Page 29 of Dirty Little Saint

“You are just as much Nocturnus as the rest of us. The mask is an honor. From now on, you will not enter a ritual without one.” She’s not the lamb anymore. Her power will eventually surpass ours. But even then, she will always belong to us.

The excitement in her breath is palpable as she wastes no time peeling off her shirt and jeans. She slides her panties down to her ankles, and I almost pin her to the wall and take her right then.

Patience, fucker.

She pauses as if seeing my composure crumble. I nod for her to continue, swallowing hard as every inch of me wants to ride her like a fucking animal.

“Before we begin, you need to make peace with Atlas.” Her nostrils flare every time she glances in his direction.

Our fiery woman lets out an exasperated sigh. “We’re fine. I’m cool. Let’s just move on.”

Val shakes his head. “No, you’re not fine. You’re still pissed.”

Atlas winks at her and flashes his million-dollar smile. “What’s it gonna take, pretty girl?”

The clash of wills between them is going to be the death of us if they don’t rein it in.

Maureen slips on her robe and mask before prancing over to Atlas like a cat about to pounce. Without warning, she rips the buttons off his shirt, splitting the fabric wide open. Atlas looks both impressed and terrified as she drags a pointy pink fingernail down his chiseled chest.

She cocks her head to the side. “I want to give you a sigil. Something that makes you unhinged if anyone hurts me.”

Atlas blows out a shivering breath, his smirk gone. “Oh, you are batshit crazy, and I’m here for it.” He puffs out his chest. “Riot, give her the blade.”

What the fuck?

I shake my head. “Maur, you don’t know the first thing about carving sigils.”

“So, teach me right now,” she quips. “If you want us to be cool again, he needs to wear my mark.”

“How is this going to solve anything?” I roar.

Her head jerks in my direction. Behind the mask, her eyes glow for the first time. “Because I want to fucking brand him. Just like your father did to me. That will make me feel better.”

Atlas nods and licks his lips, excited. “I’m so fucking down. Riot, the knife. Now.”

Val sighs and fetches it for him instead. But he keeps his hand on the hilt as she reaches for it. “This sigil will turn him into an even bigger monster than he already is. You know that, right?”

Maureen touches her mask to Val’s cheek as if she’s giving him a kiss. “We’re all monsters now, Val. But this one needs to remember who feeds him.”

Every cell in my body sparks with need for this woman. She’s beating us at our own game. Claiming us the way we’ve claimed her. I would get down on my fucking knees right now and let her carve a thousand sigils into my flesh if she wanted me to.

And so I concede to her every chaotic whim.

My sigils flare as I stalk toward the three of them. I wait for Atlas and Val to put on their robes and masks before I gently clasp onto Maureen’s wrist. She squeezes the hilt as I guide her hand over to Atlas’s heart. His nipple pebbles as the tip of the blade grazes the skin below it.

Val places his hands on Atlas’s shoulders, and a surge of adrenaline sparks through us, our eyes aglow. The connection is consuming, and I have to fight to keep my heart steady.

I hold up the palm of my hand, showing her the sigil. It’s raised and swollen as it never fully healed. “I got this the night I first saw you in Wickford Hollow. When I got back to Tenebrose. After I murdered the creeps who defiled you. I was drunk off the scent of your wet pussy and their blood that was still on my hands.”

She runs her slender fingers over it. It burns under her caress as if her hand is a torch. “Why did you get it? You didn’t even know me then.”

I squeeze my hand around hers. “Because I wanted to make sure that no matter who you were or where you went, that I would always kill for you. That I would never let anyone else outside this circle lay a hand on you.”

She drops her head, her hand going limp in mine. “But you did… last night, you did nothing to stop them.”

Fuck. I wasn’t going to tell her. The last thing I want is for her to pity me or think I’m weak.

Atlas tilts her chin toward him. “They locked him up, Maur. Riot went on a psychotic rampage last night, so his father locked him away until they were done with you. I’m the only one who didn’t put up a fight. I’m a narcissistic asshole. Now take it all out on me, pretty girl.”

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