by Tammy Walsh
“If this is about Cleb, I’m sorry,” he said, “but I did warn you about him being a handful.”
I calmly got up from my seat, moved behind his chair, and whipped it out from under him. He fell to the floor.
“What the hell are you doing?” he said.
I clapped my hands off.
“How did that feel?” I said.
“Like you just pushed me on the floor,” he growled.
“I took your legs out from under you, which is exactly what you just did to Cleb.”
Traes stared at me, incredulous.
“What is wrong with you?” he said. “I didn’t touch him!”
“No!” I yelled, and it made him start. “What you did was far worse!”
Traes made to get up. I towered over him. He might be big and muscular and strong, but I was in control right now.
“I convinced him to ask you to join us tomorrow even though he was certain you would say no,” I said. “I taught him to have some hope. He trusted me. And you didn’t even have the courtesy to give him your attention. Instead, you carried on reading your damn newspaper and didn’t even give him the time of day!”
“I always read my newspaper at mealtimes,” he spat. “It’s the only free time I have.”
“You’re a wealthy businessman,” I said. “If you want more free time, outsource more work. A million people could do your job as well as you.”
“I’m pleased to disappoint you. I happen to be the finest mine operator in the empire—”
“And the lousiest uncle. You’re a ghost in your own home.”
He bristled at that.
“You have no idea what I’ve been through!” he said. “You turn up here and think you know everything. You don’t know anything about us!”
“Which is why I wanted you to join us tomorrow!” I said. “And for your information, I know exactly what you’ve been through. I also know Cleb has been through a whole lot worse than you and he’s still got the balls to stand up and try to carry on with his life.”
“He’s been through three governesses in as many months,” Traes said. “I don’t think that’s a shining example.”
“You hired me to educate him. To help him. Now I can see what’s wrong with him. You. You’re the problem.”
Traes folded his arms.
“Here we go,” he said. “Heap blame on the hardworking uncle.”
“You don’t work hard for him! You work hard for yourself!”
“I never asked for this! I never asked to take care of him! He’s my nephew! I hardly know him!”
“And you never will unless you spend time with him!”
We were both panting and out of breath. I wasn’t sure I’d gotten through to him yet. I spoke softer.
“Your sister chose you,” I said. “And you accepted. You’re his godfather. He’s a little boy and his parents died. In all the world, all he has is you. He doesn’t have anyone else. He doesn’t even have his old school friends. He lives here with you now. He doesn’t have his work to bury himself in. And you sit at the dining table ignoring him as I’m sure you do every meal. He’s trapped in this world and the only way he can get your attention is to play up with his governesses.”
That struck home. The anger melted from his face and he turned as white as a ghost.
“He does it for attention?” he said.
“You might be a hotshot businessman in your office,” I said, “capable of seeing all the angles of a deal, but children are a mystery to you, aren’t they?”
“I’ve never had much cause to spend time with them,” he said softly. “He wears a suit every day. I figured he was still mourning his parents.”
I smiled and placed a hand on his arm.
“Traes,” I said. “Don’t you see? He doesn’t wear a suit to mourn his parents. He wears a suit so he looks more like you. He looks up to you. He admires you. He doesn’t have anyone else to cling to, so he chose to be more like you. Sure, he’s still sad about his parents. What kid wouldn’t be? But he loves you. And all he wants is for you to love him back. No judgments, no looking for problems.”
He was shaken to his core.
“How?” he said. “How do I do that?”
“He doesn’t need your money or your business or this big house. All he needs is for you to be with him sometimes. Just give him your time. It would be good for you too. He’s the only real family you have left. Your nephew was brave tonight. He did something even though he knew the answer would be no. You should be proud of him for doing that. Instead, you ignored him and shot him down.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I never realized… I’ll go upstairs and speak with him.”
“No, not tonight,” I said. “He’ll know we spoke about him. It’s better if you mean what you say. Take the night to think about it, whether you want to be there for him or not. He’ll be there, waiting for your decision.”
I walked out and left the most powerful mining magnate in the entire Titan empire on the floor.
Traes
My first response to her shoving me off my chair and onto the floor was that she must have lost her mind. Things like that weren’t done in the Titan empire. Especially not to a powerful mining magnate.
The anger rose in me like a wave and threatened to spill over. I was going to destroy her—verbally—the same way I did with my mineworkers when they failed to hit a target they promised they would achieve. The problem was, they never saw the whole picture. They only ever saw the small part they were in charge of. They didn’t see the efforts I had to go to behind the scenes to inform everyone else down the chain that things would be delayed.
I ground my teeth and prepared my verbal assault, but instead, she stared me down. Each time I responded, she came back with a counter-response that cut. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find a way through her stinging attacks.
She owned me.
And dammit, I was excited by it. She was too. I saw the rising passion in her face when she glared at me. She liked the shift in power every bit as much as I did. I would never willingly hand that power to someone. They had to take it.
