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Chapter 5
Alexi
Why are my morning coffees never fucking peaceful?
I’m highly aware that it’s my fault the girl in the room is even here to begin with, but shit, I didn’t know she had gained her powers already. If I had, I would have placed her somewhere more secure.
I didn’t want to have to see her until I’m ready, and that very well might be never, but that’s my decision to make, not hers. The harsh words slip from my tongue, and I don’t regret them. She should have fucking stayed where I put her. I didn’t want this aggravation, this confrontation, or the anger that courses through my brain as we speak.
Instinct is what had me bring her home with us, changing the course of the deal on a whim. I never said I was smart or truly calculated. The word cruel seems to linger over me more than anything else.
But right now, the girl who has tormented my dreams and nightmares for the past six years stands before me in my brother’s t-shirt and a pair of his boxers. This isn’t how I planned to start my morning, and the emotions battling inside of me don’t know how to respond. From the pulsing of my cock at her bare legs, to the throbbing of the vein I can feel thrumming at my temple. The only response I will ever have when conflicted like this is anger.
My eyes burn into hers, begging her to argue with me, another tongue lashing ready to go. To my surprise, it's Talon who speaks next.
“Take a seat, Harm.” He wags his eyebrows as he points to the chair beside Malik, directly across from me, and with her head held high and shoulders rolled back, she does just that.
I can’t stop my jaw from clenching as she slides onto the stool, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looks down at the table top. I notice she’s twisted her hair and tucked it into the back of the tee, which leaves me desperate to unravel it. I’ve always loved the way her hair practically glows.
Fuck.
I don’t love it. I’m mad. Angry. Really fucking pissed. Her presence is distracting me. This is exactly why she needed to stay in the cell.
Once Talon is satisfied that she's comfortable, he snaps his fingers, producing a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her as well as Malik. I offer him a death glare, but that only seems to make his smirk spread wider as he braces his arms on the table and leans forward.
“So, Harmonia,” he starts, eyeing her oddly as she scoops eggs into her mouth, not lifting her gaze from the table until she’s finished chewing. Only then does he continue speaking to her. “How does it feel to have powers?”
She gives him a tight smile in response, considering her answer before she speaks. “It feels like I’m becoming a more complete version of who I am, as a person and as an angel. I feel like I can finally explore more of myself and the world.”
My hands clench and I’m unsure if it’s because I like or loathe her answer.
“If you have magic now, you’re no longer a person. Just an angel,” I grunt, feeling Malik and Talon’s questioning looks, but I ignore them and keep my focus fixed on her. After a few moments pass, and her eyes remain set back on the plate before her, I begin to think she’s not going to respond.
Finally, a heavy sigh passes her lips. “I’ve spent twenty-two years as a person, as me, as Harmonia. That’s not going to change now that I have magic freely coursing through my veins. I know my worth and I’m more than an angel who can simply harness power.”
She doesn’t lift her gaze, yet her words shoot daggers at me all the same.
“Things in Hollow Pier are far from how things were in Phoenix Heights, Baby H. You’ll have some adjusting to do.” The words spit from my mouth like venom, my irritation at her not looking at me outweighing everything else as I continue to glare at the top of her head.
She shrugs her shoulders like what I say means nothing. “Whatever you say, Alexi.”
A beat passes, then another, and another. Is that all she has to say to me?
My jaw is locked so tight I think it might snap. I want to get a rise out of her, bring her to a boiling point just as she is doing to me, but the angrier I seem to get the more relaxed she appears.
Gulping down the remainder of my coffee, I try to gain control of the anger bubbling beneath the surface, but it does little to alleviate the issues inside my mind.
“Now that she’s not in the cell anymore, we need to figure out sleeping arrangements,” Talon declares, changing the subject from the tirade I was on. I’m ready to blast him too, but the reality of his words settle over me and leave me momentarily speechless.
Annoyance bites at my veins as Harmonia’s gaze flicks to his, her brows pinching slightly as she tries to understand where he’s going with this. The reason I’m speechless is because I know exactly where the motherfucker is going, but I’m not going to aid her. Not when she’s refusing to look in my direction but happily looks in his.
“What sleeping arrangements do you mean?”
Talon rubs his lips together, trying to hide the joy playing out across his face, and I have to smother my own grin when Malik answers for him. “He means, there are only three bedrooms here, and he likely doesn’t like the idea of you staying in my bed every night going forward.”
The grunt that falls from Talon’s mouth matches my own, one I hate the second it passes my lips, but she doesn’t turn to address me or acknowledge it either way. Instead, I watch as understanding washes over her face before she starts shaking her head defiantly.
“Nope, no. No way. Thanks but no thanks. I’ll take the cell.” Her rant is almost funny, and even though the thought of her in the cell eases my mind so I don’t have to deal with the thoughts and feelings running through my head, now that she’s actually sitting here in front of me, I can’t say I want to go down that route.
