Page 70 of Darkness I Become
“I agree,” he replied, with a wry look in Asha’s direction. “You look pretty good yourself, darling. You’ve got some colour on your skin.”
Lana rolled her eyes. “Well, you always tease me about being so pale.”
Darling.Asha bristled. She didn’t like when he called anyone else that now, though it hadn’t bothered her before. She’d seen him call women, children, and animalsdarlingfrom the moment she met him. He probably barely even registered doing it.
But it felt special now. She didn’t want him to think of anyone else like that.
What was wrong with her that she cared so much? It meant nothing.
But what if it means something?she couldn’t help worrying anyway.
“You look good too, Asha,” Lana said, putting her hand on Asha’s shoulder and sending an electric current through her body. “Was it nice traveling to the Settlements? I’ve never been.”
“Never?” Asha repeated, surprised.
“Women aren’t allowed. Present company excluded,” Lana replied with a sweet smile, and in a surreal moment, Asha realized that Lana actually admired her for breaking the mold. She probably saw Asha asadventurous.How strange.
“I thought I’d make us all dinner,” Lana continued. “The other girls will be alright without me for one evening. I want to hear all about how the trip went.”
“That’s nice of you,” Cade said with a smile, looking over at Asha. “Isn’t it, Asha?”
Why did it seem like he was taunting her?
“Yes,” Asha said slowly. “I’d like that.”
Dinner turned out to be a lot of fun. They made a hearty stew with day-old bread from the kitchens, and everything was delicious. Lana was her usual sweet, affable self, and all in all, Asha enjoyed herself. If only she hadn’t been analyzing the friendly looks between Lana and Cade the entire time.
Lana left shortly after, and there was an uneasy silence between them in her absence. Cade still sat across from Asha at the table, sipping on his water, looking utterly unaware of the brewing tension inside her. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“You and Lana seem close,” Asha said, trying to sound casual. A strange, churning discomfort had started in her gut that she didn’t understand. She’d never felt it before.
Cade shrugged. “She’s a friend. I’m glad the two of you get along.”
Asha kept her eyes down, but she could feel her features hardening. The thought of Lana in Cade’s bed, her lips against his, her soft, pale thighs wrapped around his powerful body…
She was torn between the urge to bleach her brain and the unsettling desire to get herself off.
“What’s up?” Cade asked, ending the fantasy. When she glanced up, he was looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Nothing,” she huffed. “I’m fine.”
He scoffed. “You’re not. What’s on your mind?”
A brief, tense pause. Then, “Have you slept with her?”
Cade frowned. “Is that what you’re worried about?”
“You like her,” Asha said, more accusatory than she intended.
He barked an incredulous laugh. “Green is a lovely colour on you, darling.”
“I’m not jealous,” she shot back, convincing no one. “And you didn’t answer the question.”
He shrugged. “We hooked up once, when I first came to the Nest. One night, just sex. We had fun, but nothing more came of it.”
Asha felt another pang of jealousy, along with another painful bolt of heat that shot directly to her pussy. She was caught between hatred that Cade may have ever had feelings for Lana and keen, erotic curiosity about what they’d been like together. And what it might be like to bewiththem.
It was altogether very confusing, so her tone may have been sharper than she intended when she said, “Did you break up with her?”
