“Yes.” The word is clipped and icy.
“Hades always did like to rob the cradle.” Not that twenty-one is all that young. By twenty-one, I’d already left Sabine Valley behind and come here with the intent to take a piece of territory for myself. But Aurora is not like me, and we’ve more than established that.
She goes tense beside me. “It’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it?” I’m provoking her, but asking in a direct way will guarantee she shuts me down. I have to rile her a bit. “Twenty-one and fresh-faced. It’s no wonder he made a deal with you.”
“If he was really what you seem to be suggesting, he would have had me working there when I originally made the deal eight years earlier.”
Shock stills me. She went to Hades when she was thirteen? I don’t know why that surprises me. At thirteen, I was hardly an innocent. Amazons don’t shelter their children in the same way civilians tend to, but that doesn’t change the fact that she was a child when Hades accepted that bargain.
Something barbed and dangerous slithers through my chest. “Did he touch you?”
“Of course not.” She sounds so horrified, I believe her. “He gave me what I asked for, patted me on the head, and told me to come back when I was twenty-one.”
There are few lines I won’t cross, but grooming a child to work in the Underworld is unacceptable. “Did you see Hades during those eight years?”
“No.” She glares. “I finished school, paid my way through most of a bachelor’s degree, and was devastatingly normal.” Something in her expression falters a little. “I waited a month after I turned twenty-one, but he never called the bargain due. I had to go to him.”
Relief nearly makes me woozy. I hadn’t thought the old man would cross that line, but if he had… I don’t know what I would do. Going up against someone who is arguably the most powerful person in Carver City over something he did over a decade ago would have been a terrible decision. There’s nothing to gain and far too much to lose.
That doesn’t change the fact that my hand is itching to wrap around his throat at the thought of him taking advantage of a scared and vulnerable thirteen-year-old Aurora. “How did you even find him at that age?”
“You know better. Some people don’t get a childhood, Malone. I’ve known who Hades was and what he is to this city since I was a kid.”
“You were a kid when you made that bargain.” Which just leads me right back to where we started. “What would drive a teenager to seek out Hades in the Underworld to make a deal?” What would cause Hades to accept it? But then, Hades might cover it up well enough, but he has a bleeding heart. For every ruthless bargain he makes, there is another one or two behind the scenes that help some unfortunate individual who has nothing to offer. Obviously, Aurora was one of those, but that still doesn’t explain how she found her way to him.
She looks away. “I needed money to keep someone I care about safe.”
Impossible to look at that situation and not feel like Hades took advantage. “So he gave a teenager a bunch of money in exchange for nine years of your life. Hardly seems like a fair deal.”
“Yes, well, not all of us have such a privilege that we can walk in and take what we want without an issue.” She spears a grape tomato and eats it.
This is getting me nowhere. If anything, it’s making me feel worse instead of better. Why do I care about the terms of Aurora’s deal? She made it. She’s obviously not broken beyond repair as a result. I know enough of how the background of the Underworld works to know that Hades doesn’t require anyone to engage in the sex work. He simply offers the option if they want it. Most do, and why not?
It still bothers me.
“Surely your parents weren’t willing to let you make that sacrifice on your own?” Amazons might not shelter our children from the ugliness of the world, but we certainly don’t sit back and let them make deals with the devil.
“My father died when I was a baby.” She picks at her salad. “My mother also died. I lived with my grandmother, and she wasn’t aware of the deal.”
“It sounds like she should have kept better track of you.”
Aurora cuts me a look. “She did the best she could. She never expected to be saddled with a grandchild, let alone for it to be a permanent thing. She tried her best, but our resources were limited.”
Their resources were limited. I study her. There are all sorts of reasons people make deals with Hades. Protection. Ambition. Escape. Money. What could a thirteen-year-old Aurora want so desperately that she was willing to walk into the Underworld and bargain with Hades himself? It can’t be the former three. He wouldn’t have sent her back into her grandmother’s home for eight years if that was the case. “How much money could one child possibly need that would inspire you to go to that lengths?”
Aurora finally meets and holds my gaze. “It’s none of your business, Malone. The terms of my deal are between me and Hades and we’ve both fulfilled our ends of the bargain. It’s finished. There are no dragons to fight and even if there were, do you really think that I would ask you for help?”
That stings far more than it has right to. She has no reason to trust me, and every reason not to. Despite my feelings about her bargain, it’s obvious she hasn’t come out the worse for it. “Was it worth the price?”
“Of course. Or at least I think so.” Finally she drops her gaze, her expression closing down. “But ask me again in a year. I lost someone recently, and I’m not handling it well. I’m not sure of anything anymore.”
The sorrow in her tone speaks of the truth, just like it warns me off pursuing this conversation further. It doesn’t make me want to stop pressing her, but I understand all too well how far a person will go to escape the claws of grief. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She flinches as if I’ve struck her.
I know she won’t accept comfort from me. I’m not even sure how I’d go about offering it. Instead, I blurt out the first thing that crosses my mind. “Will you continue on at the club after your bargain’s time runs out?”
