Chapter 39
NOVA
Iglared at the invite to The Hunt sitting on my kitchen counter, which originally had been left stickered to my apartment’s front door.
Which, of course, meant The Circle knew exactly where I lived without me ever telling them.
Wes was silent on the other end of the line. I could nearly feel his rage in the stretch of silence. I almost didn’t tell him, because I knew how much it would stress him out. But I refused to lie, especially not when we were in a power dynamic. He deserved to know.
He deserved to know about Roman too. I planned to tell him on our next date in four days, the night before we drove upstate together.
“Read me what it says,” Wes commanded in a disturbingly controlled tone.
I read it to him.
Friday
3pm-4pm Guests Arrive
5pm The Hunt
8pm The Feast
Saturday
11am Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s brunches
Free time for nature, play, and mind, body, and soul rejuvenation
6pm Ritual & Invocation
8pm Play Party
Sunday
Free day, guests depart.
Schedule is not comprehensive and subject to change. We will follow the magic…
“Thank you,” Wes ground out. “Please use every lock on your door and call me if you ever feel unsafe.”
“I will.”
“This ends this weekend. All of it. By any means necessary.”
Wes canceled our date last minute on Thursday, only a couple hours before we were set to meet.
He said he had to meet with someone he sponsored, so while I was disappointed, I knew that was more important.
I found it deeply admirable and touching that Wes mentored others the way his sponsor had helped him.
Still, I found myself sighing as I sank into the couch, wiped from a long writing day. I was nearing the homestretch, ready for the third act breakup that was going to rip readers to shreds.
At this, I smiled gleefully. I might’ve had a sadistic streak after all.
“What’s that cheeky little grin about, then?” Hudson asked in an obnoxious British accent.
“Are you watching an old season of Love Island?” I asked. “You said you wouldn’t do that again. Too much of a time commitment, remember?”
“I lie,” Hudson said with a shrug.
I snorted. “I wasn’t smiling about anything. Just had a good writing day, though I’m bummed because Wes had to cancel our date.”
I waited for Hudson to question this, to call Wes sketchy or suspicious, but he didn’t. He’d actually stopped doing that altogether since the party at Third House.
He grabbed veggies and hummus from the fridge and plopped down across from me on the couch. “I think this may be one of the incredibly few times in my life I was wrong about someone.” He let out a long breath. “He seems to really make you happy, Nova. And I love seeing you happy.”
Shocked, I looked behind me, because Hudson couldn’t possibly have said those words to me.
He chuckled, rolling his eyes when I returned my gaze to him.
“You’ve been a bit of a high-strung demon, even more so than usual, these past few months, but after you talk to him on the phone or come home from a date, you’re better.
The stress is gone and you seem lighter, even if temporarily.
I’ve been waiting for signs of love bombing or red flags, but unless you’ve been keeping them from me, I haven’t heard any.
” He shrugged. “I’m only so protective because you deserve love more than any of us. ”
“Love,” I repeated slowly, as if my brain was rebooting from the sheer disturbance Hudson had invoked with his approval of Wes. I shook my head. “That would be crazy. I like Wes a normal amount—whatever the normal amount is after being someone’s official girlfriend for one week.”
Hudson dunked a carrot in hummus with a smirk. “Whatever you say, buddy.”
The leaves had started to change. The summer heat had at long last broken, ushering in progressively cooler nights and pleasant days.
“Have you ever been to the Hudson Valley?” Wes asked me.
Our hands were intertwined as I leaned against him to stare out the car window. I’d taken the middle seat, feeling the need to stay as close to him as possible.
I shook my head. “No. I’ve always wanted to. Every year, I say I want to take a writer’s retreat upstate in the fall, but it never happens.”
“We’ll go back, just you and me. There are so many artists and writers up there.” He kissed the top of my head. “It’s one of my biggest struggles with the city—how limited our access to nature is. Taking breaks to escape keeps me sane.”
I smiled, slipping into this hypothetical future with Wes to distract myself from our immediate future.
I’d artfully dodged all invites from The Circle girls, Maisy and Jayne included, continuing to lean on the very real excuse that I was stretched too thin from writing and running a business.
Which had caused an extremely irritating final text from Maisy.
