Page 75 of Sleeping Redemption
Several mhmms and uh-huhs later, he finished with, “Be there in a doodlywink.”
So much for sounding strictly professional.
I raised a curious brow at him once he pocketed his phone. “Running off?”
He came around the center island and grabbed half of Sy’s untouched sandwich before pecking a kiss onto my lips.
“Admir has news from his bloodsucking minions on our dastardly leaping lizard. I’ll return soon, hopefully with useful information.”
Nodding at Rook, I smiled sweetly. “Be careful.”
“You’re looking at the master of vigilance,” he boldly claimed with a wink before he was gone in an instant.
Drawing in a deep breath, I stretched my arms above my head, shifting my hips from one side to the other while letting out a silent yawn.
Between my physically intense session with Sy and my belly full of Rook’s special sandwich, there was a sleepy and content smile across my face.
“I think I’m going to go take a nap for a little while,” I told them both as I slid out of my seat.
“Go get some rest, I need to get dinner started on the fire outside,” Atlas encouraged me.
Looking at Atlas, Sy spoke up. “I’ll give you a hand.”
On his way past me, toward Atlas, it seemed he was willing to give me a hand as well. He patted my ass before grabbing a firm handful of it, reminding me of how he had left it deliciously sensitive from the ministrations of his belt.
I groaned appreciatively at the memory and saw a proud smirk pass over Sy’s face.
Soon after, we all went our separate ways, with the guys heading out into the backyard and me heading up to my bedroom.
To my surprise, the cream and white sheets on my bed were freshly made. Sylas must have made a point to smooth them out after I had gone downstairs earlier. He and his damn affinity for keeping things neat and structured.
Crawling into bed, I slid under the sheets, drawing the warmth of the blankets up under my arms. As I lay there, I was lulled to sleep with a little bit of each of my men surrounding me—Atlas’s shirt, the scent of Sy on my sheets, and Rook’s sandwich keeping me sated.
The faint glowof embers illuminated the darkness in the distance. Approaching the flickering orange lights, I found myself surrounded by the deceased. The victims of my St. Cassius massacre. Years of discarded human pets. Every single one of my house managers named Christina I had hired and subsequently fired.
Hiking up a steep hill, the grass and earth under my feet were soaked in the blood of the fallen.
Looking up at the top of the hill, I saw a shadow of a man. Before I reached the top, I looked down, and two familiar bodies lay at my feet.
Rook’s body was strewn over a boulder, with a large gaping wound in the center of his chest. His hazel eyes were lifeless and dull with death.
Next to my demon lover was Atlas, lying there on his stomach. His long, dark blonde locks were a tangled mess of blood and dirt. My guardian angel was gravely still with a similarly sized wound as Rook but in the center of his back.
“They’re gone,” the male voice of the figure on the crest of the hill said to me. There was a hint of sadness in his words but a bristling of rage in his body.
I was close enough now to see that the man’s back was to me. Driven to see his identity despite the darkness surrounding us, I continued my forward steps.
Once I was within arm’s length, I extended my hand to touch his shoulder. Before my fingertips could make contact, he turned to face me.
“Sylas,” I whispered the name of the archangel now staring me down.
His hand reached out and cupped the side of my face. “You did this.” The feel of his hand against my skin felt cold and unsettling. It was nothing like the touch of the man I knew.
Suddenly, there was a heavy weight in my palm. I looked down to see my Divinity Sword in my grasp, the blade dripping with the blood of all those I had killed.
“I know I did,” I stated simply.
Taking a deep breath, there was the faint scent of burnt flowers. The bitterness of the air filled my lungs just as it had done at St. Cassius many lifetimes ago.
