by Laura Kaye
Zafira glided down the aisle to her throne. Two male figures followed closely at her sides, bare chests displaying broad shoulders and rippling muscles. Their cloven feet exposed their dual nature: these were satyrs, half-demon and half-faerie, driven only by a need for pleasure and beauty. Zafira demanded obedience from all her subjects, but her hold was tightest around her satyrs, from whom she expected pure, unfettered devotion.
When she reached her throne, Zafira spun around, letting her golden gown flow in billowing waves around her feet. Many of the Fey took an involuntary step back. “Tonight, I will send my Handmaids into the human world to punish men and humiliate them the way they have humiliated us.”
Cries of delight filled the hall. Faeries had been seducing men for thousands of years, but for the Handmaids it was a sacred duty. Stealing the hearts of men and using them for pleasure was the way the Handmaids extracted revenge for the pain Zafira, and all of the Fey, had suffered over the centuries.
“Handmaid Kaia, step forth!”
Kaia paused, startled to hear the queen call her by name. This was not part of the usual ceremony. But then again, Zafira honored tradition when she pleased and disregarded it when it did not suit her. Kaia threw back her shoulders, forced her wings to arc gracefully across her back, and ensured her gentle smile was perfectly intact before stepping up to the dais. Her heart thumped. Had she done something wrong? Somehow displeased Zafira?
She lowered her head gracefully. “My queen.”
“Kaia, you know the vow of my Handmaids.”
Kaia nodded, her lips automatically forming her response after decades of practice. “My queen, as your Handmaid I vow never to lose control, and never to yield to the wishes of men.”
Zafira swirled her staff in a circle, leaving behind a translucent, sparkling image of a man’s face. He was as handsome as the satyrs at Zafira’s side, with a tumble of blond hair falling over his forehead, cerulean blue eyes, and dark, tanned skin. His white teeth flashed in a smile that was equal parts humor and unspoken menace.
“This man, Garrett Jameson, is the man you will capture next,” Zafira said. “You will bring him to his knees as only a Handmaid can. Introduce him to pleasure and the greatest desire he has ever known, and then leave him alone and wanting.”
Kaia hid her surprise behind a deep curtsy and swirl of her wings. Zafira had never sent her after a particular human before.
“Yes, my queen.” She paused, knowing she should keep her mouth shut but unable to prevent the question from leaving her lips. “May I ask why?”
Zafira frowned, and Kaia froze, terrified she had angered the mercurial queen. A moment later, Zafira’s icy features softened and she began to chuckle. The sound danced through the hall like music, as beautiful as everything else about the queen—and just as dangerous.
“Because it will amuse me,” Zafira said, her laugh tinkling through the hall. “I have some interest in this particular man. I will enjoy seeing him brought low.”
Kaia nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. “It will be done.”
Zafira motioned for Kaia to return to her place beside the other Handmaids. “See that it is, Kaia,” she said in a quiet voice. “See that it is.”
Chapter Two
Kaia shot a glance at the thin gold band around her wrist. Quarter to ten; he should be here soon. Somewhere behind her a band started to play. The music was soft and rhythmic, a saxophone and bass guitar, the smooth crawl of a rute across a snare drum. In the week that she’d been haunting this club, Kaia had come to appreciate the live jazz music featured each night. Of course, no mortal could approach the perfection of the music that filled the halls of Faeria. Still, of all the sounds humans created, she’d found jazz most appropriate to seduction.
Seduction.
Kaia shook her head. She’d been sent to the human world to complete a very simple task. Thus far, she had experienced nothing but defeat. Though the boggles had given her the location of Garrett Jameson’s favorite nightclub, the coffee shop he frequented, and his office, she hadn’t even managed to talk to him. Every time she saw him he was surrounded by other men in dark suits, or he was talking on his cell phone, or reading thick sheafs of papers with very small print. She had tried bumping into him on the street, but he’d done little more than apologize and stride away, not affording her more than a moment’s glance. She had seen him here, at the Blue Hour. He had sat in a booth in the back of the room while watchful bouncers steered her away if she tried to get too close.
Kaia found her failure utterly infuriating, particularly when faced with Garrett Jameson’s uncanny perfection. As far as she could tell, her target lacked any visible flaw, with only the unruly lock of hair that fell across his forehead betraying the perfection of his square jaw and arresting eyes. His suits were exquisitely tailored, his voice smooth and deep. Sometimes, Kaia could scarcely believe he was human. Yet he had no interest in catching the eye of a beautiful stranger, even one practically glowing with faerie magic.
Every day that she failed to achieve her task brought with it a fresh wave of panic. At first, it seemed laughable—a man resisting her attempt at seduction? Impossible! As the days passed with no sign of progress, Kaia’s worry began to mount. Zafira had given her a direct command. She had to succeed. Zafira would show no mercy to a Handmaid who could not meet her expectations.
