Page 110 of Twisted Sins

He watched her closely but didn’t say anything.

She was beginning to understand the demon and the clan dynamics. After staying with him for many weeks, she realized that everything he did was calculated.

“But my family must be worried sick about me!” she said. “You have to take me to them so I can let them know I’m okay.”

“No.”

His reply angered her.

“How can you—”

“I’m meeting your brothers,” he said.

She was shocked. “When?” she asked.

“In a few days. There’s a meeting planned with the clan heads at the holy lands.”

“Take me with you!” she insisted.

“No.”

“But—”

She broke off, even though she didn’t want to take no for an answer. But she knew the demon wouldn’t budge or change his mind.

Not right then.

But she had a few days of time to convince him to take her to the clan meeting in the holy land.

The rest of the meal was finished in silence, and she cleared up the dishes while he prepared for the night.

He joined her on the bedding. Wrapping his hand around her, he dragged her close and held her.

She wanted to relax and sleep but couldn’t as she contemplated another burning question. She knew she shouldn’t talk about it, but she couldn’t keep quiet.

“Did you marry me for revenge?” she asked. “Your people believe that my aunt and uncle are responsible for your parents’ deaths.”

There was a thick silence.

“Who spoke to you about the past?” he asked darkly.

She shivered at the cold menace. She knew he had passed an order to his people not to discuss the past.

“S-Skandamai told me about the past,” she said, not wanting Uma or anyone to get into trouble. She knew he held the seer in high regard, and the seer was exempt from not discussing the past.

He didn’t say anything.

She turned in his arms and looked at him.

“I want to know, Rudra,” she said. “Did you marry me for revenge?”

She thought he wouldn’t answer. But he did.

His grey eyes darkened. “Had I married you for revenge, you wouldn’t have remained untouched until now. I would have claimed you on the night of our wedding. And I would have sent the bloodied bedsheet to your family the next day.”

She shivered at his barbaric words.

He had been a savage to her from the beginning. But he hadn’t brutalized her.

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