Page 15 of A Moth to the Flame (Utopia #1)

Chapter

Twelve

CORDELIA

Duke had all but pushed me to go into town and pretend to be him for a spell. That’s exactly why I didn’t. It had to be a trap somehow.

I can’t figure out what could possibly be so awful about walking in his adored shoes for even a day. It would’ve been a nice break from how I’ve spent the past few days.

“What the fuck were you into, Granny?” I whisper, squinting at the faint engraving of an almost-pentagram.

Even as a reformed reader, I haven’t forgotten all the stories with clichéd witch symbols.

An upside-down, five-point star is typically used as a marker of witchcraft and Devil worship.

This is a six-point star, so it can never be upside down, right-side up, or anything in between.

There’s no way to tell what this dingy, rusty trinket used to be.

It doesn’t open in any way that I can figure out.

It seems to be neither a puzzle box, music box, nor jewelry box.

It’s just a lump of metal engraved with a star surrounded by a circle.

Something about it brushes against my earliest memories and raises the hairs on the back of Duke’s neck.

Staring at it doesn’t give me any answers to my questions, nor does it offer me a fucking clue about how I can get back into my body.

I sigh and throw it in a pile with the other trinkets that have the same marking on them.

I grew up in this house, but I never saw any of this stuff before.

I don’t even know where Granny was hiding half of it in this tiny cottage, or why she’d felt the need to manically sort through it in her dwindling time on earth.

Did she know her end was near? Could she feel it? If so, then why didn’t she tell me?

I hadn’t been prepared to lose her, not without warning. Not that warning would have made her loss easier to bear.

The front door of our little home bursts open on a gust of wind. Miss Ada stands at the threshold, glaring at me. For a pint of a woman, she looks like she’s more than ready to take out the trash, all hands on her hips, sober expression, and wide stance.

“Duke Castellaw,” she grits out. “What in the seven hells are you doing here?”

I think a far better question is why Miss Ada walks into my house like she owns the place, but I’m not stupid enough to comment on her breach of propriety. There’s a pecking order around here, and I’ve always been on the bottom rung of that ladder.

“I, um…” I glance around at the piles of crap surrounding me on the sitting room floor. “I’m helping Delia go through her Granny’s stuff, so she can sell the homestead.”

That’s pretty close to the truth, and I frankly can’t come up with any other reason why Duke would be here.

Miss Ada wrinkles her nose like she smells something foul. “Oh, ho. Is that right? And since when are you such a good friend to Delia? Last time I checked, you were up to no good. Acting like a spoiled boy still in diapers and holding a bag of dog shit in the name of revenge.”

I snort. I can’t help it.

With everything that’s happened since, I plumb forgot that Duke was gunning for revenge after I egged his truck. It’s a crying shame that Neveah wasn’t able to record Miss Ada driving him out of her shop with a broom. I’d probably watch the video every day.

“Just what do you find so funny, Duke?” she sneers.

“Nothing, ma’am.” I bite Duke’s lip. Hard.

As much as I’m tempted to test the royal status of one of Utopia’s princes, I’m too grateful for Miss Ada’s defense of me to entertain myself.

“My apologies for my poor behavior in your fine establishment. I saw the error of my ways, and I’m trying to make amends. ”

That blatant lie curdles on Duke’s tongue. I swallow down the sour taste and attempt his most charming smile.

Miss Ada sniffs, not affected in the slightest by my show of humility. “Has Delia gone back to Charleston then?”

Why would Miss Ada think such a thing if Duke said that he’d talked to the grannies in town? Oh, wait. He probably lied about that.

“Not yet,” I hedge. “She wants to get this place in shape to sell first.”

Miss Ada narrows her eyes like she doesn’t even believe the honest to God’s truth out of this man’s mouth. Her reaction only makes me respect her more. “And why are you the one helping her do that? Hasn’t Neveah been here?”

I haven’t seen Neveah since the night that I made the wish that likely created this mess. Honestly, that’s been a blessing with everything else on my plate. I didn’t think anything of her absence—until now.

I tip Duke’s head to the side, suddenly suspicious. “Why would she be here?”

Miss Ada opens her mouth, then snaps it shut on a deep sigh. “I thought she and Delia were friends, is all.”

My wariness builds. I never had any friends until Granny passed.

It’s kind of sad that I never questioned a return to the status quo until this moment.

On the other hand, I’ve been busy dealing with unrepentant erections.

