Page 61 of Moonlit Thorns

He follows me. “Trust me, it is.”

I whip around to face him. His words are only going to make it harder to keep my head in check, and I’ll be the one who ends up hurt. “It’s not. Asher doesn’t care for me. Not like you’re thinking.”

Marcel shakes his head and gives me a sad sort of smile. “Did you know that Mr. Voss has never had a woman in the west wing? Ever. Because of how he was raised…”

I wait with bated breath for him to continue.

“Let’s just say he has many walls he’s fortified over the years, and it seems that you’re the one who’s figured out how to scale them. We’re all hoping they’ll eventually come crumbling down.”

“How was he raised?” That’s all I can focus on in his ridiculous statement.

Marcel frowns. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s not for me to say.” He walks on, and now it’s me chasing him down the path.

“You can’t do that! You can’t say something like that and not tell me the rest of it.”

He glances at me. “If you keep down the path you’re on, I’m sure you’ll learn for yourself. I’ve already said too much. Now, let’s go get something to eat, though you know you can eat in the manor now that you’re staying there, right?”

Truth is, I wasn’t sure. But I’m glad to hear him say it. It will be much easier to grab my breakfast and lunch at the main house.

“All right. Do you mind if I come for dinner down here most nights though? I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Living in the manor, closer to Asher is nice, but because he doesn’t spend any time with me in the evenings, it’s more isolating than when I stayed in the staff building.

“Of course not. You’re always welcome.”

At least I still sort of belong somewhere. At the moment, I’m straddling two worlds, and I don’t feel as if I quite belong to either. There was the Anabelle who showed up here the first day, demanding to see Asher Voss, and the one who stands here now. I have a feeling by the time I leave, that Anabelle won’t resemble either of her early incarnations.

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

ASHER

Kol finally joins us in the dining room for breakfast and takes his seat.

Good. Now I can get this over with.

“There’s something we need to discuss now that we’re all here, but first I want to hear about what happened with you, Kol. Any news on Rapsody?”

The glare he shoots me across the table is probably answer enough. “No. It wasn’t her. False lead. But I’m getting closer. I can feel it.”

I have no idea whether he is or isn’t—he has been at this for years to no avail. My other brothers and I have tried to talk him out of continuing to pursue this when he keeps coming to a dead end.

“Let us know if anything changes,” I say.

“You have bad news. Just spill it,” Sid says. He’s always been the best at seeing past my façade. Probably because he’s so well-versed at erecting his own.

“It’s not bad news, per se. But something you need to be aware of.”

“It involves that girl, doesn’t it?” Kol practically spits out.

“Her name is Anabelle.” My voice carries an edge that none of my brothers miss.

“I think it’s good that Asher is spending time with her,” Nero says. Of course, he’s the only one around this table who would think so.

My brothers and I worked hard to protect him from the worst of what our father was capable of, and although Nero doesn’t necessarily have a romantic view of the world, he’s certainly not as jaded as the rest of us.

“I’m not spending time with her, I’ve fucked her. There’s a difference.” I pick up my coffee to take a sip.

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