They’d helped put me back together after Benjamin’s call—then I’d had a phone appointment with Dr. Jalisco and fallen apart again in the process of feeling my feelings. I’d gone through her exercises and built my walls back up on my own, a little stronger than before.
An evening of cuddling—with a little of it being naked cuddling—had gotten me settled again.
As settled as I was going to get, anyway.
Lavinia had stopped by at the ass crack of dawn to let us know that they still had no idea who could be telling Benjamin about the inner workings of the estate. She’d reminded me to stay hidden in the bedroom until they found out.
By midday, that wasn’t really working for me anymore.
With Mercer and West out checking in with Emilia, it was only Conrad and I left in my room.
He’d be easy enough to convince.
“I really want ice cream.” I was splayed out on my couch, my feet in Conrad’s lap as he played a game on my tablet.
“I can tell Mercer to bring you some when they get back,” he said without looking up.
“But I want a very specific ice cream. We don’t have it.”
That got his attention. He looked at me with an eyebrow quirked. “What ice cream?”
“I want a milkshake sundae from Fay Delights.”
He turned off the game. “What the heck is a milkshake sundae?”
I grinned. He was interested—I had him. “They’re one of the specialties of a dessert shop in Fayworth. It’s a scoop of ice cream with a milkshake drizzled over it and whatever other toppings you want. I usually get classic vanilla ice cream with a pecan milkshake drizzle, chocolate sauce, chopped pecans, and whipped cream to top it off. Oh, and done up in a waffle cone bowl.”
His eyes were wide. “Don’t you have to drink it? If it’s part milkshake?”
“That’s its charm. You could if you waited for the scoops to melt a bit, but only some of it is a liquid.”
“God, you’ve got me wanting to try one now. But princess, we really can’t go out to Fayworth right now.” Conrad gave me an apologetic look. “As soon as it’s safe, I’ll take you there for a date.”
“Or,” I sat up and grabbed his hand, “we can order ice cream delivery. Their drivers have freezer bags, so it arrives almost the same as it was when they prepped it, even after the drive. All we have to do is pick it up from the front gate.”
“Lavinia really doesn’t want you leaving the room.”
“It’s just for ice cream, and I’ll have you with me. Besides, I told her I wouldn’t stay cooped up here forever.”
I hopped up from the couch, trying to pull him up with me. He ran a hand through his hair, his concerned frown slowly transforming into his signature grin. “Mercer and West are going to kill me for taking you out of this room alone.”
“When have you ever been afraid of getting in trouble? Don’t you remember when we fucked on Mercer’s bed?”
Conrad gave in to my tugging, standing up and sweeping me into an embrace. “Bit of a different situation, and you know it. But you’ve got me convinced. Let’s get you some ice cream delivered, little omega.”
He claimed my mouth with a kiss so intense I had to clench my thighs together. I pulled back and moved away before the idea of my alpha’s cock could tempt me into staying in the room.
Pulling up Fay Delights’ website on my tablet, I put in my order and handed it to him to do the same. We submitted it and got our delivery estimate—thirty minutes.
“That’s about how much time it takes to walk to the front gate, so we’ll be just on time.” I linked our arms together and made for the door—my temporary escape from this prison.
Unfortunately, I opened it to come face to face with Odetta.
She blinked, her bodyguard Rylan standing in a protective stance behind her. My sister’s hand wasn’t even raised to knock. How long had she been there? Was she wanting to see me?
“Talia. Where are you going?” she asked. “Aren’t you confined to your room?”
I cringed. “I’m not a prisoner. We’re going to pick up some ice cream from the front gate.”
