Page 67 of Sinful Mates

Both men sigh. They don't like my little philosophy stint. They don't voice it out loud but thanks to the new and improved mate bond I can strongly feel all their emotions. Thanks, bond, thanks.

"You're going to keep me here, aren't you?" I ask, plodding up each of the steps. Saying goodbye to the outside world with each. When we get inside would they flip out on me? Hurt me for running off. I remember well the lesson they'd seared into me last time.

"Please, Imogen, can we just go inside? We can talk about it later, I promise," Theo says. He sounds tired, although he never sleeps.

"I have to know. Will I get to live like a normal person, or am I going to continue to be one of your little dolls?" I question softly. Tobias's rage is familiar as a warm blanket by this time." I let go of their hands, both wanting their warmth and support, and hating them for it at the same time.

"Please, don't make me force you inside," Tobias threatens. His rage makes his words vibrate. "Not tonight of all nights. Not after what we just had to do to keep you safe. I don't want to argue about this or have to punish you."

Theo shoots him a look at that, and not a nice one. He slowly turns to me, holding his hands out again. "If we let you go back to work, will you stay with us? No more running off, no more tricking us. Just stay?"

I nod. I didn't even have to think twice about it. After what I'd almost endured, I can't imagine leaving their side for good again. But despite all that, I don't want to be the doll they play with when they got home only to be set back up on a shelf every day. I need more of a life than just inside these walls.

Tobias growl but holds his tongue. The rage has increased, but it is pointed at Theo alone. There will be an argument later, and my freedom is going to be the cause of it. I wince. Theo doesn't deserve the lecture he'd get.

They continue to stare at each other, tense and in a stand-off over my rights. But I can't stand to be outside another minute. I creep between them and onto the veranda steps. I head inside and collapse on the couch. I’m not there long before I am scooped up and taken to the downstairs bathroom. The bathroom upstairs is similar to the one downstairs, except the floor tiles are black, not gray, and it does not have a bath, just a large shower.

Theo starts the shower, and I strip my clothes off and stepped in. I notice Tobias doesn't come in and the waves of anger still vibrate off him. It will take a lot to calm him down later.

"Don't worry about him. He will calm down," Theo tells me, pulling me under the stream of water. The entire shower floor is red with blood, some even congealed in his hair, and he has to wash his hair three times to get it all out. The steam in the bathroom makes the entire room smell of blood and mud, making me gag. Theo reaches above his head and opened the window since the exhaust fan doesn't doing much to rid the room of the pungent smell.

Once he washes what he can see off, I take the soap. "Turn around." He does, and I run the soap and loofah over his back, washing until he is no longer bloody. When I’m done, I start scrubbing my body, hissing every time the soap burns the abrasions on my skin. Everything hurts, and the pounding water from the shower is making me think about what happened. I shake.

Tobias comes in with a towel slung around his waist. He must have had a shower upstairs. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he demands.

"No, I'm fine," I say before getting out and wrapping a towel around me tightly. I have to stop the shivers. I can't let my mind flash to what could have been, to what had almost happened.

"Imogen, I know you're hurt. I can feel it."

"Seriously, Tobias, I am fine. Promise." I don't want to go into details; I didn't want to have to point out that my stupidity had almost killed me. My desire for freedom almost was my ticket to death. He eyes me for a few seconds, but lets me pass. I climb the stairs leading up to the bedroom. I’m not about to let them use any of my injuries as an excuse to get me to drink their blood. Not when my death afterward is the secret to changing me to one of them.

When I put my pajamas on, I hear them come in.

"Is that what you think? We are trying to trick you into drinking our blood just so we can change you?" Theo asks, pulling some pants off the shelf above my head in the closet.

"Stay out of my head, Theo." I don't want him invading my personal thoughts, and I don't want him there with a front row seat to my trauma. I’ve had more than enough of that.

"Do you really think I would do something that would make you hate me?" Theo shakes his head at me, wrapping his arms around my body. "I almost lost you. I'll let you make your own decisions, nothing is worth what could have happened." He gives Tobias a hard stare but the other man ignores him.

"I would do it," Tobias adds. "It needs to be done."

That is exactly my fear really. Theo has been scared straight, so to speak. But Tobias isn't willing to let that controlling nature of his slip away. How can I ever trust him? His impatience eats away at me like a living thing.

Theo continues to rub my back, his gaze on Tobias. "I won't let him, I promise. Not tonight in any case. Please, let me help heal you and it will not be used against you."

Tobias growls and doesn't add anything. But his anger echoes through our bond. He wants to yell at Theo to argue why I should be forced into it. But Theo continues to stare at him, pointedly. Tobias sighs. "I won't.”

"You won't, what? Kill me tonight?" I ask. Tobias cringes at my words, but nods. I go to climb on the bed when Theo's arms snake around my waist, pulling me against him. The familiar sparks fly all over my body. I wonder if it will always feel like that, or if I will eventually become desensitized to them after a while. Would they have stopped if…? No, I can’t think about it. Theo bites into his wrist and brings it to my lips. I watch Tobias, and he watches me, waiting to see what I will do.

I hesitate until I feel Theo's lips next to my ear. "I promised, didn't I? I meant it, love. I won't let him change you, not tonight." His husky voice makes my stomach tighten before I open my mouth, waiting for the initial gross taste of his blood. Only it never comes. His blood fills my mouth, and I moan before swallowing. My wounds heal one by one, and once I have no pain, I pause, eyes on Tobias.

Tobias adjusted his pants, and I can tell he has a hard-on. Desire flicker through me and I wince. It’s their desire but I’m not exactly in shape to be able to meet it right now. He shifts toward me and I gasp, hiding my head in Theo's chest.

Theo's grip tightens on my waist, not letting me run. My heart beats against my chest, desperate to escape. Is it all a plot to get me still? Tobias's hands frame my cheeks, and I tremble at his touch. Is this it? Are they going to change me now and apologize later?

His thumb gently follows the curve of my bottom lip, his eyes dark and studying me. But there is no hostility in the bond, no ulterior motive of taking my life away. Just love. I reach for him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Theo relaxes his hold on me and Tobias pulls me to him, wrapping my legs around his waist.

I giggle when his stubble brushed my cheek when he dipped his head to inhale my scent. He chuckles at my giggle, deliberately rubbing his chin up and down on the side of my neck. I squeak, cringing away from the affection, dropping my chin to escape his relentless tickle terror.