When Aaron turned back to the table, his voice was still that deadly calm. “I’m not happy about this, old friend.”
“I know.”
“She’s my daughter. I trusted you to look out for her, not seduce her.”
“I understand why you feel that way,” Zander said, refusing to apologize for something he didn’t regret.
“You’re way too old for her,” Aaron continued. “The power imbalance alone—”
“I’m not some fragile human who needs protection from the big bad vampire,” Emerald interrupted. “I’m a dragon shifter. I’ll live as long as Zander will, maybe longer. And I’m not stupid. I know what I’m getting into.”
Sophia shook her head, but when she spoke again, her voice was softer. “You look happy, and your energy is healthier than I’ve seen it in years. I’m trying to hate this, but…” She glanced at Spencer, then Zander. “If either of you hurt her, I will make you suffer in ways you cannot imagine.”
“Understood,” Zander said, a little shocked that she was giving somewhat of a blessing.
Spencer smiled, “I’d expect nothing less of the Swan Queen I know you to be. I adore your daughter, and it’s my job to support her emotionally, as her submissive. Only Zander knows me better than you.”
She nodded, her eyes a little sad. “You needed a friend, and I’ve always respected your strength. It feels wrong, that you knew her as a child, and now you’re…” She blew out a breath. “Neither of you would be who I would choose for my daughter, but all the protests I have…”
She glanced at Aaron and back to Spencer. “I can hear my father saying the same thing about Aaron, and we all know how that worked out for him.” She looked at Emmy. “So I will support you as best I can, so long as I feel this is a positive situation for you.”
The waitress reappeared. “Ready now?”
“I’ll have the lamb,” Aaron said, his eyes never leaving Zander’s face.
Chapter 14
Emmy ordered the lamb and said she wanted the same wine Zander ordered, her mind numb.
Her mother accepted it.
She wasn’t at all certain her father had, but she figured her mother had telepathed something to him to make him not kill Zander just yet.
Emmy knew the story of how her parents got together. Her mom had told her a sanitized version, but Emmy had gotten the story from her Aunt Kirsten, and then later, from both Mab and Titania, so she figured she had the gist of it.
Though she’d just as soon not have heard the details of them having to fuck in front of an audience to legally cement the marriage ties in Faerie. One must be careful when asking Mab to gossip unless you truly wish to hearallthe scandalous details.
But her mother made an excellent point. She’d been young and naïve, while Emmy’s father had been ancient, and had apparently fucked most every royal in Faerie over his long life.
People say you choose a mate like your father, and the idea she’d done so was more than a little creepy.
The wine arrived, and Emmy took a healthy swallow. Zander always chose well — layered and structured, with a deep purple grape richness wrapped in darker, more thoughtful notes that stayed with her long after she swallowed.
“So,” her father said, his voice carefully neutral, “it appears you’ve been staying out of trouble.”
Emmy carefully set her wine glass down. “Define trouble.”
Sophia smiled. “You haven’t been kicked out of college or arrested.”
“That’s a low bar,” Emmy said, then shrugged. “I had a DP threesome with two star hockey players before I left Anchorage, right after a really big game, but Ididmake sure we were behind a locked door. So yeah, no reason to arrest me or kick me out of school.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Spence cleared his throat. “Emmy’s been doing really well in her classes,” he said smoothly, redirecting. “All A’s so far, and her professors are impressed with her work ethic.”
“Thank you, Spencer,” Zander said from beside her. “Yes, she is indeed doing well, and often works eight to ten hoursper day on her thesis. We have to bring her food or I believe she might forget to eat, when she’s fully engrossed.”
Emmy’s mother’s smile was frozen on. Her father’s expression hadn’t changed, but there was something in his eyes that might have been amusement. Or horror. Possibly both. He’d fucked his way through Faerie, though, so he couldn’t very well say anything about Emmy fucking whoever she wanted.
