Page 82 of Kiss of Seduction (Court of Chains #1)

The restaurant was quiet, empty, and dark. Just like Natalya said it would be. There was no noise beyond the music playing on the speakers and the light swooshing of fabric against fabric as Evie moved into the dining room.

She would have felt out of her depth under different circumstances. Her green dress was tailor-fitted and expensive, and the restaurant looked like it usually served guests many tax brackets above what she could ever hope to achieve. It wasn’t a place she was at home or comfortable in.

Luckily, she wasn’t there for the place. She was there for the beautiful, violet-eyed woman sitting alone at a table in the dining room, waiting for her.

Natalya had gotten there early. She’d said it was to make sure everything was perfect for when Evie showed up, but Evie had a feeling there was more to it than that.

It was evening, and though they were within Chains territory, Natalya knew Evie wasn’t comfortable with the dark yet.

Evie guessed Natalya had spent the past few hours making sure they were as alone as they could be.

For tonight, the restaurant was theirs and theirs alone.

When Evie entered the dining room, she was treated to a sight she’d never experienced before; a Natalya so lost in thought she didn’t immediately notice Evie walk in.

Natalya was at a table, already fixed with plates and wine glasses.

She was running a finger over her lips and staring into nothingness.

She made a gorgeous display, wearing a flowing black dress and with her long, dark curls hanging loosely past her shoulders.

Her golden-brown skin radiant, her movements elegant, and her face open and at ease.

Her beauty would have stunned anyone. For Evie, it was the contemplative look in Natalya’s eyes that made her stop in place.

Then Natalya turned. Seeing Evie, she smiled with such earnest happiness Evie couldn’t help but beam right back at her.

“You look beautiful,” Natalya said as Evie approached the table. She greeted Evie further by standing and giving her a light kiss. “Though you always look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Evie looked down at herself. “And thank you for the dress. I don’t think I’ve ever worn anything this nice before.”

“So many thank yous. I’m just happy you showed up.”

Evie grinned. “I was a bit surprised you wanted this, actually. Going on a date is strangely ordinary after everything that happened. It feels weird.”

“There’s plenty to celebrate. A date is a good way to do that, don’t you think?”

She wasn’t wrong. There was plenty to celebrate. Plenty to feel happy about.

Varro Visconti was dead, as were his progenies. There was nothing left of him, not even his most loyal guard. Fiends had ripped him apart, and the Heartlands no longer suffered his influence.

Hasan had been made the new Regent, bringing with him the same doctrines and tenets of his Maker.

Under his rule, the Heartlands territory was safer than it had been in decades.

The night was no longer riddled with terrors.

That was why Evie could go to the restaurant despite the darkness.

She knew Varro’s men wouldn’t be waiting in the shadows.

Everything was near perfect. The days were calm and made warm by the arrival of summer. They were made warmer by Natalya’s presence and the knowledge that she was safe. By the knowledge that Evie herself was safe.

Only one thing wasn’t perfect. It was what caused Evie’s hand to sometimes drift to her neck, touching the bare skin where there had once been a Chain pendant.

They hadn’t been able to find her necklace at the estate, and whenever she remembered it was lost, it summoned a tensing feeling in her stomach.

“Do you know what you want to do next?” Natalya asked after a few hours of truly lavish dining. “You can go anywhere now. With Varro gone, you don’t have to stay here anymore.”

“I know,” Evie said. “I think I will, though. I like Chicago. And I did just get my hours back at the studio. I even got signed on for some weekday classes, so now I teach more than just pole dancing. I don’t see myself leaving.”

“Lily and Blake will be happy to hear that, I'm sure.” Natalya smiled. “They came to see you every day while you were in the infirmary. They were worried.”

Evie returned the smile. She knew Natalya hadn’t left her side while she was unconscious. She’d barely been away from Evie in the time between leaving Varro’s estate and Evie getting out of the infirmary.

