Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
A tear slipped from her eye but she nodded. “Friends, then.”
He watched her until her breathing evened out and she was asleep. Despite the heavy weight of the day, Kash lay there wondering if friends could ever be enough for him again.
CHAPTER 8
Day looked down at the magazine in front of her, a deep sadness running through her heart. It had been a solid week since her wedding but seeing herself in that gorgeous yellow sari, Kash standing beside her in all his wedding finery, made her ache inside. For the most part she’d been able to avoid news coverage, but she’d walked down to the women’s locker room to use the sauna and someone had left a copy of People magazine, with its cover story on the royal wedding, laying on one of the benches.
Had it been so little time since she’d been that happy woman?
“Hey, I was…that’s weird. I was looking for that magazine. It’s not every day you find the celebrity holding the magazine she’s on the cover of. Well, unless you’re my brother-in-law. I swear he keeps his own press clippings around at all times so he can pull out some sexy picture of himself and sign it.” The woman in front of her smiled. She was a bit taller than Day, with a friendly face and a mass of curly brown hair tied back with a black ribbon. She held out a hand. “I’m Kori Ferguson.”
Day shook her hand. She’d been told Kori might be in and out of the club. She and her husband, Kai, ran a clinic next door. They specialized in helping soldiers with PTSD. It was the kind of thing Day would have usually been interested in. She would have asked a million questions and wanted to know about the science behind their therapies. Now she could barely work up the will to return the woman’s smile. “Dayita Kamdar.”
Kori stepped back, the smile on her face turning a bit mischievous. “Should I curtsy?”
The Domme in Day recognized what a righteous brat that one would be. The woman in front of her would likely be fun to play with. Of course, she was sure Kash would see her even thinking the thought as a form of cheating. He didn’t seem to be capable of understanding that play didn’t have to end in sex.
He also wasn’t capable of seeing how much he needed.
Day handed over the magazine. “No curtsies, please. I’m trying to be undercover. I don’t think Mr. Taggart would take it well if his staff started curtsying to the royals.”
Kori snorted lightly. “I’m so not that man’s staff.”
Naturally, she was offending everyone these days. “I apologize. I meant no offense.”
Kori shrugged. “None taken. I’m sure Big Tag would call me staff. Then I would do something mean to his locker. Then he would laugh and handle it super well, and Kai would get all pissy and I would find myself tied up and well, you know where it goes from there. Big Tag is surprisingly good natured about practical jokes. I filled his locker with Jell-O once. Don’t even ask. It was a week-long project. I thought he would flip his shit. He laughed hysterically and asked me if I could do it to Adam’s car.”
It was an interesting place she found herself in. She might have even loved Sanctum had she not felt so deeply alone. “And did you?”
“Still working on it. So, are you coming to the masquerade night?” Kori opened one of the lockers and stuffed the magazine inside. “Kai and I are getting things ready. I was surprised you haven’t come to any of the play nights. Kai said you were active in the lifestyle.”
She had to go with the united front she and Kash had agreed on. He’d been true to his word. He’d softened his stance and hadn’t accused her of being a whore or trying to ruin his kingdom again. They’d sat down the day after they’d arrived and agreed that they could make no decisions and do nothing until they figured out who had tried to kill Kash. While they were stuck here in Sanctum, they’d decided they would work on being friends. After the first day, they’d slept in separate beds, kept up different rooms. They’d been polite, but there was a distance between them she’d never felt before. Not when they were together. Somehow, when they were in the same room, there had always been a connection she could feel. It had been cut now, and she wasn’t sure they would ever get it back.
Kash didn’t seem interested in finding that connection again. He’d spent his time watching movies in the men’s locker room or playing video games with the bodyguards. Day had been left to read or work out, or—worst of all—think.