“Here.”
Carmine blinked her stinging eyes when several small things tumbled into her lap. Her breath whooshed out of her in one massive gust.
It was Atticus’s turn to avert his eyes as he started the vehicle. “I know you probably want better stuff, and you should pick things out yourself, but I figured — Well, I swiped some things I think Adriana— my sister likes. You don’t have to use any of it, but…” He shrugged.
Like it was nothing.
She cradled the things he’d bought her in shaking hands: a silky, cloth-covered hair tie, a tube of cherry flavored lip gloss, and a sparkly, pink-themed quad eyeshadow palette.
Her voice came out as barely more than a whisper when she said, “Will this be added to my debt?”
“Debt?”
“For your help. For everything.” She traced the corner of the palette, her finger shaking. “At the crypt, the debt for our care went into our bride price. If we left, we or our family would have to pay it. Is this like that?”
Atticus’s voice came out like crushed gravel when he answered, “No, Carmine. It’s not like that. This is a gift.”
“Really?”
“Fuckin’ really, doll.” He paused, then added, “There are no debts here. No tallying. No receipts piling up. You don’t owe me shit, no matter what I do or what I spend on you. Got it?”
“Not really. I don’t feel comfortable getting gifts.”
“How about this?” He waited until she met his gaze before offering, “If youwantto make things even, then how about everytime I do something nice, you tell me a little something about you?”
Carmine gave him a look the proposal deserved. “How would that be an even trade?”
“It wouldn’t be.” He gave her a wink. “Trust me, I’m making out like a bandit on the deal.”
She glanced back at her treasures. “Really?”
“Fuckin’ really-really.”
“I… Okay.”
It was hard to see much with her eyes watering so bad, but it was impossible to miss the flash of his grin. She hadn’t seen a lot of them, but she was certain Atticus had the best smile in the world.
“If you want something, you ask for it. Okay? I don’t care if you think it’s silly or a waste of money.” He reached over to give her knee a small, playful nudge. “Let me put that look on your face some more, and let me hear that voice.”
“What look?”
“The happy one.”
Carmine’s heart had lodged itself in her throat, so she couldn’t reply to that even if she knew what to say. Instead, she ducked her head and, gathering her treasures close to her chest, decided,Option B it is.
Chapter Nine
Carminespent most of the next two nights of their long drive contemplating how one went about being defiled. She knew the mechanics. They’d given brides all sorts of lessons about anatomy, reproduction, and sexual health. Spouses paid top dollar for their brides, so that meant they had to arrive fully educated and ready to do their duty.
She learned ways to pleasure a partner, no matter what anatomy they sported, and she understood the intricacies of reproduction. Carmine knew it might take a year or more to become pregnant, since her body needed to acclimate to her groom’s venom first, and that both the process of becoming pregnant and giving birth would be deeply challenging.
She also knew the facts she’d faced on her slab: what a body looked like when it carried a child and when it hadn’t and the various shapes and colors of sexual organs.
But seduction? Enticement? Carmine had no basis for that. It was always a given that she would be the one who endured advances, not the one giving them. She had no idea where to start.
It didn’t help that Atticus was hugely intimidating. There wasn’t a single moment when she wasn’t aware of him. Everyrustle of his clothing, every soft sound, every brush of his fingers — he took up more space in her mind than he did in the RV, which was really saying something.
It didn’t help that she was fairly certain he wasn’t interested in her. That should have been a relief, but for some reason it rankled.Fuck no,he’d said.
