Page 79 of The High Priestess

“Have you ever tried getting therapy?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not going to talk to a stranger about Ronnie.”

I give him a pleading look. “Will you talk to me? It might help.”

He nods, but then says, “Not tonight, though. Another time.”

“Okay.” Letting go of him, I turn around and take the packet of ground beef from the towel. After I place it back in the freezer, I nod toward the doorway. “Let’s go back to bed.”

“I’m going to stay up,” he says. “I’ll tuck you in, though.”

When we walk back to the bedroom, I glance at him and ask, “Will you just lie with me? We don’t have to sleep.”

He nods, and when we lie down, he turns onto his side so he can look at me. Neither of us says anything for a while, and when I can’t stand the gap separating us for a second longer, I move closer until our bodies touch.

I wrap my arms around him again and pull him closer until he rests his head on my chest. I press a kiss to the top of his head before dragging my fingers through his short hair.

“Thank you for understanding me so well,” he whispers.

“You don’t have to thank me,” I reply. “I just want to be there for you the same way you’re there for me.”

“You’re really good at this relationship thing,” he mentions.

“I’ve had a really long time to dream about it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He lifts his head so he can look at me. “What did you dream?”

A smile tugs at my mouth. “So many things.”

“Like what?”

“Taking over from my father and making the organization stronger,” I admit. “Getting married to whichever man my dad would’ve chosen for me.”

“You would’ve had an arranged marriage?” he asks.

I nod. “This year.”

“Well, it’s no longer going to be an arranged one,” he mutters.

A smile curves my lips. “Yeah. I hope the man I marry will understand that I need to be in charge at work, but at home, I need him to be in control.”

His eyes fill with understanding. “You have to show your people you’re the boss, or they’ll kill you.”

“Exactly,” I agree. “But at home, I hope I’ll be able to be vulnerable and share my fears with the one person who will never betray me.”

He nods. “As it should be.”

Will that person be Knight, or will I end up marrying someone else?

I try to imagine my future, and all I see is Knight.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks.

“Who I’ll end up marrying.”

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