You willing to pay for this? she asked. Lots of mortal realm euros?
Money meant nothing to him. And he had far too much of it. She could ask for untold riches and it would be like handing over a few bills to her.
One million, she said.
He nodded eagerly. Ill send a courier with the cash as soon as the banks open tomorrow.
She eyed him cautiously. For as much as she hated himand had every right toshe had to know he was good on his word. But she tilted her head and asked, What does this one mean to you?
Her? I hadnt met her until five minutes ago. I dont want an innocent to die because she got in my way.
The healer nodded, then pointed over his shoulder. Very well. Go stand out in the hallway. It will take some time.
Chapter 2
The beautiful man with impossible muscleshe wore an oddly tattered shirt that revealed oh, so many tight, bulging musclesheld a sword and fought weird black creatures that flew in the air about him. In the middle of Paris.
And as Indi was lying there on the ground, watching with her mouth hanging open, she thought, for a moment, the tall, handsome man...changed. When he looked at her, his head was shaped like a wolfs.
The eerie image made Indi scream, and she pushed herself up abruptly. And hit her head on something above her. Dropping her cheek back onto the hardwood floor, she groaned.
That had been a weirdly detailed dream. Very real. Almost as if she could smell the strange black creatures ozone scent and hear the mans sexy voice as he had bent over her. Prodding her. Asking if she was okay.
Eyelids flashing open, Indi darted her gaze about the room. She was lying on the floor? Not a familiar floor, either. She didnt have hardwood in her home. And...what had she hit her head on?
Rolling to her side, she realized she still wore the ball gown. The beaded leaves on the bodice crunched as her body turned on the wood floor. Above her stretched a flat piece of wood, supported by a table leg...
Why am I lying under a table? Oh...
It hurt her brain to talk. Had someone taken it out, rolled it across the ground like a pétanque ball, then shoved it back in through her ear? Mercy, what a bender. Champagne hangovers were the worst!
But this didnt look like her friend Janets floor. And Janet had moved to New York two months ago.
Where was she? And how had she gotten here?
When I got up this morning I couldnt figure why you were under the table, a male voice suddenly said.
A pair of bare feet, with a slouch of blue jeans hanging over them, stopped but a foot from her face. Indi placed both palms on the floor before her and craned her head up as far as she could manage, but her neck ached, so her line of sight only stretched as far as his crotch. Not a terrible sight to wake up to. Just...unexpected.
She dropped and rolled to her back.
You insisted on crawling under there after I deposited you on the couch last night, he said. He bent to display two mugs. Coffee?
Heartbeat suddenly racing, Indi inhaled deeply a few times to calm her panic. But really, she should be panicking. Where am I? Who are you? I, uh...
My names Ryland James. I dont know your name. You were buttered when I found you last night.
Buttered? Hell yes, shed been so drunk.
When you found me? What the hell? What did you...? She winced. No, she was still dressed. Which didnt mean much. If the man had had his way with her while she was inebriated...
You stumbled onto a strange scene, he said, sitting on the black leather sofa and setting one coffee cup on the floor near her shoulder. I wanted to bring you home, make sure you were safe, but I didnt know where you lived. And...after a bunch of wild-and-craziness you passed out. For the night.
She closed her eyes and slapped a palm to her chest. Wild and crazy? Seriously? Shed let that bastard Todd get to her that much? And now she was lying on the floor in a strange mans home.
The coffee smelled deceptively good. But from experience, she knew if she drank any shed get sick. Hangovers were never kind to her.
She spoke her fears. I need to get out of here.
I can drive you home if youll give me your address.
I dont think I should do that. I can hail a cab.
Suit yourself. Im not going to hurt you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after...
Indi skimmed her fingers over her chest and throat. Something hurt. She winced at the slight pain and felt the rough line of skin along her collarbone. Had she been cut?
It should heal more quickly than you expect, the man, Ryland, said. I tried to get you out of there, but you were, well...
Buttered.
Sorry. Some guy broke up with you?
Shed told him that? What had happened last night?
