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She’s mine now and her lies soothed my guilt over how we ended up in bed together in the first place.
When I lie down to rest my eyes for a few minutes, just to see if sleep might be possible, I’m out in seconds.
I don’t wake until Hermione calls at six a.m. the next morning to tell me she still hasn’t heard back from the scouts and is headed to her apartment to grab a nap before the morning meeting at eight.
I tell her to skip it, rest up, and that I’ll call her if I need her. Then I go to get dressed. By seven, I’m walking down the hallway toward Diana’s apartment, plotting what to say to Willow, grateful I only have a few minutes to spare with her before I need to head downstairs to prep for the meeting.
I’m not ready to be around her for any sustained amount of time just yet.
The betrayal of last night is too fresh and the lure of her body is too strong. I’m going to want to have her again this morning, there’s no doubt in my mind—just thinking about it is enough to make my cock twitch in my pants.
But I’m equally certain she won’t want anything to do with me now that she’s sober and been put in her place.
Again, I hope she’s pregnant already, and that I won’t be forced to drug her again. Or to seduce her. Or to order her to spread her legs and get ready to take my seed, no matter what she thinks or feels about having a child.
I curse beneath my breath and slow my pace down the hall.
There’s nothing sexy about drugging or strong-arming a woman into sleeping with you, but when it comes to Willow my body has a mind of its own. Even imagining her glaring up at me from her sheets, defiantly spreading her thighs, makes me hard.
I drag a hand through my hair with a curse, pausing by one of the modern art pieces hanging on the wall to pull myself together.
I’m still there, only about halfway to regaining control of my cock when Diana calls out from farther down the hall, “Maxim. You’re up early.”
I exhale, relieved to see her.
Nothing like your little sister popping up out of the blue to kill a hard-on.
I turn, frowning as I see her dressed in a red jogging suit with her hair tied up in a ponytail. “Where are you going? I told you, no jogging outside until—”
“Until the world isn’t ending,” Diana finishes with a nod. “I know. I’m going to the gym. Have to stay in shape in case I’m ever allowed to go back to school and field hockey practice, right?”
I sigh, suddenly overcome with empathy for her, my little sister who just wants a normal life. “I’m sorry, Diana. I wish it was safe for you to go to school and out for a run. I wish…” I trail off with a shake of my head. “I wish a lot of things but wishing doesn’t do much good. Hopefully, we’ll have the situation under control before the winter solstice and you can start back to school in-person next semester.”
“It’s fine. Online school is good in some ways. Less homework most days, for sure.” She crosses her arms, her shoulders lifting closer to her ears as she adds, “And I understand wishing things were different. I wish that, too. A lot.” She looks up at me, a very adult look of disappointment on her face. “What if it had been me, Maxim? What if my mate had drugged me and taken advantage of me?”
My throat closes up and my heart skips a beat, but I force out a lie, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do,” she insists softly. “Willow saw you dump her wine over the railing last night after you…did what you did. She’s not stupid, Maxim. She is in fact, very smart. She figured it out right away.”
“She shouldn’t have talked to you about any of that,” I snap. “That’s our private, adult business, and you’re—”
“I’m not a child,” Diana cuts in before I can finish. “I’m eighteen years old. And I know enough about sex to know how hurt and angry and humiliated I’d be if the man I was supposed to marry did to me what you did to Willow.”
“There are things you don’t understand,” I say, ignoring the voice in my head shouting that she’s right.
But Willow lied to me. And not a little lie, either.
“You’re right,” Diana says. “There are so many things I don’t understand. I don’t understand why the entire world is going crazy over this stupid prophecy or why Bane apparently set off a bomb in our tower or what he and Kelley are up to. But you know what I do understand?” She pulls in a breath, holding my gaze as she adds in a soft, merciless voice, “I understand why Bane thinks you’re dangerous. Because I think you’re dangerous, too. And I know what you did to Willow is disgraceful. You should be ashamed of yourself. I sure as hell am.”
“Go to your room,” I say softly, too angry with her and disgusted with myself to think of something better to say. “I don’t have time to explain myself to you right now. I have a pack to protect.”
“Sorry, I can’t go to my room,” she says with a smartass twist of her lips. “Because you kicked me out of my apartment so you could hold your fiancée prisoner there.” She starts around me, her hands lifted at her sides. “But sure, I’ll get out of your hair, big brother. Stay busy and maybe you can avoid thinking about how deeply you fucked up last night.”
“Keep talking to me like that and you’ll be moving back in with Nanny Pat,” I grit out through a clenched jaw. “Children who can’t control their mouths belong in the nursery, under lock and key.”
Diana’s eyes flash with a vengeful stubbornness that’s way too fucking familiar.
I’m pretty sure I saw it in the mirror this morning, in fact.
