Read Mr. Real (Code of Shadows #1) for Free Online

Craziest Alix thing ever.
    Oh, Karen was going to freak .
    Alix forced herself to get up and go to the kitchen. She pulled some pre-baked potatoes out of the refrigerator and heated them in the oven. The potatoes formed the basis of one of her favorite meals, Mexican potatoes, which was nothing more than potatoes with cheese and salsa piled on top.
    She stood over the warming oven, chewing on a carrot.
    He’d show up on her doorstep, just like that barrel. Except he’d want to drink Denali. And seduce her. What the hell, it’s what she’d wanted. She loved to have sex, and Sir Kendall would be perfect—he’d have a little Paul in him, except he’d actually want her. And he was a sexy spy.
    She’d need to buy some Denali. And food. Did he eat? Of course he did. If he drank, he ate. What did he eat?
    Her pulse raced. He would probably eat red meat—steaks, but not burgers. She barely ever cooked steak. Would he settle for fish? Italian food? Would he eat chips? No, he wouldn’t want to get his hands greasy. Paul would eat chips, Sir Kendall wouldn’t. She could see him eating olives, though, maybe with toothpicks. Yes, he’d definitely like olives.
    This was so crazy! But, maybe he wouldn’t come. And yet, a part of her wanted him to.
    A shopping list began to form in her mind, because of course she would feed him. In the commercials, he liked to have a drink, but a good hostess offered food to a guest. And then what? Would he want to talk? Or go right to the sex-and-romance part? But who says Sir Kendall would be up for sex?
    Of course he’d be up for it. Sir Kendall was a madly sexual being.
    She stared at her half-eaten carrot, which no longer seemed like food. Her stomach felt like 99% pure stardust.
    No more beer! She grabbed a Coke.
    Her phone. She turned it on. Six calls from Karen.
    Crap.
    She called Karen at her conference hotel room.
    “Honey!” Karen said. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a bitch, I was just freaked out.” Karen apologized some more. Alix assured her it was fine, and that she wasn’t mad at her—not at all.
    “Are you okay?” Karen said after a long silence. “Is something up?”
    “Um…sort of,” Alix said.
    More silence.
    “Damn,” Karen said. “What did you order?”
    Alix winced. “I think it’ll be okay.”
    “No way, you didn’t order anything. You’re messing with me. Are you drunk?”
    “That’s totally irrelevant,” Alix said. “It’s a good test—I swear! It’s just that…well, you know that commercial with Sir Kendall? The Denali man?”
    Karen gasped. “Tell me you didn’t.”
    Alix explained her thinking, why it was actually a good idea.
    A long silence.
    “Who are you? Harry Mudd?” Karen barked. “What are you thinking? I can’t even believe…I am on the floor, dumbfounded. A unicorn would’ve been way more practical.”
    “At least it’ll test the magic!”
    “Bringing an imaginary person to life? Yeah, I guess so. And what if it’s Hardass Paul? That’ll be a barrel of monkeys.”
    “It won’t be Paul,” Alix said. “I’ve been thinking about this. You get what’s in the picture, that’s why there’s always a blank space where the picture came from. When I talked to that jewelry guy, the real necklace was still in his case—my necklace came from the picture . And that barrel came complete with all the dents. It’s not like I got a bunch of lumber and metal instead of a barrel. So why would I get Paul instead of Sir Kendall? You get whatever’s in the picture, not the real thing.”
    “Is that supposed to be a relief to me?”
    “Kind of,” Alix said.
    “You may have just brought a human being to life. Not to mention the sexual slavery angle.”
    “What? Nobody’s making him do anything. He’s not a person, he’s a character.”
    “As if that makes it all right,” Karen said.
    “It’s his thing! He shows up, romances, drinks Denali, and walks out the door and dissolves. That’s his whole deal,