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

like a character in one of your video games. Or a mosquito.”
    “God, Alix, couldn’t you have thought through the consequences for once?”
    “Don’t be mad,” Alix pleaded. “You have to help me. What do I wear?”
    “What do you wear ? That’s your big question? What to wear?”
    “It’s not my only question.”
    And just like that, Karen hung up.
    Alix stared at the phone.
    She’d gotten drunk and ordered her magic computer to bring a sexy TV spy to life. To come to her home and fuck her.
    Okay, but it’s not like it would rip the fabric of the universe!
    She drained the rest of her soda, silver bracelets jingling, and stared out the window. The porch light cast a pale sheen over the backyard and the run-down carriage house. The forest beyond was shrouded in pure darkness. No stars, no moon.
    She thought about stripping some paint off the upstairs baseboards while she waited for the potatoes to cook. Like that would make up for what she’d done. Instead she grabbed a bag of cinnamon red-hots she’d been saving to put on cookies. She tore into them just as her cell phone went off. Karen’s tune.
    Alix gasped in relief and snapped it up. “Karen!”
    “Jeans with a nice top,” Karen said. “Sexy, but not too outrageous. You know that beige cashmere top of yours?”
    “Thank you,” Alix said. “I’ll wear that. That’s exactly what I’ll wear.”
    “Yeah, fabulous. You listen to me now .”
    “I know, I know.”
    “Okay, I went and found that commercial. Same stuff, every time? He shows up, drinks Denali, romances a woman, and dissolves?” Karen asked.
    “Always. Exactly like that.”
    Silence again. “Maybe you have a point about that being his lifecycle. Like a mosquito or a video game character. If I ordered a character from a video game, I’d expect him to follow the rules set by the game. Like, if there was a character that could be killed by a squirt of lemon juice or who needs to collect a sword to get power, I’d expect him to follow those rules in real life.”
    “His rules are that he arrives, he spies, he romances, he drinks Denali, and then he walks out the door and dissolves.”
    “So those are the conditions he must satisfy for his lifecycle—you must allow him to spy, to romance, to drink Denali. And then walk out of a doorway. You’ll definitely need to get Denali.”
    “See? It’s not so bad.”
    “Actually, it IS so bad. And I might be wrong. It’s not like this stuff’s on Wikipedia. Okay. Shit. He arrives at 7:46?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well for starters, I’m calling at eight to make sure everything’s cool. What if he wants to have sex and you don’t?”
    “Sir Kendall is a gentleman. It’s not like they’re going to put a rapist in a commercial that sells liqueur to women.”
    “Jesus,” Karen hissed. “I’m flying out there.”
    “You’re doing a launch. You can’t.”
    “I’ll phone it in.”
    “No! Don’t! Lindy will be here,” Alix said. “He won’t be trouble. Come on.”
    Karen sighed dramatically.
    They discussed the meal and decided on a pan of eggplant parmesan. If Sir Kendall didn’t show, at least she’d have something yummy to eat through the week.

       
    Friday night.
    Alix put the eggplant parmesan in the oven at 6:45, but she’d wait for Sir Kendall to arrive before she started it baking.
    If he arrived.
    She’d spent the day cleaning, shopping, and running errands, but now that she’d come to a stop, she felt nervous as hell. What did she really know about Sir Kendall? She knew Hardass Paul, even trusted him on a deep level, asshole that he was, but this wasn’t Hardass Paul. And unlike Paul, he’d want to have sex with her! Would that be weird? No. She’d rehearsed it enough in her mind.
    She’d dug out her favorite jeans, which were so threadbare that she only trotted them out on special occasions. This definitely qualified. With the jeans she wore the sassy, creamy cashmere top that Karen had recommended, the