Page 186 of Cruel Devotion

“But I'm still in front of the Mountain Master.”

“In this moment, I'm just Lei—”

“And Lei is still crazy as hell.”

“This is true.” I watched her. “But did he?”

“No one handed me the book. I found it under my pillow.”

Very clever, Duck.

“And did you enjoy the book, Moni?”

“I read it all and was completely captivated.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Hu had a point earlier today. Your becoming the Mountain Mistress would be a rocky journey. I think knowing about our history could help.”

Terror filled her eyes. “Let's. . .talk about something else for now.”

You can run from the title but there's no hiding.

Still, I slowly nodded. “Okay. New topic.”

“Yes.” She picked up her chopsticks and started eating small pieces of meat.

“But this still deals with my cousin.” I tilted my head to the side. “Did he give you back your panties?”

A slice of meat fell from her chopsticks. She chuckled. “What is wrong with you?”

“Since we’ve gone over a lot of difficult topics, I figured we should end the rest.”

“But Duck having my panties?” Smirking, she held her hands out. “We're on a romantic date.”

“Did he give them back?”

“He tried to.” She picked the meat back up with her chopsticks. “But. . .”

“But?”

“I told him to keep them.”

I didn't mean to but I rose in my seat and towered over her. “What?”

Startled, she looked up at me, holding the meat in mid-air. “Sit. Please.”

Fuck. Calm down, before you scare her.

Clearing my throat, I lowered. “What do you mean you told him to keep them?”

“Lei, when he told me that he had the panties we were at the feast for your sister and you were gone and everyone was watching my every move.”

“O-kay.”

“So. . .as you can see it wasn't the best moment for him to just place panties in my hand.” She ate the duck.

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