CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
kaius
Redand black streamers swooped down from the rafters of the Queen’s Table, twisting together in a display that looked almost too cheerful for a place that thrived on shadows and blood deals. Confetti-filled balloons littered the floor, popping under boots as people moved through the space, making it damn near impossible to walk without slipping on glitter.
It was over the top, but that was Acelynn. She’d insisted on throwing a welcome home party for Astoria after the hospital finally let her out. A week, they kept her. Too long if you asked me, but even longer if you asked Nolan. He’d practically been glued to her side, looking like hell every time I saw him.
Acelynn was still carrying the weight of guilt for what happened, still replaying the moment she’d dosed herself to keep Logan and Alec from snapping Astoria’s fingers one by one. My sister had told her a hundred times that she was forgiven, but guilt was a tricky thing. It clung, even when no one else blamedher. Even when my sister should be the one groveling at her feet for all the insanity she had put Acelynn through the past few months.
“Kai.” Acelynn’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I looked up to see her balanced on the bar in a short black dress that barely covered her ass. Every time she reached higher to tape another set of streamers, the skirt rode up, giving me a perfect view of the red lace underneath. I hummed low in my throat, dragging my eyes up to meet her bright blue ones.
“Can you grab me another roll of tape from the office?” she asked, trying to look innocent but knowing damn well what she was doing to me.
“I’ve got a better idea,” I said, stepping forward.
I caught her hand and pulled gently, guiding her to sit on the bar. Her legs parted instinctively, and I moved between them, pressing my mouth to hers in a kiss that started soft but could’ve easily become more if I let it. She leaned into me eagerly, lips chasing mine, but I pulled back just enough to let my mouth trail down her neck. She groaned out my name, her small hands pressing against my chest in a weak attempt to push me away.
“Kaius…” she breathed, voice breaking into a whine when I nipped at her throat. Finally, she shoved me back with more force, pointing toward the office with a narrowed glare that didn’t fool me for a second. “Tape. Now.”
I lifted my hands in mock surrender, smirking. “Okay, okay.”
Her exasperated smile followed me as I slipped into the office. I’d barely gotten my hands on the roll of tape before I heard the creak of the front door and a voice I hadn’t realized I’d missed until it echoed through the bar.
For a week, the Queen’s Table had felt like a body without a heartbeat. Now, hearing Astoria’s voice float through the place again made the bar stir back to life. I stepped out of the office, leaning against the hallway entrance to watch her.
She looked fragile, too pale, and way too thin, but she wore her mask well. Nolan hovered close, every inch the loyal shadow. And Acelynn…my kitten practically launched herself into Astoria’s arms, hugging her like she was welcoming a sister of her own. I don’t know how she was able to forgive her so easily. Truth be told, I was having a hard time getting past my anger with my little sister.
Astoria smiled, returned the hug, and for a moment, anyone watching would’ve thought everything between us was healed. That was the point. But I knew better. Astoria and I weren’t on the same page, not yet, not after everything. We were still fractured, still keeping our distance in ways no one else would notice unless they looked too closely. For now, though, we’d play the game. Smile for the regulars at the bar and pretend the cracks didn’t exist.
Just as we always had in times like these. If the club saw the divide between us, they would begin to talk, and I couldn’t have them choosing sides when we still had Logan ready to retaliate at any moment.
Acelynn’s eyes met mine over Astoria’s shoulder. A small smile tugged at her lips, one that steadied something in me. No matter what name she kept—Acelynn Thorton, Emersyn Spade, or anything in between—she was home. Mine. And I’d burn this bar, this city, and every last one of my enemies to keep her safe in the chaos that came with being tied to me.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
acelynn
The soft clinkof pool balls filled the room as I lined up my shot against Kaius. I wasn’t half bad, even if I’d sworn up and down that I’d never played before. Maybe it was luck, or maybe it was the fact that his eyes on me made me want to show off. Everyone else had either gone home or retired to bed hours ago after the party for Astoria, leaving just the two of us in the quiet glow of the bar.
I heard his pool stick settle against the table and felt him come up behind me, his presence a warmth I’d come to crave. Without hesitation, I leaned back into him, resting my head on his shoulder. The faint scent of smoke and leather clung to his shirt, grounding me. His lips pressed to the crown of my head, soft and unhurried.
“I love you,” I whispered, and I meant it with every shattered, jagged piece of me. He smiled into my hair, and though he didn’t say the words back, I could feel it. It was in every time hetouched me, every time he looked at me like I was both a sin and salvation.
I, Acelynn Thorton, loved Kaius Mordred. The thought still startled me sometimes. But the name Emersyn Spade still carried Alec’s shadow, Logan’s cruelty, all the fractures of a family that had tried to own me, break me, bury me alive in blood and obligation. And yet here I was, whispering love into the darkness with the man who should have been my ruin.
Maybe I should shed that name already, let it die with the people who’d carved scars into me. But changing it felt like surrendering a war I hadn’t finished fighting. Spade was a curse, but it was also proof I’d survived. Still, when I thought of the future, I couldn’t help but wonder…would I keep carrying it like chains if I chose to revert back to it, or would I take the alias I had used to hide behind for so many months and finally let myself be remade fully?
I turned in his arms, letting my back rest against the pool table. He caged me in with his hands, bracing them on either side of me, that small smirk tugging at my lips before I even spoke. “I think I would like to pick up where we left off earlier.”
His answering growl was pure sex. “I would very much like that as well, kitten.”
In one smooth motion, he lifted me onto the table. This time, I didn’t resist when he stepped between my legs. His fingers ghosted up my thighs, goose bumps breaking across my skin at the slow, deliberate trail he left. I shivered, knowing exactly where this was going, my breath catching as his hands slid beneath my dress.
When his fingers hooked into the sides of my red lace panties, the same ones I knew he’d been eyeing all afternoon, I didn’t hesitate. I lifted my hips for him, watching as he stripped them from me with deliberate slowness. My heart pounded when he placed them in his back pocket with a smug little smirk.
Heat bloomed in my cheeks, but before I could protest, his lips crashed against mine. The kiss began soft, coaxing, but quickly turned demanding. His mouth claimed mine with a dominance that left no room for me to pretend I wasn’t his for the taking. Our tongues tangled, my attempt to take control swallowed by the inevitability that Kaius never yielded. A sharp bite to my bottom lip sent a cry spilling into his mouth. My body arched into him, the friction between us a torture in itself.