Maisy
Okayyy, girl. Seems like you didn’t listen to our advice and would rather keep living life on hard mode & in your masculine energy. I don’t do low-effort friendships. Hmu if you ever evolve past the struggle mindset.
It almost made me laugh bitterly just thinking about it. I’d typed out so many angry replies, but in the end, I’d been too exhausted to respond at all.
She would never understand me, and that was okay. Especially since, after this weekend, I would never see any of them again.
Wes and I attempted to talk about anything except the weekend ahead of us for the next hour and a half, and for the most part, we managed it. It was one of my favorite parts about us—the way we could never run out of things to talk about.
Our world had shifted dramatically in the past half hour of the drive.
Long gone were city streets and heavy traffic.
A shiver crawled down my spine, and for the briefest moment, we were on a winding country road in Tennessee, looking out at the rolling hills and farmland. I blinked and snapped out of it.
I glanced at our stoic, professional driver. We were still in New York, just a far different New York than I was accustomed to.
“Are the holidays hard for you?” Wes asked after we debated whether fall or spring was the best season in the city.
I nodded. “I, um, typically spend them with Lorelei. Most of our friends go home for the holidays, and the one time we were invited to one of my native New Yorker friend’s Thanksgiving, Lorelei caused a drunken scene.
So… yeah.” I swallowed. “It’s just us. Or just me, when she’s been whisked away to some shitty boyfriend’s family’s home.
Or she’s too drunk to—well, you get it. Basically, my holidays suck. What about yours?”
Wes gave my hand a squeeze. He shook his head without speaking, as if gathering his thoughts.
Everyone loved Christmas in New York—the overpriced markets in every park, the big tree, the lights and decorations, the ice skating, the perfect romcom atmosphere and activities all season long.
Maybe I would’ve loved it all too, if things were different.
If I didn’t have to babysit Lorelei or think about the family I was estranged from.
“They’re going to be better this year because you’re going to spend them with me,” Wes said.
My chest warmed, and something inside me melted. I locked onto his beautiful, certain eyes.
“But to answer your question, yeah, mine sucked for years. Since my mom passed, all the way up until the last few years, when I built my community in Greenpoint. Now, we throw a big Friendsgiving and Christmas party every year. Then, on actual holidays, I go to meetings, volunteer, and spend time with people who also have shitty holidays for one reason or another.” He smiled.
“So, they’ve been better. And yours will be better this year too. ”
I’d never looked forward to the holidays before. Wes kissed me as my emotions welled. His lips were gentle and steady. I relaxed as he held my face in his broad hands. When he pulled back, I was breathless.
“Okay. I’ll go look at the big tree with you,” I said softly. “But I am not ice skating.”
“Why does that just make me want to force you out on the rink?”
“Because you’re an insufferable contrarian and sadist with authority issues.”
Wes grinned, gripping my thigh hard as we launched into another round of playful sparring. After another fifteen minutes, my head was back on his shoulder as we listened to music.
“I have something for you,” Wes said, letting go of a deep breath.
I straightened back up. He reached over me for something in his duffel bag on the spare seat.
In my lap, he placed a small, thin black box. I gingerly lifted the top, my heart skipping when I saw what was inside.
It was a simple black leather collar with a rose gold ring in the center. The strap of leather was thin, the design sleek and unassuming—just bold enough to make clear what it was without being flashy.
Wes cleared his throat. “And if you don’t like it, I will gladly find something better suited to your style.
You don’t need to wear this in public, only at kink events, if we were to go to any together.
Or on dates when I want you to be in a particular headspace.
But if you did want something more permanent down the line to wear at all times, I’d be happy to provide you with a day collar as well. ”
I kissed him, shutting him up, as adorable as it was to see Wes flustered. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
When I pulled away, he still looked anxious, unsure. Which, of course, provoked my own insecurities about all of this being too good to be true. Was he second-guessing his decision?
Did he know something about what I had been hiding? Him canceling our date last night had also ruined my plan to explain the Roman situation. Shit, and now we were running out of time, probably only minutes away from the estate.
I couldn’t wear Wes’s collar without coming clean about Roman’s advances, especially when Roman was going to be here this weekend.
“I need to tell you something,” I said at the exact same time Wes did.
His eyes widened.
“Sorry, um, you first,” I murmured.
Wes rolled his neck. He opened his mouth.