And that was what she did.
Then she lowered one bombshell after another, revealing things I hadn’t even considered. Now when I looked back, it seemed so obvious. How could I not know Cleb looked up to me?
That was the reason he wore a sharp suit every day. He wanted to be more like me. A part of me wanted to shake him, to tell him he shouldn’t want to be like me. No one should. I was buried in my work so deep I drowned in it. I could see the lonely life heading my way and I was terrified of it.
So I worked some more.
And the fact we were the last two of our family alive hadn’t consciously occurred to me before either. We should have supported each other. Cleb was more like me at that age than I realized.
I was so used to living alone. My servants carried out their duties so I would never be disturbed. I often moved through my days without ever needing to speak.
I’d gone days without uttering a single word, entire weeks when I was very busy. The food was served and the drinks were poured, and my afternoon pot of tea turned up at the same time and placed in the same spot on the corner of my desk without me needing to utter a single comment.
You’re a ghost in your own home.
I entered the bathroom and got ready for bed.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what Bianca had said to me.
I spat the toothpaste out and rinsed my mouth with water.
A good night’s sleep, I told myself. That’s what I needed.
The bed seemed so large tonight. Had it always been that size? It looked huge. Big enough for a family to sleep in.
Too empty.
I’d passed through my days without noticing or taking in my surroundings.
You’re a ghost.
I had become wealthy dedicating every minute of my days to work, but what was the purpose of it all? I didn’t spend it, except
to invest and make even more money. I didn’t take the time to enjoy it.
You’re a ghost.
I climbed into bed and got comfortable. I peered over at that the empty half of the bed and glanced at the door. I got comfortable and peered at the ceiling.
“Aren’t you going to lock the door?”
“I don’t need to,” I said. “No one will come in. They never do.”
I turned my head and saw Bianca lying on the bed beside me. She wore a red silk nightgown that barely contained her bulging breasts, and rose high up her thighs. Her eyes were on me, full of the same fire and anger she glared at me with earlier during our argument. Only now, it was the heat of passion.
I let my eyes roam over her delicious curves. My tongue lapped at my lips. I could do that without concern she might reject me because she was a figment of my imagination and she was under my complete control.
Her eyes roamed over my body. I always ensured to work out every day. I spent a lot of time sat in a chair and would have turned soft otherwise.
Boy, she excited me. Just one glance and I lost control. I knew from the very first moment I saw her she was going to be a distraction.
A welcome distraction.
But would she be more than that? I didn’t know. But I could dream.
Her nipples were pert and stiff and made tiny tentpoles beneath the silk fabric.
What would she say? I wondered.
She opened her mouth to speak but I shook my head.
No. I wouldn’t put words in her mouth. Instead, I would just look and yes, touch.
I felt at her swollen breasts and rubbed her nipples between my thumb and forefinger. She groaned and shut her eyes. I slipped my hand under the nightdress and pinched her nipple harder.
She moaned in both pleasure and pain.
I took one nipple in my mouth after the other. Then I gently brushed her legs open with a knee and slid closer to her, rubbing my hard cock against her. I reached down and felt her moisture beneath my fingers. She gasped as I slipped a finger inside her and gently rocked back and forth.
She kissed me on the lips and I felt her gasps on my face as I slipped another finger in and moved them in circles. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me closer. She ground her hips against my hand, bucking as I brought her to the first rise.
That was it. I couldn’t wait any longer.
I pulled my pants down and slammed hard inside her. I ground deep and pumped away at her. She pressed her hands to my ass as I worked her. She pulled on me, helping me explore her deeper and deeper.
My hand was locked tight around my bulging cock, moving fast and angrily with each imagined thrust. I kept my eyes closed. The image was so strong, so vivid, I swear I could feel her tighten around me.
Then she rocked me back and straddled me, riding me mercilessly back and forth. I lay back and let her use me to pleasure herself. She tugged her nightgown off over her head and tossed it to the floor. Her breasts bounced. I reached up and took them in my hands, pinching her nipples between my fingers as she drove me toward my own climax.
Seeing her on top of me like that, taking control, pushed me over the edge. I lay there for a moment, enjoying the sweet sating satisfaction of sweet relief.
But she didn’t fade away just yet. She lay on my chest, me still inside her, and we lay like that, without words, and I smelled her hair and felt the heat burning in waves off her body.
I had found happiness.
Her cute smile was the last thing I saw as she faded away.
A ghost.
I moved to the bathroom and took a shower, cleaning myself off. Refreshed, I returned to the bed, this time feeling much better about its huge size.
I was glad I got her out of my system, I thought.
I needed my mind clear for the day ahead.
And what would I do when I woke up? Would I join them for their day out? No, I didn’t think so. They would enjoy their day more without me there. And I got to do the thing I enjoyed most too—work.
Well, maybe not the thing I enjoyed most…
That accolade belonged to spending the night with Bianca. If it was even half as good as I imagined, it would trump work by a country mile.
