Page 85 of Thorns of Lust
“I don’t know where else that damn thing could be,” she uttered with a heavy sigh. “I looked everywhere.”
She was either an excellent liar or she truly didn’t know where it was.
I believed the latter to be true.
TWENTY-SEVEN
TATIANA
The world outside seemed not to exist while we sat in this room.
It was just the two of us. The handsome lines of his face fascinated me. The darkness in his eyes spoke to me. The longer we stared at each other, the further the tension stretched.
But it wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, there was something just the opposite about it. He helped me. We did this as a team. Adrian had never included me in anything. He hid things from me, leaving me in the dark.
The realization hit from somewhere, and it made me appreciate Illias even more.
Truthfully the two were nothing alike. Adrian rarely ever dressed up, always opting for jeans, t-shirts, and combat boots. Illias Konstantin, on the other hand, wore a suit better than God himself.
He screamed sophistication, status, and power. It wasn’t just the way he carried himself but also his wardrobe. Adrian had tattoos marking his body. Illias had only one. On his back - the skull wrapped in roses and thorns.
Why did the theme of roses and thorns keep reappearing?
“What does the tattoo on your back mean?” I asked, breaking the silence.
Our gazes locked. His gaze burned, studying me for too many seconds. The memory of our night in D.C. heated the air and crawled beneath my skin. Suddenly the safe room felt hotter than the furnace. My heart beat, fast and hard. A heaviness settled between my legs.
Oxygen seemed to be lacking. My head buzzed while adrenaline rushed through my veins.
“Why do you want to know?” he questioned.
I shrugged, hiding my fluster. “Maybe I want to trace it with my tongue.”
I blurted out the answer, but now that I said it, Iwantedto do it. The desire simmered through me like my life depended on it. But I kept my head and, more importantly, my lust in check. I needed to know what the deal with that tattoo with the roses and thorns was. The answer somehow seemed important.
“The skull represents death, the thorns represent sacrifice, and the red roses represent the love a vow can cost you.”
“Morbid,” I muttered. Truthfully, I was surprised he answered. But since he had, I was eager to know more. “Why are the roses stuffed in the skull’s mouth, ears, and eyes?”
As far as tattoos went, it was pretty cool. Albeit, dark. Personally, I’d make it pink or something girly, but his was really ominous with red roses. It was as if it symbolized blood coming out of the mouth, ears, and eyes.
“See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil.”
My brows furrowed. “But men like you, that’s all you do. See, hear, and speak evil.” Before he could comment, I continued, “My brothers might have protected me, but I’ve never painted them as saints. I don’t see them through rose-colored glasses, no pun intended. So don’t bother denying it.”
He seemed amused. “I wasn’t going to. But the evil we see, hear, and speak is contained. It never leaves our most confident circle.”
Unless someone recorded it.Like Adrian.
“Do you ever regret it?” I asked seriously.
“Regrets are for fools.” I scoffed at his response. That sounded like such a Vasili response. “What? You don’t agree?” he challenged.
I shrugged. “It sounded like an answer Vasili would give me.”
“Smart man.”
When I was growing up, I viewed Vasili like he was a god. He always seemed larger than life in my eyes. Now that I was a grown woman, I still viewed him as a force to be reckoned with. But he was a man, and I knew his faults as well as I knew mine. He was no longer a god but he was my brother, and I knew he’d always have my back, no matter what. And I’d have his.
