Page 56 of Expensive

“She also probably didn’t tell you that she still welcomes me into her bed every night. She’s very dramatic for our guests. Can’t blame her, really. After being alive for five centuries, life gets horribly boring. And scaring the poor, innocent people who come here asking for help is the most fun we get to have.”

I notice that she said “we.” Is she going to scare me too?

“If she’s such a liar, why do you go to her bed every night?” I say in a voice that sounds a lot braver than I feel.

Kim chuckles. “Because the sex is that good even after five hundred years. Not that you would know anything about great sex. You’re Edward Monroe’s trophy omega, aren’t you? Quite the scandal. And here you are, trying to get rid of that pesky bond ache. My question for you is this: what are you willing to pay Magic to remove it?”

I shouldn’t trust her. Howard told me she was evil—that she wanted him to sacrifice his two-year-old child for the life of his fated mate, but Howard is just standing there, not saying anything.

Maybe this is the only way, and he can see that now.

I pull the drawing of my library out of my left pocket and hand it to her. She unfolds the paper and stares at it for a long beat.

“My hoard,” I say.

She turns to Howard. “You got a lighter?”

He holds out his lighter to her without a word.

“Poor Howard here is embarrassed. Don’t worry, I won’t expose your secret,” she says, winking at him.

What secret? He didn’t take the deal she offered him, did he? He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

Howard glares at Kim with a hatred I didn’t think he was capable of. “You tricked me.”

She shrugs. “You weren’t specific enough. You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”

Howard turns to me. “I offered her my fertility in exchange for a pillow that would smell like my fated mate forever. She took my dick.”

Oh my God. That’s horrible.

She steps closer to Howard. “You got what you deserved. You use your magic to fix a simple medical problem that doctors can get rid of easily. That’s not what magic is for.”

“I use magic to help people,” he says, his voice full of venom. “What do you use it for?”

She laughs again. Even though her laugh is not as loud this time, it still echoes through the night. “Power. Magic isallabout power. If I take away Andrew’s bond ache, he’ll have power over his own life and his rather impressive fortune. Which will givememore power because I plan to take a large portion of that fortune as my casting fee. But you, Howard, are prostrating yourself in front of other shifters and working for them for free. It’s pathetic. Ice dragons aren’t meant to be servants for other shifters. We’re meant to rule them.”

Howard was right. She is evil. But I think she’ll help me. It’s in her best interest.

What other choice do I have?

“I want to do it,” I say, before they can argue anymore. The longer Kim speaks, the more she scares me.

“Then be specific. Tell her exactly what you want and exactly what you’re willing to give her for it. Leave no room for misinterpretation,” Howard tells me.

I nod. I can do that. “Okay. Um, I want you to remove my bond ache. I’ll sacrifice my hoard for it. And I’ll give you… ten million dollars.”

She flicks the lighter on and hands my drawing back to me. “Fifty million.”

I’m not sure if I have that much liquid income. “Thirty.”

She shakes her head. “Seventy. Don’t try to bargain with me or you’ll regret it.”

I swallow hard. I guess if I have to sell everything, I have to sell everything. I’ve already agreed to give up my hoard. What’s money compared to that?

“Fine. But you’ll get it after the spell is done. If I can walk away from here.” Maybe that’s negotiation, but Howard said to be specific.

She pauses. “Walk, not fly. You understand that you probably won’t be able to shift after this.”

---