A Deal with the Dark Fae: Enemies-to-Lovers Standalone (Cruel Intentions Book 1) Read online

  The thought that I’d breathe in her sweet scent again later made my blood rush down, which made thinking difficult. There was no room for an accidental affair, it could ruin everything. Xanor needed a fairy mistress, and I usually disliked them anyway.

  Nevertheless, for some reason, I continued to text her.

  “Are you making a plan to seduce my brother?”

  “No, I’m brushing my teeth. And you?”

  I grinned involuntarily. She had a sharp tongue, although she tried to act modest. That was exactly why I needed to talk some sense into her. I just needed to figure out how. My imagination usually worked just fine, but for some reason, it only went to one thing today. Her on this conference table, on which I’d happily teach that sassy fairy more than just how to behave...

  I reminded myself that I was getting married soon. And that I had a huge pain in the ass in the form of a younger brother. I needed Elenia to deal with him, and I’d continue to be faithful to Felicia, as befits a respectable, soon to be family man.

  But it wasn’t illegal to correspond with a future... hmm... employee, so I continued texting her, half-listening to the analyst’s babbling.

  “Behind you is Sonor Nereo, one might say he’s breathing down your neck,” said the girl from the PR department, Alira.

  At least she didn’t tremble while she spoke. Sitting on the edge of the long table in the conference room, she played with her shoe idly and kept sending inviting glances my way.

  She definitely wouldn’t mind ending up in my bed.

  And the fairy was so cold and inaccessible yesterday.

  Pull yourself together, she has a child!

  Fairies were usually divided into two categories — the untouchable ones, who were saving themselves for their wedding night, as if innocence was something sacred, and those who earned their living selling themselves and their charms to those who could afford them.

  Lei was single, but at the same time, she had a young daughter, apparently with a Dark One. Why the hell didn’t she have an abortion, or at least, if she was so eager to become a single mother, why didn’t she spend money on that miracle injection?! I didn’t remember its name, but I knew it could be administered either in the third or fourth month of the pregnancy. It was expensive but effective. It helped to get rid of the paternal inheritance if the child was a girl, or the maternal inheritance in the case of a boy. The fetus healed while it was still in the womb.

  Where was the father and why didn’t he take care of his child? I knew that marrying a fairy wasn’t an option for the Dark Ones, but if the girl got pregnant and wanted to keep the child, at least it should be taken care of.

  If he did that, this girl, Marisel, wouldn’t be suffering now. I should find this asshole and remind him of what being a responsible adult is.

  I asked myself why was I thinking about this at all. Her past was her past. I’d help her child (another plus in my karma as a presidential candidate), give her the opportunity to build her career and that was it.

  Yes, I’m practically a benefactor.

  The main thing was that Xanor was distracted by her, otherwise, my plan could fall apart.

  “I already have a new apartment?” A new message from the fairy.

  I answered quickly.

  “You do. Tell the nanny that you’re moving today.”

  Then I looked at Alira and, tired of her mediocre attempts to draw my attention, sharply said: “Sit properly, Sonorina Fabir. You’re at work, not at the bar in a nightclub.”

  Alira immediately jumped up, as if something stung her in the ass, and, blushing, sank into her chair. Until the end of the meeting, she didn’t make a sound nor looked up.

  And I stopped staring at my phone, almost not mad that Elenia didn’t answer my last message.

  ***

  “So why are we here?” Xanor yawned lazily and looked around in anticipation of our order.

  Getting my brother to have lunch with me was probably even more difficult than winning the elections. He usually woke up no earlier than two, and it rarely happened at home. In even rarer cases, he would go to work.

  A useless creature. He was like his mother, who only knew how to spread her legs. She brewed disgusting coffee and dreamed of becoming the new Sonora Horos. Idiot. Fortunately, my father was smart enough not to defile my mother’s memory and bring this woman to our house. But he nevertheless brought his bastard. And now this jerk could really make my life complicated in the coming months.

  “Our last conversation ended badly. I thought we should spend some time together and try to improve our relationship. I’m tired of fighting with you.”

