Page 4 of Twisted Desire

I wave him off. “I’m fine.”

“It wasn’t so bad having me in your head, was it?”

My glare is answer enough for him to change the subject.

After another couple of hours, most of the fae have gotten significantly better with their manipulation abilities. I’m more confident these fae will be able to protect themselves if it comes down to it. We’ve all seen enough death to last us an eternity.

Afterward, the fae clear out, leaving Nikolai, Allison, and me alone.

“I’d call that a success,” Allison comments, zipping up her jacket as she gets ready to leave.

“Sure,” I say.

“Don’t mind her,” Nikolai cuts in and drops his arm around my shoulders. “She’s upset she didn’t get to have her way with me.”

Allison snorts. “Right. She could tell you to do pretty much anything, and you’d do it in a heartbeat. No fae manipulation required.” She shoulders her bag. “I’ll see you guys later.”

I knock his arm off as soon as Allison is gone.

“Easy, Sky,” he says with a slight grin. “You need to relax. We’re doing good.”

Keeping my eyes trained on a painting attached to the wall on the other side of the room, I say, “I know that.” For once, the fae-human war isn’t what I’m concerned about.

2

Acouple hours later, I’m sitting in my office at the Westbrook Hotel going over last month’s financials. I’d much rather be preparing to fight than keeping this human business afloat, but Tristan left me to run things. The human employees were a little confused as to why he left “indefinitely,” but the fae employees know the truth about why Tristan and Aurora are gone. No one has questioned my authority. I managed a lot of the staff before Tristan left, anyway. I have to make sure things are running smoothly for when he comes back.

Fuck that.

Things are going to bebetterwhen he gets back. I’ll hand the reins over to him, sit back in my comfy-ass chair with my feet propped up on my desk, and watch as he tries to keep up with the epicness I’ve created.

Before I blocked his memories, Tristan suggested I move into his office. In response, I suggested he shut the hell up. He’ll need his office when the time comes for him to return. He might not be able to be a fae leader anymore, but he’s still—and will always be—the owner of this hotel. His office will remain his. I instructed the cleaning staff to continue attending to his office in the meantime.

The intercom on my desk phone buzzes, wiping the smile off my lips. “Yes?” I answer.

“Your twelve o’clock appointment is here,” the new receptionist says.

“My—I don’t have a twelve o’clock.” I sigh. She’s still in training, and she must’ve mixed up the dates.

“Oh, um,” she stammers, “he—”

“Go easy on the poor girl, Skylar. She’s doing a wonderful job.”

I close my eyes, rotating through several profanities in my head before muttering one under my breath. “What are you doing?”

“Apparently you’re too busy to answer your phone, so I made an appointment like everyone else. Your receptionist was lovely enough to fit me into your schedule.”

I exhale slowly, opening my eyes. “Nikolai, kindly stop pestering my staff.”

“Gladly. Are you going to let me up?”

I pause, clicking my manicure on the glass top of my desk.

“Ms. Chen?” the receptionist asks in a quiet voice.

“It’s okay,” I say after a stretch of silence. “Buzz him through.”

Less than a minute later, there’s a soft tapping on my floor-to-ceiling door.

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