Her grin would have appeared menacing had Jonas not understood and supported its cause. “He’s one of us already. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Chapter 1
Ellie
Two months ago on Earth
Living in Seattle for the past twenty-eight years had not prepared me for what my father had asked me to do. Not having seen the man for over a year — no phone calls, no letters and not even a parting good-bye — should have warned me he was up to no good.
But when he suddenly appeared out of the blue a few months ago, I’d been all bright-eyed optimism, sure I could still turn him around.
“I am such an idiot.” I prepared another round of Screaming Orgasms for the male college students ogling me over the bar.
Hell on Earth couldn’t have come at a worse time. Just as I was six credits from earning my master’s degree and an amazing teaching position at the university, good old Ethim had reappeared. An armful of flowers for Mom, a nice dinner out on the town at my favorite restaurant, charm and concern, an emotional epiphany of love and regret that he’d been away for so long…
And here I stood on a Saturday night, poured into tight jeans and a bright-blue tank top to combat the heat in this godforsaken bar.
I wanted to kick myself for falling into Ethim’s plans so easily. Any other guy I’d be kicking in the teeth, but for good old Dad, I’d practically become a doormat. I wished I had a stronger backbone.
But damn it all, I still ached to make my father happy, to make him proud. And for that, I had to watch pretty-man Darius —
“Ellie?”
— Storm. I blinked up into dark, murky eyes and a face that would stop any woman in her tracks. Okay, so he had a face made for pleasure and a body made for sin. For some odd reason, he just didn’t do it for me.
“Darius, what can I do for you?”
He frowned and looked around. “You haven’t seen Gerry’s new hire, have you?”
“New hire?” I nodded to one of the waitresses to pick up a tray of drinks and wiped down the bar in front of me.
“You know, that assessor, Samantha something or other?”
I stared at him, aware of his casual interest that was all too telling. For the past four months, I’d studied and reported back to me father every last detail of Prince Darius Storm’s comings and goings from the bar. He’d been interested in a few women from time to time, but he’d never acted so obviously disinterested. Hmm.
“Oh yeah, Samantha Brooks. Dirty-blonde hair, green eyes, lot of attitude?”
He grinned, and I wondered again why I felt nothing for a man so obviously my type.
Shrugging, I shook my head. “I haven’t seen her yet tonight, but I can let her know you’re looking for her if —”
“No, no, don’t bother.” He glanced over his shoulder at Mike yelling for him. “The women over there are practically climbing over the bar.” He looked at my section and grinned. “I see you have a similar problem.”
Several nearby men glared at Darius while trying to catch my attention.
I sighed. “Want to trade?”
He spotted a nearby guy sporting too much chest hair and a knowing grin aimed my way and shook his head. “Hell no. I’ll talk to you later.”
I watched him return to his crew and made a mental note.
Hours later, after a pleasant discussion with Darius’ Samantha, I watched her leave the bar, at my request, to venture into the basement for some much-needed house ale.
Not a minute later, Darius followed her, deliberately remaining a few steps behind. Almost half an hour passed before both parties emerged — Samantha with a dazed look on her face, and Darius with a deeply introspective expression.
I decided I’d played as far into this game as I wanted. This was exactly the information my father had been seeking when he’d assigned me this task. And now that I’d witnessed the results he was so eager to hear, I had no intention of carrying my charade any further.
Seattle, Present Day
