There’s no point in arguing further. She’s not bluffing about making me sleep outside, which might amuse me in different circumstances. Not tonight. Not with everything riding so close to the surface.
I turn to Zuri. “Let’s go.”
She gives Ursa a wounded look but climbs off the bed on clearly shaking legs. I’m moving before I make a decision to do so, closing the distance between us and scooping her into my arms. If she takes a nose dive, it’ll just be more work for me to scrape her off the ground. Or that’s what I tell myself as I walk out of Ursa’s room and down the hall to the spare bedroom that’s been mine the few nights I’ve been able to slip my leash long enough to stay over.
I kick the door shut with my foot, which is right around the time Zuri seems to register that I’m carrying her. She squirms in my arms. “Put me down.”
“Can you stand without falling on your ass?”
She goes rigid. “I never knew you were such a dick.”
I set her carefully on her feet. “You never knew me.” I’m irritated at being banished from Ursa’s bedroom, at being forced into this conversation. The idea of revenge against Triton sounded like a good plan when she first proposed it to me. A way to bring that bastard down a few notches, even if ultimately we have no power in Olympus. It took some doing to be able to meet Zuri “by accident” when Triton would kill me before he’d let me touch one of his precious daughters, but it was all for the sake of revenge and freedom.
That plan feels so distant now with her standing in my room, naked and still flushed from our fucking. She seems to realize it at the same moment and moves to cover herself. “Turn around.”
I burst out laughing. “Zuri, there is nothing that you’re covering that I didn’t have my mouth all over back in Ursa’s room. No point in playing the coy virgin when you aren’t one anymore.”
I don’t even try to dodge her slap. The force of it turns my face to the side and sends pain blossoming over my cheek. It’s nothing more than I deserve for being such a goddamn bastard.
Zuri’s big eyes are furious and filled to the brim with hurt and betrayal. “Don’t act like you took something special from me. It’s just sex, Alaric. Whether it’s my first, hundredth, or thousandth time.” Her lower lip quivers, but she makes an obvious effort to still it. “And when this week is finished, I’m going to fuck as many people as it takes to forget all about you and Ursa.”
Jealousy sinks its barbs into me. It doesn’t matter that I have no right to it, that I want to get rid of her as much as she wants to be rid of me. I take a step forward, a part of me delighting when she stands her ground. She wouldn’t have done it a few months ago. I lean down. “That’s your mistake, Zuri. There is no one better than me and Ursa. You could fuck your way through Carver City, Olympus, and Sabine Valley, and you’d still feel the imprint of us on your skin.”
“Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.” She smooths her hair back, regaining her composure bit by bit despite the fact she’s still standing there completely naked. “I might not be experienced, but even I can tell that your technique could use some work.”
“You weren’t complaining when you were coming all over my cock.”
Her eyes flash. “Because Ursa was touching me.”
A perverse kind of joy fills me. She never would have gone toe to toe with me when she lived in her father’s house. A few days in Carver City and little Zuri thinks she can play with the big dogs. She might even be right.
That’s not going to stop me from putting her in her place right now, tonight. “Tell me your safe word.”
“We’re not doing this.”
I don’t back down. “Your safe word, Zuri.”
She stops short, finally registering that I’m not fucking around. “Hurricane.” A little meekness filters back into her tone, but nowhere near the sweet submission she gave Ursa. I take a step forward, and she stops me with her hand on my chest. “I hate you, Alaric. All the sex in the world isn’t going to cover up the fact that you lied to me and betrayed me and fully intend to ruin my life because of something that has nothing to do with me.”
“You’re right.” I enjoy her shock at my agreement. “But that doesn’t change a damn thing. I want you. So I’m going to take you. Again.”
“Better ask for permission first. You wouldn’t want to be banished to sleep on the balcony like a dog.” The venom in her tone only delights me more. She didn’t show Ursa a damn bit of this steel, but she’s giving it to me. It doesn’t matter that it’s because she loathes me. I like it. Fuck, it makes the sparks between us burn hotter.
