Page 28 of Scarred Sacrifice
Keep calm, don’t falter, get the information,I repeat like a mantra inside my mind.
As I reach the bottom step, Penny is there to greet me. “Is Lord O’Connor not joining you for breakfast?” she asks.
I give her a side glance. “I am not his keeper. He will be down to get his own breakfast when he is ready,” I state sharply. I inhale deeply. I need to bury my dislike for Nyx. “He will be down shortly, I’m sure. He decided to have a little workout this morning.” I grin.
Penny nods without a slither of emotion on her face. I wonder if they are given special training, to shut down any emotional responses to a situation. If it wasn’t for the fact that I know it’s impossible, I’d think they were robots.
I enter the orangery, noting the beautiful green plants lining the wall to wall windowed room. The beautiful natural sunlight warms and lights up the stunning room. Penny leads me to a table overlooking the expansive grounds. I stand there for a moment, just staring out at the rolling green fields and the wildflowers, giving the view a pop of vibrant colours.
“It has always been one of my favourite views,” a deep voice states close behind me.
I jump slightly and whirl to see who it is, wobbling on my heels. Henry. He reaches out, placing his hands on my waist to steady me. I fight every fiber in me to not shove him off me, and instead, I force a smile to my face.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he states with a hint of amusement in his eyes, his hands still firmly on my waist.
I clear my throat and try to shift out of his hold, but he doesn’t take the queue and keeps his hands on me. “No, it’s my fault. I was captured by your beautiful land,” I compliment as I again try to step out of his hold.
His hands tighten, his fingers digging in firmly as he leans in. “I must say, Miss Fox, I find you very intriguing,” he whispers near my ear. My skin prickles in warning and my body stiffens. My fists clench at my sides, so tight my nails dig deep into the palm of my hands. “Well, I can assure you that nothing is intriguing about me. I’m known for being rather boring,” I quip, as I try again to subtly pull away from his hold. If we were anywhere else, I would have had him on the floor with a broken nose by now. I can feel my resolve wearing thin.
“Henry, get your hands off my woman,” I hear Nyx demand behind us. He grabs my hand, giving me a swift yank to him. I tumble into his chest, his arms coming around my waist.
Henry smirks, shrugging. “You can’t blame an old man for trying. Leaving her unattended around here is dangerous. Anyone could snatch her.” Henry smiles, but his tone is laced with a threatening promise that has me feeling sick to my stomach.
Nyx chuckles. “I am a lucky son of a bitch. I will make sure to take better of my things.”
MY THINGS?! MY THINGS?! The blatant fucking sexism.I try to break away from Nyx’s hold, but his grip tightens.
“Miss Fox, until next time.” Henry grins as he retreats back to his table. “That’s a promise, Nyx,” Henry adds.
“Motherf—” I begin to mutter through gritted teeth, but Nyx jabs his fingers in my side to shut me up.
“Trust me, I won’t be making the same mistake again.” Nyx laughs as he turns our backs on Henry and pulls out my chair for me.
I sit down, facing him like a sulking child. Nyx sits down opposite me, and after he pulls out his napkin, he flicks it with his wrist before placing it on his lap. He clicks his fingers and servers come rushing over like it’s life or death, and start placing platters of fruits and pastries down, while another fills my mug with fresh coffee. I fight the urge to pick it up and sniff the beautiful liquid, and instead I keep my glare firmly fixed on Nyx. He continues to load his plate with a croissant and some fresh berries. I wait for the servers to disappear, giving one of them a tight grin as they leave, then lean forward.
“I had it under control,” I say through gritted teeth.
Nyx picks up his coffee and takes a long sip before placing it back down. “What you had was a situation you couldn’t get out of. Tell me, what is it you would have done? Punched him? Tackled him to the ground?” he asks, arching his brow.
I grab hold of the butter knife tightly in my fist and contemplate how easy it would be just to end him right now. Then I could end fucking Henry, and all would be right in the world.
“I have other ways of disarming a man without it becoming physical,” I snap.
“Really? I guess I was just lucky, then?” he quips. His eyes flicker to my hand gripping the butter knife, so tight I’m surprised it doesn’t snap. “And what do you plan to do with that?” He smirks.
I calmly place the knife down and reach over, holding his hand. To anyone else it just looks like I’m being affectionate. When in reality, I have hold of his middle finger in such a way, one quick move and I would break it. Nyx’s jaw tenses. I smile lovingly.
“Just remember we share a room, and you really don’t want to start pissing me off before I’ve had coffee,” I warn.
“This is a funny thank you for saving you back there,” he retorts, taking a bite of his croissant.
“You did not save me!” I hiss. “I don’t need saving, and I will never need saving, but even if the tiniest chance came along that I would need saving, you would be the last person I would ask for help. Know this, Nyx O’Connor. Not now, nor will I ever need a man to save me,” I state firmly.
“Fuck, you’re stubborn,” he mutters, surprising me. He is speaking so crass down here. I quickly look around to make sure no one heard him.
“You say stubborn, I say strong and independent,” I counter as I release my hold on his hand and grab a strawberry, taking a large bite out of it while smirking at him.
“No matter what you may think of me, or what I think of you, I will never stand back while a man mistreats a woman,” he says with honesty in his voice.
