By Fairy Means or Foul: A Starfig Investigations Novel(2)

I wanted to ask who in the bloody lower realms Turig Starfinn was, but Brandsome flicked his hair over his shoulder and I lost my train of thought. That small gesture was way hotter than any orgy I ever attended. I went rock hard and I swear he knew it too. He bit his plump lower lip and it was all I could do not to groan with desire. What in the blue blazes had he asked? My name. Right. I could tell him that.

If only I could remember how to speak. “Uh . . .”

Brandsome’s companion held up one of my business cards. “If this is your card, I say you are indeed the Twig Starfig, sir. Sound familiar?” His mouth turned up in the barest hint of a smile and I couldn’t tell whether the reaction was to my name—I’d taken endless rounds of teasing over it—or because I was clearly unable to string together a coherent sentence around the unicorn. Maybe both.

“Yes, that’s right,” I all but growled. Cheeky was an understatement. The human’s eyes widened, wariness replacing amusement, but my tone didn’t discourage Brandsome as he shifted even closer.

“My, my, you are so much more . . . handsome than I envisioned. Stunning, really.” The way he eyed me up and down made me feel like a piece of valuable art. I wasn’t sure whether to preen or be offended.

Before I could respond, he continued, “I understand you help people find things that were taken from them.” Brandsome’s eyes suddenly filled with tears as his lip trembled.

I was not one for tears—dragons were more often the cause of them than the solution—but I consciously made myself stand still so as not to wrap the sweet creature up in my arms. That also never happened to me before. It left me tongue-tied and floundering.

So I did the next best thing.

I nodded. Heard the unicorn’s companion sigh. I glanced in his direction. He frowned, only smoothing out his features when Brandsome looked his way. Very nice features, if I was honest, but he paled in comparison to the unicorn’s beauty.

Everyone did.

As much as I wanted to gaze at the unicorn again, I was much better off keeping my eyes focused on his servant. What’d he say his name was? Quinn, right? With the shot of lust and adrenaline running through my system it was too hard to remember details I’d normally note right away.

I gestured toward my office, forcing myself to string words together. “Why don’t you gentlemen tell me how I can help?”

There. I managed it. One complete sentence. It even made sense.

“Thank you, fierce creature,” the unicorn said, his soft voice touching my skin like the finest silk. “I’d be ever so grateful.”

Quinn actually grimaced once Brandsome turned away. When he realized I saw it, he froze, his eyes assessing. Since I didn’t chastise him, he winked. Before I could react to that outrageousness, he spun on his heel and followed his master toward my office.

Pretty cocky for a bed slave. I approved grudgingly. I never understood why indentured servitude was tolerated in the Elder. That was something humans did to each other. Elderians were better than that. Or we should be, at any rate.

I waved my hand toward two chairs in front of my desk and moved to my own on the other side. The distance helped clear my head a small amount, though I still felt a hazy kind of euphoria at Brandsome’s nearness.

Brandsome gracefully sank down into one seat while Quinn ignored the other and went to kneel at the unicorn’s feet.

“You can use the chair,” I said before I could think to hold it back. It wasn’t my business if Brandsome kept his servant kneeling on the hard floor or not. Except it went against everything I believed in. No one should have to kneel at another creature’s feet.

Quinn froze halfway to his knees and looked to Brandsome for guidance.

“I’d heard you were fierce, but I didn’t realize you’d also be kind.” Brandsome gifted me with another smile before he turned that grin on Quinn and patted the seat next to him.

Quinn’s eyes darted back and forth between us, and then he inched over until he sat on the very edge of the chair, his posture tense. High-strung much?

Once we were seated, I turned my attention to my notebook and flipped to a new page. Chances were, Brandsome wanted some magical item or fortune found. My dragon blood meant I possessed an uncanny ability to locate any such object. We dragons liked our treasure, after all.

Before I could ask a single question, Brandsome burst out, “You have to help me.”

He placed his hand on my arm and I swear it felt like getting zapped by lightning. I swallowed, trying not to show how my heart pounded or how my dick tried to push its way through my trousers. Damn, I’d never had someone affect me like this. His touch made my brain turn to mush and the room go all fuzzy. I felt like I was surrounded by the softest, most fragrant clouds. I blinked, but the haze in my mind didn’t clear.

Brandsome smiled, and I returned his grin. I wanted to please him, do anything he asked. He was the most exquisite creature I’d ever laid eyes on.

“I’m here to help,” I said in my most soothing voice, my words slurred and sounding strange to my ears. But with his look of approval, I pushed that thought away. So beautiful.

“I knew when I saw you, you’d be my savior,” Brandsome all but purred, running his hand up and down my arm, like he was stroking my dick.

My gaze slid again to Brandsome’s servant and even though not a muscle in his face moved, I could swear he grimaced. Of course he’d be jealous I was the focus of Brandsome’s attention. Who wouldn’t be? But still, his demeanor set off a warning bell in my head. Had I really just blurted out I’d help without even hearing what the unicorn needed? Something wasn’t right. And where was my dragon? Usually that side of me reacted strongly to people. Yet, only silence greeted me. Maybe I should . . . no, I needed to give him what he wanted.