Page 12 of Prince of Tides
I laughed in his face, which he didn’t take so well. “That’s it. You’re fired. Get the fuck out of here. Now.”
“You know,” I mused, flexing my leg muscles and slowly standing up. “This isn’t your house. Nor is it your fiancée’s house. It’s herfather’shouse, and he’s the one who makes the calls on who does or does not work here. So I would watch your attitude, you over-bloated, arrogant, inferior piece ofshit. Before you piss off the wrong person.”
By that point, I’d risen to my full height. My shirt was practically ripping as my arms filled with blood. I was eager for a fight. I wanted him to take a swing, so I could put him in his place and teach him some manners. Laurie’s fiancé or not, he was in desperate need of an attitude check, and I was just the type to give it to him.
My only rule was that he had to swing first. Given that I knew how badly I outclassed him, and he had no idea, I didn’t want to take advantage of him.
Well, nottoomuch advantage. A little is fine.
“Try it,” the fiancé snarled. “Touch me, and you’re gone. I’ll have you up on charges so fast it’ll make your head spin, or my name isn’t Eric Wrexton II.”
I snickered.
He feinted toward me, intending to make me flinch. I didn’t move other than to slowly lean forward.
When none of his usual bullying tactics worked, he got fed up. Or fearful, though I doubted I would ever get him to admit that. Bullies never did. If they admitted defeat, nobody would ever fear them again.
“Watch yourself,” he growled, poking me in the chest with a finger.
I growled back. Not a human growl. A dragon one that made the very air vibrate. At the same time, I lunged at him.
He stepped back, looking at me wide-eyed.
“Can I go back to work now?” I asked in a bored tone.
“Better do a good job fixing the chair,” he said, trying to recover some of his arrogance. “If you don’t, I’ll make sure Winston fires your ass.”
I just rolled my eyes and bent down. In my head, I grabbed the heavy patio chair and slammed it down over his head. Or … a better idea came to me as I reached out to the water in his body. It would be so easy. The human body was mostly water. One violenttugand I could rip it all out.
Easy. Down.
I fought the violent, darker traits back, but it wasn’t easy. I’d fought as a youngster in the depths of the Sea of Oblivion, just like every other sea dragon. I had seen and done things there that no person should have to handle. It had destroyed me like it did all of my clan who fought. None of us were ever quite right again. Too quick to violence, to that feral anger.
Which was why we layered a veneer of diplomacy over it the older we got. As if we could pretend we weren’t the brutal killers that the dragon realm needed us to be.
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me on the balcony. Alone. Again.
I really need to stop ending up here.
It was time I came up with a plan to get home. Or at least, on my way home. No more dawdling.
“Great plan,” I said to nobody. “But how the hell are you gonna do it?”
Chapter Eight
Laurie
“Idon’t know if I can do this,” I said, standing up abruptly, wringing my hands. “I’ll just go tell him it’s over and end it.”
“I thought you were the one who wanted closure?” my father asked. Though his eyes were stony, unable to hide his anger, he gave me a soft smile, gentle and caring. “The choice is yours, of course. We don’t have to do it this way.”
“You think I should, though, don’t you?” I asked, glancing at the door to the study.
My father was quiet for several long moments. “I do, yes, becauseIwould want the closure. I would want to know for certain that I hadn’t misheard or only heard part of a conversation, etc. That finality would mean a lot tome. But maybe it doesn’t to you. Maybe you can move past that easier than I could.”
I sighed, refraining from tugging on my hair to ease some stress. “You’re right. I do want to know. I want to look him in the eyes and hear him admit the truth. But also, I don’t want that at all.”
That elicited a hearty chuckle. “That’s very normal, my dear. You’re nervous. This is a big thing, and if it’s true, it’ll hurt. A lot.”
