Page 126 of Godbound
Whispers trail behind us. My eyes move over the crowd, and I can almost hear their thoughts.
Whore. Cursed. She asked for it.
That dress says everything, doesn’t it? She wanted to be looked at. Who does she think she is?
And then I think of my father. I see his face. I hear his voice.I told you what would happen if you acted like your mother.
For a terrifying second, I want to turn around. I want to run. Their rejection shouldn't define me. But, somehow, it still does. I haven’t escaped it. I haven’t healed. I’ve just dressed the wound in red and called it armor.
Then Ryker turns.
His sky-blue eyes find mine. My heart clenches in my chest, squeezed tight by anticipation. Despite everything between us, I can’t help but yearn for the tiniest glimmer of pride. His gaze drags across my body, lingering on the neckline that dips over my collarbones, on the slits of my dress revealing bare skin as I walk.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Ryker says stiffly, stepping away from the consul and motioning for me to follow.
I hesitate. Eva’s eyes meet mine, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. I give her a small nod before trailing after him, my gown brushing the polished floor with every step.
Ryker keeps close to the columns, skirting the edge of the room like he’s trying to disappear. He doesn’t want to be seen with me. Is he ashamed?
Anger stirs low in my stomach, spreading like fire licking up dry tinder. It grows hotter with every step until I’m burning from the inside out.
He pushes through the doors to the gardens, and cool night air rushes over my overheated skin. Without looking back, he strides into a secluded alcove.
“What is this?” Ryker snaps, spinning on me.
His voice is so sharp I stumble back, my shoulders hitting the wall of greenery behind me.
“What is what?” I snap back, fury threading my words tight.
He doesn’t answer right away. His jaw works, like he’s grinding his words down. Or is it guilt? Rage?
“This,” he growls, gesturing wildly at me. His eyes blaze as they rake over my body again. “What are you trying to do? Are you deliberately tempting every man in court to try their luck? If this is how you dressed that night, then no wonder my brother?—”
The slap cracks through the night before I even register raising my hand.
My palmstings. Ryker’s head jerks to the side, a red bloom already rising on his cheek.
“I could’ve been in nothing but undergarments,” I hiss, my voice trembling with rage, “and it wouldn’t give him the right to do what he did. Your brother drugged me with sleeping herbs, you ass.”
His eyes widen, disbelief carving itself into his features.
Three faint scratches from my newly filed nails mark his cheek as proof of my fury. “He couldn’t… he wouldn’t—” he says, stepping toward me, his voice faltering. “You’re lying. You’d say anything to absolve yourself?—”
I swing again, but this time he catches my wrist mid-air. His grip is firm but not cruel, and he pushes me gently back into the greenery, pinning my arm to his chest. His body is too close, his heat rolls off him, curling into mine.
Our breaths tangle.
I see it, the denial behind his eyes crashing against the truth he’s too afraid to accept.
My chest heaves. His gaze drops, lingering on the neckline of my dress, then rising slowly to my lips.
“You showing up here, looking like this….” His voice drops low. “It’s messing with my head, Ray. You’re showing pieces of yourself that were supposed to be mine.Youwere supposed to be mine.”
He leans closer, the press of his body against mine unmistakable. His leg shifts between my thighs, his voice spills into confession.
“What am I supposed to do?” he breathes. “I can’t control myself around you anymore, not when you look like this,” he says, like that’s somehow my fault.
“Get off me—” I whisper, but it comes out almost broken.
