“Could you blame me? Zadyn, I know my worth. But you and my brothers…you’ve never treated me as an equal. I’m just another female to you. And after we got together, it felt like my value just dropped in your eyes. You could barely look at me.”
Guilt churns in my gut. “I never realized we were doing that, leaving you behind…or that it hurt you.”
“Why would you? You only really paid attention when I spread my legs.” She gives me a sad, stinging smile, and a wave of shame washes over me.
“I’m not proud of the way I acted back then.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not keeping me up at night. Not anymore.” She sighs, staring out at the falling snow. “She seems…interesting.”
I laugh, pushing my hair back. “You want to talk about her?” She shrugs, indifferent. “Interesting?”
“What?”
“I know what that means.”
“It means she seems interesting.” Alix shifts her weight, meeting my gaze again. “I just find it ironic.”
“What?”
“You clearly have a type. Headstrong women who could probably kick your ass. Definitely, in my case.”
I chuckle, glancing down at the floor. “Definitely in your case.”
“Does she know how you feel?”
I shake my head. Alix looks sympathetic for a moment—a rare break from the fierce, slightly pinched expression she often wears. She reaches out to brace my shoulder as she says, “Don’t make the same mistakes over and over, Zadyn. Use your words. And speak the hell up.”
When morning comes,I place a hand on Serena’s shoulder, giving her a gentle nudge. Her skin is hot to the touch. She stretches, her chest straining against the smooth silk slip, sending a flood of desire through me.
“Hi.” She yawns, looking at me with those starry eyes. “Did you sleep last night? You have bags under your eyes.”
“No, not really,” I admit with a rueful smile.
“Oh, no.” Her face falls. “Was I sleep talking? I’m sorry, usually I don’t?—”
“You weren’t…talking, per se.” I press my lips together.
She tilts her head. “What are you not saying right now?”
“Well”—I push my hair back and try to stumble forward—“you were dreaming…and you started to…”
She waitsfor me to spit it out.
“You were…having a sex dream. I think.”
She jolts upright, clapping a hand over her mouth.
“Oh my god!” A blush creeps over her cheeks and chest. She gets to her knees, shaking her hands with splayed fingers. “Oh my god! What did I do?! What did I say?”
“You didn’t really say anything, you were just…making noise.”
“Stop, I don’t want to know!”
I reach out to pry her hands from her face. “It’s okay, it happens!”
“Why didn’t you wake me?!” Snatching a pillow off the bed, she whacks me on the arm. I laugh, unable to help myself.
“I thought it would be rude to interrupt.”
