by Meg Xuemei X
At the far side of the office, a set of russet leather sofas spoke of money and elegant, old-fashioned taste. Many exotic plants with large blossoms I’d never seen in my life adorned the corners of the luxurious space.
Sitting behind a large ebony desk was the boss everyone seemed to fear. At a closer look, he was even more gorgeous than I’d thought. Everything about him emitted dark danger—even his obsidian eyebrows, and sapphire eyes. Only this time, I didn’t see his wings. But I swore I’d seen them when I was on the club floor.
Strangely, I wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of him. His power that charged the air without trying only excited me. It felt similar to the other two Fae assholes, like they were different fabric produced from the same machine.
Then I almost smacked my forehead.
Of course they felt similar. Rydstrom was Fae, too.
As my eyes roved over from his perfect, curvy mouth to his dark gray dress shirt stretched over his broad muscled chest, he reviewed my every detail, too, drinking me in. Somehow, his perusal made me want to purr and blush at once.
When his gaze snagged on the cut in my pant leg, I crossed my arms. “I was attacked in your club.”
“They’ll be dealt with,” he said simply.
I didn’t push the issue. Under his intense gaze I suddenly felt hot, like the room temperature had jumped several degrees.
“Is the air conditioner on?” I asked, fanning my face.
“The temperature is kept under sixty-four degrees here.”
I darted my eyes toward the wall near the door, seeking a thermometer that wasn’t there.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “It feels like ninety-nine degrees in here.”
“Maybe you should cool yourself off,” he offered, a faint, amused smile ghosting the corner of his mouth for a fleeting second.
I sauntered toward one of the two empty chairs before his desk, still fanning my face. As I approached him, his nostrils flared, just like Rowan and Baron had. This happened every time I got in a fight. Maybe there was something off in the droplets of my sweat? If this dude told me I smelled, I’d whip out Carolina Reaper again.
I slid into one of the plush chairs and smiled. I needed to be polite so he would hire me. “It seems some people here are scared of you, like you’re the big bad wolf,” I said.
“They’re all afraid of me,” he said. “Beings tremble in my presence.”
I threw my head back and laughed. Rydstrom only narrowed his eyes, and I dropped my smile.
“That’s not a joke?” I asked.
“I do not joke.”
For a second, the man morphed into a nightmarish winged creature, like a bigger, deadlier version of the gargoyle statue guarding the entrance of the club.
A blink later, the image was gone and Rydstrom appeared as a stunning Fae man again. Either my imagination was running wild, or this Sight thing was malfunctioning.
“I see,” I said. The guy had no sense of humor, but it wouldn’t do me any good to say so. “Let’s get down to business. I came here for a bartending job.”
I pulled out a piece of paper from the back pocket of my pants, unfolded it, and laid it on the desk in front of the mob Fae boss.
He glanced at the faked resume with a frown, but I had it all covered if he checked for references. However, there was no excuse for the wrinkles on the paper, even though it was probably due to the brawl in the club. I didn’t say anything to bring his attention to it.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-one,” I said easily. “I’m old enough to legally pour poison.”
“Dance for me.”
I sat a bit straighter on the chair. “Ex—Excuse me?”
“A striptease, to be precise.”
I blinked at him.
“I want to see how good you are at the job,” he said in a flat tone, yet his deep blue eyes sparkled.
I forced a smile. “I think there’s a misunderstanding here. I want to tend the bar, not dance on some laps. You have plenty of girls for that, as you can see for yourself.” I twisted my torso in the chair and gestured to the floor downstairs.
From here, we both could see girls writhing on patrons’ laps in private booths, while the pro stripers danced on the stages on one end of the club. They got some male eye candy as well.
“But you have only one bartender pouring drinks for jerks,” I added. “That’s where I come in. I’ll handle difficult patrons for you.”
“Indira can handle them just well,” he said. “I do not require you to dance for anyone,” he added, his voice silky and seductive, yet with a hard core like midnight steel. Every timbre beat in my bloodstream. “If you want to tend bar, you’ll strip dance for me. There’s no misunderstanding here.”
“That’s obnoxious!”
His gaze flitted over my left shoulder. “There’s the door. On your way out, Drake will close it for you.”
Drake must be one of the guards posted outside.
I bit my inner cheek and glared at him. He held my gaze with his dark sapphire eyes. My nostrils flaring, I rose to my feet and stormed toward the door. He was lucky that I didn’t show him a vulgar gesture.
When I laid my hand on the handle, he still didn’t call me back. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted him pushing my wrinkled resume to the edge of his expensive desk. Then he opened a notebook and scribbled something on the page.
“Just out of curiosity,” I said, my voice dripping with disdain. I had to leave him with something spiteful before I left, not that it would have much effect on a sleazeball mob Fae boss. So far, I hadn’t met a decent Fae. “Do you ask every girl to come here to perform for you for a job interview? Is that how every one of them got the job?”
He probably had asked more than that.
He leveled his gaze on me. “Every one of them would consider it an honor to do that for me. They’d gain great status for such a performance. But no, I never asked any woman, except you, to dance for me. I’ve never brought any others here, either.”
