Page 115 of Let Us Prey

Delores pauses as we stand in front of the elevator, and I can see the ferocity in her gaze. She means it; she’ll take on the entire Khan ambush if they come for us. It makes my heart skip to see the determination in her gaze and I take her hand, squeezing it with a soft smile.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, angel. But thank you for caring about us,” I murmur as I pull her closer.

She shrugs, her eyes flashing with a red tint for a moment as she practically growls, “We take care of our own.”

Fuck the princess thing; this girl is going to be our queen.

The bell dings and I feel emotions swamp me as we head into the tiger’s den—literally.

New Love

Delores

The way Chesslooks at me makes my skin tingle. It’s like he’s discovered the most precious thing on the planet and wants to wrap himself around it forever. He looks at Fitz with adoration, too, but it’s different when he’s watching me.

I could almost feel the change in his confidence when I said I’d protect them from the Khans if need be. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have a clue how I’d do that, but voicing it seemed to help my nerdy cheetah break free of his fears. He’s been laughing, talking, and sharing delicious food with me all evening without ducking his head once.

Perhaps he needed the reassurance that I wanted him? If so, I wish I’d known sooner.

The twins dressed him in that smooth, suave suit, but as wisps of his floppy curls escape his bun and he gestures animatedly when talking about geeky shows and books with me, the real Chess peeks out. I ignored Fitz’s warning from before and asked about the baking show; it started him on a detailed rant about cooking shows and the superiority of his favorite in comparison. That led to other shows we enjoyed and after that, everything was easy.

I see exactly why Fitz fell for the quiet cat and his habit of needing to push his glasses up after he gets too excited is making me squishy as hell.

Of course, when he took the suit jacket off during dinner, I got a good gander at his lithe muscles and tight ass, so my lady bits are standing at attention, too. Chess is the complete package and I can’t help but give him starry-eyed looks as we hold hands and wait for the desserts to be served.

“Do you think their pastry chef will pass muster?” I ask him teasingly. “You have awfully discerning opinions about filo dough.”

His chuckle rumbles over me as he shrugs. “If not, I’m sure Fitz will spill the beans to someone and they’ll find a new one. He hates for people he loves to be disappointed.”

I’m about to question that gem when a huff of anger sounds behind me. My spine stiffens and the hairs on my entire body stand on end as I recognize the sound. Swallowing hard, I will my hands not to shake as the clack-clack of Leopardtins moving across the marble comes closer.

Lucille is in the house.

“Delores Diamond Drew! What on earth are you doing here?” Her tone is full of acid and disbelief, as if they should have cast me out with the riff-raff before my feet hit the pavement out front.

I give Chess a pleading expression, hoping he understands. I lick my lips, letting go of his hand and turning in my seat to look at the woman standing just outside of my peripheral vision. That’s one of her tricks to make you come to her, so I’m resisting standing up defiantly.

“Happy New Year, Lucille. I thought you were in Ibiza for the holidays,” I reply in a mild, unperturbed voice. I school my features to keep her from knowing how much seeing her affects me.

“I’m surprised to see you here, of all places, Delores. You’ve never shown the slightest interest in attending events such as this.” The woman who gave birth to me rakes her eyes over me briefly, then looks at Chess with a narrowed gaze. “Stand up and introduce your friend. I can’t abide rudeness and you know it.”

Chess rumbles a little as I push to my feet, moving away from him to allow Lucille full access to inspect me. He rises as well, pushing our chairs in so he can step forward and meet the most dangerous woman on the Council’s stare evenly.

Being raised by Khans has its benefits.

“Lucille, this is Chess. He’s my date this evening.” I smile politely as I turn to my cheetah. “Chess, this is Lucille Rostoff Drew, head of the Council, heir to the Rostoff empire, and my mother.”

The words taste like acid on my tongue, but I was taught the proper way to introduce my parents from a very young age. They each have rules that must be followed, and any deviation led to severe punishments. Hera forbid a seven-year-old forget a title or important lineage declaration at a school function.

“Interesting. Someone enticed a designer to alter couture to fit your ample frame—they must have impeccable assistants. I don’t remember selecting that gown, though,” Lucille ignores Chess for the moment, too busy tossing barbs about my appearance to notice the animal shimmering under his skin. “And that diadem is not one of ours; your father wouldn’t allow you to sully my family’s heirlooms in that ridiculous hair.”

I can feel the growl before I hear it and I reach out to take Chess’ arm, pretending to use it for balance. “No, Lucille. The dress was a Yule gift, and the tiara was loaned to me so I would be suitably attired for this auspicious occasion. I thought it would please you if they photographed us in public.”

“Loaned to you? Delores Diamond Drew, we are not peasants! Drews do not need to borrow accessories!” Her tone gets sharper and I sense her leopard rising to the surface as well.

Before I can attempt to repair the damage, Chess steps forward, a hard look on his face. “The Panther Princess tiara has been a Khan family heirloom since my grandmother was a child. Are you implying the crown of the Khan matriarch is not good enough?”

Oh, snap.

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