Page 48 of Point of No Return

I stop wheeling Tyson, and he cranes his neck to see me over his shoulder. “I was an Orlova before I was ever a Benenati,General. I knowexactlyhow cruel the world can be.”

Tyson is quiet for another minute, hands shaking where they clasp his cane. “Indeed.”

And with that, I realize two things:

My mother may very well be the most insane woman I’ve ever met for thinking I’m safe here.

I’m not the one Tyson doesn’t trust. It’s Skar. Whatever Tyson’s plan is, it requires my cooperation. And his son’s.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Skar

Charlotte’s sleeping by the time I get back, just like usual. The covers are pulled up to her nose, and her hair is a halo of brown around her. It’s been weeks since I’ve really seen her, but I know just from what the servants tell me that she’s barely sleeping. So I’m quiet as I grab a change of clothes and hop in the shower.

I’m usually finishing work around nine these days, and I know better than to come home and risk crossing paths with my wife.

Wife.The word still tastes foreign in my mouth. It’s been nearly a month since we went to Venine. Somehow drowning myself in work is easier than facing her. A few minutes alone with that mouth of hers and I’m closer to kissing her than hating her.

Which is exactly why I have to stay away, I remind myself. Lusting after the enemy is about as close to masochistic as it can get.

The session with Crew tonight was grueling. Our schedules have fewer openings now that he’s planning on leaving Viserion. He told me about the change a few months back. I’m sure if he worked for anyone else, he would have already left by now. Part of it might be that he knows the transition to something new will be rough. Part of it might be the change itself. Josie is only just beginning to take over.

Shutting off the warm spray of water, I step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist as I shake the water from my hair. The mirrors are fogged over enough that I can barely make out a silhouette in the doorframe.

“You’re here” comes her sleepy voice. It’s so quiet and tired that something in me tightens.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Charlotte shakes her head, stirring her brown curls as she looks at me. As her eyes drag over the tattoos on my chest, down to the towel at my hips. She drags her eyes back toward mine, and I can’t help but grin at the dark look in her eye.

The attraction is mutual.

“Your father came by.”

My smile drops. “When?”

“Yesterday,” she folds her arms around herself, leaning against the frame as if to hide the tattoos exposed by the loose neck of her shirt.

“You didn’t tell me,” I say, knowing damn well it wouldn’t matter if she had.

“You haven’t been home,” she counters, eyes narrowed in on the fists at my side.

I unclench them, grabbing the sweats from the counter and buying myself time by changing in the closet. “What did he want?”

She sighs as I tug the pants over my hips, and I reappear, strolling toward the bed as she plops down, crossing her long legs. “He knows it’s fake.”

“Fake?”

She narrows her eyes as I grab the edge of the bedframe a safe distance from her.

Nothing’s ever safe enough.

“I think it’s obvious to everyone when you touch me, Skar. You do it to get under his skin.”

I do it because I can’t help myself and being around other people is the only excuse I have.

“Are you saying you want me to touch you more?” I ask, and when she rolls her eyes, I know the conversation isn’t over.

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