him into the pool and onto the tile. He sat next to her, nudging the dog to her right to move so he could take his spot. “Who’s a good boy, Cassius? Yes, hello, you big, silly doofus.” He playfully growled at the dog. It was so strange to hear a Cardinal of the Dominion talk to a dog like it was a baby. “At least they like to wrestle. Sorry if they tackle you randomly. They’ve learned to jump on me, and they’re spoiled brats. They don’t listen, either.”
“Charming.” She chuckled and scratched behind the ear of the one in her lap. The dog rolled over onto his back, clearly loving the attention. He was half in her lap now, and he was heavy.
“Do you like animals?”
“I do. We had a few stray cats at the temple that I’d feed from time to time. No dogs, though. We weren’t allowed to keep pets.”
“Shame. Pets are better than people.” He leaned on her arm. “Most people.”
She smiled. On a whim, she tilted her head and rested it on his shoulder.
He kissed the top of her head. It was a simple, guileless gesture. It was pure affection. “Hope?”
“Hm?”
“I’m not lying when I say I love you.”
She paused as she turned it over in her head. “I’m not sure if you know what love is, but I believe you mean what you say.”
“That’s fair.” He chuckled. “Do you still want me to figure out who your parents are?”
She thought it over again, and when he draped his arm around her, she shuffled in closer to his side. She was scratching the chest of the dog in her lap. His tail was thumping quietly on the tile. She smiled. “I suppose it would be nice to know once and for all why they sold my life away. Why I…why I wasn’t important enough to keep.”
Old pain surged up in her. She had buried it deep over the years. But Nero was clearly the kind of creature who upended every stone in his path just to see what was under it.
And this one was no different.
He shooed the dogs away before pulling her into his lap. She was sitting sideways across him, her legs draped over the edge of the pool into the water. She fussed and pushed him, but he shushed her and seemed content to simply wrap one arm around her, the other combing through her wet hair. Eventually, she stopped fighting.
It felt good. It felt like comfort. It felt like what she had needed every night she spent alone in her room crying into her pillow.
“I don’t know why they sold you. When I find them, I can make them pay. I can make them suffer for what they’ve done.” He combed his hand through her hair again, his nails scraping lightly on her scalp. He pulled her head close to rest on his chest. His bare skin on her cheek was so warm. It felt so damn good, she couldn’t fight it.
“I don’t want them hurt.”
“Fine. Then we’ll at least have answers. And you’re important to me. Honestly, I’m glad they threw you away. Their loss, my gain. If they hadn’t, I’d never have found you, eh?”
She laughed once. “I suppose.”
He wandered his hand from her hair, along her chin, and tilted her head up to him. “I know I said only one more kiss…but…one more?”
“You’re insatiable.”
“Mmhm.” He moved closer. “I am. And I haven’t had what I want yet. Even then, I don’t think I’ll ever get my fill.” His other hand moved along her waist. He hit some kind of nerve, and she shuddered as something ran down her spine. “Mmh…You like it. You like it so much, but you can’t let yourself have it. Why? Why not give in to temptation?” His hand gripped her thigh. He pressed his fingers into her skin, and he groaned. It was a low, pure sound of pleasure and want. “Please? Please give in.”
She nudged his hand away from her. “No.”
“No?”
“Not yet.”
“Better.” He lowered his head to hers. “Kiss me, sweet girl. Kiss me one more time before our fun is over for now. But only if you want to.”
She debated it for a moment. But who was she kidding?
She wanted to.
And so, she did.
10
Nero sat at his desk, twirling a pen between his fingers. He was so damn pleased with himself he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He couldn’t focus on the work he had to do. But