Page 76 of The Devil's Wrath

She searched my face. “And what truth is that?”

“That you’re not second, Wrenly. You could never be second to me. This . . .” I gestured to the grandeur around us. “This is just a facade. Anecessary evil. A curse bestowed upon me before I was born. But you . . .” I reached out and cupped her face, my thumb caressing her cheekbone. “You are my reality. My salvation in this darkness that consumes me. I brought you back here because I need you to understand the depths of my devotion to you. That no matter what happens out there—in the shadows and the blood and the chaos—in here, in this space between us, you are everything to me. My beginning and my end.”

Her eyes fluttered closed at my touch, a shaky breath escaping her lips. A tear slipped down her cheek, and I brushed it away gently. Her eyes opened, shimmering with unshed tears as she looked up at me.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. “Scared of losing myself in you, in this world of yours. Scared that one day, the darkness will swallow us both, and there will be no coming back.”

I pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her slender frame. She rested her head against my chest, and I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling the soft scents of lavender and vanilla.

“I promise I will fight for you, for us, with every breath in my body. You are the reason I keep going. Without you, I’m nothing but a hollow shell.”

She tilted her head back to look at me as her stormy eyes searched mine. “And what if that’s not enough? What if The Brotherhood, the blood oaths, the secrets, the death . . . what if they tear us apart in the end?”

I cupped her face in my hands again. “Then we go down together, little bird. In flames and fury, in ecstasy and agony. Because a life without you in it is no life at all.”

“You’re insane,” she breathed, but there was no real conviction in it.

A wry smile tugged at my lips. “I am. But you love me for it, don’t you? The madness, the intensity, the all-consuming need. It’s what draws you to me time and time again.”

She swallowed hard, her pulse fluttering wildly beneath my fingertips. “I shouldn’t. Because I know you’ll destroy me.”

I leaned in, my lips a hair’s breadth from hers. “Or maybe I’ll be the one to put you back together again, piece by broken piece.”

I captured her lips in a rough kiss. It was a battle of wills, a clash of tongues and teeth as we poured every ounce of our turbulentemotions into the embrace. Her hands fisted my shirt, pulling me closer as if she wanted to crawl inside my skin, to merge with me until there was no beginning and no end.

I walked her backward until her legs hit the edge of the bed, never breaking our kiss. We tumbled onto the mattress, a tangle of limbs and desperate touches. I tore at her clothes, needing to feel her bare skin against mine, to lose myself in her warmth and her softness.

She arched into me, her nails raking down my back as I trailed kisses along her jaw, her neck, and her collarbone. Each gasp and moan that fell from her lips was a symphony, a testament to the power I held over her body and soul.

I knew what she needed, what we both needed—to lose ourselves in each other and forget the world outside these walls and the demons that haunted us. To find solace, however fleeting, in the slide of skin on skin and the mingling of breaths. I pulled her pants down just below her butt, lifting one of her legs, and entered her in one swift thrust, burying myself to the hilt in her welcoming heat. She cried out as her walls fluttered around me, drawing me deeper into her. I began to move, setting a slow, deep rhythm that had her writhing beneath me, her hands grasping at my shoulders, my hair, anything to anchor herself as I drove her higher. Each thrust was a declaration, a promise, a prayer. That I would fight for her, bleed for her, burn the world down for her if that was what it took.

“Let go for me, Wrenly. Fall apart in my arms, and I’ll put you back together again.”

My words seemed to shatter the last of her restraint. With a broken sob, she came undone, her body shaking and quivering as her release crashed over her in relentless waves. I followed her over the edge, my climax ripping through me with a force that left me breathless and boneless.

I collapsed onto her, my face buried in the crook of her neck as we struggled to catch our breath. For a long moment, we lay there, wrapped up in each other. The only sounds in the room were our ragged breathing and the pounding of our hearts.

I pressed a kiss to her hair, inhaling her scent, letting it soothe the raw edges of my soul. “This thing between us, it’s not gentle or easy.It’s wild and untamed, and it scares the hell out of me. But I’d rather burn with you than live a thousand lifetimes without you.”

She lifted her head to look at me. “I’m terrified of what this means, of how much power you have over me. But I can’t imagine my life without you in it, Theo. Even if it destroys me in the end.”

TWENTY-FIVE

THEO

Wrenly and I settled into a routine rather quickly. I helped her move some of her things into the manor, and I felt less guilty balancing Brotherhood obligations while simultaneously keeping an eye on her. She kept to herself, mostly sleeping and working. Meanwhile, Kai had been staying at the hospital with Haven while she recovered.

Wrenly was asleep, so I took the opportunity to approach the topic of Wrenly with Archer. It’s not that I was hiding her, but between the typical Brotherhood tasks, cleaning up messes for Kai, providing intel on Haven’s family, prepping for the big fight, and doing my best to find what the fuck Igor was up to, I’d barely had time to breathe, let alone have a discussion with my brothers about the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And selfishly, I knew once I introduced her to everyone, she would no longer be hidden in my room, away from the obligations of The Brotherhood, which meant introducing her to my parents, and the Ceremony.

“Archer, do you have a minute?” I asked, catching him alone in his study.

He looked up from the papers he was reading, eyebrows raised. He set down his papers and leaned back in his chair, giving me his full attention. “I’m all ears, brother. What’s on your mind?”

I hesitated, trying to find the right words. “Things have been hectic lately, and I haven’t had a chance to talk to you or Kai, but I’m seeing someone.”

Archer nodded, a knowing smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Ah yes. The mysterious girl you’ve been spending so much time with. I’ve been wondering when you’d bring her up.”

I felt a slight flush creep up my neck. “How’d you know?”

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