Even now, Duke’s cock throbs between his thighs.

Being in the presence of a respected woman in town is no deterrent to his perpetual arousal.

Worse, Miss Ada notices the unmistakable bulge behind the fly of his jeans. Her lip curls in disgust. “Honestly, Duke. Aren’t you old enough to have control of your body? Leave helping Delia to Neveah and get back to your whoring. You’ve clearly gone too long without a woman’s touch.”

He really hasn’t.

I throw up a little in Duke’s mouth at the memory of overhearing his sexual escapades the night of Granny’s wake. I also seem to have no control over his tongue when I say, “Delia’s the only woman I need.”

Miss Ada’s immediate cackle jerks me out of my horror. She laughs until she wheezes. Her words come out halting. “You…and…Delia? That’s the most…ridiculous…thing I’ve ever heard.”

Cancel my previous gratitude. Not that I don’t agree with her, but I’m offended on my behalf.

I cross Duke’s arms over his chest. “What’s so wrong with appreciating Delia as a woman?”

“What’s so special about one woman?” she fires back without pause. “You’ve bedded plenty, but never committed to any.”

I don’t know how to respond to that. It’s not that I didn’t already suspect Duke’s love ‘em and leave ‘em mentality, but I’ve genuinely never given much thought to his relationship status before. I didn’t want to think about him at all if I could help it.

It’s bad enough that I couldn’t always help it.

Miss Ada rolls her eyes after too many beats of silence from me. “I’m not judging you. Take it from an old broad who’s been around the block a time or two. Better to taste all the world has to offer rather than gorging yourself on the same meal until you’re sick of it.”

I cock Duke’s head back in utter shock. Her advice goes against the grain of an area of the world that firmly believes in the sanctity of holy matrimony and monogamy.

“You really don’t believe in true love?”

She cackles again. “Love is a fairy tale. The world runs on lust.”

That’s not quite my lived experience, but okay. I gave up on fairy tales because I thought they might be the shackles that were keeping me from finding even a little lust with a real man. Unfortunately, abandoning fictional happily-ever-afters for dating apps didn’t work out the way I’d hoped.

If a woman as wizened as Miss Ada believes that love is a myth, then I’m going to close all my app accounts. I’m tired of one-night stands. Those two-pump chumps never even care about my physical pleasure, let alone getting to know me as a human .

Miss Ada claps her hands to refocus my attention. “Off with you. Leave Delia be.”

As much as I wish that was possible, it’s not. “I’ll be out of her hair as soon as she moves on. She asked me to sort through this stuff, so that’s what I’m going to do until she gets back. From the grocer,” I tack on at the last minute.

“Piece of advice?” Miss Ada murmurs, soothingly hypnotic, as she tips her chin toward Duke’s crotch. “Put that thing away before she gets back. The poor girl is grieving. If you’re truly turning over a new leaf, then you shouldn’t be burdening her with your selfish needs.”

I nod. It’s good advice.

Not that Duke has ever been attracted to me in any way, but his derelict erections are a distraction that I can’t afford. I’m going to have to bite the bullet and take care of at least one of my current problems. It’s draining my mental focus more than I care to admit.

Miss Ada pauses at the doorway. “I’ll send Neveah to help you. Delia needs to get back to her life as quickly as possible. Mind my words, Duke. Don’t add that woman to your roster.”

I wait with bated breath for her to tell Duke, “She’s too good for you.” Maybe a helpful suggestion about what to do with all this stuff.

She walks out the front door with as much bluster as she blew into it.

Denied.

I’m so seething mad at yet another person’s dismissal of me. It hurts doubly from someone who sort of defended me. Duke’s body doesn’t care about my emotional distress. It’s still inexplicably turned on.

His stupid dick is making me lose my mind.

So much so that I vividly hallucinate the witch stars glowing all around me.

What the hell?

I blink, but the shimmering persists.

I rub Duke’s eyes.

No change.

“That’s it,” I mutter, pushing myself to his towering height. “I’ve had enough. ”

I can’t solve all my problems today, but I can hopefully ease just one.

This is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Pun not intended.

I stare down at Duke’s steely erection that borders on painful at this point.

I wasn’t joking when I asked him if I should go to the hospital.

Sure, I’ve never owned this particular equipment, but I’m not a na?ve girl.

Stereotypes aside, men can’t possibly be this horny for no reason all the time.

In their teens, maybe, but not as grown adults.