He dumped me at the ball. And I was feeling so pretty. She sniffed, feeling all the emotions well in her gut again. Oh, she couldnt do the ugly cry in front of this handsome stranger!
Turning and crawling out from under the table, she managed to bump the coffee cup and topple it. It soaked into her skirt.
Im so sorry.
Dont worry about it.
A strong hand helped her to stand by grabbing her upper arm. And when she swayed near his chest, Indi smelled fresh, outdoorsy aftershave on him. Or maybe it was his innate scent. Like wild captured yet never tamed. The man was handsome. Long dark hair, trimmed mustache and a beard that was short and hinted at the dark hairs that might grow on his chest. And so many muscles in the biceps she clung to.
Indi had never been one to let opportunity pass, but...
She also wasnt stupid.
Thank you for, uh... She wandered to the door, tugging up her wet skirt and realizing a long piece of it dragged behind. The outer tulle layer had torn, and the hem was blackened with dirt. One of the chiffon poppies dangled from a thread.
Oh, God, you must think Im the worst case. I was...upset. And yes, he broke my heart. I have this tendency to get attached, too What was she doing? She didnt need to detail her pitiful emotional failings to a stranger. I needed a good cry and...
She turned, thinking Ryland looked like the man shed seen in her dreams. He had been. Shed never forget such a handsome face. And those brown eyes pierced her with intensity. Last night. Peering intently at him, she asked, Did you change?
Did I, uh, what? He set the mug on the table and approached her.
Indi backed up until her shoulders hit the door. She slumped. Her head was spinning and she predicted the hangover would play revenge on her soon. And she did not want the guy to witness that.
Change, she muttered, though she wasnt sure why shed asked him that. How could a person change? Yet she had seen something odd last night. Maybe? Were there flying creatures?
He bent before her, and long brown hair spilled over his chest and the T-shirt that he wore inside out to expose the seams. Earth-brown eyes studied her for a pitiful moment. I think you might still be a little drunk, Princess Pussycat.
Princess... She reached for the top of her head and felt the cat ears sitting up there, but at a tilt. Im not drunk. Not anymore. And my name is...
Princess... She reached for the top of her head and felt the cat ears sitting up there, but at a tilt. Im not drunk. Not anymore. And my name is...
She should leave. Right now. Before things got weird.
Indi turned and grabbed the doorknob, hoping the door wasnt locked and that he didnt have plans to toss her in a dirt pit in his basement. It opened. She exhaled and dashed across the threshold.
I hope you feel better! he called after her. And I hope the guy who did that to you gets his just. No woman deserves to be treated so poorly.
Indi paused at the top of a stairway that led down to the buildings entry. She lifted her skirts and imagined she must look a nightmare to him. A kind man who had only wanted to ensure that she was safe last night.
My names Indigo, she said, then took the stairs, hands firmly clutching both railings for support.
By some strange luck that she was not accustomed to, a cab was parked curbside. Indi climbed into the back seat, gave the driver her address in the eighth arrondissement, then flopped down, hugging the seat as if it were a life raft. Shoving her hand in her skirt pocket, she was relieved her phone was still in there. She checked her texts. There were none.
Had she expected to hear from Todd after his night with Melanie?
Oh, that she could even think of him again. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
She needed to talk to Janet. To spill all the details of her horrible, terrible, no-good very humiliating night. Shed call her when she got home.
Ten minutes later, the cabbie offered to help her to the front door, but Indi said shed manage. She paid him with a scan of the credit card app on her phone and then meandered up to the house.
Her head wasnt quite so spinny now, but her limbs felt heavy. As if shed run a marathon. Exhaustion hit her hard as she opened the front door and wandered inside. She could only think to lie down. Right. Now.
She eyed the alpaca rug before the white velvet couch and stepped down into the sunken living room. Dropping the phone on the couch, and then falling to her knees, Indi collapsed onto her stomach on the soft, inviting rug. She curled her fingers into the fur and closed her eyes.
And then she fell asleep.
For a very long time.
* * *
Ry strolled into the small office he kept in the fourth arrondissement. His secretary, Kristine, blew him the usual good-morning kiss and handed him a full and steaming mug of coffee.
