“What’s the truth?”
“Would you believe me if I told you that someone in the Division has it out for me?”
“Who?”
“McKean. He was teaching that class. He threw me into the arena with a faulty weapon. There’s no way I spent an entire clip and missed every single time—no way on Earth.”
“So it was an accident, then. You had to pull off your blindfold because your weapon misfired. That’s not such a big deal.”
“Why didn’t he use the failsafe?”
“You really wanted him to?”
She can’t say that she did.
Alex takes a sip of his drink and shrugs the incident off. “I’m sure McKean thought he was doing the right thing.”
“Really? Are you just saying that because he’s a Hunter, and you don’t want to believe a Hunter could do something like that?”
“I find it hard to believe that a Hunter could have so much emotion invested in a Cadet, that’s all.”
He doesn’t realize what he just said until he feels Ella glaring at him.
“You know I don’t think of you that way, El.” He swirls his drink around the ice in his glass. “I’ve never thought of you as anything less than my equal.”
She can hardly complain about that.
In any case, the suspension’s over and she sees little point in fighting about it.
Change of subject.
“So how’ve classes been without me these past two weeks?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Where’ve you been?”
“After our last conversation, I enrolled myself in an intensive physiotherapy program. I’ve been working on my recovery every day in an effort to … resume normal activities.”
Ella blushes. “Is it wrong for me to be deeply flattered that you’re working so hard on improving your physical condition, not so that you can return to work sooner, but so that you can please me in bed?”
They don’t get to linger on that.
Oz suddenly appears, grabs Ella by the hand and tries to drag her away.
“I need to borrow you.”
She resists. “Get lost.”
“It’ll only take a minute.”
Reluctantly, she allows him to pull her from the bar. He takes her over to the corner of the room and grins at her.
She doesn’t get it. “What?”
Oz points up.
Mistletoe.
“Oh, fu—”
He smothers her objections with a kiss, which she doesn’t reciprocate in the least.
She pushes him off her. “Eww!” She wipes her lips with the back of her hand. “Thanks a lot. I’m going to pee, and to wash my mouth out with industrial strength cleaning fluid.”
He doesn’t care that she hated every second of it, he’s pretty pleased with himself. That is, until Alex shows up beside him.
“Consider that my Christmas gift to you, but if you try that again, I’ll be forced to defend her honor.”
Oz looks surprised. “You and she … ?”
Alex nods. “Keep it to yourself.”
“Duh.” He fixates on it. “How long have you … ?”
“Longer than we should’ve.”
“And you’ve … ?” He pantomimes penetrative sex.
“I’m not going to answer that.”
“How is she?”
“What?”
“C’mon! How does it feel to—”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“But the two of you can’t—”
“I’ll be leaving the Division.”
Oz doesn’t quite know what to say to that. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I need a friend in the Division. Someone who knows the truth, who can look out for her when I won’t be able to. From now until her graduation, and thereafter on the line.”
“You’re serious?”
“She’s important to me, Oz. I can’t even begin to tell you how much.”
“What if you get caught?”
“I’m trying to keep my distance, I really am. I know I can’t touch her again until after she graduates, and I don’t want to flout Academy regulations, but …”
Ella comes out of the bathroom with her hair down, smiling at Alex.
“Abstinence is becoming painfully difficult.” He sighs.
*************************
Dinner is served, and somewhere between the main course and dessert, Alex feels something move beneath the table. He looks over at the seat once occupied by Ella and finds it empty.
Just as he’s processing that thought, a pair of hands begins wandering about his lap. He slides his chair in closer to the table, clearing his throat to obscure the sound of his zipper.
A second or two later, Ella’s hands start working him. He tries to appear interested in the conversations taking place around him, but all he can think about is his hardening cock, vulnerable and exposed beneath the tablecloth.
At the sensation of her lips beginning to tease him, he leans on his elbows and moans quietly, staring down into his glass of wine.
“Are you okay?” the person seated next to him asks.
“I’m fine,” Alex replies, struggling to control his breathing. “I think I should lay off the booze, that’s all.”
“Do you need someone to help you to the bathroom?”
“Nope”—Alex practically snaps that at him—“I’m perfectly all right.”
Just then, Ella takes him all the way inside her mouth and he tips over his glass, causing a kerfuffle of hands and napkins to sop up the mess.
“I’m so sorry,” he mumbles to the lady sitting across from him.
Resting on his elbows again, he clasps his hands together and rests his forehead on his knuckles, taking deep breaths.
The man beside him places a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Mm-hmm,” Alex whimpers.
“I’m gonna call someone over.”
The stranger puts up his hand to get the attention of the wait staff, just as Alex reaches his peak. He unloads into Ella’s mouth, unable to completely hold back another moan, which he tries to cover with a cough.
Ella zips him back up and slides away from him. A moment later, a waitress appears over Alex’s shoulder.
“Is there anything I can get for you, sir?”
