He paused in the doorway, glanced at her over his shoulder, and winked. I swear she swooned as soon as he vanished down the hallway.
“He’s—” I began, but stopped when she leveled her gaze on me, all trace of emotion gone from her expression.
“Sit down, Meredith,” she ordered.
Any hope I’d had that this would be a pleasant meeting evaporated, and I immediately caught myself standing a bit straighter before shuffling toward the closest seat. I even tucked my ankles demurely together and clasped my hands over my knees like some kind of debutante. As if any of that would save me from what was coming.
“Something wrong, Auntie Lilith?”
She raised a perfectly sculpted brow. “Do you have any idea how many complaints I’ve fielded this morning, thanks to you?”
My stomach lurched. If there was one thing I hated, it was truly being in trouble. “Complaints? About what? I just got here. How can I have upset people already?”
“I might ask you the same question. Merri darling, really. How is it you still can’t manage to control your lust? There’s awar on, you know. People can’t just stop in the middle of their planning to fuck it out on every available surface.” Her lips twitched, and I realized she wasn’t actually upset with me at all. “Truth be told, there were a couple of thank yous mixed in with the complaints. Sex is a great stress reliever, after all.”
My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I realized what had happened. My ménage-a-horsemen hadn’t gone unnoticed. In my lust-addled state, I’d accidentally dosed the entire compound with succubus pheromones.
Whoops.
“And the penny finally drops,” Lilith muttered.
“I didn’t realize it would spread. I wasn’t feeding.”
“Of course you didn’t. Lust is tricky. We must always be guarded when in the vicinity of others, especially you, pet. Your power is rooted in so much more than succubus magic.”
I nodded, eyes not quite able to reach hers.
“Far be it from me to tell a girl how to live, but we really can’t afford to be distracted all at once. Not with the final battle on the horizon. Someone has to stay out of the lust fog, or we will be vulnerable to attack.”
Sufficiently chastised, I mumbled, “Sorry, Auntie. I’ll try harder to keep myself in control.”
She tipped my chin up. “You are what you are, Merri. Your needs are important. I’m not telling you to deny yourself, or your mates for that matter. Just be a little more careful, hmm? As delicious as an unexpected orgy can be, Drystan had a point. Not everyone appreciates when others get an eyeful of their mate. Or mates, as the case may be.”
My blush deepened as I thought about Dahlia and Rosie caught out in the open with their men.
“Oh, dear God. I’ll do an apology tour as soon as I leave.”
“No need. Everyone assumed it was me.”
Shock lifted my brows. She took the blame?
“Glad that’s settled. Feel free to go about your business, darling. If you see Drystan, be a love and tell him I need him.”
And I’d been dismissed. She was so good at that. I stood to leave, but the urge to confess overwhelmed me, and I hesitated.
Shrewd blue eyes locked onto mine. “What are you keeping from me, niece?”
I bit down on my bottom lip, not sure where to start. There was no way she was going to be happy about what I needed to share.
“Something happened while I was with Luc,” I eventually managed.
Her brows lowered in concern, and she leaned against the edge of her desk, gesturing for me to continue.
“You’re not going to like it, but I need advice because I think I messed up.”
“Oh, lord above. Shall I pour myself a drink before you ruin my day?”
“Maybe?”