CHAPTER 15 AILEEN
CHAPTER 15
AILEEN
I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom, abandoning all hope of sleep. Insomnia, my old friend, had returned with a vengeance after the events of the past day.
After the hellish day I’d just had, it seemed I was bound to be slumberless.
Which wasn’t good, considering just before I went to bed, Zion had texted me, telling me to be at the Atalonian early tomorrow morning for a makeup briefing session, the one I missed today because I’d attempted to be a good friend and failed miserably due to my stupid self-centeredness.
Angry with myself, Atalon, Ragnor, and the entire world, really, I pushed back the blanket and went to the living room. I took a bottle of corked AB positive from the mini fridge and was about to indulge myself in some mind-numbing movie when there was a knock on the door.
Frowning, I headed toward the door, feeling confused and on guard. Who the hell could it be in the middle of the night? I doubted Eleanor, who was probably asleep, was expecting anyone, and of course I wasn’t either.
Since there was no peephole, I cautiously opened the door and stared.
Ragnor, looking fresh as fucking daisies, gave me a wicked grin that made me blink twice to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. “Hello, Aileen. I had a feeling you’d be awake.”
The urge to punch something—preferably his face—consumed me, and it took me a few moments to get rid of the red haze. “I’m asleep,” I said, glaring at his stupidly pretty eyes. “Go fuck yourself.”
I was about to slam the door, but he put his foot inside. “You know I’d rather fuck someone else,” he said, and his gaze turned smoldering, his grin widening. “But I’m willing to start with a chat.”
Despite my better judgment, long-forgotten heat flared inside me, pooling in my loins. And that just made me madder. “What part of go fuck yourself did you not understand, Ragnor?”
He seemed far too amused for my liking. “The part where you think I’m going to go away just like this.”
Following that statement, his eyes suddenly dropped to my body and grew even hotter. So hot, in fact, that they glowed neon blue. I realized then that I was in shorts and a tank top with no bra underneath. My legs were exposed. My breasts were as good as.
His eyes flickered back to mine after he so blatantly checked me out, making my skin burn. “Let me in, Aileen,” he murmured in a low voice, and I hated that I found it so fucking sexy. “We need to talk.”
I folded my arms and used my knee to keep the door as closed as possible with his foot stuck in between. “No, Ragnor, you need to talk,” I said quietly through gritted teeth. “I have nothing left to say to you.” Not after everything you put me through.
His grin disappeared, and Ragnor’s face turned serious. Finally, an expression with which I was familiar. His next words, however, could’ve belonged to a stranger.
“I made a mistake.”
I froze. “Say what now?”
Ragnor grimaced. “Let me in, Aileen,” he said quietly. “I’ll just say my piece, and if you still want me gone, I’ll leave.”
Narrowing my eyes, I thought it through. Letting him in wasn’t an option. I didn’t need him in the living room or, worse, my bedroom.
Thoughts of him lying on my bed, giving me a hazy look with his stunning eyes as he pulled me under him, naked and beautiful and so fucking sexy, while he whispered my name against my lips made me shudder in half-fear, half-arousal.
Letting him talk wasn’t an option either.
Because I was done talking where Ragnor Rayne was concerned.
“I think it’s time you learn a valuable lesson, Ragnor,” I said, opening the door. “And that’s hearing and understanding the meaning of the word no .”
Before he could react, I kicked his shin, catching him by surprise as he retreated his foot, and slammed the door shut on his stupidly handsome face.
I turned my back to the door, feeling viciously victorious, if a little out of breath. Ragnor Rayne had no hold on me anymore. Once he threw me away, he lost the legal and personal right to tell me what to do.
He could smolder and grin and act all sexy as much as he wanted, but I wouldn’t cave. Because what he’d made me go through would forever be a barrier between us.
Even if my hands tingled, aching to touch him.
Even if my thighs clenched and slick wetness dripped down my crotch.
But none of that mattered. He’d already broken me once.
Breakfast was a dreary affair.
Eleanor, Fareez, Oz, and I ate breakfast together, which had been a common enough occasion ever since Isora had been overworked as punishment for our little outing, but today was different.
Because Isora wasn’t just working overtime.
She had completely disappeared.
“She’s not in the kitchens,” Eleanor said, looking as miserable as I felt.
“I didn’t see her anywhere else either,” Fareez murmured. “I tried asking if there’s a slaves wing somewhere around here, but our League members seem to be tight lipped about the matter.”
Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears. “I’ll talk to our Lord,” she whispered. “I have a shift later at his office. I’ll catch him and ask him where he sent her. I need to make sure she’s all right.”
I shared that sentiment and had already cooked a plan last night. I just had to survive the private briefing with Zion first before I went hunting for Atalon myself. The plan was a good one. It would serve more than simply knowing where Isora had gone to.
We were somber for a while, each of us barely touching our food but for Oz, who seemed to act as if nothing had happened. But Oz wasn’t the expressive type, so who knew what he really felt.
As if he couldn’t take either Eleanor’s tears or the loaded silence, Fareez switched subjects. Only the new subject wasn’t going to alleviate my mood. “I saw Lord Rayne earlier, eating breakfast with our Lord and the Lieutenants. You know what it’s about?”
Wiping her tears, Eleanor smiled gratefully at Fareez. “Yeah, I got a call from our Lord’s head secretary—my boss, Gina. She said Lord Rayne would stay here for a week due to urgent business with our Lord.”
“Interesting,” Oz murmured, surprising us all that he even spoke.
“Yeah, it is,” Fareez said contemplatively. “What’s even more curious is that our Lord didn’t seem too happy about Lord Rayne’s presence.”
Eleanor sighed. “Well, our Lord is on somewhat amicable terms with Lord Rayne, but only to a certain extent. I doubt he feels comfortable with another Lord roaming around his League for a whole week.”
“True,” Fareez said. “I’ll ask Demetria about it. Maybe she knows something we don’t ...”
The conversation died down after that, and all of us quickly made ourselves scarce to escape the heavy silence and the words none of us wanted to say.
I wasn’t in the greatest mood when I reached the Atalonian’s study room, and said mood plummeted further when I saw who was present. There was Zion, of course, wearing the same clothes as I did—the guides’ attire of black trousers, buttoned white shirt, and black blazer—but he wasn’t alone.
Next to him sat Ragnor fucking Rayne.
As if to mimic us, Ragnor wore black jeans and a white tee, along with his go-to combat boots and black trench coat. His hair was pulled into a small ponytail, and he gave me a nod, face serious but eyes glinting triumphantly.
Fury rising inside me, I turned to Zion, whose face was as sour as I felt. “What the hell is he doing here?” I demanded to know.
Zion gave me a warning gaze. “He’s a Lord, Henderson,” he said quietly, “so mind your manners.”
“That’s all right, Zion,” Ragnor said, eyes not leaving me. “She can speak however she likes.”
Zion seemed distraught at that news but pursed his lips and grated out, “Sit down, Henderson, and let’s start.”
“You haven’t answered my question,” I insisted, scowling.
This time, Zion’s eyes flickered from me to Ragnor and back. They then widened as he seemed to reach some sort of conclusion. “Meaningless matters should be saved for after the briefing. For now, let’s get to it. There is a lot to fill you in on.”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite concentrate. Not with Ragnor sitting there, staring at me with those eyes of his, his presence suffocating me as he took all the air in the room.
To his credit, Zion did his best to ignore Ragnor, but even he couldn’t quite refrain from glancing in the Lord’s direction from time to time, as though, like me, he was trying to understand what Ragnor had to gain from sitting in on this boring briefing session.
Two uncomfortable hours later, Zion was finally done. “The gala is in two weeks,” he said. “If you feel like you’re not sure about something, do not hesitate to ask.” He paused and glanced at Ragnor momentarily before he added tautly, “The gala has no room for mistakes. And since it’s going to be your first guidance job, the expectations are much higher for you.”
“Understood, sir,” I said, feeling Ragnor’s eyes boring holes in my face, as they’d been doing the entirety of the session.
Zion gave me a jerky nod and shot one last dirty look to Ragnor before he said, “Dismissed,” and practically fled the room.
Now I could openly glare at Ragnor without inhibitions. “Was I not clear last night?” I asked in a barely contained snarl.
He rose to his feet, putting his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. “You were,” he said conversationally, “but I don’t think I was clear.”
I jumped to my feet when he walked toward me, and when he invaded my personal space, stopping only an inch away from me, I refused to step back. I stood my ground. That, of course, made electricity burn through my veins. Folding my arms, I held my chin high and did not avert my gaze from his. “You’re here to hound me for whatever fucked-up reason you have,” I said darkly. “I think that’s clear enough.”
