Exposed [Book 4 in the Expiring Series]

55 Commitment

Erik~~

I sit on the edge of Rydersin's bed, Karn beside me. Not just some borrowed bed, but her own in the room in which she grew up. Every inch of it is elegant with pieces that look as if they were made from crystal, reminding me of her own home where we met to discuss our partnership. The room is decorated in white with the lightest of pink accents, whether it's the flowers in a vase or the glimmer inside a crystal. Across from us, Meilin and Xiaozhi are sunk into two plush armchairs as Rydersin paces between us.

            "I'm so close." She laces her fingers together.

            "Is there anything we can do?" Karn asks, and Rydersin shakes her head as she comes to a stop in front of me.

            "Preeminence Blackwood spoke with the Order before he left."

I try not to appear too interested. "Oh?"

"He told them he supports me."

            I didn't know he did that. "I'm not surprised."

            She frowns. "I don't know how I should thank him."

            "You can worry about that later." Perhaps she could even visit Elleany to give her thanks. I wouldn't be allowed to accompany her, but she could tell me what it was like. Tell me how my family is.

            She turns toward Meilin and Xioazhi. "Would you give me and Erik a moment alone?"

            The sisters trade looks but all three Veil stand and shuffle to the door.

            "We'll be right outside," Karn says before shutting it.

            Rydersin turns back to me slowly, letting out a deep breath. "I'm sorry we haven't been able to talk about us."

            "It's okay."

            "No, it's not. It's not fair to you."

            "You're trying to become Preeminence. I understand that takes precedence."

            Sinking onto the bed beside me, she brushes her fingers through my hair, her fingers scraping over the curve of my ear. "You're allowed to be important, Erik."

            I cover her hand. "It's fine. You're going to become an amazing Preeminence, and that's what matters."

            Her lips turn down. "Stop rejecting yourself. You're allowed to be someone's main character."

            "Are you saying that someone is you?"

            She threads her fingers through mine, pulling our hands down to our laps. "Maybe."

            "You don't know the pain I've caused. The deaths that weigh on me."

            "If deaths didn't weigh on you, I'd be concerned."

            "What if I hurt you?"

            She shakes her head. "I'll outlive you. My death can't be your fault either directly or indirectly."

            I look down at our entwined hands.

            "I know I've promised you a fortune and you can do whatever you want with it, but I hope after all this is over, that you'll stay in Acquaellia."

            My eyes lock on hers. "I want that."

            "Then stay."   

Leaning forward, I place my hand on the side of her face. "I promise." She tilts her head right before my lips press against hers.

            The kiss is nothing like our last one. It's tender, languid, as if there's nothing waiting for us outside her bedroom doors. That we have all the time in the world for me to explore the way her lips feel, how they move against mine.

            Her hand slides up over the front of my shirt, and I tug her closer to me before reclining on the bed and pulling her down with me. As I move my hands to her lower back, she nips at my nose.

Someone raps on the door, and Rydersin sits upright as if I've shocked her. One look at me and she pushes me off the bed. I hit the ground with a thud.

Whoever is on the other side of the door knocks again. "Rydersin. The Order wants to see you." I recognize the voice as one of her cousins, the son of someone on the Order.

She runs her hands up and over her braids. Her lips are swollen, and her eyes are dark. "Now?" she bites out as a whisper, turning for a mirror.

I rub my shoulder that I landed on. The last time I checked it was almost midnight.

She tries smoothing out her dress, but it's far too wrinkled to be fixed with a few swipes of her hands. "One minute," she calls to the door as she reaches behind her back and undoes the few buttons there. My eyes are fixed on her as the dress slides off her, pooling around her feet and leaving her in only her underwear. From where I am on the floor, I trace every curve and dip of her as she walks to her wardrobe and pulls out a new dress, the fabric a deep burgundy.

She changes into it far too quickly, and her cousin knocks again.

"I'm coming." She turns to me. "Will you stay? I don't know what the Order's decision will be and I . . ."

"I'll stay."

"Do you want my Veil to wait with you?"

I look pointedly at the wrinkled bedspread.

She checks an earring, purposefully not looking at me. "Right. I'm sure you'll be fine on your own."

A moment later she's out the door.

I toy with the idea of either exploring the space she used to call her own or just lying on the bed and waiting for her to return. If this were my room back home though, I wouldn't want anyone going through it, so, I settle down onto the bed, catching the scent of her floral perfume. I don't know if it's from her bedding or if it's now on my skin. 

Could I have a life with her? A family? A home?

I want it, and it scares me how much.

The minutes tick away. What is the Order saying? Has her father managed to bribe enough members to side with him? Or has Rydersin at last convinced them to chance her father's wrath?

The door creaks open, jolting me from my thoughts.

Rydersin steps inside. "Did I wake you?"

I scan her face, searching for any indication of what the Order might have said. "No."

She closes the door and approaches the bed, and I get on my knees to be at eye level with her.

A second passes before her face breaks out in a smile, one that tugs at something in my chest. "They said yes."

I crush her against me, my hands on her face, my lips devouring hers, and I pull her down on top of me.

Anyone else watching Moon Knight?