“Yes.” She says it with such surety, some of the pain fades from her voice. “I like my job, I like the perks and that each night is a little different. I like working as Meg’s second-in-command.”
For a moment, I let myself follow the temptation of thinking of a future that’s not for me. A future where Aurora becomes mine in truth. It’s all fantasy, though. Aurora is not for keeping, not for me, and I have no intention of settling down into anything resembling domesticity. I like my life, like the balance I’ve achieved. Throwing a wrench into my perfectly operating machine is a mistake I’d like to avoid.
Aurora’s watching me closely. “Why ask that?”
“Curiosity.” I shrug. “It’s as simple as that.”
“I’m beginning to think there’s nothing simple about you at all, Malone.”
Something buzzes beneath my skin, an increasing desire to put my mark on this woman while I still can. I push to my feet. “Let’s go.”
“No dessert?” Her lips curve as if she knows exactly where my head’s at, knows exactly how she affects me.
“You can order in.” I hold out my hand before I can think better of it, and the feeling of her palm sliding against mine is so damn right, it rocks me to my core.
Aurora isn’t for keeping. I have to remember that, have to hold that truth close. I’m not a woman who wastes time wishing on stars. I know the lay of the land with Aurora the same way I did as the second daughter of the Amazon queen. Some things can be changed and shifted and rearranged. Some things are simply truth.
I would never be queen, so I left to create my own queendom.
Aurora will never be mine, so I shall enjoy the time we have left and then move on with my life when she walks away at the end of these two weeks.
Simple. Easy. Tidy.
Unfortunately, I feel anything but simple, easy, and tidy as I all but drag Aurora out of the room. She digs in her heels before we get three
steps. “The bill.”
“Is already taken care of.” No doubt I already have an invoice waiting for me. “Now, keep up, or I’m going to carry you.”
“If you carry me, I’m going to flash every single person we walk past.”
“Yes.” I resume walking, and this time she keeps up without effort. She’s a few inches shorter than I am, but Aurora has a lot of practice matching the longer strides of her taller clients. It’s fascinating how she manages to do so without seeming like she’s working hard.
Luna waits for us next to the car. From the satisfied smile on her face, someone ran her down food while we ate. I make a mental note to double the tip. The service at Spindle, as always, is beyond reproach. Luna opens the door, and we slip into the backseat.
I keep hold of Aurora’s hand. She tugs once, but when she realizes I have no intention of letting her go, she huffs out a sigh and sits back. For my part, I stare out the window and count down the minutes until we return to my building in an effort to keep from mauling her in the backseat.
I want to make her come again. More than that, though. I want to break Aurora into a thousand pieces and put her back together again, to be both creation and destruction, pain and pleasure. She a safe I don’t quite know the combination to, and I can’t shake the feeling that the only way to touch her is through dominance and submission. It’s the only way she’ll allow me to touch her.
It strikes me that I’ve never had someone hold out on me the way Aurora does. No matter what I do, she’s always managed to maintain a distance between us, and it couldn’t be clearer that she has no interest in crossing it.
Perversely, that makes me want to bridge the gap even more intensely. The feeling is disconcerting in the extreme. I pride myself on never losing control, but I’m dancing on the brink. I can’t shake the impression that Aurora is a fortress, all locked away with doors barred and a thorny barrier outside. It calls to the warrior inside me, who’s never met a barrier I didn’t want to climb over or burst through. Surely that’s all it is, my instincts demanding I break through to the very interior of her.
We ride the elevator up to my penthouse in silence. I’m too twisted up, too conflicted. The turmoil doesn’t make for a good scene, and I almost don’t care. Almost. I stop in the hallway and stare at the door to the playroom. If I walk through it right now, I can’t guarantee I’ll be in the right mind to take care of both of us. I’m too rattled, too raw.
I take a deep breath and then another and force myself to release Aurora’s hand. “Go to bed.”
“What?” I can feel her gaze boring into the side of my face. “That’s it?”
“Yes.” The first step away from her is the hardest, but then momentum carries me the rest of the way down the hall to my room. I don’t look back.
But even with the door closed, I can feel her presence. In the few short days Aurora has been in my home, she’s imprinted herself on the entire space. She’s too close, and yet nowhere near close enough. It’s frustrating and makes me want to tear my hair out. I’ve never been one to allow outward signs of frustration, but I’m in danger of breaking my own rule.
So I do the only thing I can think of.
I call Ursa.
Despite the late hour, she answers almost immediately. “Problem in paradise, darling?” The sweet venom in her tone is welcome, and I close my eyes and take my first full inhale in what feels like hours.
When I finally speak, I’ve managed to pull in my normal cool tones. “Gloating doesn’t become you.”
“Can you blame me for enjoying this moment?” She laughs, low and melodious. Everything Ursa does is melodious. She’s the sharp blade hidden in a jeweled case. Glittery and smooth and dangerous in a way unsuspecting people never see coming.
