Page 19 of A Reckless Indulgence

It doesn’t help. It shouldn’t, because Lyx would never seek comfort from Cavalier. But…fuck it. This is her way onto the ship. Once she gets onboard, she’ll figure out how Heathen’s business works. She’ll get Tidus the information he wants. She’ll destroy Cav and the life he’s made here. At the end of this, she’ll escape the past once and for all.

That’s all she can do.

Resolutely, she pushes past Cav and holds out her wrist. Her loose scales wink and shimmer as they fall, and Lyx tries not to imagine the shell glowing in Tidus’s chest.

Heathen flips the lid of the jar closed. “Looks like we have a deal.”

NINE

Cav

“Give Cav a physical description of your ex.” Heathen flips the clamp to seal the jar. “We set sail in ten minutes.”

Lyx looks wary as Cav leads her away, but Heathen calls after them.

“Cavalier. Stay back a moment.”

Despite her even tone, it isn’t a request. Cav tenses as he pulls open the door, and Lyx pauses at the exit, tongue slipping over her lips like she can taste the chaos. “I think I’d prefer to watch you get chewed out.”

No doubt his suffering is a delicacy she’s been waiting years to savor. He presses a hand to the small of her back. “Don’t want to overload you with pleasure on the first day, do we?”

She swats him away, and the door shuts behind her.

At her desk, Heathen holds the jar to the light to inspect the scales. It’s impossible to read her expression, but the stern line of their brow isn’t promising. Cav releases a breath. Whatever dressing down Heathen has planned for him is well-deserved. He didn’t play fair when he asked for this arrangement, mixing business with personal in a way that Heathen hates…but they didn’t deny him. That has to mean something, right?”

He scratches his claws against his neck. “Look, I’m sorry —”

“Why do you want Lyx here so badly?”

His expression goes slack. This is not the conversation he expected. He was prepared for a reprimand, not a question. It makes his answer feel more significant. He drops his hands back to his side. “Because I owe her. For saving me, and for what happened after.”

“And no other reason?”

Her knowing stare makes him feel as flimsy as his excuse. He does want to make this right, to repay Lyx for her mercy and the misery he caused, but that’s not the only reason. Something far more sentimental tugs on his heart like a fishing hook. He finds the easiest smile he can. “People have lots of reasons for the things we do.”

Heathen lifts a singular brow and sets the jar aside. “I hope you approach this agreement as a professional endeavor, not a personal one. Especially given a siren’s…proclivities when it comes to emotion.”

Everyone knows the stories. Cav heard the words straight from the source, and they’ve lived in his head since the grotto.

Sirens don’t feel sentimental emotions. We cannot love.

Shame heats his cheeks. Of course, he isn’t in love with Lyx. Whatever residual feelings he has are just a void of something left unfinished. This deal they’ve made is a search for closure, brought on by simple physical attraction. Even Cav, in all his recklessness, understands there can’t be anything more. He curls his hands around the back of the chair. “You seem to know a lot about sirens.”

“I’ve done my research.” Heathen traces the carvings on the edges of their desk. “Even if the prevailing thought was that they were myths, I like to be prepared, especially after your shipwreck.” They fold their hands behind their back. “Truth be told, I didn’t expect her to accept the deal.”

Neither did Cav. Moreover, he never expected Heathen to propose it. “Why did you offer?” He asks before he thinks better of it. He shouldn’t inspect this too closely, but he’s never known how to quit while he’s ahead. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful, but I was prepared for a much different reaction.”

“And that was?”

Scolding. Punishment. Dismissal. “I’d rather not say. Don’t want to give you any ideas.”

The corner of Heathen’s lip quirks. It’s a rare sight. “I want to see what comes of your venture. It’s innovative, even if it is uncharted territory. The Indulgence has never been the most experimental place.”

Cav’s brows lift. “So you think it’s a good idea?”

“Innovative,” Heathen repeats.

It doesn’t dissolve Cav’s pride. As careful as Heathen is with their words, they wouldn’t say something they didn’t mean. “Innovative” might as well be a full adulation coming from them.