by Viola Grace
“How many times have you done this work?”
“Nineteen.”
He nodded. “Very well. I accept this is a valid demand.”
She nodded. “Now, childcare. Does your corporation have a daycare?”
“For the child that does not yet exist?”
“Yup. So, does it? Have a daycare?”
Cian was smiling.
Stovos sighed. “If you are carrying their child, a daycare will be established.”
The two sets of parents went over the details into a recording orb, and the deal was struck.
She would be legally Hector’s wife in a courthouse ceremony with his father and her parents in attendance. Tynan spoke from the shadows that he agreed to the arrangement as he and Hector had never legally bonded to avoid a bigamy issue in case they found a mate and children who would need the protection of the law.
Nessa leaned on her dad, and when Hector pulled her into his arms, she yawned and held him instead.
Cian rose to his feet. “We will take our daughter home for some rest. She looks exhausted.”
Hector’s fingers clutched her, and he shifted to block her parents. “No. She remains with us.”
Cian narrowed his eyes and turned back to Stovos. “If we leave her here, she is going to need a full-body black leather suit.”
Stovos laughed. “What?”
Nessa buried her face against Hector and laughed.
Tynan cleared his throat. “I believe he requested a full-body black leather catsuit for Nessa.”
Cian chuckled. “Nessa saw one in a video once, and she said she wanted one. I said the day that she was old enough to have one was the day that I would leave her to her own devices.”
She smiled against Hector’s chest and muttered, “I wanted to be a cat woman.”
“Fine, add it to your clothing allowance.” Stovos surrendered to the inevitable.
Nessa was silently laughing so hard that her knees buckled. Hector had a grin in his voice when he said, “Thank you, Father. She is at a loss for words.”
Cian and Kallie touched her and left her to her psychotic mirth.
“Nessa, are you going to stop laughing?”
She wheezed in a full breath. “Probably not. Oh... that was funny.”
Tynan took her and spun her around; his smile was slow. “So, you have agreed to us?”
“Yup. It was too funny when King Stovos started pimping Hector out to me.” She leaned back and poked Hector in the chest. “That makes you the ho.”
He took her hand and kissed it. King Stovos was sitting and looking at them, “Why couldn’t you find a nice pixie or something?”
“Because pixies aren’t that nice, and Nessa is the one we have been waiting for.” He slid her into his arms and lifted her. “Now, if you don’t mind...”
“One thing. Mistress Nessa, dance with my son.”
She paused. “Why?”
“I just need to see something.” He smiled, his red eyes challenging. “Humour me.”
She shrugged and pulled up a song she liked on her phone, slid it into her pocket, and looked at Hector. “Shall we?”
He smiled, and the Spanish guitar rang out along with a drum beat and a thread of violin. They squared off and started to move. They twirled, twisted, she rocked her hips, and he spun her. She beckoned to Tynan after about forty-five seconds of the three-minute song. She turned to him, and Hector put his hand on her hip and shoulder as the song continued until it finished, and she was back in Hector’s arms with her hand extended to Tynan’s and his hand on her thigh.
She yawned and turned to Stovos. “Anything else, King Stovos?”
He cleared his throat and nodded. “That was sufficient. I just wanted to make sure that you were well matched for your part in this grouping. I have the proof I need.”
She waved at the shadows. “Are they always here, or do I have to grope the walls? I already promised the shower second base.”
He frowned in confusion, and Hector picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. “Hey!” Her yelp wasn’t dignified. He walked through the shadow where he and Tynan had been standing earlier as he crossed through the barrier and into the hall.
He slid his hand up, and his fingers wedged at her crotch. She reached up and pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a text to Sallen.
Need clothing from skin out. ASAP. Bill to be sent to King Stovos Twilight.
There was a minute delay, and then, she got, Holy crap. Cale started laughing and rubbing his hands together. He will be over there as soon as he has authorization from the king. You won’t have to head to the shop.
Great. But for now, I have one dress and my underwear, and sweats have gone missing. My shoes are sandals. Ugly ones. Oh, and I got authorization for a leather catsuit.
Nice! Okay, so you give Cale’s number to King Stovos, and he will be there in an hour.
“Are you texting back there?” Hector asked her.
“Yup. Arranging my wardrobe. All that Cale needs is authorization to come here, and he will do what he needs to onsite without me having to go shopping.”
Tynan was amazed. “He will do that? He is the primary tailor and dress designer in the area.”
“He is Sallen’s husband. Of course, he will. I did some delayed reaction work on their inevitable offspring. One for each of them.”
“You programmed her body for triplets?” Tynan was amazed.
“Sure. Can’t you do it?” She looked at him while she hung upside-down. “Oh, I also have a crappy sense of direction, so I am going to get lost in here a lot.”
“We promise to come find you.” Hector chuckled.
“Write that into the vows.”
It took a few minutes, but they managed to get back to Hector’s chambers, and then, he walked to the bed and flipped her to her back. Tynan had already removed her shoes.
