Page 54 of Vicious Seduction

“He’s dead?” she breathed, a trembling hand lifting to her mouth as her wide gaze returned to mine. “They say it was a random mugging gone wrong.”

“There was a report of a mugger using a knife in the area last night.” Never thought I’d have been pleased about being mugged, but the guy made a perfect scapegoat after the fact.

Her eyes trailed down to my chest, drifting over the crisp lines of the dress shirt I was wearing, likely remembering the shirt I’d worn the night before. The one that was now a charred pile of ash.

“You wanted proof that I’m dangerous. Now you have it.” Each guttural word clawed up from deep in my throat. “Not only did I kill a man I’d never even met before last night, I don’t have a lick of guilt. Proof that I’m a monster.”

Her head moved side to side in short, jerky movements.

“Now you can hate me more than ever.” I inched closer. “Tell me you hate me,” I demanded.

“I … I don’t hate you.”

“Then tell me you fear me.” I raised my hand to her throat again, this time gently collaring her, my thumb lazilycaressing her smooth skin as she swallowed beneath my touch. “I want the truth.”

“I should. I should fear you, but I … I don’t.” Her eyes shone bright blue with sincerity and fear. She was still scared, but not scared of me. What then?

“Prove it,” I pushed. “If you don’t hate me, and you don’t fear me, then show me you trust me.”

Her brows drew together. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Stay with me.” I leaned in close, my hand cupping the back of her head as my cheek came to rest against hers. “Sleep in my bed with me.”

Her body began to tense, then suddenly softened on a shaky exhalation. “Just sleep?”

I breathed in the hint of jasmine that clung to her skin, my eyes closing. “Just sleep.”

The moment I felt her nod against me, I bent and scooped her into my arms. The feel of her relaxing willingly into me had my heart thudding so hard against my ribs I wondered if she couldn’t feel it from the outside.

I set her on the bed back in my bedroom. While I slipped off my clothes, she settled under the covers. She watched me with a curious stare. And for once, I didn’t sense an undercurrent of suspicion.

Thank Christ.

I joined her in the bed and fought back the urge to pull her close. Fuck was it hard.Iwas hard, though, and I was trying to stay true to my word. It meant sleep would be a challenge. I wanted more than anything to feel her next to me and know that she was with me. Know that she was mine.

With Lina, I’d have to take what I could get.

I closed my eyes with that reminder and tried to be grateful the stubborn woman was here at all. But when thelightest touch of two words whispered past my ears, I lost my battle on restraint.

A sleepily murmuredthank youerased the entire concept of self-discipline and had me hauling Lina into the curve of my body with a grunt. My arm over her waist, and my nose happily buried in her hair, I abandoned strategy and went with my gut. Minutes later, her body relaxed into sleep, followed quickly by mine.

CHAPTER 28

LINA

I wokein Oran’s bed with him still soundly asleep next to me. I wasn’t sure what to think about what unfolded in the night. A part of me was desperate to give into Oran’s demands and trust him. To know for the first time in my life that someone was watching my back rather than trying to stab me in it. But the seventeen-year-old still hiding inside me was petrified that he was just as soulless as the rest, and the minute I gave him more than I should, he’d take everything. Every last bit of hope and strength I had left.

He’d admitted, after all, that his moral compass wasn’t exactly standard issue. He'd stabbed Gaetz to death, and I hadn’t even told him the whole story. Not that the piece Iheld back would have affected his decision. Hell, if anything, it would probably have reinforced his resolve.

So why didn’t you tell him?

Because I knew how the Society changed people. How it warped their priorities. Until I knew for certain he hadn’t actually come to Olympus to be part of the Society, or wasn’t already somehow connected to them, I couldn’t fully trust him. That was the harsh reality.

But Gaetz had been a part of the Society. They’d never kill one of their own, would they?

The depravity of that group knew no bounds. How could I possibly say what they would or wouldn’t do?

For now, I could only rely upon what I knew as fact. I’d told Oran what Gaetz had done to me. I wasn’t sure how, but Oran had gone out that same night, found him while he was still in New York, and killed the bastard. That pathetic excuse for a man didn’t deserve to be alive, but Oran had taken a huge risk on my behalf, and I’d be forever grateful.

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