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“That was for Slayer!” Gray roars.
This time, there’s no hiding my visceral reaction as my stomach churns and I noisily throw up until there’s nothing left in my stomach.
“Princess!” I startle as Gray places his hand on my shoulder, and I look up at him through watery eyes. “You’re so strong and beautiful,” he murmurs as he takes the paper bag from me.
I’m anything but beautiful right now. My hair clings to my clammy forehead, and I swear my watery eyes are throbbing with a phantom pain I shouldn’t be feeling. Not to mention my rank breath after just expelling everything in my stomach.
Uncaring about any of that, Gray crouches in front of me and pulls me into his embrace. At first I try to fight it since he’s covered in blood, but as soon as his arms are around me the coppery scent of blood disappears, and all I can smell is Gray.
“My princess,” he coos as he rocks me from side to side. “Don’t be scared.”
His words cause me to blink in confusion. Why would I be scared? I know I’m safe when he’s around.
“I-I’m not,” I stutter against his chest.
Pulling back, he scrutinizes my face intently, like he’s looking for a lie that doesn’t exist. “You’re not?” he asks, sounding surprised.
Shaking my head, I lean back into him. “Not when you’re around,” I reply.
Gray lets out a deep sigh before pulling me from the beanbag chair and onto the floor. Then he sits down, taking me with him so I’m sitting sideways in his lap.
“Looks like you’re getting your wish, Cain,” Gray says. “Go finish the fucker off.”
“Really? Oh, fucking really? You’re the best, Gray. You don’t even have to get me anything for Christmas.” In his excitement, Cain stumbles over the words, rushing them out so fast it almost sounds like one long word.
“Wasn’t planning on it,” Gray mumbles.
“D-do I have to look?” I ask, my voice as weak as I feel. “I’m sorry. I tried to stay strong for you, but I can’t… I don’t… p-please don’t make me.”
Gray wraps his strong arms around my back, pressing me impossibly closer to him. “You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to, Princess,” he assures me. “And you have nothing to apologize for. You’re so fucking strong. Stronger than you know.”
His words calm me down enough that I no longer feel ashamed by my reaction, or my need for him to hold me as tight as possible.
“Do you want to leave?”
Frowning, I shake my head. Yes, I want to leave but at the same time, I can’t. I need to be here, even if I don’t look. I don’t know if staying is the right thing to do, but it feels like it.
“No, I need to stay. But please don’t let go of me.”
I already know Gray wouldn’t release his hold on me even if I asked him to. We both need the physical contact. I wish I knew if it brings him the same calm it gives me, or maybe he gets something else out of it. Either way, it’s a deep-rooted need we share.
“You’re lucky I’m not going to shove something up your ass like you did to Sasha,” Cain sing-songs.
The Kings must have told him what Brick and his fellow Reapers did to her, and although it’s sickening, a part of me wishes he would do it. Just so Brick can feel what I’m sure Sasha felt in her last minutes.
“So there’s just one more thing left to do,” Cain prattles on.
A twisted sense of curiosity takes me over, and I turn my head so I can watch Cain. Even though he hasn’t said it out loud, I know in my bones that Brick’s end is near.
Cain circles the cross three times before he steps closer, then he quickly cuts the ropes tying Brick’s arms to the wood. As he falls awkwardly, Cain cuts through the rope around his feet.
“Cain!” I screech, jumping in Gray’s hold.
My heart thunders, and I begin to shake as Brick slowly gets up. He reaches for the cross he was bound to, using it to pull himself to his feet.
“For fuck’s sake, Cain,” Gray thunders as he shifts me to the side. “Must you make everything a fucking production?”
“Yes,” Cain dutifully answers. “Otherwise, what’s the fun?”
