For good reason, but alas, we’ll get to that later.
“If she asked you to sleep with her, you’d say yes?” I push.
He spreads his hands. “This is ridiculous, but sure. Why the fuck not? I owe her.”
Hardly a sonnet of devotion, but I’ll take it. The perfect plan in the back of my mind sparkles, and I turn my attention to Leo.
His pose is contemplative as he rests his chin on his steepled fingers. The menacing blades of his cheekbones have become more pronounced with the weight he’s lost, and he definitely hasn’t eaten enough pizza, either. My smile dims. I’ve got to do better at keeping his hopes up. He’s looking a little too much like he’s about to embrace the Dark Side of the Force.
Convincing him is the hardest part of my idea. He doesn’t do relationships or even friendships because of his curse. He’s only here with us because the Arcanaeumwouldn’t let anyone leave until Kyrith woke up, and he’s been doing his best to build those walls of his even higher recently.
“Lambert,” he begins, inthattone. “You know?—”
“You don’t love her,” I tell him, because the alternative could be very, very, bad. “But you’ve slept with girls before.”
“I’ve had temporary contracts with submissives,” he retorts. “Ones with set time limits and boundaries. Nothing longer than a week. No seeing each other afterwards. Kyrith isn’t that kind of woman. Whatever you’re plotting?—”
“Kyrith wouldn’t have to worry about breaking impartiality if all five of us offered her what she wants,” I say. “She’d be safe with us, and we could keep it to ourselves. Carlton wouldn’t have to know. None of the parriarchs would either.”
They all go quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Even the shelves seem to lean forward, crowding us. I don’t think it’s Kyrith, just the Arcanaeum being curious.
“You want to share her?” Jasper blurts, then his face falls. “That wouldnae work… Right?”
“I mean, I was prepared to, anyway,” I reply. “It was pretty obvious you two were an item as well.”
As if in answer, a half-dozen books drop onto the middle of the table, shifting the pizza boxes aside. I barely manage to readA History of Polyandry in Ancient Civilisationsbefore Jasper drags them towards himself.
Eh, he’s welcome to them. If I need to know what they say, I’ll just ask Kyrith. She’s probably read them.
There’s a risk that she won’t like the kinky shit Leo does, but there’s hate-fuck chemistry between her and North, and he definitely doesn’t give submissive vibes either. I’m willing to bet that our Librarian is so eager to experience life that she’ll enjoy having her own variety pack of men.
“You’re forgetting something,” Dakari says. “Her dislike of heirs isn’t just because she wants to stay impartial. Sixparriarchs murdered her. She might want nothing to do with any of us.”
I shrug. “I’m not forcing her into it. I just want to give her the option.”
Leo stands. “Look, this is a waste of bloody time. She won’t go for it.”
“But if she did,” I press. “Would you?”
Leo touches his side subconsciously, and I grimace. He’s thinking of his curse. It must be so tough not knowing what he’ll lose. I wish I could fix it for him. If we’re lucky, Kyrith still might manage it, but she’s understandably distracted now.
“Not if I have to share her with him,” he finally says, with a glare in Dakari’s direction. “Now, I have things to do.”
“Like eat,” I say, passing him one of the few remaining unopened boxes. “And when was the last time you slept, dude?”
For one small, unguarded moment, Leo’s exhaustion shines bright in his cold eyes before he shutters it away. Silently, he accepts the box, swiping napkins from the table as an afterthought.
“You know where to find me,” he mutters, then glances towards Kyrith’s stairs. “You should go check on her. She likes you.”
The moment he’s gone—headed for the Divination Tower, no doubt—I let my grin loose of the stranglehold. Leo is definitely on board. He wouldn’t have suggested checking on her if he weren’t.
“You do realise he just told you ‘no,’ right?” Jasper asks.
“Nah, he didn’t.” I turn my best pleading look at Dakari. “Hey, so I know you don’t trust Ó Rinns, but I promise if you hang out with him, he’s really a good guy.”
The collector leans back, folds his arms, and flicks his dreads out of his face with a small shake of his head. “He hurts her every time he opens his fool mouth.”
Wincing, because yeah, he does have a point there, I go to respond, but Dakari isn’t done. “My answer is no. You’re not forcing her into some convoluted arrangement just so you can add another notch to your bedpost.”