She had vowed that tonight would be different. She’d finally caught a break while following Garrett in line for his morning coffee, when she’d overheard him agreeing to meet someone named Ted here at ten. Arriving early, she’d positioned herself at a table near the entrance to the club. At around 9:30, the bartender called a man with curly red hair and soft hazel eyes Ted.
She’d shamelessly eavesdropped on Ted’s cell phone call a few minutes later. It started with him asking someone named Rachel where she was, and quickly devolved to begging and pleading for her to come to the club. She’d heard “my love,” “the wedding,” and “whatever you want,” followed by a deluge of words from the other end. After a few minutes, he slapped the phone closed. His face was mournful, his eyes drooping at the corners like a sad Irish setter.
He was needy, and if there was one thing Kaia understood, it was needy men.
She had introduced herself a few minutes later. She tried not to turn on so much charm that she’d scare him away, but there wasn’t much she could do about her appearance. She’d found a tissue-thin silk dress at the hotel boutique that morning, and it draped across every one of her curves like a gleaming, silky spider web. The hazy light from dim strobes and tiny votives danced across her skin, leaving behind a perfect golden glow. Men from every side of the crowded bar were watching her, earning dirty looks from their female companions. Kaia deliberately shielded the red-haired man across the table from some of her heat. She wanted to seduce his friend, not him.
Yet her efforts were seemingly unnecessary. Ted didn’t even glance at her perfectly positioned cleavage. All he wanted to do was talk about his fiancée, Rachel.
“I asked her out the first time we met,” he said dreamily, staring into space. “I knew from the start we had something special. It took only one date before I fell in love.”
“So what happened?” Kaia stole a sideways look toward the door, hoping Garrett would arrive soon. Anticipation licked down her spine. Tonight, they would meet. He couldn’t avoid it if she was talking to his friend.
And when his eyes finally met hers, she would unleash all the power of faerie on him.
He didn’t stand a chance.
“I don’t know,” Ted said miserably. “She’s nervous about the wedding, I suppose. It’s a big step. Anyone would be scared. But we love each other, we really do. She’s perfect. The perfect woman.” He launched into a litany of Rachel’s angelic qualities.
Kaia masked her irritation with a patient smile.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. Look, I should let you go. I have a friend coming in a few minutes. I didn’t mean to drag you down this way. I’m sure you could find someone much more interesting to talk to.”
Kaia’s heart skipped at his not-so-subtle attempt to get rid of her. She needed to stay with Ted. He represented her only chance to get close to Garrett. “Please, I could really use the company. I’m just in town for a night.” She shook her hair and let a hint of faerie magic trickle to him. “The last thing I need is some oaf trying to hit on me. I’d much rather hear more about Rachel.”
Ted’s mouth dropped open and for a moment he stared at her, transfixed. As soon as Kaia let off on the flow of magic, he sank back into his memory of Rachel. “Well, she’s the most beautiful woman in the world. I mean, not beautiful like you, but beautiful in her way. Some people think she’s bossy, but truly, she’s the kindest person you’ll ever meet. You can see it in her eyes. She just opened up a flower shop. Rachel’s Roses.” He sighed. “Everyone told her how hard it would be to open her own store, but she made it happen. She’s amazing.”
“So what’s the problem?” Kaia asked, her gaze sliding briefly to the door. “Why is she having second thoughts?”
“She does a lot of weddings, and they don’t always go well. She doesn’t want to turn into Bridezilla or get too worked up about the whole thing. She said she wanted to elope, but I couldn’t do it. A couple of weeks ago she started saying maybe we should wait, maybe we went too fast. Her parents had a messy divorce, and I think she’s scared to get married. I don’t know how to convince her to trust me.”
Kaia wanted to believe Ted loved his fiancée. Unfortunately, she had a long history of watching men like him pledge their devotion to unsuspecting wives and girlfriends minutes before they succumbed to Kaia’s charms. They used every excuse in the book to justify their unfaithfulness, but it came down to one thing: men were treacherous, dangerous creatures.
Kaia and the others used faerie magic to entice the men, but the magic wasn’t irresistible. It simply took willpower. Willpower most men weren’t interested in exercising.
She started to say something soothing and understanding, but the words caught in her throat when a tall figure appeared at the doorway.
Garrett Jameson had finally arrived.
He wore a rumpled linen shirt, open at the neck, and a dark blue blazer, managing to convey the appearance of both enormous wealth and utter lack of care. Square, rangy shoulders topped a narrow waist and long legs. The bouncer at the door motioned toward Ted, and Garrett stopped, surprise flickering across his face.