  Xanor leaned back in his chair, clasping his fingers behind his neck.

  “Let me guess. You say that just because this weekend you and Feli are expected in Alicantar. You decided to call a ceasefire just in time... After all, all her relatives, the local elite, and the journalists will be there. And, of course, it would be beneficial for candidate Horos to show what a friendly, close-knit family he has. You, Solt, me, all so sickeningly proper. I can go — I have no plans for this weekend, but I can’t promise to be a good boy and to not throw up on Felicia’s aunt or uncle. You know how the sight of snobs like you makes me sick...”

  Xanor wasn’t a fool. And this was another problem for me and another obvious flaw of his. Hopefully, Elenia wouldn’t only be a good lover but also a good actress. The last thing I needed now was for him to figure out their meeting wasn’t accidental.

  “Why are you frowning?” Xanor snorted, and I realized that I was thinking about the fairy.

  Damn these urges. What am I, some kind of animal addicted to the smell of a fairy? At this pace, I’ll lose my self-respect soon.

  “I may not vomit, but I can’t promise anything.” Xanor interpreted my reaction in his own way.

  I didn’t try to correct him. It was better if he thought that I was once again horrified by his lack of manners.

  I saw Elenia the very moment when she entered the restaurant hall. Maybe I had some problems with my nose, because I almost fell into my chair as soon as I felt her scent. There were other Dark Ones in the restaurant, but nobody reacted to her like I did. Xanor was also weirdly calm. It was just me who was drawn to this girl like a magnet.

  Shit.

  “We’re flying on Friday afternoon.”

  “I’ll try to wake up by then,” Xanor replied absentmindedly and sniffed. “Mm... Familiar scent. Do you smell that?”

  I shrugged vaguely and reached for my glass. To say that I smelled it would be a lie. It had not only already managed to etch into my lungs, but my brain seemed to have turned into a useless mess.

  “Will there be any hot chicks?” In the meantime, my brother grinned, busy with the most important question in his life — who should he fuck this week.

  “You can do without chicks for a couple of days.”

  “Okay, I’ll find some myself.”

  Xanor smelled the air noisily.

  “I remember! She was at our house yesterday!” He frowned, and suddenly jumped up. “I need to check.”

  I got up and followed him. Not a bad start. I didn’t even have to bring him to them. He just followed the trail.

  She was wearing a light dress, with a neckline not deep enough to draw attention to it, but for some reason, it did draw mine. And again for some reason, I was angry. It would be better if she had put on that blouse she had on yesterday and buttoned it all the way up.

  Xanor approached them first, and immediately, without even trying to hide his interest, took the empty seat.

  “Feli, Feli, who have you been hiding from us? Will you introduce me to your friend?”

  I didn’t think that everything would be this simple, but it turned out to be even simpler. I should’ve been happy, but instead, I wanted to grab my brother by the scruff of his neck and pull that brat away from the table. And maybe eat his eyes with my darkness.

  I seemed to be going crazy.

  �
�Xanor, this is Elenia Lei. She will be in charge of our wedding,” Felicia introduced her and tried to calm down her future brother-in-law. “Don’t look at her like that, you’re embarrassing her.”

  “I like to embarrass pretty fairies.” He smiled like he was already up to something.

  Propping his chin with his hands, he devoured Elenia with his eyes. She also looked at him, calmly and attentively, instead of playing either an embarrassed shy girl or an enthusiastic idiot who had received the attention of one of the Horos brothers.

  I’d have to discuss the line of conduct with her. Xanor loved obedient girls. This was probably the only thing we agreed on.

  “Come on, let’s not bother the girls.” I touched my brother’s shoulder.

  He jerked his hand irritably and beckoned the waiter.

  “We’ll eat with these lovely sonorinas.”

  The waiter disappeared, returning a few seconds later with our order. I just smiled. Xanor was used to doing things to spite me. He knew how I felt about the Light Ones, and now, for the next hour at least, he wouldn’t leave Elenia alone because of that. I hoped that during this time she’d be able to captivate him so much that he’d want to get to know her better.

