Another quick kiss to my lips and he’s gone, walking away without a single look at Zurielle. I narrow my eyes. That was too cold. He can be calculated and manipulative, but Alaric has a heart beneath all that scar tissue of his past. And no one with a heart would be able to remain unaffected by the slow tears tracking down Zurielle’s cheeks right now. Even I’m not completely unencumbered by her watching her rose-tinted future slide down the drain.
The only reason to be so cold is to avoid showing his hand. His guilt.
Interesting.
I tuck the knowledge away to test out later and turn back to Zurielle. She’s even pretty when she cries. Of course she is. She’s like a living fantasy created solely to entice me to play with her. Even if she wasn’t Triton’s daughter, I’d be sorely tempted simply because of how her lower lip quivers.
Still, she obeys.
I lightly stroke her lower stomach with my nails. “You may speak.”
Her breath shudders out. “You and Alaric…”
“Mmm?” Best to let her get it out now.
“You’re together.”
“Yes. We have been for some time.” Or as together as two people can be with our respective circumstances. I can’t help adding a qualifier every time my mind skirts too closely to what together might look like now that he’s free. It’s entirely possible that he’s been using me as much as I’m using Zurielle. Only time will tell, and I’m not foolish enough to let him closer than he already is in the meantime. Or that’s what I tell myself as I look down at this woman who fancied herself in love with Alaric. I’m not nearly so naïve. Truly, I’m not.
She blinks those big eyes at me. “You tricked me.”
She may be naive, but she’s intelligent enough to connect the dots quickly. Good. Still, I’m inclined to play this out a little longer. “Did we?”
“Did you send him to Olympus for me?” She shakes her head. “Of course you did. Gods, I am so stupid.”
“That’s about enough of that.” I tap her hands where they still hold her thighs. “You were outplayed, darling. Nothing more, nothing less. Sit up.”
She sits up, still obedient even as another tear slides down her cheeks. Have I ever cried so freely as this girl does? No. Never. There is a time and place for emotions to take the forefront, but they are never, ever in front of an audience. Even if I weren’t the leader of an entire territory, I am a Black woman. Extreme emotions in front of others will never result in the outcome I need. Better to craft a face to give the world. What weakness I have is restrained to those moments alone, and even then I don’t let them escape all that often. Not when doing so will undermine everything I’ve worked so hard to accomplish.
Zurielle obviously hasn’t learned a similar lesson or she’s been protected enough not to feel the negative results. Either way, I enjoy her tears far more than I should.
She wipes angrily at her face. “I didn’t know we were playing a game.”
“Now you do.” I don’t sit back, don’t give her space. “Life is a game, darling. The faster you learn that, the better time you’ll have of things.”
She narrows her eyes. “I don’t understand you. You’re so cruel and so kind at the same time.”
“One does not negate the other.” The best cruelty lashes unexpectedly, the sweetest kindness can hurt so acutely. I’ve learned to wield them interchangeably. I like it. I lick my lips, tasting the combination of Zurielle and Alaric. With the end result all but guaranteed, I can allow myself to fully enjoy the next seven days. “I’m in a good mood, so I’ll give you a choice, little Zurielle.”
Her lip is still quivering, but she’s managed to get her tears under control. “What choice? I don’t have a choice. I’m here. It’s too late.”
I give her thigh a light smack. “Don’t be dramatic. You have your safe word, and it will be honored. Do you want to use it?”
“I should.” Her gaze skates to the doorway Alaric disappeared through, expression bleak.
I’m silent, letting her work through it. If she calls this whole thing off, it would be a bit of a wrench in my plans, but she would lose the money. More, Alaric would lose the money to pay off the remainder of his debt. She’s too soft to make that decision, not nearly angry enough. It’s only a matter of waiting for her to come to the same conclusion.
Finally, she shakes her head. “What choice?” she repeats.
“Tonight, I can fuck you.” I intentionally keep my tone light, my language crass. “Or Alaric can fuck you.”
She presses her lips together for a long moment. “And after tonight?”
“Darling, I’m going to get at that pussy until we’re sick of each other. And Alaric wants you, so I’m inclined to give you to him until he works out all that frustrated lust on your pretty little body. That’s not up for negotiation. Tonight is.”