Brent leaned back in his chair, his gray eyes looking as if they were memorizing her features. "Business first.""Business, Brent. I don't mix that with anything else. I'm a serious artist and if you're serious about your offer, I want to know exactly what it is."He snagged his wine glass then swirled it in his hand. A wry grin creased his face. "I like you, Fiona. You know what you want.""I do and if you aren't my means to that then I need to move on and not waste either of our times."She glanced out the window again. They sat at a table for two and the streetlights were below them, illuminating the sidewalk. Fiona didn't notice anyone lingering. The building across the street was dark, but she couldn't see on the roof. When had she become paranoid?"Pragmatic as well as beautiful.""Seriously Brent. This isn't a date. You don't need to flatter me. You know I have no job and you have the upper hand. Let's get to what we need to discuss."He chuckled as he put down his wine glass. "
Fiona held her breath. Why did his opinion matter? She'd just met him, but he had seemed concerned about her from the beginning. Genuinely. Not that fake concern to get into her bed. She picked up her wine glass again to have something to hold."I see. Did you at least meet him in a public place?"She responded with a tilt of her head. "I'm a single girl living in the city. I'm not stupid."He picked up his wine glass and leaned back. Staring at her over the glass, he sipped. "The one I warned you against.""Yes. You're not my keeper, Declan. I can do what I want.""Even if it puts you in danger?"She rolled her eyes at him then let out a breath. "Declan. You're so dramatic. He's a nice man who just likes art." And maybe me a little bit, but Brent would get past that. "You aren't my brother or a boyfriend. You have no say."He nodded then sipped. After putting down the wine glass, he placed his hands on the counter. "I have something I need to tell you.""You aren't going to give me a
The goblin was trying to distract Declan. "I want you to leave Fiona alone. Don't contact her. Don't talk to her."Brent laughed then sipped some of his drink. "You know that I can kill you right now."The goblin could and it was arrogance and maybe youthful exuberance that had brought Declan to his door. He began to back away, closer to the door. "Then it won't be as fulfilling for you if you can't kill her in front of me.""I could live with that."Declan had underestimated his opponent. A rookie mistake for sure. Brent had been right about his inexperience. He'd made a tactical error and now not only was Declan going to die, but Fiona would, too, without having any idea why. His brothers might never know what happened to him since he'd never told them who the goblin was. Feck.Without a glance backward, Declan hurried to the balcony, unfurling his wings as he went. A rush of air almost enveloped him, but he was out of range fast enough. The surge of energy bypassed him as he flew a
Declan wouldn't own Fiona. No man ever would. Which made her mind turn to Declan and it still made her mad that he thought some fancy story would get her into bed. Couldn't a guy just like her for who she was first? Men were poopyheads.Fiona pushed open the door. She found Colleen on the other side, a wine bottle half uncorked in her hand. "Hey."They hugged. Fiona felt relief wash over her. Meg yelled from the balcony. "Hey, Fi."Snacks were arranged on a low table between three lounge chairs. "Go out. I'll be there as soon as I wrestle this wine bottle."Fiona hugged Meg tightly, then plopped onto one of the chairs. "How's the job hunt going?" Meg asked. Fiona shrugged. "Not great, but I have a few weeks before I have to worry." She paused, not sure why she was reticent to tell them about Brent. "I had dinner with this guy.""A date?" Colleen said, walking out with the bottle and three glasses in her hands. "Nah. He wants to sponsor me and my art."A smile broke out onto Meg's f
Declan banged on Colleen's door, knowing full well that Fiona wasn't there. He figured if she was with her friends, he could check out Brent a little more. Then he felt some distress from her, but couldn't tell where it was coming from. It was there, some kind of link, even if she said she hated him. Yes, something was wrong. His phone was dead so he couldn't locate her that way. Damned new technology. No, this was different."The feckin' goblin is blocking me."He didn't know how, but he knew it was Brent. Something more than a gut feeling overtook him. Why hadn't listened to the lessons he'd been supposed to learn? Declan banged on the door again then tried the knob. It opened in his hand. He looked up to see Colleen on the other side. "Where is she?"He stormed into the apartment, feeling like a caged animal. He could feel that Fiona was in some kind of distress, but he couldn't tell what. "She left us. She ran out and I assume she went home, but she didn't pick up when we called,"
Chapter 1 PrologueIn the time when fairies ruled the Earth.Donal Foley grumbled and cursed his father as he trekked through the dunes on the shores of Connaught in what is now part of County Galway Ireland. He was there to see the Queen of the Fairies, a fair-headed lass with a temper. He didn't have good news and he dreaded telling her. As a gargoyle, he was sworn to protect fairies, but his father, Seamus Foley, a man prone to drink, had deflowered a fairy and she was now carrying his child. As the oldest of Seamus' three sons, it fell to Donal to tell the Queen that he had relieved Seamus of his duties as the head guard of the land of Connaught. He stopped to gaze out at the ocean, its blue waves crashing in anger against the white sand. The sea reflected the reaction he expected from the queen.The Foleys had been guarding the fairies for generations and never had there been a problem. Donal pushed his black hair away from this steel blue eyes. Putting off the task would not mak
Meg Boyle drove out of Leenane in County Galway for one last glimpse at the site she'd chosen for her company's new wool processing plant. Wild Woolens based in Pennsylvania had tasked her with finding a place to build closer to the source of their world-famous wool products. Meg glanced at the sheep on either side of the road. "Can't get much closer than this to the sheep." The site sat across the street from the beach, right next to a church that was in disrepair. She figured Wild could knock down the church and build a plant as big as they might need. It was rocky terrain, but things could be leveled. She stopped her car by the church. Getting out she sniffed the salty North Atlantic. The only problem might be the fact that tourists were fond of this road. If the plant could be back from the road it might work out. She didn't want to spoil the countryside.With her car parked along the Wild Atlantic Way, Meg trekked up the small hill to the church. Where her gargoyle friends sat l
Her phone rang as Meg walked up to her room at the Leenane Hotel. The place faced the Killary Fjords in County Galway. The hotel rooms weren't huge, but the place was clean and picturesque. Meg had already taken a ton of pictures just from her window."Hello."Her feet padded on the carpeting in the hallway. It wasn't too late so she didn't have to be quiet, but something about the hotel made her want to whisper. It had an air of elegance about it. "Meg Boyle?"Who else would it be? You called me. "Yes.""This is Harriet Witherspoon.""Okay. Nice to meet you. Who are you?""I'm your new boss."The words needed a minute to sink in. Meg had been sure that she was getting that job. She'd never entertained any other scenario. "What happened to Leslie?"Her boss had promised to let her know before she retired. Why hadn't she said something? Meg hadn't missed a call from her. "She retiring at the end of the week.""The end of the week?"Why so soon? What had happened? Leslie had insisted