She pushes herself all the way up, her spine rigid, and her frown grows into a full-on scowl. “Because? That’s your answer?”
I’m an asshole, yes, but I’m not a dick. I can’t do this. Can’t have this conversation. Not when I’m primed for battle, because I don’t trust what might fly out of my stupid mouth. Best if I keep it short and simple.
“Apparently,” I say on an exhausted sigh.
“Unacceptable.”
I try to push her down, back into a nice, cuddly position. “Wow, look at me not giving a shit.”
“They called me a pound of flesh.” She’s stubborn and strong, and literally, won’t go down without a fight. So, I have to give up so I don’t injure her already battered body. “Iwillbe there when justice is dispensed. This is nonnegotiable.”
To deny her this would deal a death blow to our tentative truce. If the situation were reversed, I would kill the person who robbed me of my right to take revenge. Who am I to steal this from her? Because she’s a woman and shouldn’t get her hands dirty? Yeah, okay. Since when do the Unholy play by conventional rules?
Um, that would be never.
“Fuck it. You want to be there? Fine.”
She jerks back when I grab her wrists.
“You want to bloody these hands?”
“Yes.” Faith notches her chin and glares down at me. “They didn’t just hurt me. They made me feel weak.” She yanks her hands out of my hold. “I want to take their strength like they took mine.”
“Done.” I hold my arms out to her. “Come here.”
“No.” But she falls against me, anyway. Her entire body relaxes when I wrap my arms around her. “Why can’t I hate you?”
I smile and tuck the blanket around us. Her body is a perfect fit with mine. “Because you know I didn’t mean to hurt you seven years ago.”
Oh, Christ, is that a sniffle? Is she crying? There’s definitely something wet on my chest. My poor girl. I’m such a scumbag. The shittiest piece of shit to ever walk this earth. I’m just going to roll her over, wipe away her tears and…
…nope.
It’s drool.
Faith is out cold.
Apparently, she’s also a snorer.
I kiss the top of her head and snuggle in as close as I can get until every part of my front is touching every part of her back. Careful where I place my arms, I drape them across her bruised torso. But I nuzzle her hair, and I breathe deeply of its floral scent as I drift off to sleep, marveling that she’s in my bed. In my arms. In my life. A gift a deviant like me doesn’t deserve, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let her get away twice.
Even if I keep her chained to my bed until she realizes we are meant to be together.
12
Faith
“I’m fine.”
Seriously, I appreciate everyone’s concern, but if I repeat this one more time, I’m going to scream. I’m also extremely grateful for the hoops Crow jumped through to obtain Nz822 for me. It’s not like someone can walk into a pharmacy and buy the stuff. Even for someone with his power, it’s difficult to procure. But the Unholy’s president pulled off a miracle because I was hurt doing his organization a favor. That micro dose was enough to undo the damage those thugs did to my body.
My mind, however, is another story.
It’s difficult to wipe the slate clean and unfeel the terror of waking up to that…experience.
“Bullshit.”
Leave it to Havoc to see right through my crap.
