Chapter 19
Carly
My mouth dropped open as I stared at the headline: Urban Explorers Meet Fiery End in Abandoned Mill .
According to the news article, two friends had gone exploring and decided to start a bonfire inside the fabric mill using whatever they could find. Some of the combustible chemicals used in the dying process had accidentally caught fire, causing a small explosion. Neither man was alive when firefighters arrived, but at least they were able to subdue the flames before they spread to any neighboring buildings.
I shook my head, wondering how they’d managed to come up with that story. The men hadn’t even been inside the building when Desmon burnt them to a crisp! And I was pretty sure no combustible chemical on Earth would burn through someone as fast as magical fire. But I wasn’t going to question it, especially since the police had yet to contact me regarding the disappearance.
“Oh yes, it’s really tragic, isn’t it?” Janice said, leaning in to take a glimpse of the article.
Apparently, every Friday was casual Friday, which meant everyone working at the museum was encouraged to come to work in their natural forms.
Technically, they were allowed to come in without glamor any day of the week, but old habits died hard even here in Darlington, a place full of monsters, and certain monsters were still not uncomfortable being out in public in their natural form.
Janice had come to work this morning with a full-on beard. It was the only thing different about her.
“Not all dwarven women have beards; I just happen to be one who does,” had been her very first words to me in the staff room today.
I thought it actually suited her face very well. I was surprised at how feminine she still looked.
“Urban exploring?” I still couldn’t believe what I was reading. “Really?”
“Apparently so.” Janice shook her head. “I didn’t know Leonard was into that. It’s dangerous, you know. He just told me that he was sick, and I believed him. I’m just glad you had nothing to do with it. I was worried about you when you didn’t show up or call.”
“I’m sorry I worried you.”
“It’s okay. Your place was broken into, and you had to deal with all that. It’s nice of Desmon to give you a place to stay until you can get back on your feet. But next time, do me a favor and run the place by me before you sign the lease. I heard you rented the last one sight unseen.”
That had been all Mateo had told her. He’d left out the part that Leonard had been involved in the break-in and that I’d been kidnapped to boot. Instead, he just let her believe that I was filling out paperwork down at the station to make a report.
“Yeah, I had to. I was still in New York at the time.”
“Well, you’re here now, and you’ve got friends who can help you.”
Desmon “giving me a place to stay” had been the perfect story to account for the fact that he’d driven me to work today in his Bentley Continental. The car had an impeccable cream leather interior with diamond stitching in gold thread, and I’d spent the entire drive being careful not to spill a single drop of my coffee.
I couldn’t believe it when the car handed me my seat belt when I sat down. And then when I opened the door to get out, it had shone the Bentley logo on the ground to show me where to step. I mean, heaven forbid I should step on plain un-Bentleyed concrete!
Desmon had even asked if I wanted to turn on the massaging seats, but I’d politely declined, worried I’d get too comfy.
Anyway, despite having decided to dive headlong into whatever it was between Desmon and me, I wasn’t ready to explain the situation to Janice yet. So. Yeah. Great cover story.
The front door to the museum opened, and a frazzled-looking woman walked in holding an umbrella that had blown inside out. She was drenched, as were the kids trailing behind her. In the rear was a man in a similarly bedraggled state, trying to shepherd the youngsters into the museum.
“That’s my group,” I announced. “I’ll get them set up and dried off before we start the tour.”
“Good idea. Maybe have the kids take off their shoes, considering we are kind of short a daytime janitor for now.” Janice held out some shower-cap-like things to me, with little rubber dots on them. “And have the teachers wear these over their shoes.”
“Can I join the tour too?” asked Kaylee, one of the volunteers. “I haven’t even had a chance to look around yet.” She looked pleadingly at Janice.
“Why don’t you both go, shadow Carly on the tour? I’ll be fine at the front.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
I grinned at Kaylee’s enthusiasm. I’d been just like her once, before life and bills wore me down. It had only taken a few years.
Brayden looked a little less enthused but still seemed happier to join the tour rather than work concierge.
“All right,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s put our edumicator faces on. And remember: no swearing at the kids, even if they deserve it.”
The tour went smoothly enough: we only had one kid run off down a hallway he shouldn’t have, only to find himself escorted back by a mean-looking Mateo, who, like many employees, was not in glamour today. That meant he was in full manticore mode, complete with wyvern wings and a scorpion tail.
Yeah, that was one kid who wouldn’t misbehave for a while.
“I think you should come to work as a manticore every day I have a tour booked,” I teased him when the class finally left.
“And scare away all the museum-goers?”
I was going to tell him he was being silly, but just then, Brayden, who had been called away to help clean up a mess in the middle of the tour, returned. He took one look at Mateo and covered his mouth, stifling a decidedly feminine shriek. Kaylee tittered but tried to stifle it.
“Okay, maybe not,” I muttered. “It’s okay,” I said, louder. “It’s just Mateo.”
The explanation didn’t seem to help. Brayden just stood there frozen.
