Page 17 of Where Sinners Repent

My heart stops; a terrified squeak escapes before I can swallow it down. I scramble from my nest of blankets, the cocoon I’d built around myself falling in on itself. The comfort vanishing in a second.

Struggling to find my footing, I stumble to the corner of the room where Kitty rests against the wall.

My fingers wrap around the worn handle of my baseball bat so tightly my knuckles blanch.

Each breath is shallow, blood pounding through my ears so brutally it drowns out everything else.

Aside from the beep as the electronic lock disengages.

It could be Maddy and Ash returning.

But something tells me it isn’t.

The thud of a slow, confident footsteps echo down the hall.

Bat in my hand, I hide around the corner, ready to strike in an instant.

Kitty is ready to take her death toll to two.

A sharp gasp flies from my lips when a large body rounds the corner, my knuckles cracking around the wooden handle.

Kai doesn't flinch. His imposing form looms in the doorway, eyes scanning over me and Kitty.

“Fuck! You scared me half to death,” I sigh, still gripping Kitty high over my head.

He doesn't reply.

The way he regards me, with a stillness that feels otherworldly, makes me clutch the bat harder. Doesn’t matter that we fucked not even twelve hours ago. Men with leather vests like his don’t need a reason to strike.

He remains motionless, expressionless. But something is different.

Last night, his dark eyes were endless black pools. Empty and void of anything warm.

Now... violence sparks in them.

It has my heart thumping and my clit throbbing.

Finally, his gaze falls off mine, landing on Kitty. A dark brow cocks, just slightly, just enough to show an expression.

“Are you going to hit me, Roxanne?” he purrs, voice a low, melodic rasp.

Finally, I lower my weapon, leaning her against the wall.

“It’s Roxy,” I correct him.

No one calls me Roxanne, not anymore.

He hums softly, eyes boring into me in a way that feels like he's cleaving my soul open.

I fidget on the spot. I said I liked the quiet, but not this kind. Not the kind that's filled with intensity and tension.

I've never been one to be awkward after a one-night stand. One-night stands are actually my MO. There's something sexy about having a raunchy, dirty night with someone and never seeing them again.

Unfortunately for me, or fortunately for my eyes, I don't have that luxury, seeing as I've been appointed a bodyguard.

My heart begins to settle, and my eyes rove over him. Today he’s in a short-sleeved T-shirt, and I unashamedly drool over his arms. Fuck, they’re beautiful arms.

Deep olive skin painted with ink. Veins wrapping around his forearms all the way up to thick biceps.