"Home!" Justin called as his dogs burst through the open front door the next morning. Chuckling as Buckley and Brennan bounded through the house, barking excitedly while heading for the master bedroom, he doubted he needed to announce his presence. Those two would have roused the dead. He couldn't understand how they were so energetic after their brisk, long walk but he didn't stress. Tossing their leashes and his keys down he kicked the door shut and winced as their barks continued to echo through the house. Ducking into the kitchen to get a cold drink he groaned when he remembered that he had shut the bedroom door.

Calandra had been sleeping so peacefully when the dogs had sought him out for their morning walk. When he had asked the night before if she wanted to join them for their usual three mile hike she had nodded but Justin hadn't had the heart to wake her. Not when he had come from the bathroom and seen her sprawled in the same spot she had fallen asleep in. Her long wavy hair had spilled over the pillows and one delectable breast had peeked at him over the sheet that was wrapped around her. So he had let her sleep. Maybe she had needed it. A grin pulled at his lips as he thought of their night together. His thighs burned, his throat felt as though he had been singing for hours and when he had climbed out of the bed his knees had buckled like a newborn giraffe's.

But he wouldn't change it for the world. The pleasant weakness of his system was a small price to pay for the countless hours he had spent with Calandra the night before. It had been close to midnight when they had finally ventured from her bedroom and she had thrown together sandwiches for a late dinner. Even Justin hadn't expected doing her on the counter. It was as though one taste of her wasn't nearly enough. His whispered request that she come home with him, made when he had her pressed to the cold tile of her shower for the second time, had brought forth a pleased smile, a nod, and a delirious kiss. He had given her a quick tour when they got to his house, barely able to keep his hands off her. And when the tour had ended in his bedroom the real fun had begun.

How many times did they have sex last night? He wondered as he hollered for the dogs to shut up. It was hard to pinpoint an actual number and he wasn't sure if getting her off with his fingers counted as actual sex. He shivered at the vivid memory of her orgasms. Usually he listened for moans and whimpers and squeals that led to high-pitched screams, but with her it was completely different. The hitch of breath in her throat. The tightening of her thighs. The undulation of her hips. The way her head fell back and her mouth fell open and her entire body shuddered…

Broken from his reverie when Buckley and Brennan crashed through the living room at high speed, Justin cursed under his breath, whistling for them. They paid him no mind, though, racing around the entire downstairs as though chasing a ghost. Finally pushing open the back door so they would take their rambunctious behavior outside, he breathed a sigh of relief when they leaped over each other to get out the door first.

"Crazy fucking mutts." He groaned, reaching to shut the door. But, hearing what sounded like the tinkling of wind chimes in a soft breeze, he stopped. The sound stopped immediately and he shrugged. He decided he needed more sleep. Leaving the door ajar so his stupid dogs could come in and get their food when hunger won out over retardation, he went upstairs.

Calandra was still asleep. The sheet had slipped away and now both breasts were visible and her legs were pared, giving him a great view as he shed his clothing. Down, boy. He thought when he felt an ache form in the pit of his stomach. He crawled into the bed and despite his self-admonitions he slid his body over hers. He moaned at the feel of her body against his, wondering if she had put some sort of spell on him. He seriously began to doubt he would ever have enough of her.

If only she could talk. If only she could look in his eyes and tell him what she felt, what she wanted.

She shifted slightly, thighs sliding against his. He hissed at the sensation, brushing soft kisses over her neck as she slowly awoke. He felt her deep breath and her hands slowly came up to slide through his hair and he smiled against her skin. "Sleep good?" His question was a whisper as he trailed his kisses over her collarbone. Her legs curled over his and a soft sigh pulled from her throat and he had her answer.

She was wet. Nearly drenched, he realized as he gently probed her with the tip of his erection. Her fingers swept over his cheek and he sucked her finger into his mouth, eyebrows quirking in surprise when he tasted her essence on her skin. Her hips lifted as he pushed forward and he was inside her.

"You were getting off while I was gone, weren't you?" He flicked his tongue over the tip of her finger before dropping his head to pull a puckered nipple between his teeth. He remained still inside her, fully enjoying the fact that she had masturbated in his bed. A bit disappointed that he had missed it, perhaps, but the mental image so thoroughly aroused him that he trembled. He glanced up and saw her cheeks were crimson. "Was it good?" He asked. She shrugged, hips rotating in small circles beneath his. "Not as good as me, was it?"

