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Gathering together some of the papers on his desk, Cain looked up as a knock came at the ledger room door. “Yes?”
Maxim stepped into the room. “You have a visitor, Sire. It’s Ishtar.”
Cain felt his brow furrow. “And she hasn’t barged her way inside?”
“No, she easily agreed to wait for an invitation from you.”
“That makes me feel nothing but suspicious.”
Maxim gave him a “same here” look. “Perhaps the recent punishment you administered worked better than anyone could have hoped.”
“Perhaps.” Stranger things had happened than Ishtar choosing to toe the line. “Escort her inside.”
Maxim nodded and then left.
Cain tucked away his papers in the drawer of his desk, out of sight. Call him paranoid, but he trusted very few people with his private business. Ishtar wasn’t one of them.
Soon, Maxim returned and waved Ishtar into the room. She elegantly strolled inside, her expression soft and uncharacteristically warm.
Cain’s skin prickled with unease, and his creature eyed her with both suspicion and distaste.
Maxim left just as she very gracefully lowered herself on the seat that was situated on the other side of Cain’s desk.
He sank back in his chair. “What brings you here?”
“I have not come to gloat, if that is what you are thinking.”
He double-blinked. “Gloat?”
“I’m not that much of a bitch. Okay, perhaps I am. But I am not so cruel that I would take any pleasure in what transpired last night.”
Utterly lost, he merely stared at her.
“I realize that you are hardly likely to confide in me. But I want you to know that I am here for you if you need someone to talk to.” She crossed one leg over the other. “I am of course still infuriated about what happened to my chamber but, as Inanna pointed out, I have punished people in worse ways throughout the millennia. I will not hold it against you.”
Still the height of confused, Cain folded his arms and asked, “What is it you believe I’d wish to confide in someone about?”
A line dented her brow. “Either you are being deliberately obtuse or you are not quite as touched by the matter as I’d thought you might be. I can well imagine that it is the latter. In my view, the situation should not have any power over your emotions. She’s only a mortal, after all. But you did seem quite attached to her.”
“You’re talking about Wynter?”
“Who else would I be talking about? You have no interest in other female mortals, as far as I know.” Ishtar sniffed. “I hope she was not cruel in her rejection of you. To be fair to her, finding out that the man you are sleeping with is not only a leviathan but the son of Satan would be a hard pill for anyone to swallow. Well, in my opinion, you should treat all of this as a learning experience.”
“A learning experience?”
“Surely this has taught you that it is best to stick to your own kind when it comes to committing to a woman. Using people outside of our species for sex is one thing. Expecting more will always be a mistake.” Ishtar leaned forward and planted a hand on his desk. “As I said, I am here for you. The other Ancients will be also.”
And then he got it. She truly believed that by breaking the news to Wynter, he’d driven his witch away. It hadn’t even occurred to Ishtar that things might have worked out differently. And, despite her claim to the contrary, she was gloating. Not visibly. But he could detect a smug satisfaction beneath the sympathy in her tone.
“No such support will be necessary,” he told her.
She rolled her eyes and sat back. “I had a feeling you would say that. Uh, men. It is not weak to confide in others, Cain.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“Then don’t be so proud and stubborn as to refuse support.”
“This isn’t about pride or stubbornness.”
