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“Yes. You’re taking the difficulties of their relationship personally because you lack an ability to accept that your friendship became collateral damage.”
He laughed, but there was no warmth to it. “It’s hard not to take that shit personally.”
Jesus Christ. If I didn’t turn into Dr. Phil and fix this asshole, I would never get my dick wet or get my allotted two hours of sleep a night. I didn’t do bedtime stories and I sure as hell didn’t do warm.
“Do you remember what I said about Valentina when we were on the plane to Mexico?”
He sat back and raised a brow. “Before or after I lunged at you?”
Ah, memories.
“After.”
“You’re a twisted fuck, you know that?”
“It has been mentioned a time or two. The point is, I took away your choice. There was no one to do that for Switch, and he chose Stella. The same way you would have chosen Valentina.”
Stuff it up your ass, Beast. I just used an anecdote. It wasn’t a funny one, but none of mine ever would be. All the lessons I’d learned in life involved bloodshed. At least this one didn’t end in death.
“Yeah, but if it weren’t for you, the club wouldn’t have survived.” His lips curved upward. “That doesn’t mean I won’t tell Beast you used an anecdote. Even if it was fucked-up, it still counts.”
This was what I got for trying to be helpful. I would never live this shit down. All I wanted was a few hours of sleep and to claim what was mine. Shaking my head, I shoved off the bar and headed for the stairs.
“Just out of curiosity.” Fuck my life. I hung my head and waited for him to continue. “Do you think Cannon can pull this off? We promoted him to Sergeant at Arms when we promoted everyone else after Switch left, but he’s only done deliveries. He’s never been tested before.”
Cannon was a street kid that Ryder had taken under his wing. Brave if you asked me. All Cannon had ever done was cause Ryder grief. Well, before I’d started cleaning up his messes. Now, he caused me grief. But the kid was loyal, and that was something you couldn’t put a price tag on.
“We’ll never know until we give him the chance to prove himself. This plan was his idea, and it was actually a smart one. Plus, he has Marek there to watch his back, which is hardly foolproof, but it’s better than letting him loose without a safety net.”
There was a sigh, but he said nothing else, so I left him to his brooding and headed up the stairs. When I reached my door, I paused, cracking it open. Light from the hallway spilled through the slit and I stood there watching her for a second. A creeper move. Sure. But I couldn’t seem to help myself.
She was curled up on her side, looking small and helpless in the middle of the bed. The beast in me stirred, wanting to disturb her serenity. My balls ached, and I needed for her to feel the same level of discomfort so I could be the one to soothe it. To satisfy her every desire. Fucked-up, I know, but what can I say? I was a selfish prick.
Gently closing the door behind me, I took off my cut and threw it over the back of the chair. Her floral scent had mixed with mine in the room and I breathed in deep as I sat to remove my boots. It wasn’t until I had slung my jeans on the chair and moved closer to the bed that I caught a whiff of popcorn.
Popcorn? She was eating popcorn in my bed. That would not do, but I’d deal with that minor infraction later. I could give her a pass since she didn’t know, but my dick wasn’t feeling generous. He bobbed against my stomach at the thought of punishing her, of seeing my handprint on her ass.
She shivered as I peeled back the covers and slid in behind her. If she was cold, I was game to warm her up. Inhaling her sweet scent, I nuzzled my face against her neck, and she whimpered. Not in the sexy way either. What the fuck?
Her ass bucked against my cock, and her whole body shook. “Don’t touch me!”
This was not the same kitten who rubbed herself against me, practically climbing my body before I’d left.
“No, no, no.” Her body went into a fit of convulsions before she whispered, “It hurts so much.”
Something was seriously wrong. I grabbed her hip and turned her in my arms. Moonlight shone through the cracks in the blinds, giving me just enough light to see by. A deeply engraved crease was between her brows and from somewhere near my thigh I could feel her fingers moving.
“What hurts,mój aniol?” Her body stiffened, but her eyes were still closed, so I tried again. “Tell me who hurt you.”
The fingers at my thigh stilled, and then her arm came around my torso. She burrowed into me, her head against my chest, her hair tickling me. It was as if she couldn’t get close enough. Then she finally stilled, her breath warm little puffs on my chest. But she still hadn’t answered me.
“Tell me who hurt you and I’ll kill them,” I gritted out as I pulled her more tightly against me, thoughts of my aching dick momentarily forgotten.
“Hunter,” she sighed, the sound sleepy and content, totally at odds with what had just happened. “You say the sweetest things.”
What. The. Actual. Fuck. Sweet? That was the second time she’d said something similar, though the first time was undoubtedly to placate me. Nobody actually thought I was sweet, not even my mother. She knew better. She was well aware of what my father was capable of and the monster she’d bred. It was why she’d pushed a swaddled baby into my arms and sent me away. That was the last time I would see my mother alive, and the day I’d left my father’s house, blood dripping from the tips of my fingers.
A soft snore broke the quiet and disturbed my morose thoughts. One thing was for sure. I wasn’t getting any more answers out of her until she woke up. All I needed was a name, and they were as good as dead for laying their hands on her. First, though, I would gladly teach them the meaning of fear and pain. For every second she shivered, they would suffer.
