Until the Sun Falls from the Sky(71)

Cosmo threw his head back and burst out laughing. Lucien watched his friend thinking that not the first damn thing was funny. Cosmo’s laughter became chuckling as he paid for his drink and took a sip.

“You’re losing your touch, my friend,” Cosmo noted, his eyes scanning the crowd also unseeing, his attention was on the conversation. “It’s been a whole week. Back in the day, within a week, you’d have them gagging for it.”

“Perhaps, considering it’s been centuries, I’m out of practice.”

“Perhaps?” Cosmo was still smiling broadly. “Or perhaps you’ve met your match.”

“She’ll break,” Lucien said low, meaning every word and taking a sip from his drink.

And she would.

After he’d heard her weeping and later discovering the shredded lingerie, he had thought she already had, albeit briefly.

Having it confirmed that day that only her game plan had changed had not only been invigorating, it had been a relief.

Indeed, the sense of relief was so strong it was vaguely alarming. It was as if he didn’t want her to break. As if he didn’t want the taming. As if he didn’t want her to submit to his control, instantly acquiesce to his demands, all of which would be for her own good or her pleasure, even though she didn’t understand this. As if he didn’t want to show her that her life, entrusted in his care, would blossom beyond her imagining.

It was as if he wanted things to remain as they were; the constant battles, contests of will and bickering interspersed with her quirky sweetness and immense humor.

Which was absurd.

“Well, how long do you think it’ll take?” Cosmo asked. “Maybe Stephanie and I can place bets. It would be amusing.”

Lucien leaned back against the bar and didn’t answer.

Cosmo was undeterred. “It took you three weeks with Maggie. Do you think Leah will break Maggie’s record?”

“At the rate she’s going,” Lucien drawled, “it’ll be the next century before either you or Stephanie see a return on your bet.”

Cosmo again burst out laughing but Lucien’s mind turned to something about their conversation that was unsettling.

Cosmo had mentioned Maggie and for the first time in hundreds of years, the mention of her name had not felt like a knife twisted in his gut.

He scanned his memories, all of which, over eight hundred years of them, stayed sharp in his mind.

He remembered Maggie’s taming. It had been the sweetest moment in his life, both up until that point and since. The submission, the gift of her trust, the laying of her life in his hands for his safekeeping. He’d rewarded her and she’d flourished immediately. He could still feel her underneath him, her legs opening of their own accord, her welcoming of his body in hers, the taste of her blood in his mouth, the scent of her filling his nostrils.

He could also see her smile, hear her laughter, taste her skin and feel her warm body pressed against him in sleep.

Every second with Maggie was burned on his brain, none of it was forgotten nor was it any less sweet.

It was just that the familiar pain of the memory which fused with the memory of her loss had vanished.

“Lucien?” Cosmo called and Lucien focused on his friend. “Maggie,” Cosmo murmured, his face grew concerned and he continued in a soft voice, “Sorry, that’s twice I’ve –”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lucien cut him off, not about to share his revelation.

Cosmo nodded, taking another sip, his eyes on the crowd, letting the matter drop as he had learned to do with a good deal of practice over the years.

“I hear Katrina is causing troubles,” Cosmo noted and Lucien sighed.

“I filed Severance,” Lucien shared.

“I know. Everyone knows. I’m pretty certain her phone is fused to her ear, she’s been so fucking busy.”

This didn’t surprise Lucien. It annoyed him but it didn’t surprise him.

“She tried to attack Leah today,” Lucien disclosed. He heard Cosmo’s sharp intake of breath and felt Cosmo’s eyes turn to him.

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Cosmo whispered.

“I’m not.”

Cosmo continued to stare at him. “How did that happen?” Cosmo asked, still sounding shocked as he would be.

It was not done to go visiting a mate’s concubine, no matter what you might suspect was happening.

Concubines were sacrosanct. They were under the protection of their vampire and only allowed in the company of other vampires with their vampire’s permission. To arrive on one’s doorstep with or without the intent to harm was not only not done, it was against the law. To attempt to harm the concubine was warrant for deadly retribution.