Page 133 of Twisted Legacy

“His pills to calm him down and even him out.”

“He doesn’t need them.”

“Yes. He. Does.”

She gets to her feet and shoves them onto the floor, crushing them under her foot.

“No. He. Doesn’t. Have you even looked at him?” She points to the kitchen. “Does he look pissed off? On edge? No! He’s fine. Mellow. Or he was until you came in here messing up our vibe. Now I’m gonna have to practice holding my breath sooner than I would have liked.”

She rubs her throat, Finn chuckles, and Holden makes a sound that sounds a lot like appreciation. What the hell is going on? I look over at Holden, who is now standing next to me, holding a cup of tea. He passes it to Thea and takes over, rubbing her throat.

He really does look fine. Not a trace of the wild rage I’m used to seeing when he loses his temper. And he walked to the dorm with Finn. Maybe they took a trip to the infirmary first. “Did you already take something to take the edge off?”

Thea makes a derisive sound while she sips her tea. Stalking closer, I growl, “What was that?”

She pulls the cup away from her mouth. “Isaidthe only illicit substance he came into contact with was my throat around his piercings.”

“You…” My steps halt.

She flutters her lashes as what she’s saying finally registers. “Sucked his rage out through his penis.”

Finn snorts, “Wasn’t much sucking going on.”

“My jaws disagree.”

I work my own jaw loose and blurt out, “You gave him a blow job?”

“I did. I deep throated the monster. Literally and figuratively until the pearly gates came calling.”

I snap my gaze to Holden. “While he was pissed off? Damn near feral?”

“Yup.” She pops her p, staring at me like it’s no big deal. And she’s here. Drinking tea. She goes back over to the couch. Puts her feet up in Finn’s lap and pats the seat cushion next to her. Holden joins them, sitting in the empty spot. She drapes his arm around her neck and settles against his chest as she sips from her mug.

This has to be a joke. Except Finn says he was with Holden the whole time. I believe him. He would never leave Holden alone in a blind rage like that.

“Heads up.”

I snatch his phone out of the air. Hitting play on the video. It’s barely two minutes long, and it’s clear the footage is from today. Thea’s on her knees, Holden standing over her, holding her face in a punishing grip as he fucks her mouth. I’m getting ready to launch into damage control when I reach the end. Thea’s slumped over. I watch as Holden picks her up, and she blinks, smiling up at him.

I take in the trio on the couch again. Thea’s looking at me. There’s none of the usual bitch on her face or snark in her voice when she says, “I always take responsibility for the hurt I cause.”

Chapter77

Thea

Ijolt awake, straining my eyes in the dark to make out what woke me. I pick out the shadow against my door, recognizing the silhouette. “Holden, what are you doing in here?”

He comes over to the bed and yanks the cover off of me, sliding his hand between my legs, cupping me through my panties.

“I didn’t get to thank you for today.”

“I’m the reason you got into a fight in the first place, so I thanked you for defending me.” Giving him a pointed look, I say, “I didn’t need it. I can fight my own battles, but I guess your heart was in the right place, so that matters.”

“Maybe, but your gratitude went above and beyond. I feel like I owe you, and I don’t like owing people anything.”

I can relate to that. “Okay, then I guess you can buy me a donut and a cup of that fancy coffee you were drinking at breakfast or something.”

“I make my coffee in my room, and I’m happy to make a cup for you when I fix mine.”

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