Page 64 of A Worthy Opponent
She and her wife will hold the center, though I shudder to think about going up against them. I’ve only met Cordelia a handful of times, and she’s easily as ruthless and ambitious as her father was. Her wife, Muriel? People who cross Cordelia have a way of disappearing, and I am nearly certain it’s her wife behind it. One wouldn’t know that they’re a pair of the most dangerous people in Carver City when standing next to them, watching them make eyes at each other.
Cordelia is the eldest, the most ambitious, the leader, but she’s arguably not the most dangerous of the Belmonte daughters. The middle, Sienna, is a certifiable genius and one of the coldest people I’ve ever met. The only exception to her icy attitude is her sisters, and her husband who’s a startlingly normal guy. And the youngest? I look at Gaeton, relaxed in sleep. Isabelle Belmonte might seem like a nice girl, but she’s playing a dangerous game with Beast and Gaeton and doesn’t seem to care.
No, it’s in everyone’s best interest if the inheritance of power happens seamlessly. There have been too many changes lately in the city. All it takes is someone rocking the boat, and we’ll all end up underwater.
I cuddle Tink closer and close my eyes. Dawn is nearly here, and we have more than enough problems without borrowing from the future. We’ll figure it the fuck out.
We don’t have another choice.
Chapter 25
Tink
If not for the delicious ache in my body when I wake up alone in Hook’s bed, I could almost convince myself I imagined everything that happened last night. Not the sex. No, the scariest thing that happened last night was admitting my feelings to Hook. They aren’t going away, and that terrifies me. I don’t know if we’re going to live past the confrontation with Peter that’s barreling down on us.
The possibility of a future? Afamily?
If I reach for it, grasp it with too much enthusiasm, will the universe respond favorably? Or will it kick me in the teeth for having the audacity to believe I deserve a happily ever after?
The only way to know for sure is to jump and hope I learn to fly on the way down.
Hook walks out of the bathroom. He’s got on slacks and nothing else and seeing his bare feet peeking out from beneath the black fabric feels strangely intimate. Silly considering everything we’ve shared in less than a week, but the strangest things become kicks to the chest with this man.
He studies me in that way of his, as if he knows I’m sitting in his giant bed and having a silent freak-out. “You want to talk about it?”
“I don’t believe in happily ever after.” As soon as I blurt out the words, I feel foolish. I don’t know what I want him to say. I’m precariously perched on a cliff edge, and one word will send me back to safe ground, and a different one will push me right over the edge. I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what Ineed.
Hook turns, freeing me from his gaze, and pulls open one of the wardrobes. All his clothing was cleaned in record time and put away the day after I sent it to be dry cleaned, though I have no confidence it will stay that way. This man is a hurricane in motion. He shrugs into a cream button-down and does it up with deft fingers. “There’s no such thing.”
My heart sinks, even as I tell myself that to be grateful he’s being honest with me. “Oh.”
Hook crosses to the bed and holds out a hand. “All the stories end with the villain vanquished and the happy couple riding off into the sunset. That’s what happily ever after is. They never have to work on their relationship, never have to get their hands dirty when facing the challenges living a full life creates. They’re caught in stasis, without conflict, without problems, withoutlife. That’s no way to live.”
I blink. Of all the things I expected him to say, this isn’t one of them. “You read a lot of fairy tales, Hook?”
“Don’t do that.” He gives me a tug, and I climb gracelessly to my feet. “When I say I love you, and I want a life with you as my wife, I mean alife,Tink. The problems and the victories and the day-to-day mundane bullshit. I want everything.” Another tug closes the distance between us, and then I’m pressed against his chest. He skates a hand down my spine and gives my ass a squeeze. “That’s better than any fictional happily ever after, don’t you think?”
“How can you be so damn confident all the time?” I whisper. Compared to him, I’m wobbling on my feet like some unsteady newborn creature.
He shakes his head. “It’s not confidence, beautiful girl. It’s the truth, and I try to always be honest with you.” He grimaces a little. “At least since we’ve been married.”
The caveat gives me pause. I lean back and narrow my eyes. “You would have saved me anyways, even without the ring.”
For the first time in a long time, he actually looks a little uncomfortable and won’t quite meet my gaze. “Maybe.”
“Jameson,” I say his name slowly, enjoying watching him fidget. “Are you sure you’re really the monster you claim? Because I think you might have a tarnished suit of armor stuffed in that wardrobe somewhere.”
He kisses me, a deep, rough kiss that has me weaving on my feet. Hook lifts his head before I’m ready for it to end. “Get ready, beautiful girl. Wear comfortable shoes.”
Because I might be running for my life before the day is through.
The thought weighs down the lightness in my chest brought on by his words. I grab his hand and give it a squeeze. “I want to live not-happily-ever-after with you, Jameson.”
His grin is blinding. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” The words feel strange on my tongue but not entirely unpleasant.
I rush through getting ready, moving quickly to avoid thinking too intensely about what comes next. I opt for comfort, slicking my hair back into a ponytail and pulling on a pair of jeans and one of my graphic T-shirts. Boots round out the outfit. I stare down at them, wishing that they were steel-toed instead. The thought brings a hysterical giggle to my lips. What would I do with steel-toed boots? I might be afighter in the survival sense, but when it comes to actual combat, I’m a flail-violently-and-hope-for-the-best kind of woman.
