Page 60 of Kings & Queen

“I expect you to use it, baby girl. I know you’ll be safe, but damn, I want you here,” he murmured in my ear. After pulling away, I went to close the last suitcase.

“Enough, I can’t possibly take another thing.”

He and Nik each grabbed a suitcase and pulled them out of my room. Sebastian, Marcel, and Pasha were waiting in the foyer, each with a solemn expression.

“I’ll be by the day after tomorrow. I plan to dance with you until I have to leave. Remember, I will keep asking you. I’m bound and determined to get you to change your mind.” Pasha twirled me around and held on to my waist, then danced me straight to Sebastian and handed me off.

“I’ll keep in touch and be over later in the week to update you about the plans,” Sebastian said, hugging me. I laid my head against his stomach, inhaling his scent, memorizing the feel and smell of him. Marcel cleared his throat, and Sebastian pushed me toward him. “I don’t have the dancer’s flair, sorry.”

Marcel grabbed my head in his hands and kissed my cheeks, brushing the tears away with his thumbs. I hugged him, loving him for keeping my secrets and keeping me sane. “Don’t think this little bit of distance gives you an excuse to shut down on me. We still have quite a bit to discuss, young lady,” he said.

Mrs. Patterson, Gerald, and the rest of the staff had come to say goodbye too.

“Now, you don’t go showing that cook over there any of my secrets,” Mrs. Patterson said, teasing me.

There was a running competition between her and the cook at the Kings’ residence. I held on to her longer than the others; it was so comforting. I let go when Alek placed a hand on my elbow. This sucked and was so much harder than I had ever realized it would be.

I’d grown so attached to each member of their household that it only reminded me of how lonely I truly was before them. I hated that my life would be returning to emptiness once more. In three weeks’ time, I would be someone else. I’d look like someone else and be alone again. It was so overwhelming.

After another tearful breakdown with Marcus, he hugged me. “Nope, none of that. I’d rather have you flipping me off.” Pulling back, he worked to control his own emotions.

Nik hugged me, kissing me. He whispered in my ear, “Promise me you’ll eat and take care of yourself. I want that list, understood?”

The words jolted me back to the fact I’d never finished the list—the one that should have spelled out my hard and soft limits. Back then, I was too shattered to draw the lines, too afraid to claim what I needed. Now, though, the request landed differently. It was still a command, but wrapped in love and pulling me toward trust. Maybe I could finally give them what they’d been waiting for.

“Yes, Sir,” I said. Finally, Nik let me go, and Alek and I got into the car.

Chapter 29

Kinsley

Ivan Was A Twin?

Alek sat stiffly besideme, arms crossed, jaw clenched, and his spine ridged. That familiar tension pulled at the corners of his mouth. It was the same look he wore when something scared him, but he refused to show it.

His silence stretched between us like a thread pulled too tight. I wanted to reach for him. To say something that mattered. But nothing came. He flicked a glance my way, the look brief, almost hesitant. Everything about it landed like a blow to the chest.

God, I was going to miss him.

Not in the casual way people missed things, but bone-deep, breath-catches-in-your-throat kind of missing. The kind that echoed in empty rooms and left you sobbing on the floor. It was a sensation that had become far too normal in my life. My parents, Pasha, my season sisters, Owen, and now them.

So much had changed between the Reaper and me since that first tangled encounter, and somehow, he’d become my anchor without even trying. Now I was about to drift. There was so much I wanted to say. One thing in particular had me tongue tied, leaving me silent. But it had to be done.

“Alek, I need to tell you something.”

He reached for my hand and held it in one of his, while the other brushed back the hair from my face.

“What is it, kitten?”

“When I was talking to your mother yesterday, I mentioned Nik. She asked if I was involved with him too. I didn’t confirm it, but I didn’t deny it either, so I thought you should know.”

Heat burned my cheeks, turning them red, and I was afraid he would see my shame, so I lowered my head and looked at my lap.

He heaved and let out a long breath laced with irritation. “I spoke at length with her, as did Nik last night. Is that all?”

Is that all? How is he so nonchalant about this? And dear god, what all did they talk about?

Unwilling to let it go, I said, “I know it’s not right what we’ve done, the four of us. I don’t blame your parents for how they feel. I don’t want you upset with them for sharing their feelings. They care about all of you.”