Page 3 of Fae-King It (Mystical Matchmakers #5)

CHAPTER TWO

Dominique wanted to throw something. Or hit something.

Maybe someone. Like Ronan.

She fought hard to remain stoic in the face of his smug question. The princess moniker was a nice touch.

Yes, he’d painted her into a corner with radioactive paint. No matter which way she turned, she was going to be screwed. If she said no, he’d contact her parents, and they would do whatever was necessary to force her to marry him. Even kidnap or drug her. She would have no power because they would also go to great lengths to keep her under their thumb. Then, they would go after Ronan.

No, she couldn’t let him go to her parents. She would have to agree to this ridiculous charade. At least she would have some bargaining power.

“If I do this, I’ll have conditions,” she said.

“Of course.”

“I’ve already explained that I won’t bear children for you, but I will not have sex with you, either. This marriage will be in name only. I understand if you need to seek company outside of our marriage, but know that it will go both ways should I find someone I’m interested in.”

She didn’t mention that she’d been celibate for five years. He didn’t need to know that the likelihood of her taking a lover was even lower than the likelihood of her agreeing to sell her business.

He stared at her, his blue gaze sharpening as he studied her face. “We need to give the appearance of a happy couple, a couple deeply in love, so there will be no other lovers for either of us. At least in Magic. If either of us need to scratch an itch, it will need to be in the human realm.”

Dominique nodded, smoothing her hands down her skirt and trying to seem unaffected by the gravelly timbre of his voice.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“It goes without saying that neither of us will treat the other poorly. There may be no place for love in our…” She paused before swallowing hard. “Our marriage, but there should at least be respect.”

He eyed her for a long moment, appearing almost angry. “Agreed.”

“Then, we have a deal. I will be married to you for no more than ten years of my life, and you will consider my debt to you paid.”

He studied her again for a long moment, his eyes dropping to her right wrist. Dominique fought the urge to cover it with her hand. She never hid the crescent moon of her curse mark, even in the human realm. She wore it as a constant reminder that innocent mistakes could have permanent consequences.

He glanced back up at her face, his expression no longer smug. No, it was a look she couldn’t decipher. “I’ll be in touch with the details of our upcoming betrothal.”

She watched him saunter out of her office, unable to tear her eyes away from him. He wore his power like a cloak. In the years since she first saw him, he’d grown into a dangerous male. One that she would need to be very careful of.

She waited until she was sure that he was gone before she went to her office door and stuck her head out.

“Veronica?”

Her assistant looked up from her computer.

“You should head home. You’re officially moving in with Jasper tonight, right?”

Veronica nodded.

“Go home. I’ll see you on Monday.”

Her assistant studied her. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Dominique could tell that Veronica wanted to ask more questions, but she let the subject drop. Once her assistant was gone, Dominique went back into her office and shut the door. Then, she sat down behind her desk and let her head fall into her hands. Her entire body started shaking as rage and helplessness filled her.

After twenty years of freedom, of being completely on her own, she was now beneath someone else’s thumb again.

Dominique wanted to rage and scream. To destroy her office.

But experience had taught her that none of those actions would make her feel better. If anything, she would feel worse.

She moved through the breathing exercises she’d learned over the past few years. Her focus remained on calming herself and releasing the stress, frustration, and anger. She couldn’t control what Ronan said or did. She could only control herself.

Finally, ten minutes later, she was calm enough to leave the office. Once everything was shut down and locked up, she walked out to her car. The Mercedes sedan was her first big splurge since the business took off and became profitable. Though it was now several years old, she loved this car because it was the first thing she had truly bought for the fun of it. Just because she wanted it.

As she approached, the usual pride she felt in her success was absent. After all she’d done, the independence she’d established, she was now under the thumb of another person who just wanted to use and abuse her. The knowledge left a bitter taste on her tongue.

Despite her dark mood, the drive home was typical, traffic heavy but flowing well. When she pulled into the driveway of her townhouse, she realized she’d forgotten to stop and pick up take-out for dinner. Her head felt light…fuzzy. Instead of heading back out and retracing her route, Dominique decided to order delivery. Paying delivery and other fees was an extra expense she often avoided, but tonight, she was making an exception. In fact, she was going all out and ordering a bottle of wine to go with her meal. After Ronan’s visit, she needed a glass. Or five.

Dominique went inside, dropping her purse on the console table by the front door, and kicked off her shoes. Twenty seconds later, Oscar ran over, telling her all about his day in long meows as he wound around her ankles.

She bent down and picked him up. Oscar was mostly British Shorthair with a little something else thrown in. She wasn’t sure what, but he was the prettiest, sweetest cat she’d ever owned.

