Page 29 of Absentia Mori

Liar.

“Can’t I have both?” I tease. I have to break him. It’s the only way I’m ever getting out of here.

He bites down on my cheek, firm enough to send a warning, but not hard enough to break the skin. “Mmm…”

I gasp as his tongue lashes out. He massages it against his teeth marks. Fuck. I let out a moan as he makes out with my cheek. Everything this man does is carnal and erotic but also dangerous as fuck.

I whimper when he stops.

His eyes darken again. “I don’t want Nocturnus pussy. You disgust me. Literally, the sight of you makes me sick. So stop trying to fuck me. It’s not going to happen.”

A well of rage and shame billows up inside me, and I wrench free from his grip. He smirks, satisfied that he’s bruised my ego. But he has no fucking idea. My lip trembles as I fight the tears back. I refuse to cry in this place. Not in front of him, especially.

“I was never Nocturnus. Just another pawn for them to play with… To use.” I shrug, exhausted from trying to convince him I had nothing to do with their sigils getting stripped. “If you want to blame me for the acts of three power-hungry psychos, then that’s your business. But I wasn’t even there that night.”

He folds his arms to his chest, pouting. “I saw the way you grew up, Libra. The way you treated everyone else. Don’t try and downplay your importance to them. I’m not a fucking idiot.”

Maybe you are.

I nod. “Fair enough. But let me ask you this… where aremysigils then? Hmm? Why wasIforced to strip naked and take a lashing in front of a bunch of Nocturnus initiates? Why did he let them touch—” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “I had my own battles with them. But I’ve made my peace with it. You should too. Because killing me isn’t going to hurt them. They don’t give one fucking rat’s ass about me.”

I can’t tell if he’s in shock or disbelief, but his gaze softens, and he uncrosses his arms. “Who fucking touched you?” With all the tension between us, I can’t be sure, but I swear there’s a hint of possessiveness in his voice. It’s strange and unnatural and makes me sad because I don’t want to trust it. No man I’ve ever been with has wanted to protect me or stand up for me. So I do it for myself. Always have.

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. They’re all dead now. All of them except for you, Raithe, and Fabien. Fuck. I just can’tshake that fucking cult, can I?” My snicker turns to a chuckle as I fight the urge to let it bubble over into a fit of hysteria.

“You went to all their parties, laughed at their jokes, and ran all their errands. You expect me to believe that you hate them as much as I do?” He crosses his arms again, folding them to his chest like armor.

I’m so over this conversation. “I never said I hated them. Just that they didn’t treat me with any more respect than you. Probably less, actually. You don’t understand the families we come from. The pressure and expectation that we have to endure. I had a reputation to uphold. Deep down, I didn’t want to go to those parties any more than you wanted to.”

He shakes his head. “Poor little rich girl.”

“Fuck off, Mordecai. For real this time. Believe me, don’t believe me. I don’t fucking care. I don’t have to prove anything to you. But while you waste your time crying over the past, I’ll be looking for a way out of his place.”

I stomp off, in the opposite direction, still in search of the cafeteria, with him quick on my heels.

He grabs me again and drags me into a small room. It’s dark, but I can tell it’s a storage closet.

I take a swing and land a punch on his chest. “Let me go.”

Unfazed, he pins me to the door, boxing me in with his hands on either side of me. “I told you not to walk away from me,” he rasps.

I shove him back. “Well, then, what the hell do you want from me? Do something or leave me alone,” I yell in his face.

The look in his eyes is unhinged. “Tell me who fucking touched you.”

I’m more confused by this man than ever. He says he hates me and thinks I’m repulsive, but every time I try to get away from him, he pulls me back. What the fuck?

“I told you. They’re dead. Just leave it alone.”

He runs his thumb across my lip. “Give me their names.”

I shudder as his breath tickles my cheek. “Why?”

“So I can drag them back from hell and kill them again.” He rests his forehead against my temple.

I shove against him, but he holds me in place. “I don’t understand you, Mordecai. Why do you care? You hate me.”

He bites down on my ear, the same one that he punctured before. “Because you’re my little freak. Mine to hate. To humiliate.” He sucks my lobe and moans when he tastes my blood. “Mine to taunt and torture.Mine.”

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