Page 33 of Regressive

He pulls back. “The cult?”

“It’s not a cult,” I respond. My fingers feel weird. Numb. “It’s utopia.”

He shrugs. “I knew you were different. Special.” His hand slips under the hem of my shirt. “I’ve heard about you girls. You look all innocent and sweet, but it’s really all about sex, right?”

The statement echoes in my head. I’ve heard something like it before—out on the street when I was accosted by men before my Ordering. Rex, Elon, Silas and Levi protected me. At the time I thought the accusations were gross. Completely off base, but maybe… god, maybe they aren’t. Sex has become the focus of my life.

I open my mouth to respond but the door swings open behind Miller. He’s yanked back by his collar.

“Get your fucking hands off my woman.” Rex looms in the doorway, a murderous glint in his eye. He tosses Miller into the hallway, back slamming against the wall.

“Hey, man, I didn’t do anything to her. She spilled her drink, and I just helped her clean up.”

“Bullshit. I saw you out on the dance floor, pawing at her like an animal.” He steps forward and grabs him by the front of his shirt. Miller isn’t small, but Rex? He’s honed and sharp. I realize it now; deadly.

My heart pounds, and I curl against the counter terrified of what Rex will do. We don’t abide by secular laws in Serendee. Touching another man’s mate? Rex could skin him alive and Anex would give him the blade, but even I know the rules are different here.

“Stop!” I shout, lunging at Rex. I grab his bicep, tense and bulging. “Don’t.”

“Not now, Imogene.” He attempts to shrug me off, but I hold on with both hands. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing here, but no one touches you without my permission.” His hand balls into a fist. “Not even this pretty, entitled frat boy.”

“Woah,” a voice says from the hall. Knox appears, holding his hands up. “What’s going on.”

“Yourbrotherbrought my woman back here.”

He looks around Rex and spots me. He’s quiet for a moment then says, “Imogene, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, she told us she came here looking for you, didn’t you?”

I don’t know who this guy is, or what kind of game he’s playing, or how he knew, but we’re not in Serendee. There are laws out here and Rex can’t just beat a man to death because he took me in a pantry. Especially since I went willingly. “Yes,” I say. “I came here for you.”

His shoulders relax minimally and he looks down. “Why?”

“You didn’t come home like you promised.”

He stares at me long and hard then turns back to Miller. He tightens his grip on his shirt, cutting off his air, before shoving him back, “Get the fuck out of my face and stay the hell away from women that don’t belong to you.”

“Dude,” Miller says, rubbing his neck and inching down the hall, “you’re inourhouse.”

“Yeah, and everyone in this place is high on the weed I supplied.” Rex shrugs. “I can take my business elsewhere.”

Knox grabs Miller by the shoulder and pulls him down the hallway. “Just leave it dude. Royer’s gonna kick your ass when he finds out about all this.”

“Shut up,” he says, shrugging Knox away. He starts down the hall and turns back and gives me a wink. “Just a tip, you’ve got about another thirty minutes with her before she’s completely incoherent.”

A growl rips through Rex’s chest, but instead of going after Miller he pushes me back inside the pantry and slams the door shut. His eyes dart to the cup. “You drank from that?”

“It’s just a punch,” I tell him.

“Yeah, made with a hundred proof and laced with GHB.”

I don’t know what either of those things are. He lifts me off the floor and sets me on the counter, grabbing my chin and tilts my face upward, thumbing under my eyes and peering into each one. “What are you doing?”

“How much did you have?”

“Not that much,” I say. He continues to inspect me, fingers sliding down my throat and stopping over my pulse. “A couple sips. It burned my throat and I spilled half of it.” I look toward the door. “Miller actually made me stop drinking it.”

---