He gave me a hard look. “I made a mistake,” he said, and hearing him admitting to making a mistake for the second time in less than twelve hours made me freeze. “I was too slow to make another bid, too indecisive, and I lost you.”
Talking about the damned Auction was not an option. “What’s done is done,” I said, trying to ignore the pain filling my chest. “I belong to the Atalon League now, and that’s on you. You’re just an ex-fling for all I care.”
His eye twitched. Good. I didn’t want him all composed like this. I wanted him to be angry. Just as angry as I was. I wanted to hurt him. To make him feel some of the pain I did. I wanted to make him regret forcing this talk on me.
“I’m more than that to you,” he said in a low voice on the verge of a growl. “You know it, and so do I.”
I snorted. “Someone thinks highly of himself.”
“This bravado doesn’t work on me, Aileen,” he said tightly, making me feel a menacing kind of glee. “You should know me better than that.”
I did know him, and I knew that this “bravado” was working exactly as it should. “Then get this into that thick head of yours,” I said, giving him a humorless smile. “I’m so over you, it’s not even funny. I couldn’t give a fuck if you feel like you made a mistake.” I laughed bitterly as the hole in my chest grew, the pain spreading down to my stomach, making me want to hurl right then and there. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to take you back in any way.”
I turned around and strode toward the exit. He didn’t follow me.
And I wished my relief would’ve been greater than the agonizing disappointment that threatened to drown me whole.
Atalon’s waiting area was empty when I walked inside later that day. The secretaries were nowhere to be found, but I could hear voices from inside his office.
I knocked on the door and waited. The voices inside paused, and then Atalon’s voice, curter than usual, snapped, “Come in.”
Once I opened the door, I felt like crying. Because Ragnor was there, of fucking course, and he was looking at me with a determined expression that made my pain and anger rise so quickly, I got internal whiplash and my mind short-circuited.
Atalon looked at Ragnor coldly before turning his gaze to me. “What is it, Aileen?”
Feeling just as cold myself, I folded my arms and tried not to shiver. “I need to talk to you.” I paused and stared pointedly at Ragnor. “About a private matter, that is.”
Ragnor walked toward the door, and while he looked at me, he spoke to Atalon. “I’ll see you tomorrow to finalize our discussion, then.”
“Sure,” Atalon drawled, irritated. “Do that.”
Ragnor gave me one last soul-searching look that made me almost wince before he left, closing the door behind him.
Once he was gone, I let out a deep sigh and took a seat before Atalon, whose entire focus was now on me. “What is it?” he asked, eyes searching mine.
Seeing Ragnor again made my resolution even stronger than before. “I was wondering if you could tell me where Isora is, my Lord,” I said without preamble.
He leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I told you to call me Atalon,” he repeated like a broken record. He then sighed again. “Isora has been reassigned, as you must know by now.”
Clenching my teeth, I gave him a sharp nod. “I know that,” I said tightly. “I just didn’t know it meant I could no longer see her.”
Atalon gave me a long look before he gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Rest assured, Aileen. She’s being taken care of. And no, you cannot see her. No one can.”
I couldn’t discern any lies from his voice, but that didn’t mean it was the entire truth either. “I’ll tell you what,” I said, catching his gaze in mine. “If you let me see her, I’ll go on that date with you.”
That brought him to attention. “Are you sure?” he asked, straightening in his chair. “I’m a selfish man, Aileen. If you give me a chance, even with conditions, I’ll take it.”
That’s what I counted on. “I am sure,” I said, giving him a serious nod.
He cocked his head, frowning. “Perhaps I was mistaken, then.”
What was it with these Lords nowadays who admitted to making mistakes left and right? “What about, my Lord?”
His eyes flashed at the way I addressed him, but this time, he didn’t comment on it. “I thought there was still something going on between you and Rayne.”
I almost laughed. “There’s nothing left between us.” I grimaced. “If there ever was anything, that is.”
Atalon stared at me for a long moment before his face broke into a grin and he said, “Then I accept your terms. Be ready tomorrow at seven. I’ll pick you up.”
That wasn’t enough, obviously. “What about Isora?”
He maintained his grin. “I’ll let you see her after the date.”
Seeing how resolute his eyes were, I knew I wouldn’t get a better deal than that. “It’s a date, then.”
His eyes dropped to my lips momentarily before rising to meet mine. “It definitely is.”