“In fact, I can.” Even if I got a perverse sort of joy watching her unravel not too long ago when her pair of submissives had her tangled in knots. It’s different with Aurora. Ursa and Alaric were already in a relationship when they tricked Zurielle into auctioning off her virginity. Aurora isn’t some sweet innocent thing with hearts in her eyes every time she looks at me. I’m reasonably sure she hates me as much as she says she does, though the emotion seems deeper than it should be for the simple act of not fucking her.
I sit heavily on the edge of my bed. “This isn’t what I thought it’d be.”
The amusement filters out of her tone. “You’re not just off-center. Something’s wrong.”
That’s just it. I’m not sure anything is wrong. There are a thousand little pricks of irritation and worry, starting from what’s going on in Sabine Valley and ending with Aurora, but nothing is actually wrong. Not in any quantifiable way. “She really hates me.”
“So seduce her into loving you if that’s what you want.” She says it so easily, as if there’s no question it’s possible. “That girl’s been turning your head since the moment you saw her.”
“Turning everyone’s head, including yours.”
A pause. “I didn’t think that bothered you.”
It didn’t. It doesn’t. I don’t mind Aurora’s history, even if it includes my best friend. Ursa only scened with Aurora occasionally to irritate me, but not enough to ever affect our friendship—a delicate balance she never landed on the wrong side of. “It doesn’t.”
She takes me as my word, a testament to the length and strength of our friendship. “In that case, remove her feelings from the issue and tell me what you want.”
“I want her.” A simple and complicated as that.
“Then take her.”
“Ursa.”
“Malone.” She mimics my tone. “Darling, don’t try to tell me that you’re not capable of seducing her properly. You have never hesitated to take what you want; it’s something we’ve always had in common. You want Aurora? Take her.”
“I have been taking her,” I say drily. “Several times a day for the last few days.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Something rustles in the background, and I have the sudden image of Ursa in bed with her two submissives pressed against her on either side. A strange sensation hollows out the pit of my stomach, and I press my fist there. It almost feels like…longing.
“It’s not like you to act this uncertain.”
“No, it’s not.” I sigh. “It’s more than her. The situation back home is devolving, and it’s distracting me.” I’m foolish to expect a call from my sister. I know how Sabine Valley operates. She’ll figure her way out of this without my assistance. I have to believe that. I do believe that, despite the sliver of doubt that poisons every thought concerning my family.
“There’s very little you can do about that situation.”
“I know.” And I do. It doesn’t change the urge to try. Gods, I can’t decide if I’m going soft or if I’m truly that arrogant. Possibly a deadly combination of both. “Your advice leaves something to be desired.”
“I seem to remember a time when our situations were reversed and you laughed in my face, you bitch.” She says it fondly. “Allow me this moment of amusement at your expense.”
I snort. “Uh-huh. Is the moment over yet?”
“Yes.” Ursa laughs. “Honestly, though. Make her yours, Malone. Aurora is a treasure, and no one will take better care of her than you will. I know you enjoy your solitary life, but if she’s affecting you this much after a few days, isn’t it worth considering? I’d hate for you to let her go and spend the next few years moping and snapping at everyone around you. It’s tedious, darling.”
Typical Ursa. Kind and cruel, all wrapped up in a smooth package. I force myself to pause my instinctive denial and actually think about what she’s saying. Keep Aurora. Make her mine in truth. Haven’t I already been dancing around this idea? She’s right; it’s not like me to hesitate when it comes to claiming the things I want. The people I want. Aurora is the exception to the rule, but maybe it’s high time I get over myself. “I would hate to be tedious.”
“An unforgivab
le sin, truly.” I can hear the smile in her voice.
“Thank you, Ursa. Apparently I needed that shove.”
“Easy to have perspective from the outside.” The briefest pause. “If you do decide to do something about Sabine Valley, know that you have my support.”
For a moment, it truly tempts me. Between the two of us, we hold the majority of Carver City. We could bring enough manpower and force to snuff out the Paine brothers once and for all. But the cost of such a move is too high. We couldn’t guarantee the safety of my family members within their control. More, we’d effectively undermine the Amazons to the point where we would do more harm than good. “I truly appreciate the offer, but it’s unnecessary.”
“If you decide to change your mind, let me know,” she says breezily. “I always thought it’d be fun to go to war at your side.”
I smile. “You never do declarations of friendship halfway, do you, Ursa?”
“Why bother to do something if you’re not going to do it right?”
“Thank you. For everything.” I glance at my door. “I’ll consider your advice.”
“Good night, Malone.”
“’Night.” I hang up.
I’m too off-center to sleep yet, especially with Ursa’s advice circling my mind. She’s right; outside perspective is helpful at times. I didn’t need permission to decide this, but she has a way of cutting through the bullshit, right to the heart of things.
Deciding to make Aurora mine feels like a risk, and it’s been a very long time since I’ve braved a risk on that level. Maybe it should worry me, but all I feel is energized.
I want Aurora.
So I’m going to take her.
16
Aurora
“You goddamn demon spawn.”
I stare at the ruined mess of a bed and curse harder. Apparently instead of leaving this room after we went to dinner, the cat decided to mark his territory by shredding the bedspread—and a pillow, if the feathers everywhere are any indication—and pissing all over everything.
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