Hector took her phone, read the message, and sent a number to the number she mentioned. He set her phone aside, and Tynan removed her sundress.
She muttered. “I didn’t have time for underwear. I definitely wasn’t expecting your father. How did he find me anyway?”
Hector chuckled. “He knew where your father was, looked for my energy in the same area. I am very glad in this instance that he is a nosey busybody.”
She was going to comment, but she yawned again. Tynan kissed her softly. “Get some rest while we run some errands. We will be here when you wake up.”
“Why am I tired when you are still perky?”
Hector chuckled. “You pulled in our fatigue.”
“Oh.” Right. Magically caused fatigue would be transferrable. “Damn.”
“You held out longer than we thought.”
She grimaced and crawled to the head of the bed, under the sheet, and she pulled the fabric up and over her, snuggling down into the bedding as she drifted off. Her body would burn off the fatigue soon. This time, she wasn’t looking for a place to run. Her place and safety had been negotiated and agreed to.
She woke up with a jolt, and Hector was reading from a tablet while Tynan was on a computer at the table in the corner. Hector smiled. “Feel rested?”
She grimaced. “Feel like I just ate a rat backward. Give me a minute.”
Nessa sprinted to the bathroom, found the toilet, and lost her last meal. The enchantments left over from the faerie brothel exited with the bile. The guys had been fighting through quite a bit to be as perky as they were.
She flushed, got up, washed her face, and brushed her teeth and tongue. When she was done, she did it again. She was going back for a third round when there was a knock on the bathroom door. Hector asked, “Nessa, are you all right?”
She slid the door open and kept scrubbing at her teeth. “Yup. You guys just had a ton of contamination in you. I grabbed it all the last time, but fortunately, it is gone now.”
She spit and rinsed out her mouth, gargled, and spit ag
ain before washing out the sink.
“Cale says he will be here in an hour.”
She put down the glass with the toothbrush in it. “Great. Can I get something to wear? It is a little cool in here.”
He pulled her to him, and she cuddled against his body heat. “Or was this your dastardly plan?”
“Discomfort is not a plan; it is a side effect of your crashing blood sugar. Food is on the way.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“I don’t think your butler likes me.”
“Tough. He will get used to having a woman in the household, or he will be replaced.”
“I am sure he has been with you for a while.”
“Only fifty years. Father is hard on servants. Hell, he is hard on anyone.”
“Clothes, Hector.”
He grumbled. “Fine.”
He took her hand, and they walked to the closet. “Pick something.”
She walked to the black dress shirts and pulled one on, doing up the buttons and rolling the cuffs.
She pulled her hair out, and Hector had a very tense look on his features.
“What is it? Is this your favourite shirt or something?”
“No, you dropped your concealment completely for a few moments. Why do you cover it up?”
“I have heard my natural state described as enthralling and disturbing in equal measure. So, I wear the layers and get on with my day.”
“While we are alone here, please let us see you.”
She walked to him and said, “Tell me when it gets freaky.”
She could see her glow in his eyes, and he touched her cheek. “You are truly the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen.”
She nodded. “That is how my people feed, and why we are shadow court rather than the light court. You can’t be this bright and charming and need to consume sex and energy until your prey dies. It doesn’t fit the advertising of the light and lovely court.”
“I think it shows character that the love-talkers were willing to embrace the world in between.”
They walked out to where Tynan was working, and she looked at his focus on his computer, and she fought her impulse to get on her knees and redeem her IOU.
Hector murmured, “What are you thinking about?”
“Distracting him, but then, I remembered that I just barfed, so it is probably best that I don’t try and swallow anything that isn’t edible.”
Tynan looked up, and she saw the earbuds in his ear when he moved his head. He smiled and held out his hand. She took his hand, and he pulled her toward him, leaning up as she leaned down. She was still glowing when she was pulled into his lap, and it was only when the chatter through his ear pieces reached her that she looked at the laptop and squeaked, going invisible and trying to get out of his lap.
The chattering got loud, and the non-human faces on the screen were gasping, and silence fell as Hector leaned in and kissed Tynan, and then, he stroked her cheek and kissed her once he had figured out where her mouth was. She let him figure out where her lips were, and then, she let herself fade back into view.
Tynan smiled. “The board of directors is both scandalized and intrigued. I need to finish my meeting. Nessa, please, stay with me until the meal arrives.”
She sat cuddled against him while Hector left the room for a moment, and when he started throwing around numbers, she finally understood a portion of what the company was. They provided financing for large projects for the benefit of the paranormal community. And from what she understood, they were not the only ones who enjoyed playing with human greed. The mages had set the faeries on the team working on a bid for an industrial vessel to transport specific faeries from one continent to the next. It was definitely purpose-built, but it would take fifty million dollars to create and man.