He crossed the floor to where they sat. Kaia forced herself to drop her eyes. If this week had taught her anything, it was that she would have to play this man very carefully.
“Ted, is that you?” Garrett asked in disbelief.
Kaia slowly met his gaze, her pulse racing as she waited for him to react to the burst of faerie magic that transformed her in a matter of seconds into the object of every man’s desire. Instead, his startling aquamarine eyes surveyed her without emotion, raking across her bare shoulders and plunging cleavage with clinical precision.
No! He could not ignore me now.
The shock left Kaia reeling.
“Garrett!” Ted jumped up from his seat, looking for all the world like a guilty child. “You’re here.”
“Right on time.” Garrett held up a heavy silver diver’s watch. “Ten o’clock.”
“I was talking.” Ted’s face flushed as he glanced nervously at Kaia. “I guess I lost track of time.”
“Understandably so,” Garrett drawled. “You’ll have to introduce me to your new friend.”
“Garrett Jameson, this is Kaia... er... ” Ted trailed off as his flush deepened. “I don’t think I got your last name?”
Kaia rose languidly and offered her hand, leaning forward just enough to give Garrett a peek down her dress. She wasn’t giving up that easily. “Kaia Verde,” she purred, giving her voice enough throaty appeal to make Ted take a step back and adjust his collar.
Garrett did not react. He shook Kaia’s hand and treated her to another thorough visual examination. He maintained a relaxed smile, sliding one hand to rest casually in the pocket of his pants. For all his easy posture, he pinned her with his gaze like a butterfly in a display case. She had the sinking feeling he had already decided something about her, and it wasn’t good.
“Where did you and the lovely Ms. Verde meet, Ted?”
“Kaia’s in town for a conference. She was asking me about things to do while she’s in Miami and we got to talking.” Ted shrugged helplessly. “I suppose I was boring her senseless.”
Kaia placed a hand on Ted’s arm. “No, absolutely not. I was enjoying the company.”
Garrett smiled knowingly. “In town for a conference, you say? Which one?”
Kaia bristled at the tone. Mistrust was not a reaction she was used to receiving from men. Sometimes they were regretful, sometimes shy, but never had she had a man look at her the way Garrett Jameson did. She threw a lock of hair over her shoulder and focused on radiating charm and sensuality.
“It’s for work,” she said. “Nothing exciting. Ted was kind enough to share a table with me. We were just getting to know each other.”
Men stopped and stared from across the dance floor at the renewed rush of faerie magic. Garrett only shook his head, turning back to Ted. “So where is Rachel? I thought she was meeting us here.”
“She’s at home,” Ted replied. “Before we left I asked her about the wedding and she went a little berserk. She said she needed some time by herself.”
Garrett frowned. “As in, she’s moving out?”
Ted’s mouth dropped open. “I hadn’t even thought of that. I assumed it was more of her usual wedding panic. You don’t think she would really move out, do you?”
Garrett sighed with exasperation. “Ted, this is Rachel we’re talking about. Once she gets something in her head, she’s impossible to reason with. You know that.”
“It just never occurred to me… I never thought… ”
“Well, think about it,” Garrett said. “I’ve been listening to you moaning about losing her for weeks. You can’t very well ignore something like this.”
“But what about—” Ted glanced in Kaia’s direction. “I sort of promised I’d keep Kaia company.”
Garrett followed his gaze and raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? You’d risk Rachel for that?” He rolled his eyes. “Go find your fiancée.”
Kaia gasped at the direct insult. She had never, ever been on the receiving end of such derision.
Ted winced. He turned and gave Kaia an apologetic smile. “He can be a little bossy sometimes.”
Kaia narrowed her gaze. “Bossy? Is that what you call it here in Miami?”
“Go,” Garrett said again. His disapproval surged at her, but he directed his words at Ted. “You shouldn’t be here anyway.”
“Ahem.” Kaia cleared her throat. She turned to Ted and dropped her voice. She needed to preserve a relationship with Ted, just in case she needed to use him again later. “I understand if you need to leave. I would hate to get between you and Rachel.”
Ted glanced back at Garrett. “Garrett, she’s all alone,” he pleaded. “Any chance you can keep an eye out for her?”
Kaia masked a rush of satisfaction. Ted might think himself in love with Rachel, but he was hardly immune to her faerie charm. If she had wanted him to stay by her side all night long, he probably would have.
Silly men.
“Sure,” Garrett said, flashing her a mocking smile. “I have the feeling Kaia doesn’t like to be lonely.”
A quiver passed down her spine as his gaze bore into her, full of warning and a deep-seated, distinctly unfriendly suspicion. She focused on keeping her back straigh
t and the faerie magic flowing.
Zafira herself had sent Kaia after this man.
She could not fail.
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