Calandra hesitated before slowly shaking her head.

"Don't worry, baby girl, I'll get you there."

***

Perched on the top of the floor-to-ceiling shelf in Justin's office, Ariella breathed a soft sigh of relief. It had been fun, at first, torturing the dogs. But she had grossly underestimated their attention span. The two beasts had chased her around for over an hour until finally collapsing on the kitchen floor when she had raced through to grab a snack. She had then gone upstairs to see Calandra, but had immediately turned back downstairs when she had fluttered into the room and found the two humans writhing on the bed.

Honestly. She huffed, dipping one hand into the bag of sunflower seeds she had found in the kitchen. She pried the hull apart and munched thoughtfully on the salty seed, legs swinging idly. And she had thought other humans were bad. Naturally curious, she has spent many of her first nights in the human world sneaking out of Calandra's room and spying on her neighbors. She had not been able to wrap her mind around the blatant sexual activity that was happening under everyone's nose.

But Calandra and Justin! She shook her head in disbelief, tossing the hull to the floor and reaching for another. She had thought she'd given them plenty of time the night before, waiting until she heard the water running in the shower before slipping into the bedroom so she could go to sleep. But, no, Calandra and Justin had made that impossible. The sounds that man made. Ariella thought he sounded like some wounded beast.

She felt no guilt over watching them when they had arrived at Justin's house. After all, she had been charged by the Council to always accompany Calandra everywhere and she certainly wasn't going to let the woman out of her range ever again. Especially after it had taken her two days to find the human after that visit to the Dream Weaver. She could throttle Calandra for sneaking off when she knew Ariella would be meeting with her own kind.

She cringed at the thought of her next meeting with the Council.

Her worries dissipated, however, when Justin entered the room. She smiled as he shuffled towards the desk, muffling a yawn against his shoulder while he powered up his computer. One scarlet eyebrow rose when he sat down and she saw the fine scratch marks along his back. Even if the man sounded like a wounded beast when he had sex, it was obvious that he knew how to please Calandra.

Dusting the salt from her fingers, she hopped up, fully prepared to go upstairs and grill Calandra. But just as she began to flap her wings the bag of sunflower seeds slid off the shelf. She tried her best to swoop down and catch them before they hit the floor but gravity tilted the bag and the seeds fell, scattering on the hardwood floor.

Fuck.

Justin turned at the sound and she saw the confusion flash in his eyes when the bag hit the floor. She had inadvertently caused a ruckus in the presence of humans before but his reaction made her giggle. The sound floated in the room and she abruptly stopped when he raised his head, looking directly at her. But he couldn't see her. That fact pleased her and she zipped to stand on his desk as he shook his head in confusion. His shoulders shrugged and she knew he was deciding that someone had left the bag on the shelf for some unknown reason.

Humans. So stupid.

She settled on the desk, tucking her wings against her back as she watched him. She had no idea of this was his regular routine or not, but it took all her willpower to keep from laughing. The man talked to himself as he surfed the internet. Comments about a particular news story or thoughts on a new song, muttered curses as he clicked on a gossip site and saw his picture. Chuckles as he read comic strips. Critiques on an actress' choice of clothing. But he didn't just talk. He moved. She had realized in the early morning hours that he never kept still, having sat on his dresser and watched him shift and turn in his sleep.

But his movements now were hilarious. He bobbed his head in time to whatever song was playing. He wrinkled his nose and moved his lips as he read a news story. He scratched his chest. He scratched his nose. He scratched his crotch. She would have thought that after his strenuous activities the night before he would be exhausted but the man seemed to be a bundle of energy.

No wonder Calandra was still in bed.

"Ah, fuck!" Justin's voice was louder now than it had been during his mumbles over an article saying he would be teaming up with Jenna Jameson in an upcoming porn movie. Curious, Ariella fluttered to hover by his shoulder, wondering what had brought such a response. And she felt her jaw drop when she saw the pictures on his computer screen.

They were of Calandra and Justin. At the studio, Ariella guessed, confused as to how the photographer had managed the pictures. They showed the two going through dance moves and as Justin scrolled to the bottom of the page and Ariella saw a grainy shot of Calandra against the wall kissing Justin, she could no longer maintain her silence.

