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)
“Mmhmm.” She makes a show of looking at the bar, where Alaric and Zuri linger. A flicker of appreciation ignites in my chest. Alaric’s been around the block to know how things work without me having to hold his hand and walk him through it. This one small action of anticipating my needs before I voice them feels… It doesn’t feel small at all. It feels like another sign that we can really make this work.
Malone leans back against the seat. “I take it you’ve made a decision.”
No point in playing coy. “I’m going to keep them.” If Zuri decides to stay. No matter how willing I am to bathe my hands in blood, I won’t keep that woman with me if she doesn’t want to be there. There have to be lines, thin though they are. Nonexistent, some might argue.
“Good. You deserve some happiness.”
I turn back to Malone. “Careful, darling. That was almost tender.”
“Missteps are known to happen.” Her smile is knife-sharp. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to return the favor and take your advice.”
I watch her stand. “Do tell.”
“I’ve got to see a man about a bratty little submissive.” She waves an elegant hand and walks away before her words have fully penetrated; no doubt to prevent me from having the last word. I watch her go and hope I haven’t made a mistake. It’s easy to give advice from the outside, but the truth is that I don’t actually know why Malone has avoided Aurora all these years. It’s too late to go back and change words, and I’m not entirely sure this is a mistake. Only time will tell.
I catch Alaric’s eye and motion him to return. He keeps one hand laced with Zurielle’s as he heads in my direction, the drink tray expertly balanced on the other.
It’s only been a few days since he was employed here, but he already moves differently. Lighter. Even with the frown on his face, he’s definitely benefiting from being his own man. Regardless of whether being his own man means he’s mine or not.
Perhaps I should remind him that he’s free to leave. Perhaps. But I don’t want to. I finally have him all to myself, and I’m loath to do anything to make Alaric look to the horizon instead of to me. It might happen anyway. I care about him, but I’m not naive about the kind of man he is. There may come a day when I won’t be enough. But as he smiles at me, I have a hard time remembering that.
The future will bring what it will bring. I have him now, and it’s enough.
I have them both.
Alaric releases Zurielle so she can climb into the booth and then he sets the drinks in front of us. “Just a minute.” Then he’s gone, striding back to the bar.
Zuri reaches for her drink. “I don’t know if I can do what he does.”
My chest gives a pang, but I smother it. She hasn’t made a choice. She’s simply asking a question without asking a question. “Elaborate, darling.”
She takes a big sip of her drink as if she needs the courage. “Alaric can be a jerk, but he’s happy to be submissive to you all the time.”
There still wasn’t a question in there. “Yes.” I touch her wrist when she starts to lift the glass to her lips. “Speak your mind, little Zurielle. You don’t need the liquid courage for it.”
“I have been kept my entire life.” Her mouth twists. “I think I understand why it’s a comfortable place for Alaric, but that doesn’t mean I want the same thing.” She lifts her chin, finally meeting my gaze. “I want more.”
For the first time, it strikes me to wonder what she might become if the people around her stop trying to attach stones to her waist to keep her with them in the depths. I want to reach out, to touch her, but I’m acutely aware of the power dynamics of the moment. If I want this woman to choose me—to choose us—then I need her to do it on her own. If I try to tip the scales, she’ll resent me the same way she resented her father. “As I said—elaborate.”
She deflates a little. “I don’t know. Right now, I don’t know what I want; I just know what I don’t want.” Zurielle looks at her glass. “That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? How can I not know what I want?”
“You haven’t had the opportunity to figure it out for yourself.” I understand Triton’s desire to keep his daughters locked away and safe. The world is not a kind place even in the most mundane of lives. Moving through the worlds we do? It’s even crueler. A handful of days in Carver City and Zurielle has already lost a little of her shine. She’s seen a tiny bit of what people are capable of and it’s cracked her rose-tinted glasses. “You have plenty of time now.”