“Brayden’s terrified of arachnids,” Kaylee whispered. “I thought that just meant spiders at first, but apparently, scorpions too.”
“I’ll go patrol the halls,” Mateo sighed.
Kaylee guided Brayden back to the front desk, holding his arm. I understood now why Mateo preferred to use an illusion spell, to hide what he was and remain in his human disguise most of the time. Poor guy.
With my tour done, I made my way up to Desmon’s office where a whole pile of files was waiting for me to digitize. Instead of taking the main staircase, I decided to use the elevators at the back. First, because I was lazy, and second, it gave me an excuse to stop by the statue.
Yes, that statue.
I didn’t have Q-Tip with me. But I had his favorite toy, a tiny wicker ball, in my pocket. After my talk with Elana, I’d done a little research, and apparently, sometimes just having a familiar’s belonging in one’s possession was enough to make a difference. I wasn’t particularly hopeful, but it was worth a try, right?
I stepped into the Orgy Room. Friday was one of the busier days at the museum, partly because some people came in the hopes of ogling the many beasts that guarded the place in their natural forms. Mateo wasn’t the only monster working today. There were several dusky-looking demons, too. And a minotaur!
But this particular exhibit wasn’t very busy. Not many people knew it existed, tucked away here at the back of the museum. I checked for prying eyes, and when I saw that I was alone, I snuck my hand past the velvet rope and touched the faun’s feet. All I got was the same stupid tone. Ugh!
“My, my, my , this is interesting,“ said a smooth, mellow voice that reminded me of molasses.
I snatched my hand back, and whipped around—and came face to face with Desmon’s doppelganger. It was instantly clear that it wasn’t actually him. For one, the expensive-looking suit wasn’t what Desmon had been wearing when he left the estate this morning. He’d gone casual with a red silk shirt left open at the top, and sexy, tight-fitting pants that molded deliciously to his perfect ass.
“My brother seems to have caught himself a little witch.” He leaned in way too close for my taste and sniffed my ear. “The magic is weak, but there. Delightful.”
I shuddered at the sudden thrill that ran through my body. It was similar to the one when Desmon and I first touched, but somehow this felt wrong . I stepped back until my ass bumped into one of the display cases.
“Get away from her.” The growl in Desmon’s voice sent tingles up my spine. Ooh, he was hot when riled up.
“What? Can’t I say hi to my new sister?”
Sister? This was Desmon’s brother? Wait, why was he talking like Desmon and I were married?
“Don’t forget, if you end up losing this competition, she’ll be my responsibility.” Desmon’s brother swooped in suddenly, and I found myself in his arms. “ All mine.”
There was a snarl, and I was ripped out of his arms. Desmon surrounded me possessively. Not just with his arms, but he had spread his wings, and they curled around me, hiding me from his brother’s view. “She’s mine.”
Did I think he was hot before? Fuck! Now I was ready to ride him like a…well, dragon. I squeezed my legs together, hoping my reaction would go unnoticed.
“I thought you said she was ‘just the new hire’. Or is it that you don’t want a human mate? Worried you’ll have to share some of your precious life span to extend her pathetically short one?”
Wait, what?
“Leave, Emmett.”
“Does she even know? Or are you just planning on springing it on her?”
“Know what?” I looked up into Desmon’s angry but still very handsome face.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he growled and kept trying to hide me away. But now I wanted answers, and if he wouldn’t give them to me, I was going to ask someone who would. I shoved out of his arms and spun on his brother.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded
Emmett was trying his best to look relaxed, but it was mostly a show. He was in a defensive position. He might also be a dragon, but he was wary of Desmon.
“Tell me, beautiful, has he shown you his hoard yet? Or has it just been wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am?
A little wisp of smoke curled from Desmon’s nostrils. My face heated up, and I looked around wildly, but no one was paying us any attention despite the scene we were making. In fact, none of the museum-goers had even stepped into the room. It was like this room didn’t exist. One of them must’ve cast a look-away spell or something. Magic sure came in handy.
“We haven’t actually done that yet.” My god! Why was my face heating up like this? I was a grown-ass adult, for fuck’s sake. I shouldn’t get embarrassed talking about sex, or the lack thereof, even if said sex was supposedly between me and my boss. Technically, he’d gone down on me, but I didn’t consider that wham-bam-anything.
Emmett’s grin turned downright predatory. “Interesting. If he hasn’t claimed you yet, that makes you fair game. Unlike Desmon, I’ve always wanted a mate.”
He took a step toward me, and I scurried back into Desmon’s arms, suddenly realizing I was much safer there.
“Touch. Her. And. Die.”
Goosebumps ran up my arms at Desmon’s ruthless, growled words. I sure hoped this look-away spell was strong enough to hide me climbing Desmon like a tree because that was exactly what was going to happen right after this. I had no idea I got so turned on by displays of possessiveness, but hot damn!
Emmett took a step back, putting several priceless artifacts between them. “She’ll be mine anyway once you lose this competition.” He chuckled like this was just another amusing conversation.
Then he turned and disappeared into the hall.