I lean down until my lips nearly brush her ear. “There are a thousand things I could do to you tonight that don’t involve you on my cock.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Liar.” I skate my hand down the center of her chest, over her stomach, to cup her pussy. She hisses out a breath at the touch, and her hands come to rest on my biceps. I explore her gently, tauntingly. “You feel awful wet for someone not interested.”
“Maybe I’m thinking of her.”
Ursa is magic, and if it’s the magic that comes with sacrifice and shadows, it’s all the more addictive because of it. That said, I can’t stop the jealousy that makes me want to shove Zuri’s desire in her face and rub her nose in it. She might be caught in Ursa’s spell, but before she met the Sea Witch, Zuri was mine.
I crowd her back toward the bed. Where Ursa’s bedroom reminds me of the dark depths of the sea, this is a lighter room, leaning more toward grays and tonal blues that make me think of a storm coming in. It’s not here yet, but soon.
Or maybe the storm is inside me. Some days it feels that way, wind and rain and thunder violent enough to shake my very bones. It’s always been like this. Nothing is enough. There’s always something just beyond my reach that I want, regardless of whether I deserve it or not. The only time I don’t feel that devastating hunger is when I’m fucking, or when I’m kneeling at Ursa’s feet.
One of those options isn’t available to me tonight. The other will have to do.
I give Zuri’s pussy a light squeeze. “Get on the bed and spread your legs.”
She glares like she might challenge me, but I keep stroking her until that delicate little whimper slips free. No matter what Zuri thinks of me, she’s getting a taste of what true pleasure at another’s hands—at my hands—can feel like. She’s got a bit of a little slut in her, because she shoves off my chest and climbs onto the bed and does as I command, spreading her legs. “I’m going to think of her.”
Her words spur me forward, following her onto the mattress and gripping her thighs, spreading her wider yet. “No, you’re not.”
Zuri lifts her arms over her head, baring her body to me completely. Does she understand how sexy she looks right now? How sweet this tiny vulnerability is? It means she trusts me, at least a little, no matter how much she hates me at the moment. No matter how hedonistic she’s turning out to be, Zuri isn’t a complete fool. She wouldn’t put herself in danger for the sake of orgasms.
Except that’s exactly what she’s doing right now.
I coast my hands up her thighs until my thumbs brush her pussy. I part her. “You’re a silly girl for agreeing to this. You came to this penthouse and we can do anything we want to you. I can do anything I want to you.”
“I have my safe word.”
“Mmm.” I brush her clit. “And you’re trusting us to respect it. Some would say that just proves what a fool you are.”
She props herself up on her elbows and gives me a long look. “Do you know that Hades is the one who will enforce the contract?”
That makes sense. I can see where she’s going with this, but I’m too stubborn to admit it. “Is that supposed to mean something?”
“If the deal isn’t honored, it will be a violation of the contract both Ursa and I signed.” Her eyes are a little hazy with pleasure from my touching her, but her voice is clear. “The penalty for break
ing the contract is harsh, Alaric. If Hades turns against Ursa, there’s a good chance the rest of the territory leaders will as well, if only to stay on his good side. So, you see, I am protected. You’d know that if you read a contract in your life instead of jumping into deals recklessly.”
I should stop this, should slow us down. She just had sex for the first time in a situation that is hardly ideal for emotional stability. But, damn it, I can’t help stepping to the line she’s drawn in the sand. “Now we’re going to throw stones, Zuri? Don’t act like you had a plan when you came here.” I press two fingers into her.
She makes that delicious whimpering sound, but she’s still glaring at me. “You don’t get to be mad. You got what you wanted. So climb down off that high horse, Alaric. It’s not a good look for you.”
I shift forward, bracing myself over her shoulder with my free hand as I continue the slow fucking with my fingers. “You like the way I look.”