My dreams were consumed by sexy legs and fulsome breasts. I kept waking up and rolling over, hoping to find the woman of my dreams there beside me.
But she never was.
When my alarm finally went off, I dragged myself into the shower and kept thinking about the one I took last night. She’d cast a spell on me for sure. I bet if I did some research into the human race, I would find more than a small hint of witchcraft.
And she would be at the coven’s head.
By the time I came out of the shower, Waev had taken my clothes from the wardrobe and arranged them on the bed. He didn’t serve as my valet. Asking another man to dress me always seemed a little… off. Besides, I only had one type of suit and it wasn’t like it was complicated.
I headed downstairs to breakfast. I usually liked to use those quiet few minutes to go over the key items on my to-do list for the day. Instead, I thought about what Bianca and Cleb would be getting up to today.
So much for getting her out of my system. She was still locked firmly in it.
I entered the dining hall and found Bianca and Cleb already there. Cleb hopped from one foot to another, clapping his hands as he danced around Bianca.
She looked up as I approached the dining table and then focused her attention on Cleb. I moved to my place at the head of the table. The servants had already begun bringing the food in from the kitchen and added it to plates in the middle of the table. The bread was still warm from the oven and smelled great. Breakfast was definitely my favorite meal of the day.
Waev knew better than to ask if I wanted a fresh cup of coffee. He’d poured me one every day for the past twenty years.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” I said to Bianca.
She raised her flask and smiled.
“Already filled up,” she said.
“What are your plans for today?” I said.
“We’re going arjath riding!” Cleb said, clapping his hands for emphasis.
“Going anywhere nice?” I said.
“Just into the woods,” Bianca said, casting her eyes over me, cold as ice. “There’s a place Cleb wants to show me.”
“That’ll be nice,” I said. “It’s supposed to be good weather today.”
Bianca laid two napkins on the table and gathered a pile of food into each. One had the sweet food such as cinnamon buns and lightly sugared rolls, the other savory food such as cheesy pinwheels and chicken pies. She carefully folded the napkins and tucked the food in her backpack.
A servant handed her a few bottles of water.
“Is this enough, ma’am?” he said.
“Yes, thank you,” Bianca said, adding them to her backpack, “and don’t call me ma’am. I’m Bianca.”
She extended her hand to the servant. He looked at it before glancing questioningly at me. I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t know what it meant either. The servant extended his hand a few inches from hers. Bianca took it and shook it up and down.
“I guess you guys aren’t used to shaking hands,” Bianca said. “It’s a sign of respect on my home planet.”
“Oh,” the servant said, before shaking her hand in return.
I eyed the handshake with jealousy. Why didn’t she shake my hand like that?
“Your bag’s going to be very heavy,” I said. “Are you sure you can manage?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, lifting the backpack with a single arm and strapping it to her back. “I’m stronger than I look.”
“And you look very strong,” I said. “I mean… Not that you look overly muscular or anything. I meant you look healthy. In good shape.”
Shut up, you fool! Shut up!
“Aren’t you going to eat breakfast before you go?” I said. “You’ll get very hungry.”
“We wan
t to get an early start,” Bianca said. “Catch the sun as it rises above the forest. It should be pretty spectacular.”
Anything would be spectacular with you by my side.
“It sounds like it,” I said. “Maybe you should take a guard with you. I’d feel a lot better if you did.”
“We’ll be fine,” Bianca said, waving her hand dismissively. “We won’t go too far.”
“By the amount of food you’re taking with you, I thought you might be gone all day,” I said.
“We’ll see how we go,” she said. “It’s never a good idea to plan too much. It sucks the life out of everything. Much better to be a little spontaneous.”
She focused her attention on me. It was an open challenge. She wanted me to be spontaneous, to ask to join them on their day trip.
And I wanted to. I wanted to go with them.
Then why was it so difficult for me to ask?
The moment passed and she nodded her head, her disappointment evident on her face.
I was disappointed in myself too.
I took a sip from my coffee and tried to suppress it.
“Let’s go,” Bianca said.
She took Cleb’s hand and led him away. Cleb danced and hopped as they crossed the room. I’d never seen him so excited. They passed through the door.
Bianca didn’t even turn to look back at me.
The servant shut the door behind them. It banged and echoed in the large, empty hall. I sat my cup down and it clicked loudly on its coaster. Even the other chairs had their backs facing me. The dining room had the same problem as my bed last night.
Far too big.
And cold.
And empty.
I scooped up my coffee cup and grabbed some of the cinnamon rolls.
“I’m going to eat in my study,” I declared to no one in particular.
“Very good, sir,” Waev said.
“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” I said.
I marched down the hall to my office and stepped inside. I shut the door behind myself and pressed my back to it, relieved to have reached a safe place. I immediately felt relaxed.
I was in a place under my control. I was king in this space. No one could tell me what to do.
