Never.
Not even when I tell him what I’ve done.
No, Wraith won’t physically hurt me.
It’s my soul he’ll rip to shreds.
And long after it’s dead, I’ll stay very much alive to watch the world go on living all around me. Because for better or worse, I’m staying in Mayhem, and that means I’ll have a front-row seat to the rest of Wraith’s life.
20
Jamie
“Wake up, runt. You’re taking me on a tour.”
Someone’s chipper in the morning, and it’s not me. I crack open an eye and flip the blanket off from my face. Bad idea. I groan against the harsh intrusion of sunlight flooding Wraith’s bedroom. Who would have thought sex induced such a blissful, dreamless slumber? God, I’ve never slept as peacefully as I did last night. It helped that Wraith was wrapped around me like a second skin, but that’s how it’s been every night since we’ve been in Mayhem.
Not even last night’s Walk of Shame through Sanctum diminished the after-sex euphoria.
I stretch and yawn, not bothering with my customary clothing yank to keep everything in place. No need. Wraith touched every part of me. He stripped me bare and laid me out raw. Broke down every defense and saw my ugliest ugly. Then he built me up again. Made me feel more beautiful than I ever have in all twenty-four of my years of life.
Now how about that?
Incredible.
I sit up and see him hovering over the bed, dressed and ready to go in faded jeans and a gray hoodie. “Tour of what?”
“Mayhem,” he says simply.
Okay, I think I might have misheard him. “Excuse me?”
He rips away the blanket. Grabs my hands. Hauls my sleepy self out of bed. “You heard me. You’re taking me on a tour of Mayhem.”
“There isn’t a square of cement in this town you don’t know, Wraith.”
He pulls me in for a hug. God, he’s so warm and hard and wonderfully strong. “I knowmyMayhem. You’re going to show meyourMayhem.”
I frown and push away from him. “My Mayhem?”
He rolls his eyes. “Would you go shower and get dressed?”
“Fine, I’m going.” When I turn to walk to the bathroom, he gives my ass a playful slap. “So that’s how it’s going to be, Unholy?”
He nods, slow and lazy. “Yeah, runt, that’s exactly how it’s going to be.”
I roll my lips between my teeth, raise my brow, and nod as I stroll away. “Okay. Okay. I see how it is. Remember, I’m not afraid to meet a challenge.”
His gaze sears my back. “So I’ve learned.”
I brace myself on the frame of the bathroom door and throw him a glare over my shoulder. “You shouldn’t have acted like an asshole last night.”
I expect a sarcastic answer. Instead, Wraith shocks the hell out of me. “No, I shouldn’t have.”
My smile, I’m sure, can be seen from space. “Thank you for your apology.”
“You’re fucking welcome. Now take a goddamn shower because you stink of my crusty cum.”
“You’re a dick,” I snap, but I’m laughing.