“A pretty face…” Her breath gets a little choppy. “It doesn’t mean anything. I don’t know you. I thought I did, but I was wrong.” Abruptly, she shoves at my chest. “I can’t do this. Not like this.”
“Zuri—”
“Hurricane.”
The word falls between us like the calm before a storm. I stare down at her, my exhale damn near a gasp. When did I start breathing hard? “You just safed out.”
Zuri inches away from me slowly, like she’s not sure I’ll really stop. That, more than anything, sends reality slamming into me. I told her I could do anything to her, and now she’s not sure what to believe. I am an unbelievable asshole.
I move back, giving her space. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not. Stop lying to me.” She only stops putting distance between us when her back presses to the headboard. “Please leave.”
“Zuri—”
“You don’t get to call me that anymore! Only my friends call me that.” A tear trails down her pretty face, that single piece of evidence of her hurt striking me more than her slap did earlier. “Please leave.”
She won’t accept aftercare from me, and I have no one to blame but myself. Ursa paved the way for us to figure out shit out. Except… Maybe she knew it would end like this, a chasm opening up between us that is destined never to be crossed. Ursa doesn’t like loose ends, and my conflicted feelings for Zuri are exactly that. It would be just like her to ensure that there’s nothing left unsaid between us, no matter how venomous the words.
That blasted guilt pricks me again, except it doesn’t feel like a vague pain. It feels like it has me by the throat. I swallow hard, but it does nothing to dispel the sensation of having my airway closed off. I always fuck up the things that matter. I just didn’t realize Zuri might number among them until this moment.
And now it’s too late.
Chapter 13
Ursa
It takes all of thirty minutes for Alaric to return to my room, slouching through the door like a whipped dog. He hesitates, his gaze firmly on the wood floor. “She kicked me out.”
I almost laugh at how perfectly these two are playing to my tune. It’s really too simple. I wind them up and set them on a collision course and they are only too happy to perform to expectation. “I gave you an order, lover.”
His brows lower, the first indication that I’m pushing him past the point of caution. “We need to talk.”
He’s not wrong, but talking can wait until Zurielle is no longer in my home. We’ve waited this long; waiting a week more requires a pittance of patience. That’s logical. It’s not procrastinating a hard conversation. I simply…
I fight back a sigh. It doesn’t matter what my motivations for holding things off is. Right now I have an angry Alaric in my room and he’s not going anywhere, regardless of my commands. The man might be submissive in most of his interactions with me, but one glance at the stubborn expression on his face tells me everything I need to know.
If I try to send him away again, he’ll dig in his heels and we’ll have a fight on our hands.
He stalks toward me. He takes in my wardrobe change with a sweep of his gaze, lingering on the deep V of my robe before he finally lands on my face. “We need to talk,” Alaric repeats.
I’m not ready. I don’t have the framework for this conversation laid out. For the first time in a very long time, I am not sure what he’s going to say. “Talk.”
“What happens now?”
I raise an eyebrow, striving to keep my faintly amused mask in place. “Now we spend the next seven days fucking Zurielle.”
His jaw tightens. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Isn’t it?” I step closer. “Are you looking for permission or forgiveness? If you want the former, you have it. The latter, you might as well seek out a priest.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It’s exactly that simple.” I’m already tired of this conversation. Alaric is beautiful and savage beneath his polished exterior, but he’s nowhere near cold enough to survive this world without someone watching over him. He’s so incredibly lucky that Hades offered him a bargain—and subsequently the Underworld became his caretaker for the last few years. The guilt he’s carting around over allowing Zurielle to walk into this situation of her own will is ridiculous.
Unless…
I tilt my head to the side, considering him. “Did you start to believe the lie, lover?”
“What?” He closes down his expression, which is a tell all its own.
I run my hands up his bare chest. “You spent several weeks in Olympus playing Romeo to her Juliet. Did you start to see a different version of yourself reflected in the stars in her eyes?” I reach his shoulders and skate my nails down his arms. “One where you really are Prince Charming, or at least a knight in shining armor? One where you have honor?”