“They worry too much.”

By the look in Natalya’s eyes, she understood who Evie was really referring to. “They can’t help it.”

Evie chuckled. “It’s strange though. Everything is so different now. Everything changed so fast. It’s weird not being scared all the time when I was so used to it.”

“Maybe getting out on your own would help. We have the apartments available if you want a new place to stay.”

It was a genuine question, though it was one Natalya obviously didn’t like asking. Seeing her trying to appear casual was amusing enough to make Evie laugh.

“I’m okay living in the high-rise,” Evie said. “It’s nice there. I like it. And I have good company.”

“Am I that company?”

Evie put her hand on Natalya’s, feeling wonderful warmth flowing through her body at the touch.

“You’re not company, Natalya. You’re much more than that.”

Evie was surprised when Natalya looked down at the words. She was fighting a grin, it looked like.

“We have apartments in the high-rise as well.” There was a knowing smirk on her face that made Evie laugh again.

“And they’re probably great. But I’d like to keep things as they are. I’d like to stay with you. If you don’t mind.”

“I far from mind, darling.” Natalya intertwined her fingers with Evie’s, and the contemplative look returned to her eyes. It was like a thought had seized her, drawing her into hypotheticals and pulling her from the present.

Evie squeezed her hand. “You’re thinking.”

“I’m known to do that occasionally.”

“Yes, but you’re thinking . You’ve been thinking all night.”

Natalya chuckled. “You’re too keen-eyed for your own good.”

“Does that mean you’re keeping this thinking to yourself then?”

The question made Natalya go quiet. She regarded Evie for a long moment, her bright violet eyes glittering faintly. It was like her irises were filled with tiny stars. Evie could easily have gotten lost in those eyes if it wasn’t for the worried, faraway look in them.

“Why did you invite me here, Natalya?” Evie asked softly. “As nice as this is, it feels excessive.”

“I wanted some privacy. And some distance. There are monsters and memories alike in the high-rise. Bad and good ones. I wanted a place where there wasn’t any of that. Save for me, of course.”

“You’re not a monster.”

“Aren’t I?” Natalya gave her a sad smile. “You know what I am, darling. You know what I can do. What I have done. You shouldn’t forget that.”

“I do know what you are. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it,” Evie said, and the words summoned a flash of guilt on Natalya’s face.

Evie held her hand tighter. “I also know a lot about monsters. Real ones. I’ve seen and felt them too.

You’re not like them. You’ve never been like them. You’re not a monster, Natalya.”

Natalya stayed silent, looking at her with eyes that were glassier than before. Evie wasn’t sure how to interpret the expression as anything other than sorrowful.

“I’m not good at stuff like this. If I said something wrong—”

“You didn’t,” Natalya said, smiling softly. “You say things honestly. That is never wrong to do. It still astonishes me how genuine you are with me. Never stop being that.”

She withdrew her hand. “I have something for you.”

Evie smirked and rolled her eyes. “The dress was more than enough. As was everything else you’ve given me. I don’t need gifts.”

“It’s not really a gift.” Natalya brought out a little black box. “More like a promise. Of sorts.”

Evie recognized that box. It was the same kind that had held her purple Chain pendant.

“I was beginning to worry,” Evie said with a grin. “The solstice isn’t that far off. Figured maybe you’d gotten cold feet, and you didn’t—”

She stopped. She’d opened the box, expecting a necklace with the same purple pendant that she’d worn before. Instead, she found one tinted silver.

Evie stared at the necklace for a long moment before looking up at Natalya. “What does this mean?”

“Our Silvers are our highest tier.” Natalya looked serious now.

“It’s reserved for the most trusted members of our Court.

The reason is because of the risks that come with the color.

Should you be Claimed under that pendant, it would bind me to you.

If you’re injured, I will suffer the pain of it as long as you do. If you die, I will too.”

Evie’s eyes widened. She put down the box, pushing it away.