Alex takes a deep breath. “You know what? I’m actually feeling much better already. I’m just gonna go outside for a smoke and I think I’ll be fine.”
The fresh air does him good.
His heart rate and his blood pressure return to normal, and he comes back to the party feeling more incredible than he’s felt in a long time.
He finds Ella seated at the bar.
Instead of returning to his place at the table, he takes the stool beside her.
“You’re crazy.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she fakes innocence.
“I don’t know if what just happened was incredibly hot, or just incredibly reckless.”
“Did Christmas come a little bit early for you?”
“Was that my present?”
Her face falls. “I want to give you so much more than that.”
“I know.” Alex glances over his shoulder at the rest of the room, makes sure that no-one’s watching, and slides his hand over hers. “We’ll figure something out.”
His touch doesn’t linger.
“Will I even get to see you tomorrow?” Ella looks down into her drink. “It’s Christmas Day, for god’s sake.”
“I don’t know.” Alex shakes his head. “You should spend the day with Maydevine.”
“But who will you spend it with?”
He doesn’t have an answer for that, and he doesn’t like the look he sees in her eyes.
“Don’t pity me, Silver. I’ve spent my whole life this way.”
She’s about to respond, but someone taps her on the shoulder and dislodges her train of th
ought.
It’s Luka.
“Hi, El.” He presents her with a single red rose.
In the periphery of her vision, she can see Alex clench his jaw.
She doesn’t know what to do.
She accepts the rose. “Luka, I—”
“Come with me for a second.” He tries to take her hand.
“I’m in the middle of a conversation with someone, Luka.”
“He gets enough of you in class, El. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care to socialize with you on his own time.” He looks to Alex for confirmation of that. “Isn’t that right, Mr. King?”
“Yup.” Abrupt.
Alex takes a deep breath and orders himself a drink: a double measure of low-proof, New World whiskey.
It hurts Ella to be in this position, but she doesn’t know what else to do. Lacking a legitimate reason to stay and talk to Alex, she walks away with Luka. Of course, he takes her directly over to the mistletoe.
“I know we’re not getting back together,” he assures her. “But it’s Christmas, and one kiss couldn’t hurt, right? For old times’ sake.”
Ella sighs and rolls her eyes. “Okay, just do it. But that’s all. Do you hear me, Luka? No more. Just one kiss.”
Luka nods.
She’s naively expecting a tender, closed-mouth kiss, but that’s not what she gets. His lips press over hers, and then she feels a flick of his tongue. He teases his way between her lips, and she doesn’t know how to make him stop.
She knows that reciprocating is wrong, but kissing Luka feels so familiar and natural, and she lets the kiss happen before she even realizes she’s doing it.
Afterward, he goes in for round two.
She regains her senses and holds him off.
“That’s it, Luka.”
She peels herself away, pops a piece of gum in her mouth to get rid of the taste of him, and looks around for Alex.
He’s nowhere to be found.
Taking a chance, she heads out for the balcony—the same balcony where she went down on his thumb, many months prior.
Bingo.
He’s leaning over the railing, smoking a cigarette. He hears the click of the balcony door and turns to face her.
“How long before your boyfriend notices you’re missing?”
She frowns at him. “Alex … come on. Please, don’t do this.”
“You have no idea what this is like for me.”
“Don’t I? You might not notice it when other girls are coming on to you, but I do. I notice it, I hate it, and then I get over it. I trust you, Alex. Don’t you trust me at all?”
“After a kiss like that? I’m not so sure.”
“It doesn’t hurt for me to keep up appearances, you know. People will be talking about that kiss for weeks.”
“So let me get this straight: you just made out with your ex, and you’re justifying it by pretending that you did it for us? Is that how this works? So I have your full permission to go ahead and throw myself at every other girl who walks by?”
“Don’t be like that.”
She tries to approach him, but he remains tense.
“It was a mistake, okay? I shouldn’t have done it, and I’m sorry. I just didn’t think a little public display like that would be a bad thing in the long run.”
He notices that she’s holding something behind her back.
“What’ve you got there?”
Triumphantly, she reveals a sprig of mistletoe.
“I wanted to make it up to you.”
Alex looks around nervously. “No, not here.”
Ignoring his protest, Ella takes the gum out of her mouth and uses it to stick the mistletoe to the balcony ceiling.
“Come on. Just one quick kiss,” she pleads. “So far tonight, I’ve made out with two people, and neither of them was you. I don’t like the direction this evening’s heading in, and if I’m going to lock lips with anyone else at this party, it’s damn well going to be you.”
She leans into him and he lets it happen. They should keep it brief and tender, but one kiss just isn’t enough—not for Alex. Ella respectfully tries to withdraw, but Alex, ignoring a hundred different synaptic warnings, tosses away his cigarette and wraps her up in his arms. Enjoying her lips as though this were the first and last time he’s ever going to taste them, he doesn’t hear the balcony door open.
Maydevine’s voice scares them both.
“That’s a little ballsy, don’t you think?” He lights up a cigarette. “Or do you both want to start looking for new careers?”
