“Only because you took my damned clothes away, you knob! Why is that, Stoney? Hm? Did it give you a kick to strip me when I couldn’t protest? Are you really that desperate to get me naked?”
I ground my molars to keep from losing my temper. Instead of allowing her to turn this into a full-on verbal slanging match, I tilted my head and growled. “Sit down.” And pointed at the bed.
Her top lip curled. “Fuck you!”
“Like I said before, not a chance. Now sit down before you get glass in your feet.”
For a moment, she looked confused. “W-what? What glass?”
It was as if she’d totally forgotten she’d just tried to smash the heavy crystal vase off my head. I tried not to react. How could she not remember? “The glass. You don’t have any shoes on. And I’m not letting you cut your feet to ribbons simply because you’re too damned stubborn to listen.”
Her gaze flew from the broken glass back to my face. “I’m not stubborn!”
Slowly counting to ten didn’t help my irritation settle or ease the tension building in my temples, but it did stop me from throwing her over my knee and smacking her arse like I really wanted to. My cock twitched beneath the confines of my jeans. I’d lost count of how many times I thought about doing just that over the years I’d known her. My mind was littered withfantasy images of Shannon’s buttocks pink and glowing from my attention. I coughed, getting to eight before I was under control enough to calmly raise a brow, cross my arms over my chest, and wait.
My gaze speared hers. It didn’t take long for her to look down. That and the angry flush on her cheeks only made the blood flow south even harder, but I ignored my reaction. If I was going to smack Shannon’s delectable backside, she’d have to ask for it first. But now wasn’t the time for that kind of punishment or those kinds of thoughts. Thatifwas so far down the line, it was a speck of dust on the horizon, and I wasn’t convinced we’d ever reach it.
“Fine.” She plonked herself on the edge of the bed, grabbing onto the sheet hard enough her knuckles turned white.
The big bed swallowed her small frame, the sheet drowning her. Had she always been that small? With her shoulders slumped and her bones trying to stick through her skin, she looked…fragile. My nostrils flared. That wasn’t a term I’d ever have associated with Shannon. I didn’t like it.
Her eyes landed on the clothes I’d trapped against my body.
“Are those mine?”
“No, yours were covered in vomit and booze after you chucked up over both of us. So I binned them. These are from the armoury store.”
Her throat worked as she absorbed that piece of information. “Fine. Pass them over, then.”
Both my brows flicked up at her entitled tone. “I think the word you’re looking for is please. I’m not your fucking servant, Shannon. Remember that, or you’ll be walking out of here without any clothes at all. That sheet will go, too. It doesn’t belong to you. Nothing here does. Not even your freedom. That belongs to me. So, you’ll do exactly as I say when I say it, orI’ll make sure you’re locked away where you can’t hurt another soul.”
Her mouth flattened, and I could see her fight with herself over holding her tongue. I waited. Perhaps it would be better to leave her here…
“Please.” That word was a ground-out whisper that I wasn’t really sure I heard.
I peered down at her, but she kept her eyes averted, another flush working up her neck and face. My eyes narrowed. She clearly hated asking for anything. Demanding was all she ever did.
She cleared her throat. “Please, can I have my clothes?”
“Yes, but they aren’t yours. They belong to B’nar, so you will take care of them and return them to the armoury clean, laundered, and in good condition. Understood?”
She bit her bottom lip, understanding my sub-text of no alcohol-induced vomiting, and nodded. I handed her the clothes, then, before she could walk over the shards and damage her feet because I had no doubt she wasn’t aware of them anymore, I swung her into my arms and strode into the bathroom. By the time she realised what I’d done, she was standing in front of the shower. I spoke before she could even think about complaining about me picking her up. “You’ve got ten minutes to shower and dress.”
Her head snapped up, hope seeping into her expression and making me wonder if I’d misjudged her lack of guilt about Ava.
“We’re going back to Hope? Oh, gods, have they found her?”
“Yes, and yes. You’re coming back with me, but our arrangement stands even if Ava is found unharmed. You’ll be returning here with me.”
“What? No way! I’m not answering to you, you arrogant prick, and I’m definitely not coming back here! I’m an SBI agent the same as you….”
“No, Shannon, you are not. What you are is an addict.”
Instant fury blazed in her eyes. “I am not!”
I stepped straight into her space and glared down into those flashing brown orbs. Her breath hitched, and she clutched the sheet tighter.
“Yes, you are. You chase oblivion, whether through sex or alcohol. And if you don’t admit that and help me help you, you will end up getting one of your colleagues or friends killed. And that means you will die. Because as much as Connor loves you, he has to uphold shifter law. Killing or causing the death of a King’s Sentinel is punishable by death.” My voice dropped to a growl. “Is that it, Shannon? Do you want to die? Because if you do, I can shift right now, and not even your training will be able to stop me from ending your life, and you know it. So either do what the fuck I say, or I’ll leave you locked up in this castle, and you’ll not see Ava again, or the child she carries, until you are no longer a threat to them. Do you understand?” I got up in her face. “We’re in the middle of a fucking vampire war, and I will not let you put all of the people I love—my brothers, my pack—at risk because you want to get shit-faced on rose water and vodka rather than face your fucking demons.”
