Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“It counts.” Alaric smooths my hair back, his touch gentle. “Look, I won’t pressure you one way or another. But I’m willing to talk through this shit if you are.”
I glance at the door. “Maybe later? I get the feeling Ursa doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
He grins, his seriousness falling away so quickly, I have to wonder if he’s as relieved to set this conversation aside for the time being as I am. “That’s the damn truth.” Alaric climbs off the bed and holds out his hand. “Come on, Zuri. Let’s show you how good the Underworld can be when you’re really indulging.”
He sounds so happy, so full of anticipation, that I allow myself to smile and take his hand. “I can’t wait.”
Chapter 24
Alaric
I’m still reeling from Ursa’s offer when we finally arrive at the Underworld. It’s late enough that the lounge is filled when we follow Ursa through the door, flanking her on either side. Zuri drifts a little closer to her, the only sign that she’s overwhelmed, though she keeps shooting glances at the people gathered. Maybe she’s trying to pick out the people who bid on her. Or maybe she’s just finally getting a good look at the sheer amount of beauty and power packed into this club every weekend. Everyone in the room has one or the other; most have both. It’s surreal in the extreme, and working here for eight years still hasn’t quite worn off the shine of it.
It’s strange, though.
Strange to be back here as a patron. Strange to be fully dressed when usually I was wearing some kind of costume or kink gear. Strange to miss the Underworld a little, even if it’s a place that felt so much like a cage for the last few years.
Our outfits coordinate, something I’ve found amusing when others did it in the past. It doesn’t feel amusing tonight. It feels like a public declaration that we belong to Ursa, that we’re part of her household. That we’re sharing her bed.
She’s wearing one of my favorite dresses of hers, a black wrap dress that hugs her generous curves and is deceptively see-through. Every step she takes gives hints to the purple lingerie she wears beneath it, little glimpses that make my mouth water. I’m wearing black slacks and a purple button-down in the exact same shade. Zuri has on a matching purple dress that is short enough to almost be indecent, her heels making her lean legs look even longer. The dress hugs her body, leaving as little to the imagination as Ursa’s clothing does, but in a very different way. Her only accessory is her mother’s necklace.
Fuck, but I’m a lucky man.
Ursa leads the way to a booth that’s been her customary one for as long as I’ve lived in Carver City. She motions Zuri to precede us into the booth and I follow her in, sliding until we’re pressed together from knee to shoulder. It’s only touching her like this that I can feel Zuri tremble, just a little. None of those nerves show on her face, her expression a calm mask as she surveys the room.
Ursa slides in from the other side, so that we’re bracketing Zuri. Like most everything she does, this is intentional. She picked up on Zuri’s unease, too. Ursa is too careful with her public image to openly comfort Zuri when gazes around the room focus on us, but I don’t miss the fact that she gives the other woman’s bare knee a quick squeeze under the table.
Aurora appears next to our table as if by magic. She winks at me and gives Ursa a wide grin. “I see that you’re enjoying your auction prize.”
“You have no idea.” Ursa’s smile is just as wide, just as practiced. “You look delightful tonight, Aurora.”
Delightful and different. Her blue hair is a shade darker than it was a few days ago, edging toward a deep indigo, and she’s wearing red. On anyone else, the complicated lingerie set would be hot and it would end there. But in eight years, I haven’t seen Aurora in anything but white. Her whole thing has been playing to type—the innocent virginal submissive who just wants to kneel at her dominant’s feet and give them whatever they desire.
I catch a glimpse of metal beneath the red lace. “Did you pierce your nipples?”
“A lady never tells.” She gives me a dazzling smile. “But she might show you.” She reaches down and tugs both lace cups away from her breasts and shows us that she has, indeed, gained two new piercings. The silver shines against her brown nipples, pretty little additions.
I glance over to find Zuri watching Aurora with interest. I didn’t see the show they put on for the auction—Hades hadn’t wanted anyone circulating the room and distracting bidders—but I’d heard about it afterward.