“You’re supposed to be getting information out of Willow.”
“I got something better.”
“What?”
“Proof of her feelings for you.”
“Jesus Christ.” I roll my eyes. “Get the fuck out of here, Ariel.”
She pouts, but refuses to budge.
Instead, she wraps her hands around my neck and grips me tightly. “The easiest way to make her cooperate with you is by forcing her to accept her feelings for you. I’m just helping to speed that process along.”
“You realize she’s not in here, right?” I ask impatiently.
“No,” she purrs, a glint in her eye. “But she will be.”
She’s getting off on the high of playing puppet master. A trait that Belov has obviously encouraged over the years.
It’s a trait I’m going to have to rein in if she persists.
“I don’t have time for—”
The sound of incoming footsteps cuts me off.
Ariel fixes me with an ‘I told you so’ look and leans in. Her lips are almost touching mine. “Come on,” she wheedles. “Play along with—”
My door flies open.
Willow is standing on the threshold looking furious. She’s dressed simply tonight in jeans and a white sweater. It’s the look that suits her best.
Her eyes narrow in on Ariel straddling me. I wait, wondering what she’s going to do next. But she just stands there, watching the two of us like she’s waiting for something to happen.
“Um, something wrong, Willow?” Ariel asks pointedly. “Because if there’s nothing, we were kinda in the middle of something.”
Willow’s jaw twitches dangerously. Her eyes spark with fire. But nothing escapes her lips. Not even an insult or a curse. Ariel turns to me and shrugs.
“Guess she wants to watch.”
She leans in and starts kissing my neck. I feel nothing at all. The sensation is pleasant, but there’s no desire. I’m just detached.
And then, suddenly, Ariel is yanked off me with a scream.
Willow has Ariel by the hair for a moment before she drops her to the floor. Her eyes rise slowly to mine. I wait for the eruption that will inevitably follow.
But she does nothing.
Her gaze flits from me to Ariel and back again. Then she turns around and runs out of the room. The door slams shut. Silence takes over once again.
Down on the floor, Ariel has a hand on the back of her head. She’s wincing. “I wasn’t sure she had it in her. But at least you have your answer.”
I don’t even spare her a glance as I walk around her and follow Willow out of my office.
“You're welcome!” Ariel calls after me as I go.
In the living room, I realize the front door is open. I stride over and see Willow arguing with two of the guards stationed outside. They’ve clearly blocked her path.
“… Fuck you! Let me pass,” she’s growling. “I’m not trying to escape, you dipshits. I just want some air. Let me fucking pass!”
One of the guards catches my eye. I give him a small nod, and just like that, the two of them part, allowing her to move past them. She goes silent for a moment, but doesn’t question their change of heart.
Maybe that’s because she’s already aware of my presence.
If so, she doesn’t show it. She doesn’t so much as glance backward before she plunges into the dark forest.
I follow behind her at a leisurely pace. I know that Jax and Gaiman are down below, ready to intercept if I lose sight of her. For now, I keep my eyes on her silhouette flitting between the snow-cloaked tree trunks.
She keeps a steady pace on her way down, but she veers right suddenly, walking away from the path.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” I call after her.
She doesn’t turn around or slow down. “Stop following me.”
“Can’t do that. It would be a shame to have you die of frostbite after all the effort I’ve expended.”
“Oh, right,” she yells. “You’re not done using me yet, am I right? Still need me for something else?”
“Your son is the one that needs you.”
We play this game of follow-the-leader for several more minutes before her pace finally starts to slow. When I catch up to her, we’re surrounded by a thick wall of trees now, all of which have been stripped of their leaves and their life.
“You done with your tantrum yet?” I ask her.
She whips around. “Why are you following me?”
“Among other things, I’m trying to make sure you don’t get eaten by a bear,” I tell her.