Hand tightening around his empty glass, he asked, visibly appalled, ‘Is that girl a sex addict? Because I really fucking think so.’
How his pride would take such a hit, I didn’t know. ‘I don’t think so. She’s trying to get under our skin so we kick her out.’
‘The only reason I haven’t already is because of you,’ he raged, pointing a finger at me.
‘Obviously,’ I sighed, sitting in front of him. The conversation was getting nowhere, but I had nothing better to do. ‘So you’re just waiting for your turn or what?’
If looks could kill.
‘A girl stole my conquest, Alexander. It’s a new type of low for me, so I am enjoying a drink and considering my current situation.’
My chair croaked as I swayed back and forth, watching his already foul mood darken. ‘So it’s not the fact that she chose somebody else, but the fact she chose a girl over you that stings?’
‘Precisely,’ his quiet words were drowned out by the smoky shadows forming around his fingertips.
‘That’s weird logic, but whatever, pops.’
The darkness increased, drowning out the stray light from the foyer. ‘Talk to me when a girl steals your lay.’
‘My lay is upstairs screwing yours.' I chuckled, unable to stop myself.
A cruel smile twisted his lips. ‘Does she realise she’s your lay?’
This bothered him a lot; he wasn’t usually this mean. How entertaining. ‘All in due time.’
‘Why?’ he continued with a note of interest.
‘It’s a delicate situation,’ I explained to a man who never quite learnt to understand the better sex. ‘There is a fine line between hate and desire; I’m waiting for her to cross it.’
A bottle of vodka appeared on the table; he must have jumped it to him. ‘Looks to me like you might wait a while.’
Explaining my predisposition felt pointless, especially in his drunken state. ‘Patience is a virtue.’
‘Where were you anyway?’ he asked, relishing in his stinky liquor.
This could piss him off even more, but it needed to be done. ‘Portal shopping.’
‘Erm…’ He took a shot, a drop falling down his chin. ‘Isn’t that the one thing you shouldn’t get if you want your witch to stay here?’
‘It will be locked for her, I snatched some hairs from her brush to make sure.’
‘So then why get it?’ he asked, downing another one.
‘Um, hello?’ I knocked on the table to make some noise and prompt his brain to work more efficiently. ‘You have a daughter that can’t jump and needs someone to travel with everywhere she goes?’
‘It’s not a problem.’ Father’s gaze went distant for a second. ‘I can send her places.’
Fuck’s sake. I couldn’t cope with him. ‘Use your head, old man. She’s an adult woman who might not want to ask her daddy and brother every time she wants to go somewhere.’
‘I planned for her to leave freely once she controlled her shadows,’ he admitted begrudgingly.
I let the disbelief show on my face. He was always a tad delusional, or hopeful, as he liked to call it. But keeping Ava sheltered wouldn’t serve any greater purpose apart from controlling her.
That would only turn her against us, and I already angered her by keeping Willow here. It wasn’t like I had a choice, but I understood where she was coming from. If my vanilla-haired mate focused nearly as much on tormenting her younger sister as she had on me, it made sense that they hated each other.
‘Well, she’s neither your hostage nor a teenager to gatekeep from the world.' I didn’t hold back. ‘Besides the realm literally depends on her finding the hiding weirdos so let it go.’
Head tilting, he looked confused. ‘Hiding weirdos?’
