Filthy Rich Fae

Chapter Five

With no idea how long I had until he returned, I didn’t waste any time. Dashing into the adjoining sitting room, I grabbed a candlestick from a table near the door and hurled it at the green glass window. It bounced right off. A string of curses fell from my mouth.

Just then, a soft howl whispered through the air, and I whipped around only to find myself alone. I shivered as my unease sent me out of the room and deeper into the house.

My footsteps echoed through the empty, cavernous rooms, each colder and more elegant than the last. I stumbled into a dining room with a black stone table that stretched to fit twenty seats. Silver candelabras dotted its center, surrounded by crystal bowls spilling over with ivy and cream-colored peonies in full bloom. Their powdery scent filled the air, the softness at odds with the brutal, polished beauty of their surroundings. I started toward the hall joining the far end of the room, but as soon as I took a step closer to the table, a shimmering aura glimmered around me, and out of nowhere, gold platters laden with plump strawberries, velvet-kissed peaches, and glossy apples appeared. I didn’t dare touch any of it. I’d learned my lesson about taking food from the fae. Hurrying forward, I heard another soft wail whisper through the room and froze.

“Is someone there?” I called out. Silence answered me, somehow more disconcerting than the creepy, invisible laughter that seemed to be following me.

I continued through the great rooms and sprawling corridors, looking for any way out and finding none. And if the front door was locked…I was stuck.

Gage hadn’t needed to put me in a dungeon because this place was a prison.

And he was a fae. But not like any of the books I’d read. Those fae didn’t carry guns. They didn’t live in cities like New Orleans. But they did steal humans away to their world and trap them there.

What had I done?

“You saved Channing,” I said to the empty hallway, but it did little to boost my resolve. I wanted to be angry at my foster brother for not telling me the truth about Gage and what he really was, but would I have even believed him? I barely believed myself. But my still-throbbing hand was proof that this wasn’t a nightmare, and even though part of me wanted to sink to the floor and cry, it wouldn’t do me any good. I’d been in terrible positions before, and I’d gotten out of them. I knew the company of monsters well. I wouldn’t let him scare me.

I was just considering trying my luck at climbing over a balcony into the wild garden surrounding the house when I heard something. Not the hollow, aching wail from before, but a low, amused chuckle that scraped across my already fraying senses and sent me whirling around to find Gage watching me. His tie hung loosely around his unbuttoned collar, giving me a glimpse of more swirling, shifting tattoos. His smile spread as our eyes met, and the sight of it turned me liquid.

No. Molten.

It was rage, this fire burning inside me, and some dark, unnatural magic. It had nothing to do with Lachlan Gage and his smug grins and his stupid, perfect face.

“I wouldn’t advise that. You’re far safer in here than out there.”

He was back. Not that I could be sure he was any less dangerous than that disembodied laughter I kept hearing, but at least I could see him. “Party over?” I asked in the chilliest tone I could muster.

“Unfortunately, no, but Roark is handling things.” He scanned me as if looking for clues about what to do with me. “I didn’t want to be rude and leave you here all alone.”

I frowned. “Don’t pretend to worry about me. I’m a prisoner, remember?”

“You aren’t a prisoner, Cate.” He had the audacity to look amused at the thought.

“I. Can’t. Leave.” I bit out each word, since he seemed to struggle with understanding simple concepts. “That is the definition of prisoner.”

Gage leaned against the wall, playing with a cufflink like we were discussing the weather. A tattoo snaked around his neck and disappeared under his collar. “There are matters to discuss. Arrangements to be made. I assumed you’d want a say in the terms of our bargain. You seem…opinionated.”

“I didn’t make a bargain with you. You tricked me.”

His sculpted lips curved into a smile that nearly knocked the wind out of me. How had I ever mistaken him for human? No one looked like that. He was so beautiful that it was terrifying.

“You have a lot to learn about fae.”

Like everything, but I wasn’t about to let him distract me. “So, you admit that you tricked me?”