Alaric drops his gaze. “I know better.”
“Yes, you do.” I lace my fingers through his long enough to give his hands a squeeze and then force myself step back. No matter what else I am, I’m not in the business of tying people to me who don’t want to be here. Not in any kind of long-term way. Better that he leaves now and makes a clean break for both of us. “If you don’t have the stomach for this, leave. It was meant to be a reward after months of hard work, but I’m hardly going to force you to fuck the girl.”
“Ursa, that’s not what I meant.”
This time, I can’t stop my sigh. Alaric is wonderful. Truly, he is. But sometimes I am so godsdamn tired of having to play the dominant party so he can dodge his guilt. Up until this point, he’s been a fun partner, but this hesitance just proves what I already suspected. I can’t trust him enough to lean on him. My frustration gets the best of me and adds some ire to my tone. “Then what did you mean?”
“I just…” He hesitates. “I need you to help me stop thinking.”
I try not to resent him for not asking what I need. I’m the one who’s established the rules in this relationship, and expecting him to guess what I can’t quite make myself put into words isn’t fair. Then again, I’m not feeling particularly fair right now. He wants to be punished? Fine. “Kneel.”
His mouth goes flat. “That’s not—”
“Get on your knees, Alaric.” I inject enough bite into my tone to make him respond instinctively. He kneels in a smooth move, and he’s glaring at the floor because he knows better than to glare at me. I sift my fingers through his dark hair. “You came to me to meet your needs.”
“I came to you hoping I could convince you to let me stay the night in your bed.”
“No.” My bed is fine for fucking, but it’s my sanctuary at night, a place I can let down my walls completely and rest a little bit before I have to don my armor and go back out into the world. If he stays, there will be no rest, not when he’s too focused on his internal conflict to worry about my needs. “You are going back into that room tonight. Would you like a beating or a fucking before you do?”
He tenses and then relaxes on his exhale.
“A beating.”
I suspected as much. “Tell me your safe word.”
“Mermaid.”
I am tired and irritated, but I push it away. I knew Alaric would let his guilt get the best of him. I didn’t think it’d happen quite so fast, but one learns to adapt when they’re in a position of power. A good beating will purge some of the messier emotions he’s nursing, at least for now. “Stand at the foot of the bed. You know your place.”
He rises gracefully and moves to one of the columns of the four-poster bed. The strap is artfully concealed within the fabric there, but Alaric and I have done this before. He frees it and loops it around his hands. It’s capable of tightening enough to bind, but he’s choosing this, and if I allow him some fantasies, this isn’t one. He’s choosing this. Choosing me.
I walk to the cabinet next to my armoire and pick through the options there. Crops and a wide range of floggers and even a whip, though I don’t use the latter often. It’s dramatic and really gets a point across, but not practical for regular use. I finally settle on one of my favorite floggers, a heavy leather one that will bruise him, but won’t cut his pretty skin.
One heavy enough to tire me out so that I can get some sleep tonight.
I walk back toward Alaric, enjoying the way he looks standing naked by my bed. I take my time studying the way his broad shoulders create a V down to his ass. He’s not huge, but he spends a lot of time on his body and it shows.
I swing the flogger, warming up my arm and shoulder. It takes effort and practice to become as good as I am—not to mention a whole lot of stamina. I’ll never admit as much, but I’ve had to work on my upper body strength since I started playing with Alaric regularly. He can take a much longer and harsher beating than someone like Aurora can, though she’s a little pain slut, too.
I beat Alaric until my entire arm and shoulder are on fire and his pale skin is a dark pink that promises he’ll wear my marks by morning. Until he’s leaning against the column for support and his body is loose and pliant. Until I’ve beaten all the guilt right out of him, at least for now. Until I’m so tired, I’m practically weaving on my feet.
The Sea Witch: A Wicked Villains Novel Page 10