Free Black Dalliances (A Blushing Death Novel) by Suzanne M. Sabol

paper on his desk. The key was still warm from her pocket, and he ground his teeth with sorrow, regret, and anger. Always anger.
    He clutched the metal in his hand and squeezed until he felt the key bend in his palm then stopped before he destroyed it entirely. Somewhere in his darkest depths, he still hoped that everything would be as it was; that he would be able to look at her without feeling betrayed and abandoned.
    He didn’t dare look up as Alex’s soft lavender scent filled his nostrils. Patrick didn’t want her to see the uncertainty in his eyes. If nothing else, Patrick’s colony needed to know he would take care of them no matter the consequences or the costs.
    “You can’t hide in here forever. That woman is demanding and you are going to have to deal with her. It’s one of the things I like about her,” Alex said, her voice comforting.
    Sometimes Alex could be harsh in her speech, not taking into account how her words affected others. Lately, she’d been kinder, softer. He wasn’t sure what caused the change and he wasn’t sure he liked it. Where was the woman who’d helped him plot and scheme for decades just to keep this colony thriving while Ethan had tried to tear it asunder? Where was the Alex he’d counted on to get him through when Dahlia had disappeared?
    “I am not hiding,” he snorted, knowing full well that he was. He couldn’t seem to stop himself from snapping and being obstinate just to be contrary.
    “No, it’s worse than that. You’re acting like a human, hurt and brooding. As much as the mortal tweenies love a brooding vampire, I find it to be . . . unpalatable.” Alex hopped up on the edge of his desk, crossed her legs, and turned her nails on her right hand up for close inspection.
    “I am not brooding either,” he hissed, knowing full well that he was and couldn’t seem to stop himself from doing it.
    “If you say so,” she said simply.
    “What do you want?” he practically growled at her.
    “We need to discuss Ciro and what you plan to do about him when he discovers the Fae are no longer part of his power base.”
    “Not now, Alex,” Patrick huffed, finally feeling defeated as he lounged back in his chair. Meeting her gaze, he saw something in her eyes that he never thought to see. Pity.
    “How long do you think to avoid dealing with it?”
    “Until Ciro moves his first piece on the board. I will not sacrifice a pawn unnecessarily.”
    “That’s not what I meant,” Alex said, peering down at him.
    “Whatever are you—?” He didn’t finish, didn’t need to with her pitying and judgmental stare boring holes through him. “I’m not avoiding any of my responsibilities.”
    “No, but you have been incredibly unpleasant and more so since she got back. You are snapping at Dean and in front of his Pack. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll take that without serious consequences. And pretending she is indisposed will only work so long with the other Lieges.”
    Patrick sat silent, staring up at the woman who had been his friend since he’d arrived back in this country almost 40 years before. She’d never been one to pull her punches. As he considered how to respond, she continued.
    “If you no longer care for her, the kindest thing to do would be to release her.”
    “Not care for her?” he spat, as if that was even an option. Dahlia was in his blood and had been since that first searing kiss. “She is my entire world,” he said, as if realizing that fact for the first time himself.
    “Then why punish her? Us?”
    “She left us.” Unable to turn his gaze from Alex’s, he tried to conceal a depth of pain and rage he’d never experienced before.
    Her dark, almond-shaped eyes narrowed on him and her small full lips pursed. “I don’t think that’s what’s bothering you.”
    “Fine!” he snapped. “She left me.”
    “She left Dean, too,” Alex added.
    She seemed so relaxed, content, and he wanted to strike her for it.
    Slamming his fist down