Page 55 of Hell Bites

“DB five, you’re a go,” he says as Rae comes from the other direction. His brow furrows when he sees us. Silas holds a finger to his lips as he nods. “Correct. I can be there in thirty. Active, stationary, got it.” Then he hangs up.

“Well?” I ask as he stuffs the device back into his pocket. “What's going on?”

Silas takes a hit from his cigarette, sucking it right down to his fingers before he slowly lifts his eyes to mine. “The team is moving out.”

“And?” Not that I need to ask. This was my team at one point. I know what this means but I guess I need to hear it from my only friend to know it’s real.

He swallows thickly, his pale eyes growing lighter as they shift between mine. “She knows.”

My head starts to swim immediately, what little color I had no doubt draining from my face as my stomach rolls. Then, when Silas delivers the final blow, I wretch the same way I did every day of my last year in Purgatory.

“Davina knows, and she is coming.”

Chapter Nineteen

Azizia

I wake up before my husband, which is not normal. He doesn’t like sleeping in. He keeps a strict schedule and considers sleeping late time wasted.

Scooting closer to him, I wrap my arm around his torso and snuggle my face against his chest. Xadrian has muscles everywhere. He’s big, firm, and strong. Though he hasn’t showered since yesterday morning, he smells clean. Fresh.

Sucking in a sharp breath, he shifts, stretching and then opens his eyes.

“Good morning,” I say happily, propping my head up on my fists.

He scowls at me, shoving me off him and throwing his legs over the edge of the bed.

“I was hoping we could cuddle before we had to get up,” I say, getting to my knees.

“I don’t have time for cuddling, Azizia.” He scrubs his hands down his face as he gets to his feet.

His morning wood is noticeable in his sleep pants, and it has my mouth watering.

“I can help you with that,” I say, jumping off the bed and moving after him. “You like when I make you come in my mouth.”

He steps into the bathroom, muttering something about a spell and something being annoying.

“Xadrian—”

He grips my arm, cutting off my words, and pushes me out of the bathroom, slamming and locking the door.

I fight back the emotion clogging my throat, not understanding why he’s been so moody lately. Everything has been great. I’ve been so happy since the visit with Prazin, and my husband seemed happy too—at first. But each day that passes, Xadrian’s patience lessens and his temper grows.

I just want him to love me the way I love him. Why is that too much to ask?

Sighing, I head to the walk-in closet to pick out my outfit for the day. His favorite color is red, so I find a dress in that color and put it on, hoping it’ll brighten his mood or make him want to fuck me. When I’m done, I work on my hair in the mirror, braiding it the way he likes. He’s taking a long time in the bathroom, longer than usual, so I knock on the door.

“Are you okay?”

“Can you just leave me the fuck alone!” he shouts.

I jerk away from the door, a heaviness settling in my chest.

I need to brush my teeth and wash my face.

Needing to make myself busy before I cry—he hates when I cry—I work on making the bed, even though that’s the servant’s job. I do it because it makes Xadrian happy. He likes when I do wifely duties like clean. He hates when I cook though, says I’m awful at it, so I don’t do that ever.

When Xadrian comes out of the bathroom, his lips are set in a firm line and his brow is furrowed.

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