جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

The next night, Irene lasted until a little after nine before deciding that avoiding Ares was worse than seeing him.She had spent most of the day telling herself she did not need an explanation for what she had seen. Ares had fed from someone. The man had agreed to it. Nobody had screamed. Nobody had died. That should have been enough.By dinner, Irene had caught herself staring at Ares’s mouth twice. Afterward, she walked toward the conservatory and found him there alone.Ares stood beside one of the long tables, sleeves pushed to his forearms, trimming a plant with a tiny pair of scissors.He looked up when she came in and set the scissors down.“Go on, dear wife, you can ask me about it.”“I wasn’t going to…”“But you came looking for me.” One corner of his mouth lifted.She walked farther into the room.Ares looked normal again. There were no fangs, no blood, and no black in his eyes.“Was he okay? That guy you were…” she struggled, “You know…sucking blood…feeding… whatever you c

Ares waited until Irene had finished breakfast before telling her that a coven wanted to inspect their marriage.She had just taken the last sip of coffee when he said, “Blackveil secured a formal audience for Thursday.”Irene lowered the cup. “That sounds bad.”“It is inconvenient.”Ares sat behind the desk in his study, reading something on a tablet.Irene stayed in the chair across from him.“What does 'formal audience' mean?”“Dinner.”“That’s it?”“No.” Ares set the tablet down. “Lord Ruthven is hosting. Blackveil petitioned him to question the legitimacy of our marriage. He agreed to hear them.”Irene stared at him.“People can request an investigation into your marriage over dinner?”“People with enough influence can request almost anything.”“And Ruthven?”“Has enough power that refusing him would look bad than attending.”That did not make Irene feel better.“What exactly are they expecting us to do?”“Eat. Answer questions. Look married.” Irene made a face. “Look married?”

Irene’s phone started ringing again just as the car passed through the estate gates.She looked down and saw her mother’s name.For a few seconds, she just watched it ring.Four calls today. This would make five.“I can’t,” she whispered, then immediately felt bad for saying it.She turned the phone facedown on her lap and leaned her head against the seat.The café had been short two people, lunch had been brutal, and she had spent most of the shift apologizing to customers for things she hadn’t done.Belle had needed money for something that apparently could not wait until next week. Amanda had been having a bad day and wanted Irene on the phone for most of it. Then there was everything happening with Blackveil, which meant even the estate no longer felt as quiet as it used to.Usually, Irene could handle one problem at a time.Today, everybody seemed to have picked the same day.By the time the car stopped, she didn’t feel angry anymore. She was past that because she was just draine

Irene woke up feeling better, which would have been nice if she had not remembered why almost immediately.For a few seconds she stayed still, warm under the blankets, her body heavy in the good way rather than the usual exhausted one. She had slept straight through the night. No waking at three in the morning to check her phone. No staring at the ceiling. No dreams she could remember.Then last night started coming back.Ares sitting beside her, and then everything after that.Irene pulled the blanket over her face.She had let Ares Valcieri lie in her bed and talk her through getting herself off while his hand stayed over hers.There was probably no dignified way to remember that at seven in the morning.She stayed under the blanket another minute anyway.The worst part was not even what they had done. The worst part was that she had liked it enough that remembering his voice against her ear made warmth creep up her neck all over again.That was unacceptable.Last night had happened

They stayed like that for a moment, both breathing too hard.Kael still had Irene against the wall, one hand firm at her waist, his forehead resting beside her temple. He had stopped moving, but the rest of him was still tense against her.Irene’s hands remained on his shoulders.Kael finally lifted his head and looked at her.“You kissed me back.”Irene frowned. “You started it.”“You could’ve stopped.”Her pulse kicked harder. “So could you.”“I tried. Dammit…”That shut her up for a second.Kael’s gaze dropped to her mouth, and Irene became too aware of how close he still was. Her lips felt swollen from kissing him, her skin was hot, and the hand at her waist had not moved.“You’re still holding me,” she said.His fingers tightened slightly.“Well, you’re still letting me.”Irene swallowed.She was still angry with him. She still wanted to tell him to leave. But with his body pressed this close, her thoughts kept slipping away from the argument.Kael leaned in until his nose brushe