Page 63 of Tempted to Rebel

I can’t help but giggle as even better butterflies flutter in my stomach. Not from nerves, but from giddy excitement.Butterflies, like I’ve got a crush who likes me back. Laughing asI step into my office, I clickdialon Sara’s name in my address book, praying that she picks up. When she doesn’t answer, I leave her a five minute voicemail, apologizing for my radio silence and promising to come by the shop soon with a huge bonus for her. Once that’s done, I send Lilith a text and invite her to lunch to explain everything that’s been going on. Thankfully, she immediately fires back a winking kiss-face emoji, followed by an eggplant and a blushing face.

Yeah, we’re still good.

The canvas backpack filled with things from my office sits on my desk, and as I start to unpack it, an idea strikes like lightning. I quickly shoot a text to Valentina, my brother’s girlfriend and the wife of our bratva’spakhan, to ask if she’s attending the upcoming gala.

I could make the most beautiful dress for her. I already have her measurements from her wedding, and designing another opulent gown will keep my mind off of being targeted by a murderous psychopath.

I’m already sketching the dress in my mind when there’s a knock on my office door. Rage idles in the doorway, wearing one of Ted’s old shirts that he left behind in his office. I crinkle my nose at him, and his mouth curves into a smirk.

“Not my color?”

“Not your style.” Walking over to him, I straighten his already-perfect collar and smooth down the front buttons. The shirt’s a tight fit across his chest, but it should get him from point A to point B without bursting at the seams. When he flexes his arms and the corner stitches bulge, however, I start to rethink that. “Where are you going this time?” I force a smile on my face, but he sees right through me. Things might be better between us, but I haven’t forgotten about everything he’s done. I’m not sure if I’m going to forgive him yet.

But my heart has other ideas.

“Will you miss me,krosotka?” Planting his hands on my hips, he sighs against the curve of my neck. “I always miss you.” He trails soft kisses up to my jawline, then mouths a sensitive spot that wasn’t there yesterday. I gasp as he nips my skin and sucks, bringing blood to the surface to leave a mark.

“W-what are you doing?” My fingers thread through his hair, holding him in place as pleasure warms deep in my belly.

“Until you let me put a ring on your finger,” he rumbles, “I need to make sure everyone knows that you’re mine. When the baby starts showing, no one will dare touch you, but until then—” Growling, he grabs my ass and pulls me against his body. “I’m going to mark you up, mama, every chance I get.”

My knees shake, and he palms my ass and lifts me off of the floor. Pressing my back to the door, he grins as he claims my mouth in a greedy kiss, grinding his hard length between my thighs. I gasp, and he slips his tongue between my lips, groaning as I kiss him back just as hard.

“Do you have to go?” I bite my swollen lip. “You always leave during the day.” I’ve spent countless hours with Rebel by now, but all of the time I’ve spent with Rage has been in the evenings or with his face buried in my pussy. Neither of which have really allowed me to get to know him beyond how his body feels when pressed against mine.

Regret ripples across his face. “Oh,krosotka, you have no idea how much that—” He presses his forehead to mine and closes his eyes. “How much it means to me that you want me to stay. But I’m trying to keep everyone safe, and I can only do that by putting that bastard into the grave where he belongs.”

I understand it, but I don’t have to like it.

“I’ll wait here for you.” I have work that I need to do, anyways, so staying home will be good for me.

Rage grins and pecks my lips. “That’s my good girl.” He lowers me to the ground, and I follow him to the front door.After giving me one more kiss, he turns to leave again, and my heart trips inside my chest.

“Rage, wait.” My heartbeat hammers like a kick drum as he turns around, a curious gleam in his eye.

“Yes,krosotka?”

Clearing my throat, I close what little distance remains between us. “Thank you for…”Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush—my face warms, but so does my stuttering heart. I take his hand and lace our fingers together, wrapping his visible scars around my invisible ones. There are a lot of things I could say to fill the space between us, all of the distance I’ve built when pushing him away over the past few weeks, but before I can summon the right words, his lips curve into a soft, little smile that mirrors my own. Slowly, he dips his head to brush his lips against mine, clutching my hand so tightly that I almost doubt he’ll leave.

I don’t want him to. Not after last night.

“I’ll be back this evening,” he promises, kissing me again. This time, he cradles my jaw and melts into me, pouring whatever words we’ve left unsaid into this one, tender gesture. When he finally pulls back and looks deep into my eyes, I’m reminded of a time when I thought that his were empty pools of black, threatening to swallow me whole. But now I see the warmth hiding in their depths, woven throughout all of the dark, shadowy parts of himself that I was too scared to explore. But where there’s shadow, there’s also light, and the peaceful look on his face rivals the warmth of the sun.

He brushes his thumb across the corner of my lips. “Do me a favor,” he murmurs, “and stay inside today. Lock the door behind me.”

My eyebrows furrow together. “Is something wrong? Like, more than usual? I know Rebel said there was another body?—”

A muscle in his jaw tics. Instead of answering my question, he presses a kiss to my forehead and backs away from me. “Lock the door,” he reminds me, “and don’t go outside no matter what Rebel says to tempt you.”

“Somethingiswrong.”

“Not for long. I’m taking care of it.”

Thanatos suddenly appears from the dining room holding an empty crystal vase with rotten flower petals stuck to the sides. Curving spirals, jagged and sharp, wrap around the base. It’s the same one I found filled with roses the day someone broke into my home and attacked me.

I wrap my sweater tighter around my body. “Why do you have that?”

“Do you know what this is?” Thanatos isn’t asking me—he’s asking Rage. The cut of his jaw looks sharper than I remember, the dark circles under his eyes more pronounced. Did he get any sleep last night, or was he searching for their father until dawn?

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