Chapter 31

Chapter

Thirty-One

M yrria stepped back when the stunning woman stepped into the hall, peering past her into the room where Rixx stood. He was fully dressed and the woman looked nothing like any of the females in Serena's employ. Myrria had never even seen the woman before, and she was certain she knew all of Serena's girls.

The woman, who looked more like a rogue assassin than a pleasurer, gave her a knowing smile as she passed. "He's all yours."

Myrria was struck dumb as the woman glided away, disappearing into the bustle of scantily-clad females leaning over the balcony to peer to the main floor below, leading clients into rooms, and laughing over the music. Then she remembered herself and why she was there, and she hurried into the room with Rixx and shut the door behind her.

Even though she knew the female couldn't have been one of Serena's girls, she could not completely suppress the flash of jealousy she'd felt when she seen her emerge from the room. "Who was that?"

Rixx hesitated, his surprise at seeing her clear, although she could not sense his emotions like she'd been able to the night before. "I am not entirely certain, but she is sending a message to my ship so they can return for me."

Myrria's breath caught, her heart twisting as if a clawed hand had reached in and pierced it. "You are leaving?"

She should have been happy for him. Leaving was the only way he would survive. Rixx would never have been able to stay, not with a bounty on his head. But she'd foolishly allowed herself to imagine that he could. Pretending to be his wife had been the most magical fantasy, but it had been crushed the moment her actual husband had returned from the dead.

"I cannot stay." His voice was measured and steady, nothing like the deep growls that had trembled her spine the night before. "It will only bring danger to your friend."

She nodded. This was true, but there was also what he did not say. He had nothing to stay for because she was not free. Despite everything she'd said and believed, she was another man's wife, and there was nothing she could do to change that. Not under the laws of Kurril. Not without losing everything, including the house she had paid for and the daughter that she had raised.

"How are you here?" he asked. "I thought your husband—"

Myrria stopped him before he could finish. She couldn't bear to hear him call Tobert her husband, even if it was the truth. "He is sleeping."

Rixx flinched, and she instantly knew what he thought. A husband who came home after such a long time away would be eager to take his wife to bed. Rixx thought she'd left Tobert in bed after they'd reunited. He did not know that she'd gotten him drunk enough to pass out and deposited him in a chair because the thought of him being in the bed she'd shared with Rixx had been unthinkable. Not because she was ashamed of what had happened with Rixx but because she did not want Tobert polluting her memories.

Then dread settled in her stomach like ice. It would be better if Rixx did not know how miserable she was by the thought of living with her husband again. He needed to leave Kurril and return to his life on board the bounty hunting ship, and she would have to stop pretending to have a life that wasn't hers. Rixx had been a beautiful dream, but it had never been hers. He had never been hers. Not really.

"I wanted to make sure that you'd made it to Serena's safely," Myrria said, steeling herself for the lies she needed to sell. "Zala said she gave you directions but I wasn't sure if she was clear, and you were navigating from the roof…"

"I was afraid I would not see you again." Rixx stepped closer to her. "There is so much I need to say to you, so much I wanted to say before—"

"You don't need to say anything." Myrria was afraid that if he said something sweet to her she might break down. "Last night never should have happened. I should not have acted like a free woman when I wasn't."

Rixx's brow furrowed. "He had been gone for all of Zala's life. He did not deserve anything after abandoning you and your daughter."

"Maybe not, but he's back now. I can't turn him out onto the street."

"Why not?" Rixx's gaze flashed dangerously, and I sensed that he would like to bodily throw Tobert from a tall building. "You told me that he was a bad husband. He was unfaithful. He left you. You do not owe him anything."

"You don't understand." Myrria's voice cracked. "It doesn't matter how bad he is or what he did. This is Kurril. Men are not punished for cheating or leaving. It is only women who pay a price for that. No matter what I feel about him or how much I wish he had never returned, I am legally bound to him. That means he has power over me and over Zala." Bile churned in her gut. "If he wanted to punish me, he could take Zala and no one would stop him."

"I would stop him." The look in Rixx's eyes was murderous.

Myrria's heart twisted again. "I know. And that would only get you in trouble. You are lucky to have survived this long without being caught by the Zevrians." She took a step back. "I cannot be the reason they find you."

"Myrria," he started to argue but she held up a hand.

"I am married to that man and Zala is his daughter. Those are the only facts that matter." She took a deep breath. "You need to leave the planet as soon as possible and pretend that you never met either of us."

He narrowed his eyes, and she could feel the rage storming inside him. "I cannot do that."

"Please," she begged. "No one can ever know that you were in my house. No one can ever know that you were in my bed." She shuddered to think what Tobert would do to her if he ever heard even the faintest whiff of a rumor. "If you ever cared for either of us, you need to leave this place behind and leave us in the past." She locked eyes with him. "We never happened."

Rixx grunted and tore his gaze from hers. His body was so tense she thought he might snap as he clenched his fists and stared into the fire. When he looked back, his expression was shuttered. She could see nothing of the fervor that had blazed in his eyes. She could feel none of the torment that had pulsed off him. "If that is what you want."

The coolness of his words was like icy water poured over her head. "It's whats best for both of us."

He nodded, turning away and walking to the fire. He braced his hands on the wooden mantle, his knuckles going white. "You will tell Zala goodbye from me?"

Myrria's throat closed as tears stung the backs of her eyes. She bobbed her head up and down even though he couldn't see her. "I will."

Rixx gave a single nod but kept his gaze pinned to the fire. Myrria rushed from the room before the tears fell, stumbling past the staggering patrons being led to rooms and the brightly painted females dancing up and down the stairs as the music thrummed relentlessly.

She was sure she'd done the right thing, the only thing. She was also sure that she had just walked away from the only true love she'd ever experienced.