Page 3 of Sugar Plum Fae

In the midst of this conflict, she glimpsed a figure through the haze. Candace wasn’t surprised to see Roderick Stone, her counterpart and exact opposite. The Ruler of Nightmares was a tall, imposing stature draped in dark. His elegant attire absorbed the shadows around him. He had an infuriatingly chiseled jawline that gave way to full lips that always held a hint of a smirk—one that her palm itched to smack off his smug face. He had messy black hair that framed piercing, stormy gray eyes. A shiver of desire ran through Candace at the sight of him whentheir gazes locked. She hated this attraction she always felt toward him. They had been on opposite sides of the dream realm for eternity.

"Go away,” Candace whispered, not wanting to wake the Whitlock man before she turned his nightmare into a more pleasant dream.

"I was here first," he replied. His tone, low and velvety, sent unwanted shivers through her.

“What’s going on in this town?”

“None of your business. Whitlock is my territory, not yours.” He could no more stop her from gifting people with happy dreams than she could stop him from providing nightmare material to them. But they each had their own territory where they were allowed to flourish.

“You can’t doom an entire town to nightmares. That’s not how this is supposed to work.”

“You need to mind your own business. Unless, of course, you’d like me to flit around in Radiance?”

Radiance was another supernatural town, this one in the neighboring state of New York. “I find you there anyway,” she grumbled.

“You can’t stop their minds from turning to darker thoughts.”

“But I can stop you from terrorizing them.”

Roderick chuckled, a deep, throaty sound that sent chills down Candace's spine. "Are you sure about that?”

"What do you mean?"

With a slow, deliberate step forward, Roderick closed the distance between them until they were scant inches apart. The air crackled with tension as he reached out to gently trace a finger along the line of Candace's jaw. His touch was like icy fire against her skin, sending conflicting sensations throughout her body.

"Darkness and light are two sides of the same coin," Roderick murmured, his voice low and hypnotic. "They are intertwined, bound together in an eternal dance. You, my dear Candace, cannot deny the allure of the shadows forever."

Candace's heart fluttered erratically in her chest as his words sank in. She could feel the pull of something unfamiliar and dangerous, a magnetic force that drew her closer to Roderick despite her better judgment.

"I don’t have time for this,” she said. But she couldn’t bring herself to step away from his magnetic presence. “Stop scaring my candy fae.”

Roderick smiled, but there was no joy in the expression. It was a smile that held secrets and hidden desires. "They are choosing to be afraid.”

“How so?”

“They don’t like the truth."

“Nonsense,” she scoffed.

“They do not want to face reality.”

“Reality isn’t blighted crops and starving during the winter.”

“Oh my sweet sunsidhe, how naïve you are.”

Candace jammed her hands on her hips. “I am not naïve.”

“I find you irresistible.” Roderick leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.

The touch was electric, a jolt of fiery darkness that sent shockwaves through Candace's body. A part of her, the part that thrived on light and joy, recoiled at the sensation, wanting to push him away. But there was also a sliver of her, a small spark of curiosity, that longed to explore the forbidden allure of his darkness.

Candace's eyes fluttered shut as their lips slid against each other, the taste of him like bitter chocolate. Roderick’s arms snaked around her, pulling her close to his hard body as if he wanted to consume her with his darkness.

It took every ounce of willpower to push away from him. "I know what you’re doing, and you won’t corrupt me."

Roderick's eyes flickered with a mix of frustration and curiosity, his lips twisting into a wry smile. "How long do you think you can resist me?"

Cocking her head at him, she said, "Or maybe we should continue this. Maybe I will corrupt you with sunshine and joy.”