Free Web NovelChapter 130: Chapter 130 Close Quarters
Elara’s POV
Helena’s voice rang out sharp and angry. "You!"
I didn’t waste breath on pleasantries. "Move."
In a flash, I closed the distance between us, my blade finding its home against her throat before she could blink. "Try me if you’re feeling suicidal."
"I am your mother."
"News to me. You lost that privilege a long time ago."
The steel bit into her skin, ice crystals forming where metal met flesh. She trembled, the cold finally breaking through whatever delusion she’d been nursing. This wasn’t the helpless girl she remembered.
Her eyes held that familiar bitter resentment. I could see in her eyes she was thinking about the talent flowing through my veins, unable to comprehend why I refused to accept her.
"Elara, please. I’m begging you for just one chance," she pleaded.
I let out a harsh laugh. "Not happening. Consider yourself lucky I’m even acknowledging your existence today. Stay in your lane, Helena. Don’t make me remind you again."
My boot connected with her ribs, sending her sprawling as I slipped out the door.
Her pained cry echoed behind me, but I didn’t look back. She’d drag herself up, stare at my retreating form with that same poisonous look. Always scheming. I knew she believed that since the Sterling bloodline ran through me, I would eventually have to return to them.
I shook off thoughts of Helena the moment I hit the street, my mind already shifting to the jewelry district and the credits burning a hole in my pocket.
Seven simple bands adorned my fingers, stacked in pairs that caught the light. My husbands spoiled me rotten with beautiful things—time to return the favor.
I selected seven matching rings for them, mirror images of my own. Wedding bands that would mark them as mine. Then came the personal touches: earrings, chains, and cufflinks chosen with each man’s taste in mind. Most of them had a weakness for cufflinks, so I grabbed multiple sets.
My final stop was Bound and Unbound, where I picked up their signature lace blindfolds.
Seven of those too, naturally.
The usual routine played out—I browsed and bought while Trevor’s people handled the real bill somewhere behind the scenes.
Silas trailed at a respectful distance, his gaze soft with devotion. He maintained his position like a professional, but the moment I glanced away, the world shifted.
One second I was walking, the next I was pressed into darkness. "What the hell?"
Something soft and warm wrapped around me in the tight space. "Elara, it’s me."
That voice sent recognition flooding through me. Finnian?
"Fox?" I asked.
"Yeah," came his muffled response.
He must have spotted Silas getting too close. His body molded against mine as he worked quickly, slipping something from around my neck—the rabbit pendant—and somehow transferring it to a passing security drone. The movement was so smooth I barely felt it.
The closet left no room to breathe, his warmth surrounding me completely.
"What are you doing here? Finished with your fight already?" I blinked, taking in our makeshift hideout.
He nodded against my hair. "We did."
His eyes held secrets when he looked down at me. The real answer—that he’d been tracking the bracelet he’d given me—would have to wait.
"I told you to wait at home," I reminded him.
His lower lip jutted out in that way that made my chest tight. "You weren’t there when I got back. Alistair mentioned you were making deliveries, but... I couldn’t stand not seeing you, Elara." freewebnovёl.ƈom
He buried his face in my neck, breathing me in. The small space forced our bodies together, heat building between us with each shared breath.
"I was buying gifts for everyone," I managed, my voice catching slightly.
This proximity was dangerous. Too close, too intimate.
"Including me?" The question held an edge I couldn’t quite place.
Was he serious? Of course he was included.
The thin air made my thoughts fuzzy, his meaning lost on me completely.
"Obviously," I said.
His voice dropped to barely a whisper against my ear. "Then thank you, my lady."
"Don’t mention it." Something felt off now, and I tried to create distance—but he was immovable.
If anything, he pressed closer.
"Don’t you want me near you?" he asked.
Heat crept up my neck. "You’re too close. I can feel something... pressing against me."
His expression shifted, something predatory flickering in his eyes. His hands found my wrists, pinning them as he stepped forward until my back hit the wall. He stared down at me, his throat working as he swallowed hard.
My brain finally caught up with the situation, every nerve ending suddenly alive and aware.
