Page 84 of The Magic of Betrayal
Jumping up, I extended a hand to her and pulled her to a stand.
"Khol is outside. He wanted to know if he could come in and hang out with us for a bit. We have a dinner party tonight at six, so it won't be for too long," I added, hoping to ease some of her anxiety by letting her know that this wouldn't go on for hours. Her eyes widened and she nodded slowly, wringing her hands together.
"Oh, well, okay. Do I need to change?" she asked, looking down at her outfit. She was wearing a pair of ripped up jeans and a loose navy blue tank top.
"You're perfect," I promised, leading us to the door. Before I could open it, she slipped her small hand into mine, squeezing tight. Looking down at Goldie, I gave a supportive smile and opened the door to let Khol in.
His arms were clasped behind his back, his face serious and intense. That's how he was all the time though, so I was used to it. But if he wanted to win her over, he might need to not look like he had a cactus lodged in his ass.
"Hi," he said with a hint of shyness, eyes on my girl.
"Hi," she responded with a degree of wariness, eyes on her toes.
"Come inside," I offered, gesturing for him to get in here.
We moved over to the sitting area, Goldie taking up the corner of the sectional with the chaise so she could have her legs out in front of her. While they got situated, the minibar was calling my name.
"Drink, anyone?" I offered.
Khol and Goldie both said, "Yes, please," at the same time, and I chuckled.
I poured two glasses of whiskey for myself and Khol and made a vodka cranberry for my girl. I'd seen her drink one before and I didn't want to get her fucked up on dragon fire before the party. When I turned around, Khol was sitting in a chair across from the couch, nervously twisting his hands together. I'd never seen this man nervous in my fucking life. Goldie was staring at me, though.That's right, princess.
After passing out the drinks, I didn't hesitate to sit down right beside her, our thighs pressed together. Khol cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably and Goldie blushed. Didn't bother me in the slightest.
“So-”
“I-”
Goldie and Khol spoke at the same time. They both froze and I squeezed her hand and gave Khol an encouraging look.
"Saige. I want to apologize for the way I brought you here. For the way I went about looking for your mother. I didn't know you were my daughter, I didn't even know you existed. I'd given up any hope at being a father a long, long time ago. It's been a century since I've been in Besmet, in my home. I was desperate to get back here and see old friends, family." He grimaced at the word when Goldie shifted in her spot.
"Family? Do I have more family?" she questioned, biting her bottom lip, nervous for his response.
Khol smiled and visibly relaxed knowing that she was interested in hearing what he had to say. "You do. A fairly large one, in fact. There have been a few additions in the years I was gone, so if you'd like, maybe we could meet them together?" he offered, looking hopeful.
She nodded, taking a sip of her drink.
"You're right, though. You did fuck up," she told him and he choked a little on his whiskey.Bet that burns."When exactly did you find out that I was your daughter?"
Khol's face pinched a little and I kind of enjoyed seeing the big bastard in the hot seat. His daughter was a gods damned ball buster and he was going to get a grade A verbal smackdown.
"I suspected when Sullivan revealed that you were actually Laura's daughter. Though honestly, I didn't want to believe it. That would mean that the woman who I'd loved had left me and hidden my child, probably the only one I'd ever have, from me. That I'd missed her entire childhood and a big chunk of her young adult years. Not only that, but none of the other three had been successful in reproducing, so I didn't want to get my hopes up," he admitted, leaning back in his chair and running his hand over his face.
"Keep talking. I want to hear everything. You and Laurie. The guys. The orders you gave them. Did you know that we were involved romantically? Was that part of their—" her voice cracked, "mission?"
"I met your mother in a bar. We had a fast and intense love story. Or I should say I did. She never loved me.” He shook his head and diverted his eyes to the carpet for a moment before continuing, “She was intelligent, beautiful, witty. She told me she was a research student and was in the city working on a project for an employer who’d snagged her out of college after reading some of her reports. When I convinced her to stay, she assured me her boss was fine with her working remotely and building up business in Portage Falls. I proposed four months later. She'd told me how much she wanted a family of her own, despite being so young. She was only nineteen at the time, you know? But I couldn't deny her a thing. I wanted to give her the whole world, and knowing that I likely wouldn't be able to give her a baby fucked me up. But I was selfish and I figured what the hell, not thinking that she would actually get pregnant. I really loved her and I’d long given up hope on returning to Besmet, so why not be selfish for once? We could adopt kids and have our own family if that’s what we wanted," Khol explained as I twirled Goldie's hair around my fingers.
"But she did," Goldie responded.
Khol nodded, taking another drink of his whiskey.
"She did. She must have found out very early on, because of how everything lines up with your birthday," he added, his voice low.
"Did she know you were a demon?"
"No. After I fell so hard for her, the thought of telling her the truth scared the shit out of me. I was afraid she would leave, that she'd be scared of me, or worse, disgusted. Demons don't exactly have the best reputation, if you hadn't noticed. I let her believe I was a mage since I could do all of the same kind of magic." Khol leaned forward and placed his empty glass on the coffee table.
