Page 25 of Gilded Curses

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “The whole place would be more beautiful, if it wasn’t so sterile, white, and occupied by lunatics.”

The corners of his mouth twitched toward a smile. “It’s too white.”

“I’m scared to touch anything.”

“So am I. What do you think about all of this?”

A gentle breeze tugged at her hair, causing strands of it to dance in the night. He hadn’t believed it possible, but she looked more beautiful bathed in the moon’s faint glow.

He tore his attention away from her when two guards prowled out of the garden and crossed paths as they patrolled the area. Sahira didn’t speak until they were out of view again.

“Oh, I think we’re fucked. How about you?”

“Right up the ass, without any lube and no safe words to stop it.”

Sahira grimaced. “Lovely description.”

“Sums it up perfectly.”

“I’m afraid it does.”

“The question is, how do we get out of it?”

She sighed as the guards stalked into view again. “I don’t know.”

When the patrol was gone, Orin rested his elbows on the railing and clasped his hands before him. “Neither do I.”

“There has to be a weakness here somewhere; we’ll find it.”

“We will.”

She kept one hand on the railing as she turned to face him. “Good night, Orin.”

“Good night, Sahira. If you need anything, you know where I am, or you could always come over and join me now. I guarantee your night will be a lot more fun if you do.”

Her lips pursed as she studied him before replying. “Have you figured your shit out?”

He frowned as he recalled her words in the bathroom of the pub after he’d confessed she was the only woman he’d been with since her arrival in the Cursed Realm. “You have to decide what you want, but just so you know, I won’t sit around and wait for you to figure it out. This is your shit to deal with, Orin, not mine.”

Had he figured it out? He certainly hadn’t had time to think about her words, their relationship, or much of anything before being thrust into this nightmare. All Orin knew for sure was he would protect her, he liked her more than any other woman he’d ever known, and she belonged in his bed.

But that wasn’t enough for her. He wasn’t sure what would be enough for her either.

Is she looking for a relationship? Because he didn’t do those, and staying faithful wasn’t a possibility for him.

Yet, without meaning to, he’d remained faithful to her without any commitment or bonds between them. He hadn’t realized that until now.

He’d always expected to move on to other women at some point, but he could have had the dagadon woman today and chosen not to. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t stand or trust her; he’d never had to do either to fuck a woman. Why start now?

But he had started and had no idea what any of it meant.

“I’ll take that as a no,” she said when he didn’t respond. “I don’t think they’ll bother us anymore tonight. They have a much bigger game plan for us. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Unfortunately, he agreed with her but didn’t say so. When she turned and walked away, he buried his disappointment as she entered her room.

He’d much prefer she was safe with him, but while much had changed throughout this day and night, she was still mad at him, and they both required time to process whatever this was between them. Although, he wasn’t sure he’d ever understand it.

But, until something changed, he might as well get some rest. He had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a long day.