“I didn’t say that.” He raked a hand through his ink-black hair. “I didn’t trick you, Cate. You offered yourself to me.”

Fighting him was getting me nowhere, I realized. I had no idea why he’d traded Channing’s soul for mine, but maybe somewhere very, very, very deep down, there was a shred of decency below that cold beauty. It was all I had to work with until I found a way out of this bargain.

“I was desperate.” The words fell from my lips with resignation.

Gage shrugged a broad shoulder. “I know.”

The question burning inside me leaped out before I could stop it. “Why?”

He mumbled something I didn’t catch, then, “Why not?”

I waited for more, waited for some explanation as to why Gage had bothered helping me at all. If that’s what he was doing. I couldn’t be certain. Not while I was trapped in some Otherworld with no way back to my real life.

“Are you ready to discuss our bargain now?” he asked after a moment. “Or do you plan to continue demanding release?”

“Would it matter?”

“No.”

“This bargain means Channing is free from you, from this.” I stretched my arms to the strange world surrounding us. “Swear that you won’t go after him ever again, and then we can discuss terms.”

“It’s a little late to be adding conditions,” he said with dark amusement, “but very well. I swear I will not go after him as long as you uphold whatever terms we come to. Does that satisfy you?”

My end of the bargain. Belonging to Gage, giving him my soul. I raised my chin and met his gaze. “Better me than him.”

Something dangerous flashed through his eyes, but he blinked, and it was gone as quickly as a bolt of lightning. He pushed off the wall and started down a corridor without another word. I stared after him for a moment before following. Gage stood a full head taller than me and walked twice as quickly, so I had to jog to catch up. My bare feet slapped against the dark marble, and he slowed but didn’t stop.

“Where are you taking me?” I called after him.

“Stop dawdling, and you’ll find out.”

“Excuse me for not having fae superspeed.”

He finally stopped, turning just enough to offer a feline smile. “My offer from earlier stands. I could carry you.”

I glared back at him, ignoring the dangerous uptick in my heart rate under his scrutiny. Deadly, I reminded myself. “My legs work just fine.”

“Debatable.” He slowed his pace until we were walking side by side. “I’m showing you to your bedroom.”

“Bedroom?” I repeated with a swallow.

He peered down at me. Had he smelled this good in the real world, or was it more fae fuckery?

“It’s a place where you sleep,” he said.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a dick?”

His lips lifted at the corners. “Many a time. I’ve even let some of them live.”

My stomach tumbled twice, but I merely returned the slight smile. I refused to blanch at his words, refused to give him even an ounce of satisfaction that he’d unnerved me. But I’d seen the holster he wore, even though I doubted he needed guns. Not with the strange magic he wielded, so powerful that he’d taken me into another world. Still, gun or magic, I was at his mercy here.

“Killing me now wouldn’t be a very good return on investment.”

He barked a laugh and gestured toward arched double doors that were intricately carved with intersecting vines and those strange symbols inked on his skin.

“Your quarters,” he said. When I didn’t budge, he sighed impatiently, pushed the doors open, and strode in. Warm light spilled into the dark corridor, easing my trepidation enough for me to follow.

A small gasp escaped my lips at the room that greeted me. It wasn’t a dungeon. It was a sanctuary.

The walls were painted a warm, earthy green, and a huge, thick rug softened the marble floors. Gold sconces with real burning candles hung every few feet, explaining the glowing light. Overhead, the ceiling rose to a dizzying height, curved beams crisscrossing one another like the vines on the door. On the far side of the room, a bank of ivy-covered glass doors with arched points led to a stone balcony. And next to the doors…a bed.

A huge bed.

A bed that was not made for humans.

Four posters curved into a coronet over the massive bed. Gauzy curtains draped from the center to each rail, each held back by silk ropes. Rich, velvet bedding and dozens of pillows in shades ranging from emerald to dark evergreen were strewn in artful order over it. Across the room, a welcoming fire crackled in a stone hearth.

