“We’re doing well,” I answered for both of us, refusing to elaborate more than necessary. “And the book is with a freelance editor.” I left out the part about how those editing services had left my bank account in the double digits until I got paid at the end of the month.
“Are you querying?” Jayne asked. “Don’t worry, I know I overstepped there too. I’m asking because I care, not because I want to interfere.”
I eyed her warily for a few beats. “I’m still deciding,” I admitted. “But I know where I’m leaning.”
“You should publish it yourself,” Jayne said, surprising me.
Wes cocked his head slightly.
“You know what you’re doing. Don’t wait for institutional approval.” Jayne straightened, her amber, nearly-golden eyes staring deep inside me. “Let them come to youafteryou already have leverage, and then you can decide if their offers are worth it or not. Build your dreams yourself, Nova. And then protect the world you’ve created from anything and anyone who might stand to hijack it.”
Her fierceness fanned the flames of a feeling I’d been cultivating since I survived Roman.
Wes watched me carefully when he finally spoke. “For once, I actually agree with you, Jayne.” His half-smile made my stomach flutter. “And I think Nova does too.”
I glanced down at Wes’s hand as it reached for mine. I’d spent so many years searching for praise, approval, and validation. I needed to know I’d done everything right—that I hadn’t been a selfish, evil person for bringing Lorelei with me to New York City to chasemydreams.
But now, I saw that the voice in my head telling me I was never good enough hadn’t belonged to me in the first place.
I didn’t need to be chosen.
I wasn’t in a small religious cult in Tennessee anymore.
I was here, with Wes. My worth was inherent; it didn’t need to be earned. And Wes would remind me of that each time I forgot it again.
My hand squeezed his. “I better get to work.”
Wes stood, as if that was all he needed to hear to leave this meeting he’d never wanted to attend in the first place.
Jayne smiled. “I look forward to seeing you burn, Nova.”
She winked, and I thought of the first time she’d referenced my name and its cosmic, starry meaning. It was the day I’d met Wes.
I stood and intertwined my fingers with his. “Stay safe, Jayne.”
55
WES
My present under the Christmas tree this year was Nova, nude and gagged.
Drool spilled from her mouth down her chin. The ball gag was red in honor of Christmas, matching the similarly festive red ribbon I’d loosely tied around her wrists.
She looked up at me from where she knelt. My eyes snagged on the pink scar on her shoulder for the briefest moment before focusing entirely on her hooded, subby gaze.
“You’re so fucking cute, it’s hard to hurt you,” I said. “And yet, I will do what must be done.”
She made some kind of noise into her gag that made my cock hard. Everything about Nova made me hard, which was quite the inconvenience when we weren’t alone and I had to behave myself.
“Let’s review this week’s infractions,” I said sternly, stroking her hair.
I loved dominating Nova, but underneath the role was so much gooey softness, it was humiliating. She had no idea how easy it would be for her to get everything she wanted from me at all times.
But that wasn’t the game we liked to play. So, Nova chose to be my obedient good girl instead.
“First, when I asked you how many times you’d taken a break from work to do something just for fun, you paused for an impressively long time and then lied.”
She had the gall to let humor bleed into her gaze.
