I shook my head. “No, just appreciate.”
“You seem to be talented at showing that,” they said, a husky note to their voice that sent a shudder through me. Something about Ursuline made me stand up a little straighter, made my whole body hum with attention in a way I hadn’t experienced before. “I don’t mind if you listen.”
I licked my lips, my mouth dry. Their dark eyes zeroed in on the motion, intense and searing. My cock stirred with interest at a look like that.
No one looked at me like that.
Like I was the only thing in existence. I was used to being set aside, invisible, discarded.
However, whenever I was in their presence, they treated me like nothing else mattered. I remained their sole focus, and my chest strained, a desperation to experience more of that broiling inside me.
“Where’s your betrothed?” Ursuline asked, shifting back.
The tension between us snapped, and I ran fingers through my hair. Guilt bubbled through me at the emotions churning inside me, even though Arielle had made it clear she didn’t plan on loyalty from either of us.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “She stopped by to show me around yesterday, but went out after. I haven’t heard from her since.”
Ursuline’s lips thinned. “Frederick’s attempts to rein her in have clearly failed.”
“Is that why he wanted to marry her off?” I asked. So much of this situation was a mystery to me.
“One of the reasons,” Ursuline said, not clarifying. They tilted their head and led me over to one of the plush benches that lined the music room. I took a seat first, and they reclined right next to me, one of their tentacles lingering a mere inch away from my leg. If I shifted the slightest bit, I’d brush right against it, andtension percolated through me, the urge for touch turning into such a roar. “Why did you offer your hand?”
I swallowed hard. The truth or a lie? When I looked up, Ursuline’s stare bored into me, like they’d know if I attempted any falsehoods.
I never liked putting on a mask anyway.
“My father’s good at coercion,” I stated. “I’d planned on escaping. Trying to make a go on my own after he told me I was of no use to the company.” My heart clenched tight at the admission, the shame filtering over me. I didn’t glance up at Ursuline, but I could feel their steady gaze pressing into me, urging me to continue. “He’d somehow found out I was getting lessons from Jason. He threatened him.”
A low growl came from Ursuline’s throat, drawing my attention upward. Their eyes glittered with anger, their jaw clenched. “Despicable.”
I shifted in my seat, their intensity surprising me. Their tentacle brushed against my leg.
Electricity rippled through me at the mere touch, and I had to swallow back my gasp. That simple brush had felt so good I melted, so tempted to move again just to chase the sensation. My loneliness had reached a fever pitch, but even still, I’d fallen into bed with strangers who I had less of a reaction to than a mere touch from Ursuline.
Ursuline studied me with a solemnity that made me shiver.
“What about you?” I asked, needing to distract myself. “How long have you worked for the Triton family?”
“My whole life,” they said, their tone as dark and lacquered as a coffin, as if it contained death and decay inside.
I assumed they meant since they started their work as a lawyer, but something in their tone unsettled me. “Did you live on the surface growing up or in the sea?”
“So curious, sunshine,” they purred. “Do you ask everyone these questions?”
The nickname sent a thrill through me. The intimacy in the way they spoke, like they peeled back my layers with each conversation, had me craving more and more time around them.
I shrugged. “I’ve always been curious.”
“I lived in the sea,” they responded, one of their tentacles curling and brushing my leg again.
This time my breath hitched, a full-body shiver running through me. Their eyes widened but then grew voracious, dark and consuming. Their full, lush lips were pursed in an analyzing, assessing way. When their tentacle slid back against my leg, they rested it there. A sob rose in my throat, one I hadn’t realized bubbled inside me, and I swallowed it back.
I’d been craving touch for so long that this filtered into me like the sunrise after an ageless night.
Ursuline didn’t realize what a gift they offered with such a simple gesture, but I remained still in my seat, not wanting to break this moment.
“Down in one of the settlements near New Atlantis,” Ursuline continued, their voice low and sonorous. “I came from a mining family.”
