“Glorified incubator?” Autumn’s face crumples into twisted horror. “Being the Princess is an honor. You still don’t get it, do you?” When all she gets in response is my dull stare, she explains, “I would have been taken care of for life. My child would have been the equivalent of royalty. We would have been set, Lady. Do you know how many mothers out there would love to be in that position? To give their child the best life possible? To give them legacy and pride and a place in this world?”
It’s an uncomfortable parallel to my mother, which is the only reason I say, “I think a child should be allowed to choose their own place in the world. That just sounds like a lot of expectations a baby never asked for.”
All the wistfulness, the sorrow and pain, flickers right from her eyes. It’s replaced with something stony and cold, and I know before she even opens her mouth that she means to cut. “What would you know about it?” she sneers, snatching a box of panty liners from the shelf. “All your Lords want to do is to possess. Land, territory,” she looks me up and down, scoffing at my beat up sneakers, “low-rent pussy with trashy trimmings. The complete lack of future those three thugs would give to you isn’t even worth the price of admission. At least my Princes wanted something more from me than a few minutes on my back.” Raising an eyebrow, she makes her final blow. “Better a glorified incubator than a cheap whore.”
It must be the adrenaline still pumping through me—the click of a switch that’s turned her from innocuous to foe—that drives what I do next. I thrust both hands out, smacking hard into her shoulders. The shove sends her knocking into the shelf at her back, an expression of stunned disbelief frozen on her slack face. “Look here, Autumn.” I step toward her, flicking her chest. “I’m not going to even justify explaining to you what goes on between me and my Lords, but there’s one thing I know for sure. They wouldn’t toss me out on the street like a used piece of trash. Ever.” I can see the hit land and slice right through her fa?ade, her mouth snapping shut. Pleased, I go on, “Do you want to know why? It’s because I’m their Lady. Where the four of us come from, that means something more than using each other to get a little ahead in this world.” Her teeth are clenching now, jaw locked as her eyes flash in anger. “And here’s something else to think about while you’re shoving that cotton up your twat. The new Princess? She’s prettier than you, Autumn. They can’t keep their hands off her. I’m sure there’ll be an announcement soon. Did you know there was a betting pool? Everyone knew you couldn’t pull this off. My Lords cashed in big.” I give her a sharp, nasty smile. “Maybe I’ll have them use it to buy their whore a new pair of shoes.”
Autumn’s face turns red, tears filling her eyes. She looks like I slapped her, which isn’t far off from the truth. The second her lips wobble apart to speak, the silence is broken by the shrill jangle of the bell on the shop door.
Dimitri’s voice calls out, carrying over the aisles, “Story? Where are you?”
“I’m here,” I say, sauntering back. I’d started to the front of the store, but Dimitri finds me first, popping into sight at the end of the aisle. I exhale in relief to see his face, my muscles struggling to unwind as he strolls toward me. It gets a little easier when he immediately drags me into his chest, eyebrows furrowed.
“Something happen?” he asks, lips brushing my forehead.
I shake my head, but then say, “Later, okay?” He searches my eyes, but doesn’t push it, letting me burrow into his warmth. “You were quick.” The brownstone is at least twenty minutes away and I’ve barely been here for five.
“Yeah, I was…”
I look up at the pause, taking in his dark eyes and tousled hair. He’s wearing the leather jacket he’d given to me once, weeks ago, in a dark parking lot on what felt like the edge of the universe. “You stayed close, didn’t you? Because you were paranoid.”
Now, he frames my face in his palms, lip piercings shifting with his slow smile. “You caught me.” Right there, in front of Autumn and all the tampons she’ll be needing, Dimitri leans down to press a soft, lingering kiss to my lips. Against them, he asks, “Ready to go home?”
And I answer.
“Yes.”
14
Tristian
Killian’s arms cross over his chest as he watches me down the shot, forearm muscles bulging. Unlike Rath, Killer’s good at taking care of his body. Honing it. Making it efficient and useful. I used to envy his frame and how his muscles could get so big. Few people are aware of it, but I was a tad scrawny when I first began having growth spurts. I filled in, of course, after many mornings spent going through a trainer-designed body resistance routine. But I’ve long come to terms with the fact I can never be that. Hulking. Looming. Making people twitchy with my mere physical presence. There was a time in our teens when I tried to bench whatever Killer was benching at the time, and it damn near killed me. Gave up on that shit real quick.