Yes.
I didn’t doubt that for a second. I had my answer. None of the rest mattered. There was a fae waiting inside with an official hunt contract for the one man I’d been dreaming of taking down for years. Nothing would persuade me to walk away from that.
I walked into the room Fin had called ‘my’ bedroom to change my clothes... and my life.
Chapter Eight
I found my clothes and a whole lot more. An entire wardrobe full of clothes that didn’t belong to me, but each article was my size. I made a mental note to figure that out later.
For now, I ignored the weirdness and slipped on my favorite jeans and a clean black t-shirt that wafted lavender laundry soap with every move.
I found Fin in the room he’d mentioned. It suited him. No gilded ceilings here, just a sturdy mahogany desk and walls lined with books. He sat in a gray leather armchair by a shelf and I flopped into the matching one opposite.
He turned a page in the book laying in his lap and didn’t glance up. “I wondered if you would return, or if you’d get dressed and take off running into the night.”
Like he could get rid of me that easily. Had he simply said the Black Mage when we met, I might have gone with him gladly. Obviously, he didn’t know how badly I wanted the Black Mage in my crosshairs.
I wanted to keep it that way. Let him think I desired vengeance. Little did he know I craved carnage.
I twisted in the chair to throw my legs over the arm. “What are you reading?”
He slapped the book shut and levelled me a look. Apparently, he was one of those readers who grew surly when someone interrupted them. “Machiavelli... in Italian.”
“Well, aren’t we an ambitious reader? I’ll let you borrow Twilight next time we go near my house. Are we going to get down to business or are you starting a book club?”
On this side of enmity, that tiny lift in the corner of his mouth did squiggly things to my insides. Probably not a good thing with him being a fae, and us starting a business relationship.
I shook out those thoughts and focused on his face. The otherworldly beauty of him.
“Tell me about your people,” I said. “You’re the first I’ve met.”
More questions about his age and magic gathered in my mind, but I didn’t rush them. Each day we spent together would be a new test of trust. I wanted him to offer each tiny part of himself to me.
But why? Had his glamour made me care? For most of the last decade, I’d prided myself on being alone, on needing no one but myself. The occasional booty call kept me satisfied in that department. I didn’t need anything else. So why him?
He narrowed his eyes, and I skipped my gaze over the shelves of books. Could he read my mind? Holy hell, I hoped not. I’d endured about enough embarrassment in front of him already.
I dragged my eyes back to him when he stood and leaned over the desk to gather some paperwork. He handed it to me, but I shook my head.
“We haven’t discussed terms yet. I won’t sign anything until we are both in agreement.”
“This is a formal letter informing you I wish you to enter my employment. It also outlines benefits and pay.”
Now he had my interest. I got to bring down the Black mage and take a check to the bank. Why didn’t we start there? I took the papers and scanned them. The number on the sheet had more zeros than I’d ever seen in my life. Also, he would pay it out to a beneficiary in the case of my demise. I would be touched if this were a normal hunt, and the odds of my actual death weren’t against me.
“Are you sure this number is correct? That is a lot of money to do something I really want to do already.”
He snorted. “Are you trying to talk me down in this negotiation because I don’t think that’s how it works.”
To be fair, even if he knocked one zero off the end, I would still be making more money than I had in my entire life.
“If you’re sure, I’m not going to argue.”
“I do have some conditions to include in the contract,” he said. “You have to stay here until we’ve finished our task.”
“Is that all?”
“You have free rein of the house, the kitchen, the staff, whatever you need. We have to train together to ensure you’re prepared for what we are about to face.”