I stared at that bed, my hands clenching at my sides. It was beautiful. This entire place was beautiful in a horrifying, exhilarating way. Just like Gage himself. Just like the moment you realize you’re in a nightmare but can’t quite wake up.

If I was going to survive in this place, if I was going to survive him, I couldn’t let my guard down.

“The bathroom is this way.” He took a step toward an arched door.

“Wait!” I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Gage stopped. His eyebrows knitted together as he studied me. “Get what over with?”

“Sleeping together,” I said in a rush.

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not stupid.” I crossed my arms over my chest to cage my pounding heart. “There’s only one reason you made that bargain. I know what terms you’re going to ask for. You said you deal in desire.”

“Oh?” He cracked his knuckles, and the tattoos twining his fingers fled at the sound.

“That’s the arrangement we need to discuss.” A lump knotted my throat, but I forced myself to speak, pointing to the bed. “So, if we’re here, let’s just get it over with. Please.”

He didn’t move. Nothing flashed in his eyes now. His features remained stony. Finally, he asked in a slow cadence, “Do you wish to sleep with me?”

“Does it matter?”

“I’ll take that as a no.” He fell silent for a moment. Finally, he snorted, continuing to survey me. “I suppose that’s one term we can agree on. Sex is not part of our arrangement. No offense, but you’re not my type.”

My knees wobbled beneath me, and I fought the urge to collapse. Not from relief, exactly. I shoved the feelings down only to discover a new one burning on my cheeks. “I thought…the bedroom…”

“You are bound to me,” he said seriously, “and my interest in you lies elsewhere, so I can assure you, I do not expect sex.” He smirked. “Besides, do I look like I need to trick a woman into bed?”

Humiliation raged through me. I was going to catch on actual fire and burn to a crisp in front of him. It took sheer force of will to not bury my face in my hands and hide.

“There’s another more practical purpose for taking you to your room,” he said, breezing on. “Our Mabon celebration will continue at the court shortly. I assume you…don’t want to attend.”

I followed his gaze to my bare feet and fought a frown. “I do not. So what am I supposed to do? Just wait here for everyone to leave?”

“If you wish. They should all be gone in a few days.”

My mouth fell open. “Days? I can’t. I have to get back—”

“To your very important human life,” he finished for me.

“It is important.” Without thinking, I advanced on him, getting close enough to jab a finger into his chest. “I have a job.”

“You no longer need one,” he said breezily. “And as we’ve already established, you will not be going anywhere.”

Panic gripped my heart. I couldn’t just stay here. Bargain or not, he couldn’t keep me here forever. “Please let me go,” I whispered, allowing some of that desperation to leak through. Maybe that was the key to unraveling him.

He paused for a moment, his lips pursing like he was seriously considering the request. “No.”

“Dick,” I spat at him.

He smiled. Not the arrogant grin from earlier but a dazzling smile that lit up his whole face and made me forget for a second that I hated him. “Congratulations, princess. You’re the first person to call me a dick twice and live.”

“Stop calling me princess.”

“Stop making demands.”

We glared at each other, neither of us willing to look away.

“We’ll finish this conversation in the morning.” He sounded tired. Good. Maybe I could wear him down. Maybe he’d get so sick of me that he’d dump me back home.

If he didn’t… My eyes lingered on the holsters under his arms. There had to be a reason that he carried them. Maybe even magic couldn’t survive guns.

“You’re staring,” he accused.

My eyes snapped to his. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Take a nap? Unless you wish to throw more things at the windows? They’re all warded.” My mouth dropped open. How had he known? I thought of those hollow wails in the halls and shivered.

“It’s up to you. I really don’t care.”

“Dick.” I held up three fingers and smiled around the knot forming in my throat. I wouldn’t let him see me cry.

“Charming,” he muttered, already turning toward the door.

The tears came before it clicked shut.