  Taking a seat next to Felicia, I glanced at Elenia and caught a reciprocal look. She immediately turned away, again focusing all her attention on my brother.

  “Have you already chosen the venue?” Undressing the fairy with his eyes, Xanor surprisingly showed some interest in my wedding.

  “I offered Sonorina Solt several options.”

  “You’d better just call me Felicia,” Feli asked Elenia.

  “I’ll just call you Elenia.” Xanor pronounced her name in such a hungry way that it felt like every letter was a gourmet meal.

  “I’m afraid you and I don’t know each other enough to be on a first-name basis, Sonor Horos.” The girl upset him, and I struggled to calm down the urge to strangle her, or at least step on her foot under the table.

  Damn it. Xanor is used to dealing with whores who’ll agree to everything, anytime, anywhere. The sassy ones aren’t his type.

  “Ouch!” Nevertheless, Xanor almost licked his lips looking at the fairy, and I seriously thought about how I needed to educate her on him as soon as possible and remind her who she was dealing with.

  Maybe the Dark One, with whom she had the child, allowed her to be insolent. But with a Horos, this kind of thing wouldn’t fly.

  “Today’s Thursday,” she said. “I’ll think about everything we talked about today over the weekend and I’ll present you with a more specific plan on Monday. Can you meet me with me... Felicia?”

  She didn’t have the time to answer, as Xanor was faster.

  “I have an idea. How about you spend this weekend with us in Alicantar where you’ll be able to talk to Feli as much and whenever you want. And I’ll be able to talk with you, whenever I want.”

  Xanor managed to make even such ordinary phrases dirty and predatory. Any other fairy in Elenia’s place, if she, of course, wasn’t a professional prostitute, would already be blushing. But she showed no signs of embarrassment or surprise. I followed her gaze and noticed the curls of darkness creeping out of my brother’s fingers, flowing down onto the tablecloth, and leaving burn marks on it.

  “Stop that!” I squeezed his forearm, and the darkness immediately vanished. I noticed Elenia swallowing hard, and made a mental note to find out what this reaction was connected with, and continued. “I’m afraid Sonorina Lei won’t be able to join us. She has a small child with whom she will, undoubtedly, want to spend the weekend. Am I right?”

  Elenia, still white as the china we ate from, nodded.

  “A child?” Xanor frowned.

  I knew that the kid could ruin everything, but hiding her wouldn’t work. It was better he found out about her now. I just hoped it wouldn’t scare him away.

  “Curiouser and curiouser,” Xanor muttered and looked up at Elenia, smirking again. “I don’t see a problem. We can all fly together. I’ll pick you and your kid up at... What time did you say we’re leaving?”

  “Xanor, this isn’t a good idea,” I began, knowing full well what his reaction would be.

  The rebel in him raised his head again, and he belligerently declared: “You can choose — either we go all together, or you can go without me.”

  “Garanor, honey.” Felicia entered the game. “It’d be wonderful if Elenia went to Alicantar with us. We still have so much to discuss. Plus, I’d love to meet your little girl, Elenia. How old is she?”

  “One year and nine months,” she answered, and looked at me.

  They were all looking at me. Elenia questioningly, Xanor was mocking me as he knew my opinion on fairies, and Felicia’s eyes were full of hope.

  “Okay.” I gave up acting like making this decision ruined my whole mood at least until the end of the day.

  “Great!” Xanor enthusiastically perked up. “As I said, I’d pick you up...”

  I felt triumphant. The child didn’t scare him away, and everything was going according to plan. But Lei’s sassy behavior could ruin everything.

  Therefore, our plan for tonight was re-education and taming a fairy with claws.

  Chapter 8

  Elenia

  During lunch, I discovered something strange. Garanor’s presence had a stun-gun like effect on me. A double dose of Horos could be, if not fatal, then at least very harmful to the health of an overly sensitive fairy. Feeling the gaze of one brother on myself was a test of will, but both at once was like torture.

