Page 84 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

I put my hair up into a ballerina bun and carefully fasten a feather clip. For the makeup, I go with a dramatic eye look, dusting my eyelids with a dark shadow and a shimmer to bring out the gold specks in my eyes. A glossy nude color for my lips completes the look. I feel like I did that night at the hotel bar. I’m Odíle, the black swan, ready to seduce my prince. Being in Archer’s house all these weeks has changed me somehow. I want him like I’ve never dared to want anything in my life. I want him so much, it hurts. He’s the only one who can help me put out this fire inside me.

With one last look at the woman in the mirror, I smooth out my dress and head out. My hands shake as I descend the grand staircase to meet Archer at seven thirty. I’m sure by now Mary Jane already told him I’m not dining in my room. He’s in the foyer talking on the phone when I reach the second landing, halfway down the stairs. Of course, he looks delicious in another one of his dark tailored suits.

“I don’t care what you have to do. Get…” he halts to stare at me, his mouth slightly open. After a few beats, he speaks into his phone again. “Let me call you back.”

“Hi.” I don’t know what else to say.

“Hi.” He smiles, and the way he looks at me is just sinful. “You are breathtaking.”

“Thanks, you too.” I point at him.

Why am I nervous? It’s not like this is our first date. Actually, I suppose it will be since I have never had a meal with him before.

“Don’t be nervous.” He places his hand on my lower back and gestures for me to go on. “How about a drink?”

“Okay.” I let him usher me to the dining room and the place setting to his right.

I keep waiting for him to make some remark on how he finally got me to have dinner with him. But he doesn’t. He’s not even being smug about it. He seems at ease and content. I feel like a jerk for refusing him all this time. But what did he expect when he insisted on treating me like a prisoner?

As soon as we are both seated, Mary Jane comes through the service door carrying a small silver tray with two cocktails on it. She smiles at me as she sets a cup in front of me. I recognize the purple drink.

“Lavender gimlet,” she offers me an excited smile.

“My favorite.” I glance up at Archer. “Is there anything you don’t know about me? Do you even like green apples?” I ask realizing that the kitchen is always well-stocked with them.

He waits until Mary Jane leaves the room. “I like how they taste on your tongue.” He raises his glass to me.

“Oh.” Goosebumps flutter across my chest. I take a big sip of my drink to calm down. I’m just having dinner with my incredibly gorgeous husband.

“How are you feeling?” He reaches for my hand. He thinks I don’t notice how he turns my wrist slightly to check on my scratches. “Any disorientation, an urge to take off your clothes? Those are all signs of hypothermia, in case you didn’t know.”

“I know.” I smile into my glass. “Don’t worry. I plan on keeping my dress on for tonight.”

Though now that he put the thought in my head, I do want to get undressed, but for other reasons that have nothing to do with the side effects of falling in a frozen pond. How can he be so calm when I’m about to combust in my seat?

“Something on your mind, Little Dove?” he asks.

Mary Jane returns to the room with her small silver tray, carrying two small bowls this time. “A chilled broth. A palate cleanser before the meal starts. Enjoy.” She dips her head and leaves again.

“No.” I finish my drink, letting the tartness of the lime juice play on my tongue. And I’m acutely aware how Archer’s gaze watches me as I lick my lips. Then I ask the question I’ve been mulling over all day. “What happens now?”

“What do you mean?” He sits back, swirling the whiskey in his glass.

“What am I to you? Your wife or your little dove?” The words spill out of my mouth before I can stop them. I didn’t come here to fight. But the way he’s sitting there like we didn’t sleep in each other’s arms last night is putting me on edge. “Make up your mind already.”

“I see.” He rises to his feet and ambles toward me until he’s directly behind me with his face in my neck. “You’re angry because I didn’t come back to you this afternoon. What did you think I was going to do exactly? Fuck you into oblivion?”

Oh good. So he does understand the source of my frustration. I get up and turn around to face him. “No.” I look around the dining room with its decor that screams civility and wealth, looking for the right words to ask my husband to give me the wedding night we haven’t had.

“What then? What do you want from me, Little Dove?” He slides my chair out of the way and advances toward me until I’m backed against the table.

My empty glass topples over, making a loud noise that clashes with the gracious aesthetic of the room. Archer doesn’t even bat an eye. Instead, he moves closer, bracing his arms on the table on either side of my body, caging me in. When the service door swings open, he slow blinks, but doesn’t turn around to acknowledge Mary Jane.

“Oh.” She stops in her tracks. “I’m sorry. I’ll come back later.” She clears her throat and shuts the door with a firm thud.

“We don’t have to do this here.” I make to leave.

“No.” He presses his palm to my chest. The warmth of his hand is enough to send my heart rate into overdrive. “Tell me what you want from me, Little Dove. What will make you stay?”

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