Missing the Night (Stand Alone Tales #17) - Viola Grace Page 0,1

who entered the elevator was also familiar, and her cheeks were burning as they greeted Meredith and asked her where she had gone for lunch.

The first man looked around and frowned a little bit. Nessa pulled up her nullifier and hardened it as the elevator rose up. She caught the names Mr. Twilight and Mr. Poldan and instantly looked at them for traces of other fae on their skin. When she switched her senses, she could see and smell the hands of faerie all over them. Geez. No wonder they are tired.

Meredith asked politely if they were feeling better, and Mr. Poldan chuckled. “I have only felt like this once before, but I remembered that night. Whatever this is is different.”

Nessa blushed and followed Meredith out of the elevator and into the hallway.

Meredith had a cubicle and not an office, but she was the replacement for the receptionist on the executive floor during breaks. Two hours of sitting in a corner, and then, Nessa was ready to follow.

Thankfully, Meredith headed to the restroom. Nessa didn’t break her field, but she did pee quickly before washing her fingertips and opening her water bottle to crack the seal. She didn’t speak to Meredith, but Meredith was accustomed to her ways. They had been raised together for three years, but Nessa had something that Meredith didn’t. A powerful faerie in her bloodline.

Nessa made sure to turn her phone off and remove all alarms. A text to her parents was the last thing she sent, just in case they got curious.

She followed her cousin into the elevator, and they headed to the executive floor. There was a cart with a tray of coffees and accessories that made Nessa nearly dizzy with enjoyment. She settled down in a low crouch, and she waited near a potted plant. When Meredith pushed the cart down to the boardroom, Nessa followed.

It was awkward to get inside the room filled with drawings and men moving at a frenetic speed, but Nessa managed to find a stack of boxes and creep in behind them. Now, she just had to wait for eight hours. No problem. Her father came from a long line of ambush predators.

She watched as they worked, trying to ignore the flickers of memory she was getting when she saw Hector and Tynan. She had known that they were magic and that they were definitely out of her league, but she had used her inborn attraction to lure them both. Her first time had been a bit more aggressive than she had intended, but it was a twentieth birthday to remember for her. She took as much of herself away from them as she could. She blushed when she looked at them, and she could still see the traces of her energy on them ten years after that night.

Mr. Twilight looked around now and again as they gathered and tried to make up for lost time. There was a furrow between his dark brows, and as he looked around, she could see his nostrils flaring.

Nessa covered herself in heavier magic, and his frown cleared. Mr. Poldan glanced at him and gave him a slight nod.

They worked well together, but then, she knew that. The project seemed to have been going well until the interruptions, but they worked until dinner, and then, they sat and ate, discussing details that needed to be finished up.

Nessa held her stomach to keep it quiet. The food smelled good.

They continued working until ten when she felt a building of magic coming from one of the glass walls. She got up and stepped down, going to the portal and holding it open until the blank-faced men stepped through, and then, she pulled herself in and let it snap tight behind her.

There it was. A faerie brothel in the mid-realm. She pinched the bridge of her nose and walked forward, following the men.

The hostess who was urging them to choose their lovers paused when Nessa approached. “We don’t allow cloaking spells here.”

Nessa dropped her nullification spell and pulled her hood back. “I am going to need these men back before they are exhausted.”

The little clipboard dropped to the ground. “You are supposed to be a folktale.”

“So I have been told. Oh, and these two don’t get to choose tonight.” She grabbed Hector and Tynan, pulling them back from the wave going to select their exotic fae lovers for the night.

The hostess murmured. “They have been summoned. They need to do something, or they are going