Page 60 of Ashes and Lilies
Maria cracked her fingers. “Miles, do you—”
“I remember how this goes,” Miles cut her off, an intense look taking over his expression as he flicked the spinner.
“Five,” he muttered as the spinner stopped, and he counted out loud as he moved. “Damn.”
I glanced at the board. Miles had landed on the pink necklace tile.
“You can only get a necklace if you land on your color,” Maria told him, pushing the lid toward Damen.
Miles huffed and slid back into his seat. “I know that! Damen, don’t let her win.”
Damen tentatively took his turn. “Two.” He moved his pieces. “I get a bracelet.”
“No!” Maria sounded distraught. As Damen pulled out the shiny bracelet, she slid the spinner toward me. “You can do it.”
“Okay…” I took my turn, not really feeling as competitive as the others. Besides, I only wanted the crown. I would take it from whoever won anyway.
The game continued, with Miles and Maria becoming louder at each turn until finally, Miles won an earring.
“You’re not sticking that thing in me.” Miles leaned away from Maria, who hovered over the table, demanding that he play by the rules.
“Aren’t you supposed to be dedicated to the cause?” Maria waved the dangling earring in his face. “How much do you want to win? A needle and some ice will take care of that problem.”
Miles continued to push back into his seat. “I don’t need to win that badly. I’m not piercing my ears for a game.”
I glanced between them, wondering if I should interject. It wasn’t that big of a deal, and I, too, had no intention of piercing my ears. Finally, after Maria appeared ready to launch into a rant, I spoke. “He doesn’t need to wear it. He can hold it or something.”
“That’s not how any of this works!” She stood up quickly. “Now I’m angry, and it’s time for a break.”
“Maria!” Damen frowned at her. “Don’t be rude.”
She ignored him, tugging me to my feet. “And we’ll change into our pajamas. You two change as well. And Miles, figure out what your plan is going to be.”
“Not everyone has to be at one hundred constantly.” Miles crossed his arms and turned away.
I glanced down at my lounge pants and tank. I’d changed after my bath. “But I’m already in my pajamas.”
“Those aren’t proper pajamas,” Maria stated, grabbing her bag and pulling me with her. She paused at the doorway, glancing back at the boys. “I remember your pieces. No cheating.”
Damen frowned, almost pouting. “Do you honestly think that I would—”
“Absolutely,” she cut him off. “You always break the rules. That’s why no one will playMonopolywith you.”
“Now, come along,” she told me. She was so forceful I could only follow, swept up in her whirlwind of motion.
“Why am I wearing this?”I asked, looking at the black, long-sleeved top and matching pajama shorts Maria had forced me to change into. “Isn’t the back of this see-through? And this is a lot of skin… Weren’t you changing into your pajamas too?”
“Men,” Maria said, not answering my question as she glanced over me appraisingly. “They’re not great at protection detail, are they?”
I released the bottom of my shorts and glanced at her. But she had already moved on, circling me as I stood in front of Damen’s full-length mirror.
This was the umpteenth comment she had made about the boys. It almost seemed as though she hated men. But I found that hard to believe—she was so beautiful and graceful. Surely, men fell at her feet, trying to impress her.
So why the hostility?
Unless… My mind raced through explanations as she circled me like a predator evaluating its prey. It was a bit disconcerting, but even though women weren’t usually kind to me, I was generally more at ease with them. So, I ignored the prickling at the base of my neck.
A horrible man must have broken her heart. It must have been another lion shifter, leaving her for another lioness. Such things sometimes happened in the wild, and male lions were the animal counterpart of whorish. I could see how such a thing would make a were-lioness mistrustful.