I wrinkled my nose in disbelief. “I’m the first one?”
“You heard me.”
A surprise went though me, quenching two-thirds of the rising anger inside me.
“Were you joking again?” I asked in a high-pitched voice before I tuned it down.
“I said I don’t joke. Nor can I lie.”
The legend said that the Fae couldn’t lie. My fingers touched the doorknob as lightly as a feather now.
“Should I feel insulted to be singled out?” I asked.
“I can’t decide for you how you feel.”
“Why me then?”
Rydstrom leaned back in his fancy chair. “I need to see if you have what it takes to survive in this place. A girl like you—”
I narrowed my eyes. “A girl like me?”
He quirked an eyebrow again. “Vulnerable beyond measure despite your bad attitude, distracting giggles, and humor that’s only funny to you.”
My face flushed with anger. “I beg your pardon? My humor is fine.”
“Do you want to dance or not? I have a meeting in twenty minutes.”
I pursed my lips together. Maybe I should just flip him the bird and storm out in dignity.
Or maybe I should require more information and decide later. Rushing into action rarely got any good results.
“My friend’s cousin said the pay is six-figures annually,” I started. “Is that truth or rumor?”
A slightly amused light danced for a nanosecond in his unfathomable eyes. “I can assure you that your friend’s cousin got it right. We don’t function on rumors.”
“And with dental and vision coverage for family members as well?” I fished.
He leaned forward, his gaze suddenly sharpened, a predatory light quenching any amusement he held a moment ago.
“Are you married?” he asked, and there was an undertone of threat in his voice, as if he’d for sure murder my husband if I said yes.
“Oh, hell no. I’m
too young to get into any marriage contract, but I have siblings,” I said. I wasn’t willing to tell him how many, as I didn’t want to scare him away with the insurance coverage for six of them.
He relaxed. “Don’t your parents claim your siblings as their dependents?”
A wave of pain slammed into me at the mention of my parents.
“My parents are serving overseas at the moment,” I said, feeling a muscle jumping on my chin, and he saw it. “I’m the bread earner for the time being, but it won’t always be like that. My parents will be home soon.”
“The insurance will cover you and your siblings,” he said. “If you prove to be a good dancer.”
“That will be written into the contract, right?”
“A non-disclosure one,” he confirmed.
“Fine, but I need to get a few more things sorted out first,” I said, looking around the room.
“There’s no camera inside this office,” he said. “And no one who wants to keep their head dares to enter my office without permission. My reputation and my guards see to that. We have complete privacy.”
I swallowed, a little shocked that he’d known exactly what I had planned to say next. Tingles climbed up my spine as if I couldn’t wait to dance for him. “One last thing,” I said. “I’ll do a striptease, but it’ll be like a sample. Just one time and I won’t strip bare. I get to keep my bra and underwear.”
“As you wish,” he said.
I blinked, not believing that he didn’t insist on me going all the way since he’d already gotten me hooked with the six-figures plus full dental benefits for my siblings.
He flashed me a wicked grin, revealing his fangs. Oh my god, the fangs.
“I don’t need to see you naked, Evelina,” he purred, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t even need to touch you, though I don’t mind if you insist.”
“Good luck with that, mister,” I said drily and shivered a little at the way his tongue caressed my name. His voice had gone rough, tickling my senses like a sensual fantasy. Did all Fae have such potent sexual appeal? At least this dude wasn’t calling himself a king, unlike Rowan and Baron.
My thought drifted to the other two Fae for a second. It was like I suddenly had a thing for Fae men.
My face burned hot and I shook my head. “One last thing,” I said, proud that I still had the presence of mind to try to settle down an important detail. “I’ll only work day shift. I have to pick up my siblings from school in the afternoon.”
“Fine,” he said.
I let out a pent-up breath, dazed by the degree of kindness. I wouldn’t forget it.
“Thank you.” I swallowed. “And one last thing—”
“You said that already,” he snapped.
I widened my eyes. “I did? Well, I swear this is the real one last thing.”
“No one has ever bargained with me for so long and demanded so much,” he said darkly. “I’ve never allowed it. I’m starting to wonder if you’re worth it—”
Lightning quick, I pulled off my tank top and tossed it at his face. And I’d forgotten the last thing I was supposed to tell him about.
He snatched my knit top before it could hit his face. He brushed the fabric over his nose and inhaled as if he couldn’t get enough of my scent. It seemed that my scent was catnip to the Fae. Human males had never reacted to my natural perfume like that. I’d have to figure out how to make that work in my favor.
When his intense eyes fell upon me with rising heat in them, I was already dancing to the music blasting below.
I wheeled and danced in the center of his glass office. Years of martial arts training helped my moves. When I made a few high jumps before landing in front of his desk, Rydstrom’s eyes widened.
He hadn’t expected me to have this degree of skill. He might have thought that I was an awkward dancer since I’d stalled long enough to bargain for all the terms before agreeing to give him a show.
I offered him a wink and a grin as I’d just warmed up. And now the real tease began.
I raised my arms above my head and swayed my hips, flowing with the sensual music. My body lowered slowly, my hips grinding toward the floor as if riding a man, delicious and wild.
