I blink. “That is an exceedingly dark way of looking at it.”
“Not really.” He shrugs. “Knowing that it could end only makes it sweeter while you have the good stuff. Life is hard. Really fucking hard. Hell, you know that. You haven’t been untouched by death.”
He means my mother.
“That’s not the same thing. I barely remember her.” Is it possible to miss someone you only have the faintest smudge of memories of? I don’t know. I’ve never been able to figure out if I miss her or just the fantasy of the mother my sisters say she was. Kind and strong and fierce at times. My father always says I looked the most like her, was the most like her, but how can I live up to the memory of a woman I only remember as a soft hug that smells faintly of orange blossoms?
“It counts.” Alaric smooths my hair back, his touch gentle. “Look, I won’t pressure you one way or another. But I’m willing to talk through this shit if you are.”
I glance at the door. “Maybe later? I get the feeling Ursa doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
He grins, his seriousness falling away so quickly, I have to wonder if he’s as relieved to set this conversation aside for the time being as I am. “That’s the damn truth.” Alaric climbs off the bed and holds out his hand. “Come on, Zuri. Let’s show you how good the Underworld can be when you’re really indulging.”
He sounds so happy, so full of anticipation, that I allow myself to smile and take his hand. “I can’t wait.”
Chapter 24
Alaric
I’m still reeling from Ursa’s offer when we finally arrive at the Underworld. It’s late enough that the lounge is filled when we follow Ursa through the door, flanking her on either side. Zuri drifts a little closer to her, the only sign that she’s overwhelmed, though she keeps shooting glances at the people gathered. Maybe she’s trying to pick out the people who bid on her. Or maybe she’s just finally getting a good look at the sheer amount of beauty and power packed into this club every weekend. Everyone in the room has one or the other; most have both. It’s surreal in the extreme, and working here for eight years still hasn’t quite worn off the shine of it.
It’s strange, though.
Strange to be back here as a patron. Strange to be fully dressed when usually I was wearing some kind of costume or kink gear. Strange to miss the Underworld a little, even if it’s a place that felt so much like a cage for the last few years.
Our outfits coordinate, something I’ve found amusing when others did it in the past. It doesn’t feel amusing tonight. It feels like a public declaration that we belong to Ursa, that we’re part of her household. That we’re sharing her bed.
She’s wearing one of my favorite dresses of hers, a black wrap dress that hugs her generous curves and is deceptively see-through. Every step she takes gives hints to the purple lingerie she wears beneath it, little glimpses that make my mouth water. I’m wearing black slacks and a purple button-down in the exact same shade. Zuri has on a matching purple dress that is short enough to almost be indecent, her heels making her lean legs look even longer. The dress hugs her body, leaving as little to the imagination as Ursa’s clothing does, but in a very different way. Her only accessory is her mother’s necklace.
Fuck, but I’m a lucky man.
Ursa leads the way to a booth that’s been her customary one for as long as I’ve lived in Carver City. She motions Zuri to precede us into the booth and I follow her in, sliding until we’re pressed together from knee to shoulder. It’s only touching her like this that I can feel Zuri tremble, just a little. None of those nerves show on her face, her expression a calm mask as she surveys the room.
Ursa slides in from the other side, so that we’re bracketing Zuri. Like most everything she does, this is intentional. She picked up on Zuri’s unease, too. Ursa is too careful with her public image to openly comfort Zuri when gazes around the room focus on us, but I don’t miss the fact that she gives the other woman’s bare knee a quick squeeze under the table.
Aurora appears next to our table as if by magic. She winks at me and gives Ursa a wide grin. “I see that you’re enjoying your auction prize.”
“You have no idea.” Ursa’s smile is just as wide, just as practiced. “You look delightful tonight, Aurora.”
Delightful and different. Her blue hair is a shade darker than it was a few days ago, edging toward a deep indigo, and she’s wearing red. On anyone else, the complicated lingerie set would be hot and it would end there. But in eight years, I haven’t seen Aurora in anything but white. Her whole thing has been playing to type—the innocent virginal submissive who just wants to kneel at her dominant’s feet and give them whatever they desire.
I catch a glimpse of metal beneath the red lace. “Did you pierce your nipples?”
“A lady never tells.” She gives me a dazzling smile. “But she might show you.” She reaches down and tugs both lace cups away from her breasts and shows us that she has, indeed, gained two new piercings. The silver shines against her brown nipples, pretty little additions.
I glance over to find Zuri watching Aurora with interest. I didn’t see the show they put on for the auction—Hades hadn’t wanted anyone circulating the room and distracting bidders—but I’d heard about it afterward.
Zuri catches me looking and blushes. “I like them.”
Ursa shifts, and I catch her trailing her hand up Zuri’s thigh, stopping just short of the hem. “There are a number of places to be pierced, darling. I think you’d enjoy quite a few of them.”
If anything, Zuri blushes harder. “Maybe.”
I have to focus on not thinking about Zuri adorned with jewelry through her nipples and clitoral hood. Of how I could drive her wild toying with them with my tongue. Except focusing isn’t working because I can’t stop picturing it. I groan. “Damn it, Aurora. Now you’ve gone and done it.”
“Sorry.” She flashes a quick grin at me. “Not sorry.” She turns back to Ursa. “I’ll get those drinks started. It was nice to see you again, Zuri.” She’s a professional, so there isn’t even a hint of question there about what we’re all doing here together, dressed as if this is permanent and not just a week-long assignation.
“Would you like to play with Aurora again, darling?”
Zuri shifts, but we’re both pressed against her so there’s nowhere for her to go. I watch her face carefully. It’s a simple enough question, but there’s nothing simple in her expression. She finally looks at Ursa. “I don’t know.”
“Elaborate.”
“I enjoyed what we did on stage.”
Ursa watches her just as closely as I am. “Mmhmm.”
Zuri shifts again, pressing back against me. I respond to the silent ask and drape my arm around her waist and pull her into my lap. She exhales slowly. “If it’s something you want, I’ll obey.”
“That wasn’t what I asked you. I know what I want already. I asked what you want.” She edges closer, her hand drifting up Zuri’s thigh again. It makes Zuri squirm, which is hell on my control because she’s squirming against my cock. Ursa’s hand disappears beneath her dress, and I know the exact moment she penetrates Zuri because she goes soft and all but melts back against my chest.