AMARIS
There is no way in hell, hades or the abyss of my ruins would I subject myself to Ryker’s manipulation.
"If you want more, co to my room by midnight."
Those were his words. His words after he made a mockery of .
Then why the hell was I still thinking of it? Of him.
I should have shoved the idea of him down the drain and not even be entertaining it.
"I told you he wasn’t that bad," Nia whispered, interrupting my thoughts as she braided my hair into a single knot, her fingers working with efficiency.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I wasn’t sure what I was staring at but there was sothing different. Sothing in the eyes that hadn’t been there before.
"Are you talking about Ryker?" I asked, my eyes still fixated on the mirror.
"Yes, don’t you see how he stood up for you against his father," she said with a familiar admiration in her eyes.
"He is no hero, he did that only to rebel against his father, not because he wanted to save ."
She didn’t respond imdiately. Instead she was silent for a mont, tying the last knot of the braid with a small tug.
"Yes, that may be true but he still stood up for you, that should count for sothing."
Well, it did count as sothing because right after that he kissed and did unthinkable things that I am not even sure a Sharma could cleanse away from my mind.
"Well, he saved from that scorching fire of that coal, although that would not be the first ti I have been punished in that manner."
She looked at , but her eyes didn’t have pity in them. It was more of understanding. She took three steps back and sank on the edge of my bed, her hands folding quietly in her lap.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.
"Talk about what?" I asked back, feigning ignorance.
"It seems where you ca from you didn’t really have the luxury of a good life there either."
I let out a sigh. It was indeed a luxury for .
Being the unwanted daughter.
"I am not sure I want to talk about it, but..." I exhaled, refusing myself to sink into that hole of self-loathing.
I continued, "I am the daughter of a maid who was forcefully turned to a mistress by a monster who raped her and she died while giving birth to ." I paused, allowing my words to sink in. Not because I wanted it to weigh heavier, but I needed to catch my breath.
"Yeah, so I didn’t have that luxury," I huffed.
She stared at . It still wasn’t sympathetic but close to it. Her eyes softened, just at the edges.
"That’s a lot and imagine being thrust into this after that."
"Yeah imagine."
I refuse to imagine, because I got through life by forgetting. If I held on to every painful mory, I might end up killing myself one day, an act of rcy.
"I am sure things would get better and in a little ti everything will make sense."
I scoffed. My life had not made sense in almost two decades. Why should it now? Not with a cruel Alpha who wants to turn into a breeder and discard like trash after fulfilling that purpose.
Not with his son stirring up sexual desires in I never knew was possible, but doing it to spite his dad for only gods knows what reason.
Not with the other son being nice to but unable to stand up for when his father was brutally punishing , instead watching burn.
"I would leave you to sleep now, Luna Amaris. Rember tomorrow we would be going to see the mating ceremony venue and do so planning," she reminded .
I frowned and she smiled.
"I promise you, it will be fun," she added enthusiastically.
"Sure," I nodded. "Good night Nia."
She gave a half smile, this ti it was clearly sympathetic, right before she stood up from the bed and walked toward the door. With one last final glance, she closed it behind her, leaving alone in the room.
The quiet settled around .
I swiveled back to face my reflection in the mirror. I placed my hands gently on my lips.
On the lips he had kissed. That was my first kiss. And it had been exactly how I thought it would feel. But why?
My fingers lingered there, barely pressing.
It wasn’t just the kiss that kept pulling back. It was everything after it.
The mont his fingers found that part of I had never let anyone near, I had stopped breathing.
I rembered the sharp inhale, the way my own body had betrayed so completely, arching toward him like it already knew sothing I didn’t.
The warmth of it, that slick, aching warmth, had spread through in a way that felt almost violent in how good it was. I had gripped the fabric just to hold onto sothing solid because everything else had gone unsteady.
And he had watched my face the whole ti.
That was the part I couldn’t shake. Not just what he did, but the way he looked at while he did it. Like he was collecting sothing. Like he already knew what he would find and was simply enjoying being right.
I dropped my hands from my lips and looked away from the mirror.
It didn’t an anything. It was spite dressed up as desire and I needed to rember that.
I stood up, reaching for my robe and pulling it around my shoulders. I wasn’t going to sleep, that much was obvious. I pushed my feet into my slippers and moved toward the door before I had fully decided to.
The hallway was dim, most of the lights already low for the night. I walked slowly, my hand trailing the wall for a mont before I pulled it back.
The corridor was ahead of and I followed it without thinking too hard about where my feet were taking , because if I thought about it I would stop.
I already knew where I was going.
I stopped in front of the door. Stood there for a breath, two. Then I knocked.
The seconds that followed felt longer than they were.
The door opened and he was there, shirtless, dark eyes catching the low light of the room behind him.
He looked at for a mont, taking in the robe, the hour, the fact that I had co at all.
Then he smiled. Slow and knowing, like he had been waiting.
He reached out and pulled in.
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