Page 39 of Slay King

If only I could be the one staying behind.

“Want to trade places?”

He chuckled and walked over to pour his own glass. “What? And rob you of some good quality time with Scotlin?”

I grimaced and took another drink. “Nothing good or quality about it.”

Thatcher took his glass that he’d filled over halfway and smirked at me. “It can’t be that bad. Scotlin was the first bitch that let you tie her up with your rope and spank her like a bad girl. I remember when you were so enamored with her that you couldn’t keep your dick out of her.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that wasn’t how it had been, not even close, when my eyes caught on Rumor standing in the doorway. She was pale.

Motherfucker! Why did they always say shit like this? They knew she was here.

I set my glass down and went directly to her.

Why was she so goddamn pale? Had what he said upset her that much?

“He’s full of shit, sweets,” I said as I reached her.

She gave me a weak smile and nodded.

“It was fucking forever ago,” Thatcher said, surprising me. He never cared about covering his messes. “He’s taken a whip to so many hot asses since hers that he couldn’t pick it out of a lineup.”

And there it was. Thatcher being a jackass.

“Ignore him,” I told her, then cupped the side of her face in my hand. “Are you okay?”

She looked like she might faint, and my chest felt fucking weird. I didn’t like seeing her this way.

“I’m fine. Just thirsty,” she said. “I should have stayed upstairs.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re not a prisoner in that room. You wanted a bath, and I left you alone so I wouldn’t get in there with you.”

Another smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“What do you want to drink?” I asked her. “I’m day drinking. Want to join me?”

She shook her head. “Just water or maybe some juice.”

“What kind of juice, sweets? I think all we have is cranberry. Don’t usually keep juice in here, but I can get some from the main house.”

“Water is fine.”

Something wasn’t right. I just needed her to tell me what it was, and I’d fix it.

“You sure you’re okay?”

She nodded again.

She was lying, but I couldn’t force it out of her. I had to find a way to get her to talk. Or either ask Maeme if she’d said anything to her about Scotlin. Did she know I’d been shopping with her today? Was that it? Fucking hell. I needed this shit to end.

“You hungry?” I asked.

She didn’t respond right away, then finally shook her head. Her color wasn’t getting better, and I was getting concerned. Was she sick and didn’t want to tell me?

“Come on,” I said, nodding my head toward the kitchen area. “Let’s get you some water. You can look and see if any of the food that Minna dropped off today looks good to you.”

“As much fun as it is watching you hover over her like a momma hen, I got shit to do,” Thatcher said, setting his empty glass on the bar. “Don’t suffocate her too much.”

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