“Are you okay?” His eyes look tired, his hair is disheveled, and he looks a little haggard. It almost endears him to me. Almost.
“No, I’m scared, Emmet, and tired. So freaking tired.” I sound it too, can feel it down in my weary bones.
“I’ll keep you safe. Now that you’re mine, no one will touch you.” So fucking sure of himself. It sickens me.
“You are unbelievable, after everything I just dealt with, and you come in here to say that. I was right before, Liam never existed. It was just one of your pretty little lies.” My tone is dark, cold. It sounds so strange coming from my mouth, almost as if someone else had spoken the words and I’m nothing more than their ventriloquist dummy.
“Right, and this will make things easier for you. So, who was it you choose in the end?”
“GET OUT.” I hold my shaking hand up, pointing it at the door, surprised at the vehemence that came from my mouth.
“I’ll find out either way, Star. So, either you tell me, or I’ll ask every fucker in here until I get the answer I want.”
“You know what, I’m so done. You can make your demands and threats as much as you want, but it means nothing to me. If you can’t show me the guy I first knew, then you’ll never get me,” I say with more conviction than even I expected.
“I told you, Star. You would be mine next, and I will be claiming you.”
“No, you won’t. Because I know who’s next in line to be my claimer, and it isn’t you. Sorry, Prince, but you missed your chance.” I march over to him and he stares down at me, but it won’t make me back down from this.
“I’ll make them let you go,” he says through gritted teeth, and I just smile.
“It won’t matter, because you may rule them on fear but they like me. Either you show me that you can be more than this version of what you are now or you’ll never get a chance with me.” I look him up and down before I turn around and start to walk away.
“What if this is all I am?” he asks and I look over my shoulder.
“Then learn to be more, because I deserve nothing less.”
His mouth goes from a grim line to a smirk, before he laughs so hard, I worry he may burst something.
“You deserve nothing less? Come on, Luna. You deserve whatever we decide to give, you can’t make your demands. Don’t forget, in this place, if your surname isn’t Harkwright, then you’re not worth shit.”
“Sometimes, I really hate you.” It falls out on a wobbly breath, and he steps backward, his eyes never once straying from me.
“I can live with that because I know it won’t last. You want me, Luna, and sooner or later, you’ll have to admit it to yourself.” He walks away and my blood boils as I seethe at his words. Anger and fear are a heady mixture, but there’s also pain. I need to speak to D.
20
Grand Gestures And The Little Things
Tucker being declared as my claimer is no surprise, but I still don’t understand why he would want to. I know we slept together, but he must have done this before that happened.
“I object,” Emmet says as he stands from his chair, and marches up to his father, who doesn’t even try to hide his cold, calculating smile.
“Is that so? On what grounds?”
“I want her,” he says it as if that should be reason enough and I hold myself still, praying that Sir won’t listen to his obnoxious brat of a son.
“We all want something in this world, it doesn’t mean we get it.” Anger laces his tone, and I doubt even a bonfire can thaw the ice within me.
“I am your heir, so the list shouldn’t matter. Fuck the rules and protocol, and let me have her.” He sounds desperate.
“So childish. It’s a good thing I have no intentions of handing the keys to my empire over to you just yet. So no, I think I will make this a lesson for you, get used to disappointment. Emmet. I will enforce the rules and you will stand down before I put you down.” Emmet trembles with what I can only assume is unspent rage, and a few moments pass where I worry what he’ll do.
I needn’t have though, as he turns around and storms back to his seat. He picks it up and throws it across the stage, roars out his anger, and then walks away. Not caring what his father thinks of his outburst, he is only thinking about himself.
“This assembly is over, curfew is now seven pm, do not leave your room beyond this time, or you will be evicted from the premise with immediate effect.” He gives me a long, lingering look before he walks off the stage and follows the direction his son took. Oh, to be a fly on that wall.
“Come on, we’ll go back to your room,” Tucker says, placing his hand on the small of my back and leading me away.
I’m not going to protest, the sooner I’m away from everyone else the better. Something stops me from voicing this out loud, instead I lose myself in the silence, the feel of his hand as we make it to my room, and he closes the door behind him. I sink down on my sofa, pull my shoes off, and stare at the blank wall in front of me, which is positioned away from the TV.
He sits down beside me, pulls his phone out, and stares intently at it. His free hand traces lazy circles on my knee before he reaches for my legs, places my feet on his lap, and I lie my head against the arm of the sofa.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He puts his phone back in his pocket and stares at me.
“Not really. Although, I would love to know why your name was on the list?” I say, my voice heavy with the tiredness that I feel everywhere.
“A part of it was to fuck with Emmet. It’s about time he was taken down a notch or two, but mostly, it’s because I have this strange feeling I might like you. It doesn’t happen often, and I wanted to explore it, find out what it could mean.” He sounds wistful, but I could be wrong. My head isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders right now.
“I’m not sure what to do with that, honestly. Doesn’t it bother you that Tom and I…” I don’t know how to finish that sentence.
“I’m not sure how I feel. Although, I’m glad I wasn’t your first. I don’t know how to be gentle and I can be intense, yet another reason I didn’t pursue you too much. Besides, as you can tell, I say what I think. If I offend you, I won’t care. People don’t tend to like that, and I haven’t got the time to care if I offend their senses, or hurt their feelings. What do you think about that?” He sounds so unaffected. Like my response won’t mean a thing.
“You’ve hurt my feelings plenty of times and I already know you won’t apologize for it, I’ve learnt to adapt. Even though I didn’t want to, I still found myself curious about you, wanting you. It messes with my head, but I won’t lie and pretend it isn’t true. Right now though, I don’t want to be touched. I know I’m yours now, and I’m sorry you’ve claimed a dud.” A mirthless laugh escapes me, but he doesn’t join in with the laughter.
“You can stop it right now with that bullshit. I’m an insensitive bastard but I’m not completely heartless. I don’t do things by half and I can tell you here and now, while you’re mine, you will be the only girl I will be touching. Just let me know when you’re ready, now be quiet and let’s watch Netflix.”