Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 24 - Stunned

Darcy was more composed after the altercation, and she guided Kay around the room to meet some more amicable people while others approached them.

Despite the glitter of curiosity and intrusive fascination with Darius, Marcus, their women, and their lives, Darcy handled them with well-oiled and unexpected tact.

The glitter of disdain and jaded coldness sometimes showed in her eyes but never on her face or in her manner. It took a while for Kay to realize Darcy had a function—she was the company's media liaison and publicity person.

Earlier in the evening, Kay would have thought her an odd and dangerous choice, but she didn't anymore. She was perfect for the job and played the guests like a fiddle, almost as if she could see inside their minds.

She knew what they really thought and how they actually felt. Despite her satirical nature, which she hid well from those who were not family and friends, she was great at her job. No one fooled her, and she knew how to manage them without them realizing it.

Near mid-evening, she impressively won back the grudging favor of the mayor's wife, and no one knew how. Dinah even shyly waved at Kay when she and the mayor retired quite early.

***

Marcus allowed his gaze to stray to Kay. Did she realize how much of an impression she made on people? It was much more than the natural allure of the succubus; she was not what people expected. Although she may have started the night out with a cloud of notoriety upon her person, by the evening's end, she'd managed to turn that into somewhat of a celebrity status.

People were drawn to her like magnets. Her easy charm kept them engaged; she spoke eloquently and with intelligence when she had something to say. She was well-educated and informed, and her slight reserve only made her more mysteriously intriguing.

Despite her unknown background, most people quickly concluded that she came from a wealthy background and wasn't some little gold digger, as they were led to believe. Those who considered themselves more refined and of a better class shed their aloofness and engaged her in conversation, despite her status as his mistress. Or "their" mistress, since Claudia's little revelation made the rounds like wildfire, and the curiosity about her almost became a hype.

Stunningly, Kay retained faces and names from a single introduction and had no problem picking up a conversation hours later without missing a beat.

The succubus remembered details about people and their lives and seemed to pick up on things from people as if she were psychic. It was scary and intriguing to realize how observant and sensible she was and how accurately she deduced facts from clues others failed to notice.

This evening allowed him to see so many facets of her, and despite having shared her bed, he realized he didn't really know her, and he badly wanted to discover the inner workings of her mind. Having seen her in action, he found her endlessly fascinating.

"You are staring, fiance," Claudia whispered beside him, not even a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Kay is so much more than we were led to believe. The way Azera spoke of her, she almost made her sound like a dimwit," he admitted.

"That, future husband, we women call jealousy. Look at her; she's magnificent, engaging, intriguing, and intelligent. What female in her right mind would not be jealous of her?"

"Are you?" he asked, focussing his attention on her. She was his best friend, and he would do nothing to alter their relationship.

"As the woman that you share your bed with? No. As a woman in general? Yes. She won over these people, and I've never seen anything like it. What she has cannot be taught or planned, and I could certainly not have pulled it off."