My gaze, brimming with challenge and seduction, never left him.
Rydstrom remained his cool, casual pose behind the desk, yet his eyes grew darker and hooded.
I slid to the floor, rolling and writhing erotically, touching myself while I slowly pulled down my pants. With only a bra and flimsy panties and boots, I spun on the floor, spreading my legs wide open, my groin in his direction. My fingers traced up my thighs, circling, and slithered up slowly. My eyes contained wanton passion.
My opponent’s heated gaze followed the moves of my fingers as I traced the slit of my pussy that was still covered by my panties. But if he looked closer, he could almost see the shape and golden color.
Indeed, he leaned forward to look, and my hand extended toward him in a mocking invitation for him to join me.
Wanna get down n' dirty, big boy? I mouthed to spice it up.
I wondered how it would feel to have his weight above me. Would he crush me with his large, toned body?
He seemed to be almost out of his chair before he settled back. He knew the rules—not to come to me and not to touch.
Then I was up, swinging my hips as the shifting beats of the music urged and compelled. I whipped into a primal, arousing dance that meant to provoke.
The room got hotter as Rydstrom’s power ripped the air. He was losing his grip. A night wind swept by me, and his scent of evening storm and dirty sex slammed into my nostrils. My stomach fluttered as the intoxicating scent hit my blood like a drug, lighting up every nerve. I was feral, wild, and desperate for more.
“Come closer, Evelina,” Rydstrom commanded in a low, vibrating voice, and liquid heat flooded in my tight channel.
I inhaled sharply, struggling to get a hold of myself and shocked at how my body reacted to this Fae. My pussy kept clenching, wanting hot, brutal action.
“Need I to remind you that if you touch me, you break your promise, Rydstrom?” I purred.
His eyes turned molten sapphire. “I don’t need to touch you to feel the heat of you,” he growled softly, sending a tingling shiver down to the base of my spine. “I have many other ways.”
The heat of me? Could he also smell my arousal, like Rowan and Baron proclaimed? Probably. I could practically smell my own lust. It zinged on my skin, every pore aching with desire.
His voice pulled me closer, and before I knew it, I had crossed to the shiny desk, leaning forward to give him a lover’s view of my cleavage. Then I jumped onto the desk and crouched in front of Rydstrom with a wicked grin, shaking my boobs and golden hair like the wildest thing as the music and his power pushed me to the edge.
While his sapphire eyes brightened like galaxy stars, I let my hands move to my back, mimicking taking off my bra for his benefit as I kept grinding my ass. Then I spun and thrust my shapely ass toward him. I bent over and offered him a doggy-style view.
He could faintly see my sex beneath the flimsy fabric. As I tilted my head and glanced over my shoulder, I caught what I thought he’d be doing—his eyes burned with the dark fire of lust and fixed solely on my pussy.
Come to play, boy, but you can’t touch.
The beat of the music increased to a fever pitch, accommodating my mood. The room was getting hotter. The Fae male’s power rolled off him, causing electric sparks in the room. My lungs were filled with his scent, and my blood raced for him.
Lust rode me as I’d never experienced before, driving me to frenzy.
I wheeled. One arm planting firmly on the desk to support my weight, I thrust my crotch toward his face, in sync with the tempo of the music from downstairs. I wanted his mouth on my pussy, feasting, tasting, and dominating.
His eyes gleamed, his fangs prolonging.
Hot, hot monster. I didn’t even care that I was becoming entangled with dange
rous creatures.
I was already there, and I’d never felt so free.
My panties were soaked. I wanted his large, powerful hands all over me. I wanted his cock pounding into my heated core, to ease the throbbing ache. He might even lessen the pain lodged in my heart since my parents vanished.
Our gazes locked, both burning with unbridled, insane lust. His eyes dared me to go further, and I accepted the challenge.
I moved a hand to the sling of my panties, a hair’s breadth away from pushing the bottom aside and baring my cunt for him.
I was ready to throw all inhibition out of the window and let hell loose.
Then a forceful wind rose behind me, whipping my hair into my face. A blinding light filled the room.
I froze in my awkward position as a female spoke. “How naughty you’ve become, King Rydstrom.”
Chapter 11
“What the fuck?”
I jerked awake from the haze of lust. My butt hit the wooden desk before I leapt off and spun to see who had violated the private office.
My gaze snagged on a stunning woman with lilac hair, silver-blue eyes, and a heart-shaped creamy face. She had a willowy shape, but dressed herself in an elaborate gown that was overkill even for a Shakespearean play.
Though she’d spoken to Rydstrom, she stared straight at me with intense curiosity. Strange recognition sparked in her eyes. She also had pointed ears, so she was his kind. What was she to him? A mistress, or perhaps an ex-lover?
A sudden jealousy stabbed at me. How dare he demand I dance for him in such a demeaning manner—though I hadn’t felt demeaned before this moment—while he already had other women?
Fae were worse than pigs!
“You said no one could get in without your permission,” I fumed, glaring at Rydstrom accusingly. “You said this would be a private dance.”
I’d been so absorbed in teasing and taunting him and caught in the sea of lust that I hadn’t even heard the opening of the door and the woman coming in. I was usually alert.