“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.”
Zurielle frowns, her brows drawing together. “Are you two…” She seems to sift through possible options to finish that sentence. “Dating?”
“We enjoy each other. We haven’t put anything resembling a label on it.” It’s as simple and complicated as that. I’m the territory leader. The person who shares my bed with regularity is granted a level of power as a result. I have to be careful because of that. And before Zurielle paid Alaric’s debt, he was effectively owned by Hades. Dating one of Hades’s people is as good as saying that I’m allowing a spy into my inner circle, and that would be unforgivably weak and foolish.
A weak and foolish territory leader is one living on borrowed time.
Zurielle doesn’t seem content with that. “But he’s here. You orchestrated this so he’d be freed.”
“Not only that.”
She shakes her head. “Not only that, but you could have found a different way to get revenge on my father. You chose this way because of Alaric.”
She’s not wrong, but I’m also not inclined to dig into my complicated relationship with that man for her benefit. “All you need to know is that we’re happy to share you between us, and we plan on doing exactly that.” Something we’ve never done before. Oh, we’ve participated in group play in a number of ways, but this is different. We aren’t in the Underworld right now. I am topping both of them. The next seven days are for fucking and enjoying ourselves. After, we’ll cut this little fish loose and figure out what comes next for us.
“I thought I loved him.” She says it so quietly, I don’t think she intends for me to hear.
Too bad. “A lot of people fall in love with Alaric. It’s a special skill of his. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
Zurielle shakes her head. “Kind and cruel.”
“It’s a gift.” I smile, but give my next word some bite. “Choose.”
“I want him.” She closes her eyes as if the truth pains her. “I shouldn’t. I should hate him, but I can’t help wanting him still.”
I suspected as much. “Very well.” I push to my feet and offer her my hand. No matter how smart this girl is, she’s still harboring romantic notions about Alaric. Given half a chance, she’ll convince herself that he’s really a noble prince who was somehow forced into this situation, instead of a man with a habit of getting what he wants, when he wants it. Even laboring under Hades’s deal hasn’t been a hardship for Alaric, not with the power players in Carver City lining up to fuck him and play with him and spoil him. He wasn’t free, but one would have to look far and wide to find a more enjoyable cage.
Zurielle takes my hand, and I’m struck again by how delicate she is. Not just physically. A rough touch, a harsh word and she might crumple.
She’s no use to me broken.
Maybe that’s why I stroke my thumb over her wrist and tug her closer. I dislike being required to baby submissives, but she’s got a shell-shocked look on her face that bothers me. “Zurielle.”
She blinks up at me. “Yes, Mistress.”
Gods, she’s sweet. Even swaying on her feet from going round after round tonight, she’s still obeying my initial commands. I don’t think she realizes she’s doing it, either, which makes it all the more enjoyable.
I catch her throat lightly with my free hand, letting my nails prick at her sensitive skin. She instantly closes her eyes and parts her lips in a little gasp. My pussy clenches at that sound. She’s not scared. No, she likes me holding her like this as much as I like doing it. My voice comes out tighter than I intend. “For the next seven days, you belong to me. I do what pleases me, and tonight it pleases me to watch him fuck your virgin pussy. But make no mistake, it’s at my command. Do you understand?”
She swallows hard, a movement I can feel against my palm. “Yes, Mistress.”
“Good. We may begin.”
Chapter 10
Alaric
It takes me nearly my entire shower to successfully label the heavy feeling in my chest. Guilt. I feel fucking guilty. I shake my head and turn off the water. Ursa will laugh when she figures out I’m having second thoughts now, when everything is already in motion. The time for changing my mind was at any point during the countless hours I spent with Zuri over those weeks in Olympus. Or during the months since I came back to Carver City.
Or, here’s a thought, I could have told her the truth when I saw her in the public playroom yesterday.
I didn’t. I made my choice, and feeling guilty about it now is just self-indulgent. I’m a bastard and a half for letting Zuri pay the price of my decisions, but it’s too late to change my mind. Truth be told, I was never going to. I’m finally, finally out from under powerful men. First Triton. Then Hades. Now, the only person I answer to is myself.
And Ursa.
I’m still drying off when I hear the bedroom door open. I wrap the deep-blue towel around my waist and walk over to lean on the door frame. Ursa looks just as decadent as ever, her generous curves wrapped in a printed dress I want to take off with my teeth. Zuri is still naked, padding behind the other woman and looking a little dazed.
Ursa sees me first. Her gaze rakes over my bare chest and, fuck, the promises she makes with that single look. It makes me want to hit my knees, to give way to the sheer dominance this woman wields. Any other night, I’d do that and happily crawl to her. Tonight isn’t about us, though. Not entirely. Not when Zuri is standing there, still flushed from the orgasm Ursa licked out of her.
And fuck if that wasn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. I could have stood there all night and watched Ursa make Zuri come again and again. If there’s a flicker of jealousy there, I’m used to it. Nothing in this world is ever entirely mine. Not a home. Not a possession. Certainly not a romantic partner.
Even Ursa, whom I care about far more than is wise, will never be mine in truth. I might be hers, but that’s hardly the same thing at all. She’s got walls upon walls, and she’s spent most of her life making sure no one comes near. I’m closer than most, close enough to recognize the distance she maintains between us, close enough to be stung by it.