She ignored Tynan’s hand sliding between her thighs under the tails of Hector’s shirt. She had never engaged in sex with all of her wards down. Stopping them from snapping back up around her was the tricky part. It was hard to change a reflex honed by years of experience. She gripped his wrist and tried to stop him, but he continued while absently answering questions about the project. Finally, she whispered in his ear. “Stop.”
He blinked in surprise, and his wet fingers gripped her thigh. He kissed her ear in apology and continued the conversation that she could only hear half of.
When the meeting adjourned, she was relieved as he removed his earpiece and closed the screen. She slumped in his lap. “That was very uncomfortable.”
He squeezed her. “I apologize. I forget that we haven’t been together for the entire ten years. I feel like I have been connected to you since that first night.”
“You were. I didn’t know how to clean up after myself.”
He laughed. “Well, the board will be talking about this for a while. It should keep Stovos busy, but it has added a few more social engagements to your calendar.”
She grimaced. “I am the new shiny thing in the community.”
“Yes. Literally. The dark court is fascinated by things that are both bright and powerful. Just like the mages are after power and beauty.” He smiled. “So, neither of our communities have a right to complain, but they will. Stovos will sort them out.”
“Why would he do that?”
“You are now his family, under his banner. He is very protective of those who are counted within his family. Even me.” He laughed. “You should have seen his face the day that Hector told him what he had done. I thought the house would catch fire. He came around rather quickly for someone in his position when Hector just said that he knew he needed me in his life. He assured Stovos that when a suitable mate showed up, he would wed and have little dark faerie.”
“How did you feel about that?”
He laughed. “I was all for it. I still am. If I have an heir or two along the way, I am exceedingly happy. Loving you doesn’t detract from either of us, and together, we may become stronger yet.”
“Love? Who said anything about love?”
“Did you miss us when we were gone those ten years?”
She thought about it. “Yes.”
“Did your heart hurt when you thought you would never see us again?” He stroked her inner thigh.
She blushed and muttered, “A bit.”
“Did you get excited and terrified when you saw us again?”
“Slightly.”
“Then, that was love. The start of it anyway. It doesn’t have to come in a rush like modern fiction would have you believe. It grows and changes over time.” Tynan moved his other hand into a gap between buttons in the shirt. “That is the best way to love as it lets the one that you love change and evolve with you, not remaining fixed in your mind and affection.”
She swallowed. “That seems like a healthy attitude.”
He lifted her and turned her to face him. “We like to think so.”
He settled her over his lap and smiled. “Wanna play naughty secretary before Hector comes back?”
She laughed. “I have never held a proper office job in my life.”
He pulled her more snugly against him. “It will start with some dictation.”
She was leaning forward when Hector came in, and she shook her head free of the light thrall Tynan had used.
Hector chuckled. “If he is trying to play naughty secretary, make sure that he is ready for the auditor next.”
Her laughter broke free, and the spell was broken.
Chapter Eight
“Good news and bad news. The meal is on the way, and my father is coming for dinner.”
Nessa blinked as a long and narrow table materialized in the middle of the open space. Hector plucked her off Tynan, and he held her shoulders, and her shirt morphed into a version of a kimono with a lot more cleavage than was standard. Hector and Tynan each wore different versions of the same, and they all knelt at the table as the food began to shimmer into being.
Nessa
put her hands together and muttered, “Please be fried chicken.”
A bowl near her firmed up, and it was karaage. “Woo-hoo!”
When the shadow walked out of the corner, she realized that there was no privacy in the household or anywhere else that Stovos wanted to be.
Nessa inclined her head to the king of the dark court, and she smiled. “If we are not expecting you, can you knock?”
He paused, and his lips quirked. “I suppose that would be appropriate once the binding spell is complete.”
“Thank you.” She smiled brightly. “So, what is the protocol?”
Stovos scooped some rice into his bowl, and Hector murmured, “That means we can start. Take what you like, one dish at a time.”
She nodded and started with the rice and then dove for the karaage. She took three pieces and started to line her stomach with rice and then the chicken.
Food started appearing in her bowl. Tynan dropped the first pickled radish, and then, Hector snuck in some slices of beef. “What the hell?” She laughed and ate the offerings and then got more rice that was topped with another piece of karaage. She looked at Stovos’s grin, and she snorted.
“Right. Make a note that I am going to gain a ton if this is a standard mealtime event.”
A piece of greens decorated with sesame seeds took up space in her bowl. She ate what was in her bowl and guarded it with her sleeve. To her shock, a set of chopsticks carrying a piece of sashimi came through and dropped it into her bowl. She looked at Stovos then Hector and Tynan, and they laughed at her as she nibbled on the fiddlehead fern.
She finished her rice and flipped her bowl upside-down. She reached out and started carefully taking one piece at a time from the dishes she liked. She kept her sleeve out of the food with her hand, and she asked, “So, is everybody heading back to work tomorrow?”
She looked around the table.
Tynan blinked as if he hadn’t considered it. To her right, Hector looked surprised. Stovos looked grim. “The clients are going to be making their mind up and contacting us tomorrow after noon. You need to be at the office.”
