I shook my head again, feigning severity. “You better hope you win, because your ass is the only ass on the line.”
She straightened. “I’m not worried.” She slowly smiled. “We just said asswaytoo many times in quick succession.”
I called the pizza place as I playfully swatted her thigh. Nova laughed and grabbed my hand, sweetly lifting it to her lips to kiss my knuckles.
It was a solid tactic, but unfortunately for her, I rather enjoyed making Nova suffer.
After crushing Nova mercilessly in Mario Party, I finally got my wish. She was sleeping in my bed, still wearing my shirt, her body perfectly curled against mine.
I’d woken up in the middle of the night, struggling to shake my ruminations.
I dreaded the moment Nova had to return to her world. Rationally, I knew this was selfish, and I would never act on the urge to eclipse her life. But my feelings for her and the threat of The Circle were testing me in every way imaginable. I hated the idea of Nova being out of my sight, vulnerable. I had to believethey’d tracked us through her phone, because the alternative was too dystopian and horrifying to fathom.
Yet, my intuition was glaring. None of this was a coincidence. I’d been drawn into this labyrinth for a reason far less esoteric than mere fate.
The sound of Nova whimpering brought me out of my half-conscious state. Her eyes were still closed, a tremor rolling through her form as she made another small noise of terror.
My grip on her tightened. The only thing I wanted Nova to fear wasme.
She woke with a start and a gasp for air.
“You’re safe, baby,” I murmured, stroking her cheek.
When she turned in my arms to rest her head on my chest, her cheek was slick with tears. “Did I wake you?” she asked, voice raspy.
“No. I was already awake. Nightmare?” I asked gently. I raked a hand through her waves.
“I haven’t had that dream in years,” she said, strained, as if fighting back a sob. “But this time, Lorelei was an adult. I saw her inside that room with her father. And instead of running, I was pushed outside by an invisible force. The door slammed shut on its own, and I couldn’t get in. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t?—”
Her tears were warm as they leaked onto my chest.
“Oh, Nova,” I whispered. “I’ve got you. You’re not there anymore, and neither is Lorelei. You got her out, baby.” I held her to me, continuing to offer gentle touches as she broke down. Everything inside me wanted to fix her pain, to take it away, to heal a wound that wasn’t mine to heal.
When she’d settled and her breathing slowed, I spoke again. “I’m going to help you find her, okay? This all ends next weekend. I’m going to take care of it. I promise.”
God, I shouldn’t have promised something like that, not when my suspicions were still unconfirmed. And worse, if my suspicionswereconfirmed, things were going to get complicated and dangerous quickly.
I just wanted Nova to feel safe. I couldn’t stand her carrying this weight alone.
And when she relaxed in my arms, it was hard to feel any amount of regret.
I needed to call my sponsor as soon as she left and pick up an extra meeting this week. I had no desire to drink, but the point of a spiritual program like AA was to take care of myselfbeforeanything had spiraled out of control. Especially when it came to resentments and intense relationships, both of which could be deadly to addicts.
“Thank you, Wes,” she said.
I could do this. I could handle everything—my duty to Nova as her new Dom and partner, my responsibility to myself and my sobriety, and the sinister games wealthy assholes were playing with other people’s lives.
All I needed to do was find Nova’s friend and come clean about everything.
39
NOVA
Iglared at the invite to The Hunt sitting on my kitchen counter, which originally had been left stickered to my apartment’s front door.
Which, of course, meant The Circle knew exactly where I lived without me ever telling them.
Wes was silent on the other end of the line. I could nearly feel his rage in the stretch of silence. I almost didn’t tell him, because I knew how much it would stress him out. But I refused to lie, especially not when we were in a power dynamic. He deserved to know.
