty and very good in the sex department so he wouldn’t fall for that bitch.”

“That’s it! Maybe that was what caused us to switch! I wanted a normal life and you wanted to be a super slut. We should make another wish tonight when we see the falling stars.”

“Super slut.” Kelly snorted. “You don’t really believe this superstition, do you?”

“We have nothing to lose.” The crowd became noisier as everyone left their seats and gathered on the patio. Nicolla craned her neck. “Is it time?”

“I don’t know, looks like it.”

“Well, come on.” Nicolla yanked Kelly’s hand and semi-dragged her into the open area. The heavens above were clear of clouds and graced with thousands of stars. From the north, dozens of brilliant lights slashed across the night. “Here we go.”

“How are we going to do it?”

“I don’t know. Just close your eyes and make a wish.”

Kelly grabbed Nicolla’s hands. “On three.”

Nicolla squeezed her eyes shut, her heart drumming wildly. “One, two, three…” She wished hard that they could switch again, getting back in their own bodies. She prayed to whoever was out there, gods, deities or whatever divine cosmic beings had caused them to switch in the first place, hoping they would hear her plea and grant her wish.

The crowd cheered as the meteorite showers made a spectacular sight in the sky. The air was filled with cacophonous noise, but Nicolla could only hear the thundering of her own heart. Never in her life had she wished for something so badly. She felt for a long moment she was being transported to another realm.
It has to work. It has to
…

She opened her eyes, half-expecting that her wish had come true, even though deep inside, part of her knew it wouldn’t work. She saw her own body. The wish hadn’t worked. Nicolla stormed some curses while the crowd cheered to the heavens.

“Well, what do you expect? It’s only a superstition,” Kelly remarked. She looked disappointed as well.

“We tried.” Nicolla released Kelly’s hands and headed back to the café. All of a sudden, she wanted to cry. Being with Andrew had been a great experience, but somehow, she missed Tyler and Gunnar.

Kelly trotted beside her. “You’re not going to give up, are you? We’ll find a way.”

“Sure.” But Nicolla wasn’t so sure. Even Kelly noticed she was fibbing.

Kelly sighed. “We’re in deep shit, aren’t we?”

* * * *

The house AI woke Kelly up for an urgent call. She hadn’t slept last night and when she’ finally been about to doze off, the inhuman voice had slipped into her semi-consciousness insisting on her taking the call. “Goddamn it.” Kelly forced her eyes open and groped the nightstand to find the vid comm console. She didn’t find the console there—instead, she knocked the lamp down. A loud clattering noise filled the room.

“Would you tell whoever that is to call back again in a couple of hours?” Andrew’s voice came from under the blanket. “It’s Saturday, for God’s sake. Don’t they have a life or something?”

Kelly froze in an instant.
Andi
! She looked down and almost screamed. She was in her own body.
Oh, my God!
She was herself again! She was about to pull down the blanket to hug Andi when the holo projection of the AI materialised in front of her and announced who was making the call. Nicolla Evers was on the other end of the line.

Kelly scooted down the bed and ran to the bathroom. She didn’t want to disturb Andi while he was sleeping. She locked the door and slammed the vid comm console on the bathroom’s wall.

“There you go, Ms Prissy. Notice anything different this morning?” Nicolla greeted her, grinning from ear to ear.

“We switched back! Oh, my God, we’re back!”

“I know. I guess the wish worked after all. Who would know?”

Kelly laughed, feeling giddy. “Outrageous. I still can’t believe it.”

“You better believe it. Since we’ve switched back, I want to let you know a few tricks about Andi.”

“Tricks?”

“Tricks. Tips. I gave Andi a nickname. He said you always thought pet names were juvenile.”

“Well, aren’t they?”

“No. Having a pet name for your loved one is a great way to connect with him emotionally. You have to pay more attention to little things like that.”

“What pet name did you give him?”

“Daddy Bear.” Kelly started to open her mouth and Nicolla quickly cut her off. “If you say ‘outrageous’ one more time, I swear to God, I’m going to fucking murder you.”

Kelly burst out laughing. “Actually, I was going to ask why Daddy Bear?”

“Oh, that.” Nicolla laughed along. “Do you remember that cowboy show with Mark Nash on Station Seven? I thought Andrew was as cute as him. And his girlfriend on that show was always calling Mark ‘Daddy Bear’.”

“Now that I think about it, you’re right. Andi does look a lot like Mark Nash.”