Volatile Love (The Gilded Sovereign 2)

The muscles in his shoulders and arms are tight with worry. Under my fingertips, I feel them pulse and tighten. Those dark eyes turn stormy, as if the impending conversation is going to be bad.

“Fergus is trying to broker a deal with us,” he starts, lacing his fingers through mine. He tugs me along, and we disappear down the hallway toward the office. Once inside, he shuts the door behind us, and I’m planted against the heavy wooden surface. “He wants freedom in return for the names of the men he’s been working with, all those who helped Abner elicit all the shit he’d been dealing with.”

“Okay?” It’s a question, because I’m not sure where he’s going with this. I don’t want him to tell me I can’t see the man. He raised me as his daughter; I should be able to say something to him, ask him why he did it. All the revelations that have come to light in the recent weeks are becoming too much for me.

“Hey,” Etienne says, and I realize my cheeks are wet when he swipes his thumbs across my face. It’s a gentle, loving action, and my heart calms somewhat from the erratic thudding against my ribs. “Please don’t cry, little wolf.” I know he’s trying to make me happy, to give me what I need. “I’ll take you to see him, but you’re not spending a minute alone with him. Either me, Ares, or Tarian will be there with you. I would much prefer it was me.”

Nodding, I chance a small smile. “I’d like it if you were there. I’m not sure I can do it on my own in any case. So,” I look up at him, meeting those dark, yet soulful eyes that always seem to look right through me, “When can we go?”

“I’ll take you tomorrow. You can get your questions answered, then I want to get the contract signed. Ares, Tarian, and I will go to him after you’ve left and make him tell us everything we need to know. We need to take Thane down, his plans obviously include you, but mainly, it seems he wants to get rid of Tarian, so there’s something there that he’s hiding.”

“So, you’re not going to hurt Fergus?” I ask, not hopeful, more concerned. If they did hurt him, I would be more worried about Etienne’s conscience than anything else. He’s not a violent person, and if he did anything to change that, I know it would weigh on him.

“I can’t promise,” he tells me, before pressing a kiss to my lips, which is soft and gentle, a stark contrast to what he’s promising to do to the man who, up until only a few days ago, I called Dad.

“Please don’t do anything you might regret,” I plead with him. “Because once you do something, you can’t take it back.”

“I know that, gorgeous,” he smirks. “But that man hurt you, and that doesn’t sit well with me. Anyone touches you, and I mean even looks at you the wrong way, I’ll make sure they never see the light of day again.”

“That…sounds so ominous,” I tell him, and it’s true. It sounds like he’s definitely going to do something bad.

“It might be, depends on how forthcoming he is.” This time I know whatever is going on has to happen. The new Crowns of Tynewood are trying to clean up the society, they’re trying to make sure the Sovereign keep their name and reputation spotless, and I can respect that.

“You know,” I tell him. “I think you just enjoy your time with the boys too much,” I tease him.

“I do. But my time with you is much more precious. And you know why?”

I shake my head, but watch his face turn from playful to serious, and my heart catapults into my throat.

“Because I’m falling, Rukaiya. No. Scrap that. I have fallen, you’re in here,” he admits, touching two fingers to the spot where his heart is. “And I can’t ever take you out. I don’t want to. You’re special to me and I…”

He’s struggling with the words, but I nod, knowing what he’s trying to tell me. “I heart you, too,” I spit out quickly, realizing what I’ve just said. If he can’t say the L word, then we’ll use an alternative. One that means just as much to me.

The corners of his mouth tip up, and I’m awarded the smile that makes every inch of me turn hot and needy.

“I heart you too, little wolf,” he murmurs, before kissing me quickly. “Let’s go get dinner. And then I’m taking you home, to the Durand house.”

“Will you dance for me?” Etienne asks, as he sits on the sofa. The Durand mansion is nothing like the Lancaster one. This one has modern lines with white furniture and expensive artwork on the walls. There are floor-to-ceiling windows that show off the gardens, which stretch for miles.