I returned the washcloth to the bathroom and draped it over the sink along with the one I’d used for myself, since I didn’t know what she’d want me to do with them when wet.
And then I finally crawled into bed beside her and pulled the sheet over us. “Short session today because I wanted to use part of the hour you gave me to take care of you. I play rough, but I also take care of my toys.” Her scent went off a little, so I backed up some. “Not that you’re my toy for more than the hour you gave me, but I played with you and now I need to take care of you.”
“Yeah. I’ll have to start getting into the right mindset for the match this evening soon, but this is nice. I wasn’t expecting it.”
“No one took care of you before?”
“It isn’t that. I mean, Able did sometimes, if he had time. The others, not so much, but Able’s staff was in charge of making sure I was okay physically. I was taken care of, but not like this. No one cleaned me up unless I was really out of it, and then it was usually someone on the staff.”
I tucked her in closer to me. She said she’d need to start getting into the mindset to skate, so aimed the conversation in that direction. “Tell me about the rules of roller derby. How are points scored?”
“Each team has five skaters out at a time. Four blockers and one jammer. The jammer wears a star on her helmet. The blockers help their own jammer get through the pack, and they try to block the other team’s jammer. Once the jammer’s lapped the field one time, she gets a point for every person on the opposing team she passes.”
“Sounds pretty straightforward, but I bet there are a lot of rules about how you can block someone.”
“Yeah, but some refs are sticklers and others let things slide. If they call you for something, you have to sit in the penalty box for thirty seconds and leave your team short a blocker. Some stuff, they can kick you out of the match for.” She turned a little in my arms and met my gaze. “You wouldn’t believe how the women on the team are. We shop together. We party together. We hang out. We’re there for each other. There’ll be an after party, and you can come, but don’t do anything stupid to make me regret it.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. I know how I am with my brothers. I get it. Let me know the rules and I’ll do my best to stick to them.”
“You mean rules for the party? Just don’t be a dick. Some of my teammates have girlfriends. One has a wife. If you aren’t okay with that, you shouldn’t come.” She met my gaze and there was nothing submissive about it. “And no jokes about girl-on-girl action. It just makes you sound like a cave man.”
“Well, no jokes about me being a cave man. The kids in school who didn’t know how good my hearing was got their own faces rearranged.” I didn’t mention my hour wasn’t up and she wasn’t being submissive anymore. I was fine with it. We’d dropped out of the sexy stuff, and I wasn’t interested in having a doormat for a girlfriend.
Girlfriend? Whoa. She’d agreed to have sex with me and pretend to be my girlfriend for a few days as a smokescreen. I needed to slow the fuck down, but I didn’t want to.
“Damn, that’s harsh. Kids can be total fuckwads. You struck me as interesting from the first moment I saw you.”
Interesting? Better than grotesque, at least.
“Fuckwads? Aren’t you, like, a princess or something?”
“Yes, but I don’t use the title, so no.” I scented dishonesty and she must’ve realized it, because she pushed a stray hair away from her face and started again. “Legally, yes, but my title is only used during formal shit. Sophia’s negotiations meant I was seen as Able’s girlfriend in public. Only his inner circle knew of my status as toy. She asks me to show up for a handful of royal functions a year, but otherwise, she doesn’t impose. She’s done so much for me, I attend the few things she asks me to show up for, and I mostly behave and follow the fucking rules, but I don’t want to be a princess. I’ve kind of been the black sheep of the family since a few years before I hit puberty.”
“But, publicly, everyone sees you as a Swan Princess.” I didn’t mean for it to sound like an accusation, but it kind of did. I wasn’t sure how to soften it.
“I’m not in line for the throne. Well, I guess I am, but I think I’m like eleventh now.”
Chapter Four
Dementor
I enjoyed the roller derby match more than I thought I would. Ten fit, athletic women battling it out on skates? What’s not to love?
Also, these women were all human — except for Ember — and they were all bad-ass. Mostly though, I watched their camaraderie and how they worked together as a team.
Ember wore the star on her head to become the jammer several times, and she didn’t bother taking names as she lapped the field, over and over. Other than her ability to heal faster, and perhaps a little better balance, I wasn’t sure her status as swan gave her much of an advantage over the human women. This sport was about skill, strategy, and aggression, and not so much brute strength, though I had to admit the strength didn’t hurt. Still, I don’t think she had to hold back in order to keep from being way better than the women. The Concilio was right to let her compete.
Out of fourteen players, three girlfriends and four boyfriends had come to watch. Ember had introduced me to them when we arrived, and they welcomed me to sit with them. No snark, no bitchiness. I was immediately accepted. And yes, most of them reacted to my face, but they immediately hid it, which was cool.
Ember and I had devised our backstory before we left — as close to the truth as possible. We met when we were both helping a mutual friend, and we’d instantly clicked. It’d only been a few days, but we were seeing where it went. I was shocked to discover her teammates had met Aaron and Sophia. It seemed the royal couple sometimes came to her matches.
Would they approve of me? Aaron had obviously set us up, but was it just business? Would I be expected to walk away and not look back once Tess was safely somewhere else?
The Birmingham Hellcats easily won the match, and the afterparty was full of adrenaline filled females whooping it up. We went to a bar to start, and I paid for a round of drinks for everyone. We had four people out of twenty-one who were sticking to non-alcoholic drinks, and I made sure to cover them with another cola when I bought a round. The girls all ordered food, and Ember put away several pounds of fried shrimp, potato skins, and fried cheese sticks. She also ordered a Mudslide, and seemed to relish the ice cream and chocolate concoction. Most shapeshifters don’t like sweets, but it appeared this one loved her desserts.
I could have fun with that.
Ember drove us in her car, and I was a little disappointed to find out she drove a Subaru Crosstrek. I was expecting something a little more adventurous or unique, I suppose. However, when I asked her why she’d chose it, she informed me Aaron had insisted she get one of the top five safest SUVs, and the others were ridiculously expensive.
“I have a trust fund, but it isn’t huge. I can live fairly well since I don’t have to pay for an apartment or house, but I don’t need to be stupid about expenses. I wanted an SUV, and Aaron offered to buy me one of the more expensive cars on the list, since he was the one dictating my choices, but I couldn’t let him do that.”