Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“Continue with your story. I’m riveted by this insanity,” she says.
“After the wedding ceremony, it is customary for the new bride to kneel at her husband’s feet and present her back and neck to him to place his mark.”
She gives me side eye. “That’s very modern of you.” She turns her attention back to cooking. “I would never do that. Ever. If any man ever expected me to, well, he’d be in for a shock.”
“Would he?” I ask, a realization dawning on me as I watch her, listen to her.
“You bet.”
Does she realize no one outside of The Society knows this about us? Do I realize what I’m doing in telling her? What it means? In a way, I do. Telling her what I did about Zoë, well, that set the stage. And whether or not I like it, things have changed between us, and I can’t ignore what happens in my gut at the thought of Blue kneeling at my feet and offering herself to me to be marked.
“Go on,” she prods when I’m silent too long. “I weirdly want to hear. Like a car crash you can’t look away from.”
“It’s a ceremony and a rite in and of itself. The other Sovereign Sons witness the marking of the new bride.”
“Sovereign Sons?”
“There are tiers, I suppose you could say. Founding family members and their descendants.”
“So, like a caste system.”
I sip from my mug. She’s not wrong. But she’s not quite right either. “There are different kinds of people, Blue. And believe it or not, most marriages within The Society are just like any in the outside world. Women choose this.”
“Not in Isabelle’s case.”
“Correct. But that’s another story and one for her to tell. Suffice it to say the Bishop and St. James families have centuries of history between them dating back to Draca. Isabelle and Jericho have healed the past. Together, they will create a new future for both families.”
“That’s actually kind of nice.” She plates bacon, eggs and French toast on two dishes, and we move to the counter to eat. “So, these men watch the bride kneel and get marked.” She waggles her eyebrows. “Sounds porny. Go on.”
I chuckle, enjoying watching her eat. She seems always ravenous. “I suppose it kind of does although I’m sure no one within IVI would put it that way.”
“I suppose it’s good for Cat House business.”
“Or good for the men to go back home and fuck their wives. Here.” I put my bacon on her plate because she’s gone through hers.
“Don’t you want it?”
“I’ve had enough,” I say, getting up to set my dish in the sink. “Some women are branded, as you saw. The men choose between ink and fire.”
“I’m guessing those women aren’t the ones who do this willingly.”
I don’t answer that. I turn to face her instead. “My father chose fire, too.”
It takes her a beat. She blinks, her mouth falls open.
“It’s not the worst of his crimes, as you know, but he paid. Not enough, not nearly.” I turn back to wash my dish. “He paid.” Blue joins me at the sink, and I wash her dish too. When I’m finished, she slips into my arms and wraps hers around me.
I find myself holding her. Just holding her. And I have this feeling, this thing rising up inside me. A premonition? No. I don’t believe in those. But I hug her tighter because I feel like this is all going to go away too soon. Like she will go away, and I’ll be here holding air where she once stood.
“We should go,” I say hoarsely before the feeling can overwhelm me.
She nods and I see her swipe her hands over her eyes as she turns away. Did she feel it too?
“Let me just grab my purse.”
I take my phone out to scroll through messages while I wait. When Blue comes back into the kitchen, she’s holding her purse on her arm and her phone in her hand. She looks white as a ghost.
“What?” I ask, going to her.
“I had a voicemail from the landlord.” She hits a button and we both listen: “What did you do ransack the place? You can kiss that security deposit goodbye and you can bet your ass I’ll be sending you the bill for the repairs. I should never have let you rent the place.”
13
BLUE
It takes all I have to muster up a smiling, happy face when we pick up Wren and Rudy later that morning. Zeke drives us all to the new facility. Wren is impressed with Zeke’s SUV and if he’s irritated at her putting the window up and down for much of the drive, he doesn’t let it show. I watch him as he answers all her questions, and although I can hear he’s distracted, his mind on all that’s going on, he takes his time with her, and I appreciate that.