“No. No, I can’t. That’s too much. It’s too risky, Natalya. What if there’s an accident? What if I get sick?”

“You won’t get sick. This bond is powerful, and it’s different than the lower tiers.

If you were a Purple, the only consequence I would suffer for not keeping you safe would be temporary pain should you die or decide to break the contract.

Same for the Blues. The risk with Silver is the price we pay for its benefits.

While under a Silver Ribbon contract, you’ll be untouched by disease.

You’ll heal faster. You won’t age. And you’ll be mine. ”

Evie stared at her, baffled to the point of almost losing her speech. “What do you mean I won’t… What?”

Natalya didn’t say anything, letting her words settle in Evie’s mind alongside realization. Despite getting there, she still couldn’t believe it.

“I don’t understand,” Evie said.

“I’ve said I want you always.” Natalya smiled softly. “I meant it, darling. I meant it with my whole heart. I mean it still.”

“So I’d be…” Hers . Hers always. Even as Evie knew the contracts were only active from one solstice to the next before needing to be committed to again, it didn’t make it feel any less permanent. “What else is different? From the Purple pendant, I mean.”

“Purples and Pinks almost always live outside the high-rise. They come and go as they please. The Blues and Reds live with their Claimant, making the commitment more serious.”

Natalya took a deep breath. “The Silver contracts mean different things to different people. For some, it means servitude and subservience. For others, it means possession. For me, it means forever. It means I want you forever.”

Evie didn’t understand. It was too much. Natalya knew the risk Evie’s presence brought. Even if Varro was dead and Evie’s world was safe now , who could say it would continue to be that? It was dangerous to ask her this.

“What if it… What if I get…” A tear ran down Evie’s face, and she quickly wiped it away. “What if I’m killed and then you…”

“What is the point of being in this world if I can’t be with you?

” Natalya put her hand on Evie’s, squeezing it gently.

“I am on earth by force. It is my prison. My punishment. Before, it felt just like that. It doesn’t with you.

With you, the world feels like a gift. Being with you is life itself.

If I don’t have you, I might as well not exist.”

Evie shook her head in disbelief. She wasn’t worth this risk. She wasn’t worthy of any of this. Not of Natalya. Not of her protection, her attention, and least of all to have it forever.

The world hadn’t been kind to Evie. In childhood, it told her she was unwanted.

In adulthood that she was unworthy. She saw it in the judging looks she got when she paid for groceries using beer-stained singles and in the landlords who refused her applications when they saw what she did for work.

She saw it always, in almost everyone. It didn’t matter that she didn’t deserve those looks. She saw them anyway.

She’d never seen it in Natalya. Not once. Ever since Evie met her, all she’d seen in her was caring, understanding, and worry. Even now, she was worried. She was smiling, her eyes kind and soft, but she was tense too. She was nervous, and she didn’t want to let it show. But Evie noticed anyway.

With Natalya, Evie didn’t feel unworthy. With Natalya, she felt everything. It was a marvelous feeling. The joy she felt at the prospect of having it always filled her stomach with fluttering butterflies.

“I don’t know what to say,” Evie whispered.

Natalya put her hand on the box holding the pendant. “Say yes, darling.”

Those words made the decision feel like the easiest thing.

Evie picked up the silver Chain necklace. It was smooth and light in her hands. A symbol as much as a promise. She clasped the chain around her neck, and the feeling of the pendant resting against her skin was wonderfully familiar. It felt right. Like she was whole, somehow.

“Yes, Natal—”

Natalya didn’t let her finish. She leaned over the table and kissed Evie with so much fervor it made her yelp in surprise. When Natalya didn’t back away and instead deepened the kiss, it made Evie sigh with delight.

How lucky was Evie that she could have this forever? How lucky was she that this was to be her life? A life of love, and safety, and pure feeling.

The thought made Evie laugh against Natalya’s lips. Hearing it, Natalya smiled.