Her eyebrows lifted. “Really?” Her gaze flickered over me. “You’ve got big domme energy.”
“Aw. Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Who’s your dominant, then?”
“Phantom.”
She frowned. “Damn. Just when I was starting to like you.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, you know why they call himPhantom, right? Because the second a woman starts to get attached, he…” she fluttered her fingers, “…ghosts.”
“Ghosts?”
“Ghosts. Blocks them. Bans them from the club. He’s really mastered the art of catch and release. His subs never stick around for very long, so we all try not to get too attached.”
Oh. Strange things started clicking into place. I realized, then, why Princess had been so cold to me. She didn’t hate me—she was just actively tryingnotto get invested in Phantom’s latest sub-du-jour.
How many women had flung themselves over his knees only to get burned?
I wasn’t one to slut-shame—I couldn’t give an accurate body count if I tried. But I was also human, and there was a hurtful, nagging sting to the thought that I could be just another submissive in a long line of submissives.
I suddenly felt incredibly stupid with my gift box, wrapped behind the desk.
Here I was, trying to build a connection with a man who just wanted another notch on his whip.
The woman must have noticed my crestfallen look, because she leaned forward and extended her hand. “I’m Jekyll.”
I took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Ophelia.”
Her eyes swept over me. “Do you want to play with us? Seems like a shame to come out and not have fun.” Her fingers dove back into her submissive’s hair. “Zero is great for releasing anger. Sort of like my own personal stress ball. Or stressballs.”
He said nothing, but I could see him give a little shudder as her long nails dragged across his skull.
I gave a polite smile. “I’m sure he is. I’m beat, though. And not in a fun way. I think I’m just going to head out. Nice to meet you two. I’ll…see you around.”
Unless I get blocked first for being too needy.
“I hope so,” Jekyll said, and their eyes followed me on my way out.
I picked up Phantom’s present from Princess and left. My train rolled by, passing just as I made it through the turnstile. It felt like the longest wait of my life for the next one. I got to my apartment and Artemis’s arrow hit me straight through the heart.
Aleena’s stuff had been cleaned out. No more kid toys. No more baby bottles and pictures books. No more my sister, always right there when I needed her. The emptiness was almost debilitating.
I stripped out of my clothes, took down my hair, and pulled on a comfortable robe. I pulled out a bottle of red wine that I’d been letting grow dust since Aleena moved in. I grabbed it by the neck, found a glass, and took them both onto the fire escape with me.
On the fire escape, I could lose myself in the noise of the city. The honk of taxis. A couple screaming at each other. The ding-a-ling of a bike bell.
The city never slept, and thank goddess for that. I was humming with unspent energy. I sipped my wine and, for a minute, let myself quietly flow and ebb with the pulse of the city below.
This is what you do, Ruby,I thought to myself.You get all caught up in a guy who doesn’t want you, and before you know it, you’re getting drunk, alone, on your fire escape.
It didn’t take me long to clear the bottle. In the dark, my phone screen blinked to life.
[Text: Phantom]
shift ran late.