"How the fuck did they get that picture?! What were they doing, camping out in a building across the street?" She demanded, kicking one foot in frustration. Her foot connected with Justin's shoulder but she didn't care. He whirled around and she had to move to the left to avoid being knocked from the air by his chin. Anger towards the person who had invaded Calandra's privacy bubbled within Ariella and she shifted so she was right in front of Justin. "Am I going to see pictures of her fucking you tomorrow?"

"What--Who--" Justin stammered, eyes flashing as he looked around the room. Ariella growled and he swiveled around to look straight at her. He squinted for a moment and she saw the realization wash over him. His face paled, his mouth dropped open and his blue eyes widened. "Who--Who--Who--"

"Ariella." She made a bow but put too much force behind it and ended up somersaulting in the air. "No, you're not crazy. Or drunk. I'm real."

***

Justin laughed nervously, blinking as the tiny whatever-it-was continued to hover just in front of his face. He rubbed his eyes and was certain that he was hallucinating. From what, he had no idea. Too much sex, maybe. He certainly hadn't been drinking. And it had been weeks since he'd last smoked weed. When he looked again it was still there. He supposed it was a she. Long hair, breasts and a dress typically signified female, right? "Are you--What are you?"

"I am a fairy."

That tiny voice. It was what he would have thought a mouse's voice was like. If mice could talk. Dragging his hands down his face, he sat back in his chair and stared at her. "A fairy? You mean like Tinkerbell?"

Wrong thing to say. Her small face contorted and he wouldn't have been surprised if smoke had started coming out of her ears. "Tinkerbell. Is. A. Pixie." She nearly growled the words and he was immediately chastised.

"I'm sorry--"

"When she flies, pixie dust floats from her. Her wings and ears are pointed. Her hips are wide. Her breasts are small." Ariella spun in a circle, spreading her wings fully. "When I fly, nothing floats behind me. My wings are rounded and my ears are, too. My hips are slender and my breasts are larger."

"I'm sorry, I--"

"Tinkerbell is a slut." Ariella snorted. "First she's all hot over Peter Pan. Then she gets sweaty over some loser at Pixie Hollow. Fucking please, Timberlake. Fairies are so much better than a stupid cartoon pixie."

"I see." Justin had leaned back further and further with each word and now slowly moved into a normal position. Rubbing the back of his neck, he cleared his throat and glanced at the scattered sunflower seeds. "Where did you come from?"

"I originated in Ireland. But not the Ireland you know. My family then moved to Laden, which you also don't know. I come from a long line of fairies that are known as the Trooping Fairies. We're aristocracy mostly, but there are a few domestics and fairies of lesser importance. And then there are the fairies like me."

"And what's that?" He hated to admit it, but he was curious. If this was a crazy dream that was fine, but it was damned interesting.

"Let's just say I did something wrong and was sent to the human world as punishment." She explained.

"So... Why are you here?" Justin asked.

"I came with Calandra. She's my ward. Well, she was. I did my penance and the Council told me I could either go back to my world or stay with humans. Calandra's a dear, so I decided to stay with her a little while longer."

Calandra had a fairy? Justin almost laughed at the thought but refrained. He somehow knew it would only cause the fairy to get mad again. "I see."

"No you don't. You're so damn blind I want to knock you upside the head." She folded her arms over her chest and it looked as though she was about to launch into another tirade. But the sound of one of his dogs trotting towards the room diverted her and in an instant she was hurrying to the top of the shelf. "Your fucking dogs! They almost killed me!"

"My dogs?" Justin asked, looking to the door when Brennan slipped inside the room. His sweet, loving dogs had almost killed her? Crooning towards the Boxer, he vigorously rubbed her ears when she placed her front paws in his lap. "My dogs aren't like that. They're sweet, aren't you girl? Yes you are--Fuck!" He screeched when Brennan's paws dug into his gut before she spun around. Her hackles rose as she stared at the top shelf, where Ariella hid behind one of his Grammy awards. A low growl rumbled from the dog and Justin could only stare in horror as she leaped straight up, snapping at Ariella.

"SEE?!" Ariella shrieked, flying away from the shelf. Brennan followed, continuing to jump into the air, jaws snapping. "Most dogs just chase me a few minutes then leave me alone!"

With that she left the room, Brennan right behind her. Justin slapped a hand over his face as loud barks filled his home and groaned when he heard Buckley joining in. The thundering of paws echoed from every room and he couldn't help but wonder who he had pissed off to deserve such chaos.