The event included a five-course meal within the esteemed hotel’s restaurant. She hoped to have wrapped up her business by then. For the last several years, she’d been sticking to the outskirts when she attended these things with the Demigods and their crew. She wasn’t important, and so she was seldom noticed when they were on the scene. She had no interest in sticking around long enough for people to pinpoint who she was.
She approached the sprawling hotel lobby lounge. A marble masterpiece of a bar took up the back left corner. Three bartenders were in various stages of mixing drinks or taking orders. Guests sat or stood, chatting and laughing, all looking around at who else they might want to talk to. Soft strains of live musicdrifted between the words and occasional barks of laughter.
Daisy slipped between two well-dressed men without sparing them a glance. She sought the bar, finding a corner and letting her gaze roam. The bartender, a handsome guy a few years her senior with a sexy smile and a cute dimple, approached.
“Hello, gorgeous. What can I get you?” he asked, his mannerisms easy. He was used to being a favorite.
“Dirty martini, two olives, and maybe your number for later.” She held his gaze before allowing a grin.
His eyes sparkled. “Coming right up.” As he moved away, his smile stretched, utterly genuine. If she needed a bartender’s attention in a hurry, she’d have it.
Bodies in expensive dresses or tailored suits, some glittering with jewels, moved and shifted. She scanned the crowd, not finding who she was looking for.
“Here we go.” The bartender came back and set her drink on a bar napkin. She could see the digits peeking out from under the base of the glass. He winked. “On me.”
She let her sultry smile grow. “I’ll tip you later.”
His smile matched hers. “I look forward to it.” He turned away to the next patron.
She actually might, she realized. It had been over six months since she’d dated anyone. Since she’d felt the touch of another. Her mind constantly strayed to places it shouldn’t. To dazzling green eyes and devious smiles. To the rush of adrenaline and passion thataccompaniedhisvery presence. It wasn’t healthy, feeling that way—remembering his every touch in exquisite detail. It wasn’t welcome. But this guy was…cute. A good distraction. Hopefully. Mercifully.
She sauntered through the crowd, aiming for a look of arrogance. Her chin was tilted up, and her drink was held a little too far from her body, showcasing her form. Her haughty expression would hint at her ego—she intended to look like a frail thing who didn’t do much to hide the vulnerability beneath. She picked at the hem of her jacket with her free hand to accentuate the image, boosted by her obvious youth.
Nearly at the other side of the room, she spotted the man she needed to meet. Rutherford. He was lodged in the plush seating at the far corner. Two men sat opposite him, one with a gaudy gold pinky ring and the other with a suit stuffed to bursting with muscle. She wasn’t the only meeting of the night, it seemed. Damn.
She angled her trajectory, intent on stealing Rutherford’s focus with her appearance. That would help her claim his attention when she got close.
Before she could make headway, a man stepped in her path. His salt-and-pepper hair was artfully styled, falling rakishly over his forehead. His lips were pulled into a cocky grin and wrinkle lines fanned out at the edges of his eyes, exposing pale skin underneath an obvious tan, highlighted by his keen interest sliding over her body.
She knew the type. Rich, powerful, important, not used to hearing the word “no” and less inclined to listen. He was undaunted by the twenty-year age gap and probably turned on by her apparent fragility. She crossed paths with such people far too often. It always made her slightly uncomfortable, which made her violent. Now wasn’t the time for either.
“Hello,” he said, using his size to hunch over her in a way that projected caging her into his notice.
She met his gaze…and let her confidence leak back into her eyes. Violence lurked in that sparkle, she knew. A warning.
His smile wilted, uncertainty replacing the confidence. She stopped in front of him, her fingers itching for the small knife hidden on the inside of her waistband. That sentiment would be transmitted in her slightly manic smile. Not all doll-like creatures made good playthings. Some came alive in the middle of the night and killed you in your sleep.
His eyes widened as his bearing turned rigid. She lifted her right eyebrow slowly, silently asking what he was doing in her way. Zorn was a master at the expression, and she tried to leak just as much hostility into it as he would’ve.
“Ex-excuse me,” the man stammered before clearing his throat. He shuffled away.
Huh.That had been easier than expected. Maybe he recognized her? Or maybe he just recognized Crazy. She was the type of woman who, when her feet hit thefloor in the morning, the devil said, “Oh shit, she’s up.” She’d seen that on a mug once and never forgotten the analogy. It fit perfectly.
The way up ahead parted. She continued her slinky walk, keeping the pace slow in hopes her target would glance up. He leaned forward in his chair, gesturing at the men he was talking to. The men stayed straight, holding the power in that dynamic. Good. To grab Rutherford’s attention, all she’d need to do was offer him his power back, an easy illusion to create.
Haughty arrogance flowed away from her expression and her posture. The ego flittered away, as well. Vulnerability turned into demure sophistication, money in the hands of youth, soft-spoken and reserved, eager to please and follow his lead. This was why she was so slow to be recognized in public. Her face might be the same, but circumstances changed everything else about her. She could seem like an entirely different person at the drop of a hat. Amber had taught her well.
The man leaned back, his eyes flicking away from the others in irritation. It was then he caught sight of her, his gaze passing her by one moment, then snapping back. It slid down her body, a spark of interest igniting. When he finally noticed her eyes, she was biting her lip with a little smile.
His attention fell away from the men immediately, as though they’d gotten up and walked out of the room. Nearly upon them and she still held her target’s focus,his eyes gleaming. Getting him away would be no problem.
She gave him a smile of hello as a strange shimmer caught her notice out of the corner of her eye.
Her focus shattered. Her blood felt like it had frozen solid, shock and surprise and delight and fear rolling within her in turns. The air glittered in a familiar and beautiful array of gold and tangerine and rose with sparks of violet and cerulean, reminding her of the sky at dusk. It sparkled and glowed, entrancing. So incredibly obvious…but not noticed by anyone else in the room.
Adrenaline poured through her body.
As if recognizing he’d been “made,” the sizzle of color bled away to reveal an uncomfortably handsome fae in a perfectly tailored suit adorning his incredible physique. His hair was styled loose and tousled and somehow made his almost severe, chiseled face elegantly jaw-dropping. It also hid his otherworldly ears. No one in here would know what he truly was. His poise was regal in a way no one here could be, and his clothing, and the way he wore it, was dapper in a way everyone was attempting.