Alex breaks the kiss, practically shoving Ella away from him. She opens her mouth to complain, but doesn’t get the opportunity before Maydevine shoos her away.
“Ellie, get out of here for a minute.”
“Papa—”
“No arguments. Let me talk to the boy alone.”
She leaves—albeit pouting—and Maydevine steps into her place in front of Alex.
“Are you in control of yourself at all?”
Alex ruffles a hand through his hair. “I … it’s Christmas …”
“It was a shameless display of appetence, and the Academy’s Conduct and Ethics committee doesn’t give a fuck what time of year it is. You’ve got to be more careful.”
“We still haven’t really spoken about this.”
“And nor will we. Not here. Not now.”
A woman steps out onto the balcony, suddenly looks very uncomfortable, makes apologies, and leaves.
Maydevine frowns. “What was all that about?”
Alex points up at the mistletoe and lights a fresh cigarette. “At least that rumor might help to take the focus off my closeness with your daughter.”
He succeeds in making Maydevine chuckle, which is a rare thing.
“Look, there’s another reason I wanted to talk to you tonight.”
Alex holds up both hands. “Whatever it was, I didn’t do it.”
Maydevine ignores that. “Do you have any plans for dinner tomorrow?”
Alex is thrown for a loop. “No, I—”
“Good. You’ll come to ours.”
“Are you serious?”
“Ellie will want you there, and I’m not the heartless old git that people seem to think I am.”
Alex hesitates. “I don’t want you to get caught up in the middle of this.”
“She’s my daughter. I’m stuck in the middle of it whether I want to be or not. Besides, the Academy’s rules are antiquated and redundant. The worst that should happen to you is that you should be assigned to instruct a different class to prevent bias. That’s it. I fight for this city, and I’ve sworn my allegiance to her emblems, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with all of her rules.”
“Thank you, sir. That means a lot.”
“That doesn’t excuse you from what I caught you doing out here with her, though. Whether I agree with them or not, the rules are still the rules and we all must abide by them. Do you understand? When you break them, you’re not just risking yourself.”
Alex nods. “I know the stakes, and I won’t let it happen again. The last thing I want to do is to jeopardize her future.”
Maydevine nods.
That’s good enough for him, for now.
“Dinner’s at five, but come by whenever you want. I’m sure she’ll be moping like an abused kitten until you show up anyway.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Abused Kitten
At eleven a.m. on Christmas morning, Ella is slumped on the couch, staring at the log fire—and not entirely out of boredom. Log fires are only allowed in Amaranthe a few times a year. Christmas is one of them, New Year’s Eve is another.
When a knock comes at the front door, she doesn’t even budge.
More knocking.
“Ellie?” Maydevine calls from the kitchen. “Can you get that?”
“Why? It’s gonna be for you.”
“Just answer the damn door, would you? Can you do one fucking thing in this house without talking bac
k to me?”
Rolling her eyes, Ella slides off the couch and responds to the door. They entertain the same house guest every Christmas, and she’s expecting to open the door and find an attractive thirty-five-year-old woman in a figure-hugging dress.
Instead, she finds Alex.
He’s standing on the porch with a bottle of illegal Old World whiskey in one hand and a wrapped gift in the other. She’s seldom seen him in casual civilian clothes, and he looks so different: jeans, t-shirt, no weapons.
Ella’s jaw drops.
She doesn’t invite him in.
Maydevine appears in the kitchen doorway. “Are you gonna let the boy in? Or is he going to eat his dinner on the porch?”
Ella recovers from her shock and lets him in, but she dare not greet him.
“I’m the Hunter General,” Maydevine reassures her. “There’s nothing to infer from me inviting one of my Hunters over for Christmas dinner. Especially not one I have a history with. A Hunter with no family of his own.”
That’s all she needs to hear.
She falls into Alex’s arms.
He sets the gifts down on a side table and embraces her. “Merry Christmas, El.”
When the embrace breaks, she rushes into Maydevine’s arms.
“Thank you, Papa.”
“I knew it. I needn’t have bought you a gift. I should’ve just wrapped him up and stuck a bow on his head.” Something in the kitchen beeps and he excuses himself. “Offer our guest a drink, kid.”
She doesn’t.
As soon as she and Alex are alone, she instigates another bear hug.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming over?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
Just then, there’s another knock at the door.
From the kitchen: “Ellie can you—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m on it.”
She opens the door to Veronica Valentine—Maydevine’s on-again off-again flame for almost twenty years. She’s wearing a form-fitting dress that highlights every perfect curve of her slender body, and her shoulder-length brown hair is swept up into a bun, exposing the pale, soft skin of her neck. In every respect, she’s a beautiful example of womanhood and femininity. At thirty-five years of age, she’s eleven years younger than Maydevine, and has always played the role of his trophy well.
“Good morning, Ella.” She forces a smile. “Merry Christmas.” She hands her a bag containing two wrapped gifts.
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