  By the end of our lunch, I felt, to put it mildly, broken. To hell with the job and thoughts of bouquets and wedding cakes. I’d like to get home as soon as possible... Or just hide in some hole until I could process my feelings and organize my thoughts.

  I shouldn’t have worn that dress. It would’ve been better if I had put on that old turtleneck in which I basically spent last winter because under Xanor’s piercing gaze my décolleté seemed to be getting deeper with each passing second, and the fabric of the dress more transparent. He was interested in me without a shadow of a doubt.

  His Supreme Majesty should be pleased. True, judging by his sour expression, he felt quite the opposite thing when Xanor invited Lita and me to Alicantar. I didn’t know how to react to this unexpected invitation at all, and I tried to just block the thoughts of a weekend in the company of the Dark Ones until the torturous dinner was over.

  Fortunately, all bad things come to an end sooner or later. The Horos brothers left us after about an hour. Garanor went back to work and took his brother with him, even though the latter was keen on staying for dessert and at the same time looked at me like fairies were being served as the said dessert.

  Felicia and I spent some more time together, enjoying coffee and fluffy cakes (each about the size of half of a walnut), and then she ran off, saying that she promised a friend to go shopping with her. I walked out of the restaurant, my head still buzzing, and headed to the Aeroexpress stop. Wrapping my jacket tightly around me, I cast an absent-minded glance at the black aerocar with tinted windows, near which a uniformed chauffeur stood motionless.

  At the sight of me, he seemed to come to life, pressed a button, and the car door smoothly slid to the side.

  “Sonorina Lei, please,” he addressed me politely.

  Confused, I ran down the stairs and decided to confirm, just in case.

  “Is this for me?”

  “Yes, Sonor Horos ordered me to take you to your new apartment.”

  So, I moved, apparently... But what about my things?

  The driver extended his hand to me, and I got into the aerocar. It was warm inside; it smelled of leather, expensive cigars, and a bitterly spicy cologne, which made me think of Garanor. He smiled less often than Xanor... Or rather, almost never. I doubted he even knew how to smile. Dismissive and arrogant smirks didn’t count.

  He and Felicia made such a beautiful couple. I hoped that she was happy, although, pe
rhaps, being happy with someone like him was difficult. But if she was, I’d sincerely be happy for them.

  I couldn’t say that these thoughts made me happy, as something incomprehensible had been going on in my head the past two days, but I tried not to pay attention to it. I’d rather focus on my new job and my baby. I forgot when was the last time I came home at three in the afternoon. If I didn’t have dinner with Garanor this evening, I would’ve let Dina go home early and spent time with Lita. But, we needed to discuss the contract.

  The flight from the restaurant to the high-rise building located behind the second circle took no more than fifteen minutes. I never dreamed of living there. I wondered how much it cost to rent an apartment in such an area and such a building. And who’d be paying for it? I started worrying again and made a note to myself to ask Garanor about this as well. This, of course, was a wonderful place, but I wasn’t sure if I could afford it. Even with the salary that he promised me.

  The driver offered to walk me to the apartment and we went down from the rooftop parking lot to the twenty-ninth floor. After one and a half years of living on the first floor, it seemed as if we were in the clouds. I admired them as the transparent elevator carried me to my temporary home.

  “Apartment number 297.” The driver smiled a little, and we walked down a wide corridor with a fluffy carpet. Everything here was bright and elegant, and my inner aesthete was thrilled. So many plants, so much light...

  The driver gave me a key card, reminding me that I could set up a biometric lock with my fingerprint. I thanked him and said goodbye. Upon entering the apartment, I almost fainted with delight.

  Lita was running around the spacious living room, laughing. Dina was looking around, confused. Apparently, they had just been brought here.

  “Hi.” I kicked off my shoes and hugged Lita, but she quickly broke free and went back to making circles around the room. “So, what do you think?”

  “This is awesome,” Dina said enthusiastically. “It’s a dream-come-true, not just an apartment!”