Howd hunting go last night? she asked while focusing on a spreadsheet she had opened on the laptop before her. Her long purple nails clattered on the keys.
It was... Ry sipped the coffee and winced. He could never get her to add even a smidge of cream to the wicked black concoction she brewed. Different.
That got her attention. Turning on the swivel chair and crossing her legs, she dangled a very large pink vinyl high heel and eyed him through a flutter of thick false lashes. She didnt need to speak. He could hear her thoughts plainly.
A human woman stepped onto the scene while I was slashing through collectors.
Oh, mon cher. That is not acceptable. How did that happen? I thought FaeryTown wasnt something we humans could even access.
Exactly. Not unless youre wearing an ointment to see the sidhe. Im not sure how she saw me or the collectors, but she did, and... He sipped again. He probably shouldnt tell Kristine everything. But then, she was a confidante, and he trusted her with the information about his nature. She was scratched by one of them. Would have died had I not rushed her to a healer. By the way, I need to send Hestia a million-euro check.
Kristine sighed. Really? The old girlfriend? Ill take care of that.
She was not a girlfriend. More a
Kristine put up a palm. Nope. Dont want you to mansplain that one to me. So, what happened after that big adventure?
I took her home with me, and she spent the night on the floor under the coffee table.
Ryland Alastair James.
He winced at the admonishing tone. I put her on the couch, but she wouldnt stay there. She was drunk and...the healer drugged her with some wacky faery stuff. Im surprised she could even stand to run away from me this morning.
You let her run away? Without making sure she got home safe? Who are you?
He sighed heavily. Kristine knew him well. Normally he would never allow a woman to run off like that without seeing to her safety. But she had been freaked by him. And hed not been given an opportunity to explain the cut on her chest, which might have been a good thing, all things considered.
Shell be fine, he said. And both collectors are dead. No babies stolen last night.
Kristine crossed her arms, and her dangling foot increased in bobbing speed.
I dont know her last name, so its not like I can look her up and check in on her. She was dressed fancy and I think shes probably well-off.
Doesnt mean she made it home safely.
I accept your admonishment, and confess Im worried about her, too. But theres nothing I can do now.
Cant you track her down with your sniffer? Didnt you once tell me you werewolves can smell a peppermint candy five miles away?
She wasnt wearing peppermint. She smelled like champagne and roses. And not just any kind of rose perfume. Shed smelled like fresh-from-the-garden roses.
Was she pretty?
Does that matter?
No, but shes going to stay in your brain until you know what became of her after she fled your place. Fled! Seriously, Ry, what did you do to her?
I offered her coffee.
Kristine chuckled and turned back to her work. Only you can manage to simultaneously slay weird faery marauders and hook up with a pretty young thang.
We didnt hook up. I set her on the couch and...in the morning I found her under my coffee table.
Kristine raised an eyebrow in judgment.
And thats the end of this conversation. Did you compile research on the Severo Foundation?
I did. And Ive a report for you. Ill print it up and bring it into your office in two twitches. This is a good one, cher. Youll want to donate to them.
Thanks, Kristine. Give me ten minutes before you come in. I need to
Think about the poor sweet thang that fled your place this morning? She winked at him. You have some weird problems.
Ry entered his office and closed the door behind him, thinking Kristine was right on. But oddly, the human interference last night had been the weirdest. Not the faeries.
Only a desk, a chair and a couch decorated his tiny office space. The far wall opposite the door was completely window, and no cabinets blocked the view of the nearby Seine River. He didnt do the fancy. Much as his multibillion-dollar philanthropic foundation could afford it. He wasnt into the bling or showing off his riches. It wasnt him. And while he could put on a suit and blend in with the wealthy at the snap of a finger, he preferred the casual look and lifestyle.
Yet he did do the expensive watch. He liked to know the time to the exact second. And right now it was eleven fifteen, on the nose.
He sat on the leather sofa and stretched his arms along the back of it. Clouds were rolling in, and rain was in the forecast, yet the color of the sky was wildly vivid.