Page 358 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

She took another sip of her drink. “So you pull up your pants, swallow your complaints, and do your fucking job.”

“No... you set your boundaries, and you honor your needs. You respect yourself, so they can respect you for it.”

Cat made a face but sighed in acceptance.

Alice appeared holding a tray of hors d’oeuvres. She was all dressed up for the party and wore a black leather skirt that barely covered her ass, a lacy bra that showed off her stunning cleavage, a pair of fox ears, and a cute little tail plug. She’d done her makeup with oranges and yellows to match the set, and she looked absolutely delicious.

The orange didn’t match the purple of the leather collar she proudly wore around her neck, but as per usual, she refused to take it off. I had to pry it off her in the evenings to get her to shower.

“And, when you find the right person...” I said, taking the plate of stuffed mushrooms from her tray, “everything else falls into place.”

She blushed and smiled coyly, and I could see the little flash in her eye and the purse of her lips that meant she was about to say something cheeky. I beat her to it.

“Unless you marry a goblin, and then everything devolves into sheer and utter chaos.”

Her mouth popped open and she gasped. “Sir,” she said, flipping her hair and holding her hand against her chest as if offended. “I am not a goblin. I am a princess.”

Cat attempted to hold in a smile while I answered my little fox. “You, my dear, are a troll that lives under a bridge and throws silt at people because she thinks it’s funny.”

“Sir!”

“You are three drunk racoons in a trench coat, pretending to be a little girl.”

“Oh... you...”

“Oh, sorry. Two racoons. You’re too small to be three.”

She worked her mouth, knowing if she called me a name or talked back, she’d have a gag in her mouth for the rest of the night. Finally, she stomped her foot and turned on her heel, hurrying away. I heard her mutter under her breath, “oh, it isso on.”

“You know you’re going to pay for that later, right?” Cat asked.

“It stresses me out when she’stoogood.”

“You are such a brat.”

Sophie, Alice, Benny, and Molly sat on the floor in a pile of pillows and cushions that Alice referred to as “the nest,” chatting and laughing. Brett, Lindsay, Julia, and Paul were playing darts. Mike Black had convinced his brother Jace and his wife and pet to come out for the weekend, and they were catching up in the living room. Becca and Simon were whispering to each other about their plans to see how flustered they could get Molly before she started crying. Others mingled, shared stories, and waited anxiously for the sun to go down so the real games could start.

That was the rule for game nights. Clothes stay on and play stays vanilla until the sun goes down. We had another two hours.

“I know,” Alice said loudly. “Isn’t it cute?” She rolled over on her stomach and lifted her ass in the air slightly, showing off her little tail. I had a great time inserting it this afternoon.

“It’s a really nice one,” Benny said. “Where did you get it?”

“Oh, it was my Christmas present from Sir a few years ago.” Alice looked up at me with a coy expression in her eyes.

When had I given her a fox set? It was new to me this afternoon when she’d taken it out. I tried to think back, but I didn’t remember. She noticed the expression on my face and stood up, putting her hands on her hips. “You don’t remember? It was the same year I gave you that brat pass!” She had held up her promise to never give me another one, although it was the only thing on my wish list every year.

“Alice... we weren’t a couple that year.”

“I know.”

I would never have given her something like that without talking first, whether she’d bratted me without consent or not. “No, I didn’t give you that.”

Her mouth fell open and her eyes filled with rage. “You... You didn’t give me a Christmas present that year!”

I raised an eyebrow at her in warning. “Rule sixteen.”

“I will not shout at Sir,” she said, as softly as possible, but I could tell she was still pissed. “I can’t believe you didn’t give me a Christmas present.”

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