“Good riddance then,” he said. “He ran away once, and he’s running away again. You don’t need a guy like that.”
“We should get into the estate,” Seth said, his voice rough. “We’re vulnerable out here.”
Right. The estate. The protections there. The protections Gabriel no longer had. Would it matter to the Frankfords that he’d declared he didn’t stand with me anymore?
Another sob worked its way up from my chest. I let Kyler draw me into the car. Damon scooted in on the other side and looped his arm around mine. Seth got into the driver’s seat. Gabriel had left the key in the ignition.
Seth pulled up to the gate and tapped the control on the dash to open it. I buried my face in Ky’s chest, clutching Damon’s hand tight, as the car eased up the drive and over to the garage.
What if Gabriel was right? Had I gone too far with Master Courtland? With the decisions I’d made before? I’d just wanted to strike back, to hit them where they weren’t expecting it…
To make them pay. Yes. That was part of the impulse too—the impulse I’d given in to, like he’d said.
“We’re still here, angel,” Damon said. “None of us is going anywhere. We’ve been here since the beginning and we’ll be here until the end. You never have to worry about us.”
“That’s right,” Ky said, kissing my forehead. “I know all you want to do is protect us.”
“What if Ididwant to hurt them too?” I said. “Has it bothered you, any of the things I’ve done or said?”
He hesitated—not for long, but for long enough that I wouldn’t have believed him if he’d said no.
“I’ve never seen you this angry before,” he said. “I understand why you are, but that doesn’t mean I like seeing it.”
The engine shut off. Time to get out, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to move. The shock and the loss were still reverberating through me.
“Come here, angel,” Damon said, kicking open the door. “We’re going straight to that bedroom of yours, and you’re going to forget you ever had a fifth consort.”
A pained laugh escaped me, but I followed him. Seth got out, his movements stiff. He exchanged a glance with Damon, and he tipped his head as if in acknowledgment. “I’ve got to get my charger so I’ll have my phone ready if there’s any news about my dad. But I’ll be back soon.”
He went to his truck as Damon and Ky walked with me to the manor. Jin appeared in the living room doorway as we came in.
“What the heck happened out there?” he asked, taking us in.
“We’re not talking about it right now,” Damon said fiercely.
Jin backed up a step, holding up his hands. “Hey, okay. I’ll be here if you need me.”
The thought of telling him about Gabriel made me feel twice as wretched. Tomorrow, I could go to him for comfort too. Today… Today Damon clearly wanted me to himself, and I didn’t have it in me to argue.
Damon led me into the master bedroom. He shot a wary glance at Ky following us in, but Ky raised an eyebrow as if in challenge, and Damon must have decided we didn’t need another fight. He shut the door and locked it. Then he pulled off his protective token and his shirt, revealing ripples of muscle from shoulders to six pack. Something stirred inside me beneath the vicious aching.
“I’m yours,” he said, a slight rasp creeping into his voice. “Do whatever the hell you want with me, Rose. Bring your magic out. Push me around. Test my limits. I’ll take it all. I want you to know there’s nothing you can’t do with me. Nothing you can’t show me.”
Just for an instant, desire flared over the hurt. Yes. I wanted to push him, to hold him like I hadn’t let myself hold Gabriel. To let out all that power that had been crying out for me to stop my consort from walking away.
I swiveled my wrist, splaying my fingers with a pulse of my spark, and my magic shoved Damon toward the bed. He caught his balance and grinned, so eagerly any guilt I might have felt about manhandling him melted away. The sense of control leached away at the pain coursing through me.
With another twitch of my fingers, I opened his belt and his jeans at the same time. The second he’d kicked them off, I shoved him again, hard enough to toss him right onto the bed. He landed on the mattress with a chuckle.
“Come and get me.”
Oh, fuck, yes, I was going to. I marched up to him and climbed up, straddling his hips. Then I stopped, looking down at him. My breath came in ragged bursts. Damon gazed up at me with those dark blue eyes, like he could see right inside me. But even I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted here.
Hands came to rest on my sides. Kyler’s. He hitched up my dress to my waist and paused there. I nodded, raising my arms, and he tugged it off me.
“I’m here for you too,” he said, soft but sure. “Always. Whatever you need.”
A shiver ran through me. “Touch me,” I said. “Push me. Make me forget. Just for now. Make mefeelsomething that doesn’t hurt.”