Page 32 of Sleeping Redemption
Winding up, I unleashed the florals and their container at Christina’s head. It sailed through the air, narrowly missing its intended target. Instead, the vase collided with the wall behind her. The ceramic shattered in a spectacular visual of shards, water, and feathery petals.
She screamed as she should have. I wanted to add her to my body count for allowing this souvenir of my past into my home.
“You lying bitch! Tell me where it came from!” I continued my verbal assault, marching toward her. Christina’s mouthmoved and words came frantically past her lips, but I couldn’t hear any of them over my rage.
Peonies were crushed beneath my feet as I backed her into a corner where my bookshelves met the wall bearing a large abstract watercolor resembling flames and dirt. Reaching out to wring out her slender turtleneck-clad throat, the blur of a body arriving between me and my intended victim brought a brief gust of wind with it.
Rook stood with his back to the girl, his hands extended out in front of him. “Love, take a breath.”
A snarl rumbled out of my throat, and his presence left me undeterred. Continuing my approach, I prepared to go straight through him if need be.
I never got the chance to try before a set of strong arms wrapped around me in a crushing hold, pinning my arms to my sides. Growling in irritation, I jerked against my captor trying to use my strength to plow through the hold.
“Get the fuck off me!” I ordered, making my displeasure clear as fucking crystal. “That little whore did this!”
Getting dragged away from where Rook blocked my path to the human shaking like a Chihuahua in Minnesota’s winter, I kicked my legs furiously.
My back went from being held against the hard cushion of a broad chest to the less forgiving surface of a wall. Sylas pinned me in place, one hand grabbing my jaw while the other tightly squeezed my bicep. The rest of his athletic body pressed against me, not even allowing me an inch of wiggle room.
I jerked my head to try and keep my eyes on my bad little toy that Rook had been so eager to protect. It didn’t take much to catch glimpses of the hot pink robe as he ushered Christina out of the area.
“Bring her back here! I’m not finished teaching her my lesson!”
Sy’s hand squeezed my jaw and twisted my head back so I was forced to meet his eyes.
He barked an order at me. “Kin, chill your shit!” His assumption that he had any weight to pull with me was laughable.
Every thrash I made against him revealed the level of strength he had to summon to keep me there. If I kept this up long enough, maybe I’d break past his hold.
Glaring stubbornly at him, I reminded him harshly of his place in my world. “Sy, I’m not one of your soldiers you can bark orders at. This doesn’t fucking concern you.”
“The fuck it doesn’t, Kinley. But feel free to be my guest and try to spin your bullshit as to what has you bound and determined to create another mess for me to fucking clean up.” His words were laced with a controlled anger. Typical Sylas, always trying to come off as the perfect fucking poster child for remaining calm under pressure while attempting to keep a situation under control.
“She invited that piece of trash into my home, and I’m going to make sure she never makes the same mistake again.” I balled my hand into a fist and harshly jabbed it into the side of Sy’s ribs, despite the awkward angle.
He grunted and flinched, but it was nowhere near the level of reaction I had hoped for. Instead, he released my jaw and grabbed my forearm tightly. Forcefully, he pinned it up by my head against the wall behind me, his other hand remaining on my bicep.
Rook walked by us, Christina no longer quivering at his side like a cowardly runt.
“Where is she?!” I prayed that he came to his senses and disposed of her, because if not, I would make her death all that more painful.
Without so much as looking at me, he sighed. “I think the poor lass could use a week off.”
“Kin,” Sylas beckoned my attention back to him. “You need to tell me what happened.”
I didn’t even have it in me to roll my eyes. “I don’t owe you an explanation for shit, Sy. Unless there is going to be a conversation about you coming to your damn senses and pulling the stick out of your ass so you can get fucked, go the hell home.”
The quiet snicker from Rook on the other side of the room told me that he was at least in partial agreement.
“Do you even realize how much you’re losing control, Kin?” His eyes damn near pierced my own with the way he refused to acknowledge anything else around us.
Sylas readjusted his grip on me, and I couldn’t help but notice the appeal of the strength he put into holding me there. Having him so close to me, the scent of the golden sun and crisp fruits that lingered on his skin, made me want to rub against him like a purring feline. Combined with the look in his baby blues, and it could have been mistaken for a gaze as hard as stone to anyone else. But to me, something more pliable lingered deeper behind them.
With all my senses remaining on high alert after my outburst, my core began to ache, wondering if he’d be the type to pin me to the bed or prefer to be the one getting pinned. Imagining Sylas giving up that much control had me giggling out loud.
Apparently, that was not the response Sylas wanted as an answer to his question. He pressed in closer to me, causing my laughter to quickly quiet as I bit into my lower lip. A snicker here and there escaped, but I did my best to settle my fit of amusement.
“How is it that we keep finding ourselves in this position, with you pressing me back against the wall?” My words werewhispered, and I wasn’t sure why it felt like they needed to come out in such a delicate tone.
