Chapter 91

Ava

The room was smokey, the scent of whiskey and cologne permeating the air. I furrowed my brow, trying to keep my expression neutral as I looked down at my cards.

“I’m all in,” one of the men around the table said, pushing his poker chips to the center.

“Wow,” Ophelia breathed as she fanned herself with her cards. “Confident, are we?”

“Aren’t I always?”

Beside me, Chris leaned over and tapped one of my cards. “That’s a good hand,” he whispered so quietly I almost couldn’t hear it. “You could call him on his bluff, or match his bet. It’s up to you.”

I shrugged and decided to just do it; it was only a game of poker for fun, after all. We weren’t betting with real money.

“You’re bluffing,” I said proudly, smirking at the man from across the table. “I’m calling it.”

“Is that so?” the man asked. “Shall we see, then?”

With that, the man spread his cards out on the table: a royal flush. The table erupted into cheers and boos, and I shook my head good-naturedly at Chris. “I shouldn’t have listened to you,” I teased.

With that, Ophelia began dealing out a new hand of cards as everyone gathered their chips; but I was tired of playing.

“If you’ll all excuse me for a moment,” I murmured, carefully pushing my chair back and rising to my feet. The others acknowledged me with a chorus of absent nods and vague hums, already entirely too engrossed in their new hands.

I passed through the lingering party, taking note of all of the stragglers who were still roaming the house: the occasional group of people chatting, the soft clinking of glasses, the odd couple swaying on the dance floor, and when I glanced up the steps to the second floor, I could just make out the outline of a man and a woman kissing in the shadows.

However, I swept past all of them and out toward the back door, which faced a dimly lit courtyard.

As I stepped out into the night air, I drew in a deep breath, allowing the gentle night breeze to ruffle my hair as I wandered further into the courtyard. Finally, I found a good spot in the colonnade to lean over the marble railing and look out into the sprawling garden.

With a weary but satisfied sigh, I allowed my eyes to flutter closed for just a moment. I couldn’t help but smile a bit; it had been a magical night. Long, but magical. And something told me that, even now, it was far from over.

I wondered to myself if this was what I had to look forward to with Chris: trips to the human world, attending all-night lavish parties and staying in fancy hotel rooms. It was something that I never thought I would be okay with, but I had also developed a sort of appreciation for the human world lately—as well as for the people.

And, hell, if I could meet more lovely people like Ophelia… Then maybe I wouldn’t mind spending more time here. Not permanently, of course; but vacationing here, with a man like Chris at my side, didn’t sound so bad at all.

I wasn’t alone for long, however, when the sound of footsteps clicking across the marble floors of the colonnade caught my attention. I opened my eyes to see none other than Chris heading toward me, his hands in his pockets and his hair adorably disheveled from a night of drinking and revelry.

“There you are,” he said, sidling up next to me and leaning on the railing along with me. “I thought you might have gotten lost in this place.”

“Not lost,” I laughed. “Just needed some fresh air.” I supposed that was one thing that the human world could never compare to Moonstone: fresh air. It wasn’t nearly as crisp and fragrant here, despite the blooming flowers in Ophelia’s garden.

Chris nodded and chuckled at the same time. “I don’t blame you. I thought I might choke on all that cigar stench.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” I said, then huffed at the look he gave me. “Alright, yeah. I needed to catch my breath.”

He let out a snort and straightened, turning to face me. “You don’t seem too inclined on heading back to the hotel room anytime soon, though,” he said, checking his watch. “It’s nearly two in the morning, did you know that?”

“No. I didn’t.” I laughed wryly and ran a hand over the back of my neck. “But I wouldn’t mind heading back.”

“Soon,” he said. “We’ll make the rounds and say goodnight, and I’ll take you back.”

“And then some of that room service for breakfast?” I asked.

Chris let out a deep chuckle and pulled me close, his fingers digging possessively into my lower back. “You’ll need the energy. As if I’m letting you get any sleep tonight.”

My face flushed a deep shade of red, but I didn’t look away. Instead, I tilted my chin up to meet his gaze through my lashes. His eyes flickered down to my lips momentarily before he dipped his head and kissed me.

His lips tasted sweetly of champagne and chocolate and cigars—all the decadence of the human world wrapped up in one dizzying flavor.

When we finally pulled apart, I was completely breathless. I hadn’t realized it, but I had worked my fingers into his hair and his hands had traveled down beyond the small of my back, coming to rest on the gentle curve of my behind.

“You know,” he murmured, his hands sliding over me and urging me even closer into warmth of his body, “as much as I cherish moments like this—having you all to myself with no one else around—I do hope that someday I’ll be able to give you lavish parties like this.”

He paused briefly, gesturing to the mansion around us. “More than parties. I’d like to give you… well, this.”

I frowned, pulling back slightly. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “I want a life with you, Ava. You already know that, of course. But I want to shower you with everything you could ever want, and, Goddess, I can afford it. Do you want me to buy you a mansion like this one? Somewhere here, in the human world, where you can come to visit and throw all the parties you could ever want?”

For several long moments, all I could do was gape at him with a stunned expression written across my face. The thought was... certainly a tempting one, if I was being honest with myself. A secret—or not-so-secret—double life here in the human world, filled with champagne and chocolate and smokey poker games.

But it wasn’t… me. Not to that extent. I was fine with visiting that little slice of life, but to carve one out on my own? I wasn’t so sure about that.

Not only that, but it was too soon.

“Chris, I…” I paused, pulling back a little more and lowering my gaze. “I appreciate the gesture, but that’s a bit too much.”

“Too much?” he asked. “I want to give you the world. I always have.”

“I know that, but… we only just made things official between us, and we’re still hiding from the Elders. I’m not sure if I’m ready to consider doing things like buying homes together. Hell, I’m only just starting to appreciate the human world now.”

For a long moment, Chris was silent and I thought he might be upset. But to my surprise, he just shook his head and laughed, placing his hand under my chin to lift my gaze to meet his.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “I’m just… fantasizing. It’s a fantasy I’ve had for almost as long as I can remember—buying you a palace and treating you like a queen. Maybe I’m just so excited to finally be with you that I’m getting a bit overzealous.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I like when you’re overzealous.”

Chris smiled and leaned in to kiss me again—but before his lips could touch mine, the sound of his phone buzzing in his pocket caused us both to stop. Our brows furrowed in unison as we wondered who might be calling at such a late hour.

Finally, he let out a sigh and extricated himself from me, pulling his phone out.

“Huh,” he said, his brow furrowed as he looked at his phone screen. “It’s Leonard.”

“You should answer.”

He did just that. I watched, chewing my lower lip, as he strode away and answered the phone—and I watched as his shoulders froze, his fingers tightening around the phone as he listened.

A moment later, he was hanging up and turning to look at me with the widest eyes I had ever seen.

“It’s Olivia,” he said. “She’s escaped.”