“Though speaking of affairs, I heard Marlin Seaborn was seen outside Hollow House last night. The same night a massacre ledto nearly a dozen guards being slain in the Andreas Morgue.” Her eyes dance towards mine, “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“Sounds like the act of a madman.”
“Mm, a madman who came from across the sea. The thief was also spotted that night, although recounts on his disposition vary from person to person.” Her tongue clicks playfully against her teeth, “A charming man who wears the badge of an animal. Sounds like someone else I know.”
“How fascinating.”
“Oh, don’t be coy with me, Calista.” Tahira glances at me over her shoulder, “You fucked him, didn’t you?”
I stare back at her, seeing the easy demeanour we’ve always carried towards these encounters. The tales we exchange of men who fall short of our satisfaction only to use it as foreplay for our own.
“I’ve heard he’s covered in tattoos. Has the bad boy aura down to an art with an accent to match.” Her smile widens with the lift of her brow, “And his hair is supposedly darker than mine. Checking nearly every one of your boxes.”
My eyes flit to the material held between her fingers, the strands of black fabric I’ve always thought pair well with my soul.
“Not a fan of those, either.”
Tahira lets them fall to the floor. Impossibly expensive gowns wrinkling in their prone position as she walks towards the bed.
“It’s not like you to take a man to bed without me.”
Her weight indents the mattress, pushing my body toward hers. I watch her crawl towards me with a knowing smile, the confidence of a woman who knows what she wants and knows how to get it.
Long waves of thick brown hair ripple past flawless skin, a deep chocolate colour that pairs immaculately with the ruby sparkling from her belly button. Her dark eyes meet mine, lips curled up in a seductive smile as she slithers her way up my body.
“Did you have fun without me? Take some notes on men’s many failures?”
Her breath fans out across my lips, warm and so familiar it feels wrong in all the worst ways.
“You can tell me, baby. I’ll make it up to you.”
Tahira leans in for a kiss, her dark eyes not dark enough for me anymore.
“No.”
Her lips land on my cheek and her body stills.
Pauses, recalibrates until the stiffness in my body and the sharp turn of my head clues her in.
“No?”
“I can’t... this thing between us. It’s always been a distraction.” Breathing out, I slowly turn my head to find her studying me, “And I’m afraid that distraction has come to an end.”
No tears fill her eyes just as no tears fill mine.
“I see.”
The weight of her stare sits on me, pushing hard on my chest until something close to a heartbeat pushes through.
“It’s time for us to move on. To embrace the future we’ve been putting off.”
“Things have changed since I’ve been gone.” She tilts her head, listening to the heart we both thought was lost forever, “Calista Drache falling for a man, of all people.”
“He’s not just a man.” Defensiveness sharpens my tone, “He’s loyal and protective. The kind of person who would fly across the world to secure a brighter future for his family.”
“Oh, you don’t need to convince me.” Amusement tilts the corners of her lips, “He must be something special for you to even think about leaving this palace with one less lover in your back pocket.”
“He’s...”everything,“someone who knows what’s worth fighting for.”
