Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 41053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Exactly fifty minutes after Jafar gave his order, the room is clear but for his people. I slip out the door and head for the back entrance of the house that leads into the gardens and the massive maze that stretches over several acres. My sanctuary for so many years.
It started snowing sometime after sunset, and a light layer of white coats the path and dusts the slumbering plants. I tilt my head back and take my first true breath in hours, letting the frigid air coat my lungs and clear my thoughts.
My feet know the path, even if I haven’t been out here much since I gained leadership of this territory. It took six months to stabilize things after the coup and subsequent second coup. Even now, when things are mostly running smoothly, there’s no time. My days are filled with numbers and negotiations and politics.
I love it. I truly do. Tomorrow, I’ll love it even more.
Tonight, I’m simply tired.
The gazebo is tucked back in the maze. Not the center, but in one of the four courtyards scattered throughout the bending paths. I’ve spent nearly as many hours in this maze as I have in the house itself. It’s child’s play to craft my route, and I don’t make a single wrong turn.
I step into the courtyard at exactly the hour mark and stop short. I’m not certain what I expected, but the gazebo is swathed in darkness. A thrill of fear goes through me and I savor it the same way I savored the expensive wine I drank earlier. “Jafar?”
A whisper of sound behind me. I barely have a moment to brace before he catches my hips and hauls me back against his body. “Tell me your safe word, baby girl.”
My answer is immediate and breathy. “Rajah.”
“I’m feeling generous tonight, so I’ll let you tell me what you need.” He drags his mouth down my neck. “We can go into the gazebo, and I can take care of you nice and slow.” He grins against my skin. “Or I can chase you through the maze.”
I lean back against him, seeking the strength of his solidness. “Do you fancy yourself the Minotaur, Daddy?”
“I’m going to do significantly more than eat you when I catch you.”
I shiver. “Chase me.”
I expect him to give me a little push, to send me on my way with a count ringing in my ears. I should know better by now. Jafar turns me around and goes easily to his knees before me. “Brace yourself on my shoulders.”
Before I can ask him what the hell he’s doing, he takes my ankle and unbuckles the little strap holding my heel in place. Cold bites at my bare foot as he repeats the process with the other.
He answers my unspoken question without looking up. “I’m not having this night end with you twisting an ankle.”
I don’t bother to argue that I could run a 5k in heels if I so chose. These paths are slippery and the snow makes it impossible to gauge the dips and unevenness of the ground. “Just a little frostbite, then?”
“You won’t evade me long enough to get frostbite, baby girl.” The heavy threat in his voice has my entire body responding. We haven’t played like this in a long time. The house is never empty, and a quick chase around the bedroom isn’t anything compared to what he’s offering me tonight.
What he offered me the first time we were together.
I can’t quite remove the shakiness from my voice when I say, “You’ll never catch me.”
“Would you like to bet on that?” He rises easily to his feet. The moon is barely a crescent in the sky, and the darkness hides his expression from me, turning him into something dangerous and forbidden. “If you make it to the maze entrance—”
“I want to watch you fuck Alaric.” Since our initial trip to the Underworld, I’ve become quite familiar with Hades’s staff. Alaric is a switch who’s pretty enough to turn even me into a fumbling mess. I got over that reaction quickly, and now I can see him without making a fool of myself. Mostly.
Jafar’s grip tightens on my hips ever so slightly. “You’ve been ruminating on that fantasy for quite some time if you’re able to rattle it off without hesitation.”
There’s no point in denying it. “Yes.”
“Very well. If you make it to the maze entrance, I will put on a show for you with Alaric.” He grins, a flash of teeth in the meager moonlight. “And if you don’t make it, you’ll take a week off.”
I blink. Of all the things I expected him to say, this didn’t number among them. “What?”
“An entire week. Seven days. We will go somewhere that isn’t Carver City, and you will not take any communication for the duration.”