Page 14 of Lesson In Forgiveness

“Are you afraid of sex, little tiger?” He didn’t know why he asked the question, but as the knife dug painfully into his skin, he realized asking it when there was a blade teasing his chest probably wasn’t wise.

Her tone was devoid of any emotion when she said, “Wouldn’t you be, if Dominic taught you everything you knew?”

After seeing what Dominic had done to the Alpha team that night, Grit readily admitted the man hadn’t been one to fuck with, but when Atticus needed a job done, his team did it one way or another, regardless of the cost to themselves.

Greater good, and all that.

It wasn’t much of a shock to discover that the fucker had likely raped his daughter in the name of lessons. Still, Grit wasn’t going to pry any deeper into this territory when her knife was still using him as its canvas.

“Well, I think it’s time I called it a night.” He inclined his head toward the door. “Next time you, ah, visit, why don’t you knock on the door?”

Tabitha frowned and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Her mouth turned pouty and biteable. “This is early for me, but okay.” The knife eased away from his chest, spun between her fingers, and disappeared somewhere behind her. With a huff, she released his hand, then… made herself comfortable. “I already know you don’t snore, so that’s okay.”

Rubbing his wrist, Grit scowled at her. “You’re not staying, Tabitha. Unless it escaped your notice, you and I are on different sides of a conflict here; you want to kill someone, and I can’t allow it.”

Puzzlement shimmered in her eyes, then she hummed under her breath. “Hmm, silly me, did I not tell you? The contract will be terminated once I have some safeguards in place. Elias is safe from me.”

For a moment, his temper flared. All the wasted time, resources, man hours, sheer fucking monotony he’d put into this assignment, and she just… acquiesced, on a goddamn whim? “I beg your pardon?”

Still fully dressed, she made a soft purring sound. “You heard me. He’s safe until I end the contract, then it will be open season on us both. Need to kill the contact before that happens.”

Growling, he shoved her shoulder. “Don’t you dare fall asleep. How long ago did you decide not to go through with it?”

Eyes closed, she smiled serenely. “When I understood the man more. Make my own judgements, don’t I?” She rolled onto her side, tucking her arm beneath the pillow, and nuzzled her cheek into the cream-colored material. “It’s quiet time now. Shush.”

Shush? By God, if she was his submissive, she’d be over his lap in a heartbeat, getting her tight ass spanked for the insolence. “Tabitha—”

“I said,” she repeated darkly, wiggling deeper into the pillow, “shush.”

Just like that, she was asleep. In his bed.

Stunned, Grit stared at her while his Dominant side raged. So many punishments, so little consent. A damn shame, really; the little tiger had a lot of repressed emotions bubbling under the surface. A hard spanking might release some of that shit, although if she was as stubborn as Jasper, she’d let the world end before she caved.

Yanking his phone from his back pocket, he began pacing as he called Atticus. It was beyond late, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Grit, you got an update?” Voice strained with sleep, Atticus answered.

“There’s an assassin sleeping in my bed.”

“I—what?”

“About five-seven, blue eyes, white-blonde hair. Likes to pull knives out of thin air and poke people with them.” Swiping his hand over his chest, he wasn’t impressed with the smear of blood on his palm. “She told me to shush, Atticus.”

A low chuckle rumbled down the line. “Tabitha is in your bed?”

“Fast a-fucking-sleep.”

“Well, at least you’re still alive. The way her moods fluctuate, she might have gutted you. As for the shush…” Another rumble of amusement. “Make sure you film it if you try and spank her; the rest of the team can learn from your mistakes.”

“Asshole.”

Atticus sighed. “Are you in imminent danger?”

Grit studied the sleeping form on the bed, his lip curling. “Not unless she stabs me in my sleep.”

“Always a possibility with her. Has she reconsidered her stance on the contract?”

“So she says. She’s terminating the Irish contract once she has safeguards in place.”

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