Page 54 of Ruthless Keeper
“Yes, they have, anddon’tcall her beautiful.”
“I’m not talking about her appearance—though it is stunning. I’m talking about hersoul. It’s better than all of the Nighthawks combined.” Max releases a faint scoff. “It’s miles,light yearsbrighter and better than leadership.”
“Yes,” I agree tensely. “It is. Now if you can stop talking aboutmy womanwith such protective notes in your tone, I’d highly fucking appreciate it. She isn’t yours to moon over.”
“I don’t give a shit if you don’t like it.” Max steps forward. “We have to protect her. From Cain, from the others who might carry out his cruel orders…”
“We?”
“We,” Max growls. “Don’t pretend that you can do it alone—it’s not a job for one.”
“Why thefuckare you so invested in her?” I demand. “She—isn’t—yours.”
“Because she’sgood!” Max snaps. He points a finger at the door, glaring at me. “Because the woman in there still has light left in hersoul. Because she deserves to live, and she deserves at leastsomehappiness and comfort—and if she doesn’t get it from you, I’ll makedamn fucking sureshe gets it from me.”
“You’re talking like you want to get killed, Max,” I say furiously. “She is not yours to protect.”
“Then do a better job of it,” Max shoots back coldly. “Iwas the one who carried her off that field.”
My temper snaps. I know he’s right; I failed Scarlett today, and that gave Max room to weasel his way in and play savior. I was off-site when the bombs started dropping, and I couldn’t get to her… but he did. The reality that I might be facing a big fucking problem in my already-fragile relationship with Scarlett makes something inside of me crack.
I fist the collar of Max’s shirt and slam him against the wall, holding a forearm to his throat. Rather than shoving me off and giving me the fight I’machingfor, the fight I need after the shit day and night I’ve had, Maxscoffs.
“I’m not going to fight you,” he says, his voice slightly strained. “You’re wasting the energy you should be givingher, you motherfucker.Stop failing her.”
“Get your nose out of my fucking business,” I hiss, practically vibrating with rage. “She isn’t yours, and shenever will be. She’smywoman.” I release him with a shove, and his head thuds against the wall. The bastard doesn’t even wince. “She will never beyouranything. At best, you’ll be a babysitter—and, right now, I don’t know if I want you anywhere near her.”
“Fuck you, Greyson.”
“Pass. I’drather fuckmy woman.”
“Go to hell.” Max starts walking away, but I can’t let him go. Not before ensuring that he becomes too distracted to focus any inappropriate energy on Scarlett.
“Max?” I call.
He turns to glare at me.
“You have one month to find your chosen and bring her here.” He and Cain can both go fuck themselves. This way, Cain won’t be able to leverage Max against me, and Max will be too focused on his task to give much thought to Scarlett.
Without giving the bastard a chance to respond, I slip into Scarlett’s room and close the door. She’s resting peacefully in bed, her eyes closed, her hands buried in her demonic cat’s fur. I can hear the creature purring even from across the room as he contentedly rests his head on her chest, right over her heart.
Scarlett must not be fully asleep, because she slowly blinks her eyes open and briefly glances at me. She lets them fall back shut. “Why were you yelling in the hall?”
Fuck, were we that loud? “Sorry, baby. Just got into a bit of an argument.”
She lets out a low hum, but doesn’t respond. She doesn’t open her eyes when I take a seat on the bed beside her and reach out, resting a hand on her shoulder, above her burn wound.
“Any pain?” I ask softly.
She shakes her head. “Nope. A dull ache and a weird throb, but no pain.”
“Good. Tell me if that changes, yeah? I’ll be getting a delivery of pain-killers shortly. Doc told me that you should only need them for about a week as the wound starts to seal over. Then, it’s another two weeks of healing—maybe more for the center of the burn.”
“Does that mean I won’t have to be your toy for the next month?” She asks the question in a dry tone empty of menace or resentment, which lowers my defenses a bit.
“Nice try, Flower, but no. I won’t play with you this week, but once I get the all-clear and your pain’s cleared…” I lean forward and press a kiss to her jaw before moving to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to tie you to my bed and fuck you all night long.” Ideally, until she’s so filled up with my cum, there’s a solid chance it’ll stick.
She blinks her eyes open and fixes a half-awake gaze on me. “Maybe if you didn’t tie me, I wouldn’t resist.” Then, she’s out like a light.
