Page 26 of Wrath
Holy shit, the room.
“Wow,” Misha said, leaning casually on her elbow, head in hand, casting an amused glance around. “You know the sex was good when you need to redecorate.”
They’d all but destroyed it. There was a crack in the wall. The light fitting had crashed and lay on the floor. The bed was destroyed. The headboard splintered in half.Fuck.
Wyatt fished around in his duffel bag and took out a wad of rolled cash. He’d made a withdrawal from the bank earlier that day. His family knew where he was, so there was no point trying to remain incognito. When he worked at Heaven, he’d been too busy creating luxurious dishes the world had never seen to spend his hard earned cash, so had plenty in the bank. The first thing he did was purchase that motorcycle part he’d been waiting on, the rest he’d shoved in his wallet for later use.
Misha’s gaze narrowed on the cash roll with distaste. “What is that?”
Apparently something so disgusting she felt the need to gawp at it.
He counted it out.Two thousand dollars.
“Jeez, Wyatt. That’s offensive. I didn’t do this for money.” She shot him a sly look. “I did this for your goddamn Adonis body.Jeez. Wait… unless you happen to have another Forty-three thousand or so dollars in there. No? Well, it was worth a try.”
Forty-three thousand dollars. That was an oddly precise amount.
He frowned and pointed at all the damage.The money was for that, idiot,he mouthed.
She slapped his money away. “Don’t call me an idiot, idiot.”
Shock radiated through him. He caught her by the wrist and held her captive. She’d said “idiot” as though she knew what he mouthed, as though…
Do you understand me?he mouthed.
“Yes, a little. I took Alek to lip reading classes when he was younger. Those hearing aids don’t do shit, and he was too shy to go on his own, so I went with him. It was fun. I can’t hold a conversation or anything, but I catch the gist of it.”
She twisted her wrist out of his hand. When she moved, Wyatt caught sight of a bruise coloring her jaw.
His stomach plummeted. He didn’t… The red blotches he’d left on her hips flashed before his eyes. Had he actually hurt her? He touched her gently, and she dropped her gaze, bashful. With a finger under her chin, he lifted until their eyes locked.
Was that me?he mouthed and pointed at the purple bruise.
“Go slow, I’m out of practice.”
He asked again.
“No, it wasn’t you.” She pushed him away, and just like that, the mood darkened. “The others weren’t you either. Oh wait”—she squirmed, feeling out her body—“My hipsarea little sore, but it’s a good sore, if you know what I mean. And that other place.” She winked at him. “Do you really want to know how that feels?”
But he wasn’t listening to her joke. His mind was caught on the wordothers.
Others with their hands on her.
Rage consumed him. Fuck any man who touched her. He trembled with the need to wring someone’s neck. The thought of another man with his dick in her, hurting her.
Just like you?a dark voice mocked.
Forcing the emotion down, he made himself assess her other bruises with a cool head. She never said they were from another man in the bedroom. Even if they were, who gave a fuck.One time, remember?Others could mean anything. And now that he wasn’t blinded with his irrational need to bed her, he saw clearly. Her smooth, gorgeous body was marred all over. He didn’t know which bruise to focus on first. He searched her body, lifting her arms. There—he tested her ribs and she hissed. She was hurt.
He had to know. He pointed at the ribs and her worst injuries, then pointed at himself. But even as he went through the motions, he knew it wasn’t his fault. The discoloration was old, yellowing, and when she shook her head, it was confirmed.
If not me, then who? Why?
He waited patiently while she read his lips. When her gaze clashed with his again, she hesitated.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, drawing away and squeezing into her pants. “Nothing can be done now.”
She dressed with little regard for him until she turned suddenly, tugging on her joggers. “Well, that was fun, Wyatt. Good luck with your journey. Safe travels and all that.”
