Page 90 of Sinful Mates

I caught her ankle, lifting it onto my leg, working it with my fingers, kneading the tension from the lower half of her body. “Envy’s not so bad. Wrath is the worst. Killing, another. Taking a life.”

I blew out a mouthful of air. The number of lives I took. Hell, I deserved to burn for an eternity. My penance: scars, a dick that went missing randomly, and having to preside over the Duat when I slept, never getting any goddamn rest. Eternally awake, just like the souls contemplating the life they lived and the sins they committed.

She pushed around food on her plate that the servants set aside for her.

“None of us are free from sin, Aaliyah. Trust me.” I arched up, picked her up off her chair and brought her down sideways on my thighs. “As the avatar of Osiris, I see every soul’s indiscretions, disagreements, petty squabbles, and hostilities.”

Déjà vu hit me. Aaliyah said something similar to me after I killed the three cops. None of us were innocent of bad deeds. The shit she saw at the hospital. The worst injuries anyone could inflict on another, including loved ones. Fucked up.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot.” She fiddled with the beading of my wesekh necklace. “I can’t help but wonder whether the gods are punishing us. The curse. The bad luck with the club. Members turning on me.”

I dragged her nails along my chest, scratching it, loving the way they scraped over my scar-hardened skin. “Thinking like that doesn’t serve anyone, it just invites more guilt and penance.”

“I left my job—my calling to heal—to be selfish.” She moved one hand to the back of my neck, scratching lightly with her short nails. “To fulfill my childhood fantasy to be like my dad.”

I squeezed her harder to me. “What’s wrong with pursuing a dream? Do you know how many fucking souls go to their death regretful of not following theirs?”

“Nothing, I guess.” She switched gears on me completely and left me stunned for a few seconds with her next question. “Do you regret killing those cops?”

She went to ask more but I cut her off at the pass. “Fuck, no. Those assholes deserved to die in the most horrible way.”

“You don’t regret your demotion?” Fuck. Venturing into dicey territory.

“Sometimes, but then I think about what I gained. A baby girl. My mate reuniting with her lost child.” I had to show her what she meant to me. Hell, to us. “Bikes, money, the club, they’re replaceable. You and Mia aren’t.”

That earned me an appreciative smile and kiss. “You’re more than my mate. You’re my partner and best friend, and I can share my darkest secrets with you.”

Fuck, yeah, I was.Her ride or die forever.

Our lips met in a flash of heat. I ran my rough palms along her thighs. I couldn’t keep my hands off her. Having her this close after all these months, I wanted more. The Underworld was the one place where our curse didn’t meet us head-on. The one place where we could be together pain-free, though I couldn’t bring her here all the time when she didn’t belong here like I did.

“I love it when you have my back.” She traced my scars, and for once, I didn’t flinch. I enjoyed the warmth and silkiness of her touch. “You make me feel wanted and loved. Like your priority. I don’t want to come second to the club and be your mistress. And I sure as shit don’t want to be your mother, to cook and clean for you.”

Shadows from her past crawled across her features. Her eyes snapped closed, and I knew he was there. His ghost, haunting her. Taunting her. Reminding her of what she did. Never letting her forget.

I shifted our position on the chair, her straddling me, so that I consumed all her view. My palm found the warm skin of her lower back.

“You’re not my fucking maid, my mistress, or my mother. You’re my mate.” My growl came out savage and protective.

I was going to snap that fucking memory in two if it didn’t give her peace. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt at peace. I’d do whatever was necessary to bring my mate relief, even if I had to suffer for an eternity.

Her hands tightened around my neck, and she heaved a breath of relief.

I pressed my nose to where her neck met her shoulder, and she shivered. “We lost one mate and we’re never going through that hell again. You’re ours. Our world. Our family.” I cast away the ghost from her memory to let her be free, for the words to sink in without that fucker distracting her.

Acts I repeated on myself to rid the guilt. Temporary measures when the fuckers always came back. In the Duat, souls confronted and addressed their core fears, banishing them from their being. Like a pussy, I never had the strength to meet mine. Too much guilt and regret. One day, maybe.

Time for a confession, one that would change her whole perspective on club life and her mates. “I know you think the club comes first to Slade, but he would walk through fire for you. His greatest fear is losing you, and he’ll do anything to keep you safe. It’s why he didn’t want you to leave the club alone to get Mia. Why he wouldn’t let you leave when we found you. Why he insists you’re never alone and one of us is always with you.”

Fuck, I couldn’t believe I was defending Slade here when the prick didn’t deserve it. When I wanted to break his face for having the club’s back and not mine… or Aaliyah’s onthatday. My woman thought I ought to get over it, but I was still caught between disgust and anger at him.

“When I killed those officers, he wasn’t just disciplining me for undermining the club.” I slid my palm up her spine. “Slade was terrified I would snap and hurt you. I read it in his soul.”

She tickled my nape. “I don’t believe you would.”

“Doesn’t stop him from being cautious.” I wanted this dress off. For no barriers to exist between us. “Why do you think he wants you and Mia to stay at his house, where he can protect you?”

My mate’s eyes darkened with reflection. “When are you two going to talk and sort out your beef?”

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