Page 57 of The Devils Melody
“You really thought,” I growl, my voice low and lethal, “you thought you could touch her and still have working hands?”
He’s making wet, wheezing sounds now as his hands claw at my wrist. His face is turning a beautiful shade of red.
Good.
He flails, eyes darting to Wren thinking that maybe she’s going to save him.
I feel her hands on me eventually. Not pulling me off, not really. Just there, grounding me. It’s as if she’s been waiting for this moment almost as long as I have and wants to savor it a little longer. I knew deep down she was like me.
“Kage,” her voice slices through the moment. Tight and controlled, like she’s holding herself back. I don’t look at her. Not yet. My fingers tighten around his throat, just enough to remind him he’s one mistake away from never fucking breathing again. My rage thrums under myskin, hot and demanding. It wants blood. It wants screams.
But I already know what she’s telling me, and she’s right. We need this fucker alive.For now.
I lean in, slow and careful, until I can see the panic bloom in his eyes. “The next time you touch her, I’ll carve the tendons from your fucking hands.”I shove him back with one last slam before letting go. He drops to the ground, a dead weight as he gasps, choking on each breath he takes, and scrambles backwards on all fours like the coward he is.
I crack my neck, never taking my eyes off him. “Get the fuck out of my sight.”
He stares at me as if he wants to say something, but he doesn’t.
Instead, he runs.Good boy.
I finally turn to Wren. Her face is pale and her eyes are wide. That bruise on her cheek is still there and darker than it was last night. It makes my blood boil all over again. Jimmy better get his shit together cause I don't think I have it in me to let this fucker breathe any longer.
“Get on the bike,” I say, my voice like gravel and laced with venom.
She blinks. “Excuse me? I drove here. I can’t just leave my car?—”
I step forward, close enough that she has to tilt her head back to keep looking at me. My voice drops even lower, leaving no room for argument.
“Get on the fucking bike, Wren.”
19
Wren
THE SONGBIRD
My pulse is still thundering in my ears, my mind reeling from the emotional whiplash of the last five minutes. I just watched Kage wrap his hands around a man's throat like it was nothing. No hesitation, no warning, just pure, ruthless violence. And now he’s looking at me as if I’m next.
I wouldn’t mind those hands around my neck one bit…
“Get on the fucking bike, Wren.”He walks towards his bike and gets on, staring at me expectantly, daring me to deny his demands. He reaches behind his seat and holds out a helmet that looks too small to be his. He’s clearly thought this through.
I should say no. Maybe I should run, or scream bloody fucking murder. But the words don’t come. He’s too tall, too muscular, too goddamn dangerous. And yet, my body moves as if it’s not mine, and honestly, I can’t say that I blame her. This man has a pull on me like nothing else. I’m officially addicted.
I walk towards him and stop just next to his bike. Hiseyes follow me, watching to see if I'll bolt before gently setting the helmet on my head and adjusting the straps.
“Fuck, you look so fucking hot in that, baby. I wish you were about to ride me instead of the bike, though.” He gives me one of his sexy little smirks, trying to break the tension.
“You’re fucking insufferable.” I roll my eyes, not able to contain the laugh that bubbles out of me.
“So I've been told.”
Following behind him, I swing my leg over the bike before I can stop it. My hands hover awkwardly in the air. I don’t know where to put them. On his shoulders? On the seat? What do I fucking do?
“Hold on,” he says, that voice still rough and edged with violence. I freeze, but then his hands find mine and wrap them around his waist, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Holy shit.