Oscar butted his head against her cheek, rubbing his furry face down her jaw to her neck. His low purr rumbled against her skin, calming her better than any breathing exercise ever could.

“Hey, buddy,” she murmured, carrying him toward the couch. “I hope your day was lovely. Mine was great until about thirty minutes ago.”

The cat continued to nuzzle her as she cradled him. Stretching out on the couch, she started clicking through her phone until she pulled up the food delivery app. Five minutes later, she’d ordered a bottle of wine and a pizza from her favorite Italian restaurant. They cooked it in a wood-fired oven. The only better pizza was what she’d eaten in Naples, but it wasn’t fair to compare because nothing could compete with the real thing in Italy.

When Oscar had enough affection, he jumped off the couch and wandered off to investigate her purse. He always seemed to think she would bring home treats in her bag. Every night, he had to check it, even though she’d never produced the treats he sought yet.

With a sigh, Dominique got to her feet and went up the stairs to her bedroom. By the time she’d changed clothes, twisted her hair up into a pile on top of her head, and washed off her make-up, she was completely calm. Her choices were limited. She had to focus on the things she could control in this situation, or she would lose her mind.

When her food arrived, she curled up on her couch, her legs folded beneath her and ate pizza as she read. The bottle of red wine she ordered was the perfect complement to the meal.

After she ate, she sat on the couch for a long while, staring down at the crescent moon on her wrist, rubbing the thumb of her left hand over it, back and forth.

As she went through her solitary evening routine, she didn’t feel the eyes on her. If she had realized the townhouse next to her wasn’t vacant and gave the man inside the perfect view into her house, she would have closed the blinds.

But she didn’t suspect any of those things, so she gave him an opportunity to study her when she thought she was alone.

Ronan remained in the shadows of the empty townhouse, watching his future bride eat her lonely dinner with her cat and a book. The sight shouldn’t make his chest tight, but it did. It reminded him far too much of his own evening routine. Except he didn’t even have a cat.

Stepping further away from the window, Ronan engaged his cell phone and called his mother, waiting as it rang. Though it wasn’t easy, cell phones could be used in the fae realm. A sorceress or sorcerer could easily enchant a phone to connect with others in the human realm. However, it took twice as long for the calls to go through.

Finally, she answered, “Hello, Ronan. How are you this evening?”

“I’m well, Mother,” he said. “How are you?”

“I’m also well.”

Before she could lock on to another avenue of small talk, Ronan stated, “I’ll be bringing my fiancée to meet you next weekend.”

“I see,” she murmured. There was a brief silence before she said, “I look forward to meeting her then.”

“Is the king around?”

“Your father is sitting next to me, listening.”

Ronan almost laughed. That was just like his father. He would sit and listen, never letting anyone know that he was there. It was an excellent way to gain the upper hand with people. Especially his son.

“I also look forward to meeting your fiancée, son. I trust that she is well-bred and of good standing.”

Ronan’s stomach turned at his father’s words. Caden Byrne spoke of a woman the same way he spoke of a horse. It was degrading, and it had always bothered Ronan. He knew that his father viewed his sister, Aisling, in much the same light. Rather than seeing his daughter for the strong, capable, and intelligent young woman that she was, Caden Byrne saw her merely as a pawn to better his own position, cement his power, or secure a suitable successor. It enraged Ronan, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

“I think you’ll find her acceptable,” Ronan stated.

“I’m sure I will.”

The “or else” was implied.

“We will see you next weekend, Ronan,” Bronwyn said. “Good night.”

Unsurprisingly, they didn’t wait for his response before they hung up.

Ronan tucked his phone back into his pocket and moved closer to the window. He watched as Dominique disappeared from sight for a brief moment, carrying what he assumed was the leftover pizza.

When she returned to the sofa, her hands were now empty, and she curled her legs beneath her as she sat down. Her cat came over and draped itself over her lap. Dominique ran her fingers through its thick gray fur as she picked up her book and returned to reading.

After a few moments, the book lay forgotten on the couch and her gaze was on the mark she wore on her wrist. He watched as she rubbed her thumb over it absently, obviously lost in thought. Even from this distance, he could see the regret and sadness on her face. Two emotions she hadn’t shown him this afternoon when he arrived at her office.

As he continued to watch her, unable to turn away, Ronan focused on his game plan, one that didn’t involve using his shadow magic. Here in the human realm, there was always a chance that someone was watching—fae or human. He needed her to go along with the path he decided to take, but he had to ensure that she wouldn’t change her mind.

There was no doubt in his mind—Dominique Proxa was the female he needed for his machinations to work.