“I’m sorry, little ladybug.” Steel’s voice was tortured as he shifted his hold on her so her back was now pressed against his chest. One of his arms banded across her chest, just beneath her breasts, pinning her in place with her arms by her sides. His other hand circled her ankle, and he bent her leg up so he couldswitch hands, leaving him one hand free. “This is how I'd do it if I was really torturing you.”
Making a concerted effort not to look directly at her naked body, Voodoo handed Steel a lighter, and Rose shivered as she realized Steel intended to burn the soles of her feet. It was a good idea, because it would have made it harder for her to run if they really were holding her hostage, but it was going to hurt like hell.
“Focus on me,” Steel ordered, his teeth digging into her neck and then immediately soothing her skin with his tongue, as he held the small flame close to her skin, searing her flesh and making her flinch.
No matter how much this sucked, it was worth it. Once her brother was dead, had paid in blood for his crimes against her and Steel and his team, then they’d be free.
Free to explore this messed-up thing they had brewing between them.
Free to maybe find the love and acceptance she’d always craved.
Chapter
Eighteen
January 1st
10:42 P.M.
A week ago, Steel would have laughed in the person’s face if they told him he would be cradling a woman so tenderly in his arms.
Now holding Rose close to his chest felt like the most natural thing in the world.
But it didn't ease the knot of nausea sitting heavily in his gut.
After he’d burned the soles of Rose’s feet, he’d harshly shoved her off his lap, depositing her on the table in front of him, then stormed down the hall to the closest bathroom where the contents of his stomach had quickly evacuated themselves.
Hurting people had never been something he enjoyed. When he enlisted in the military, it was something he was prepared to do, knowing it came with the job. After Dr. Gardner had messed with his DNA, it was something he did without conscious thought. It didn't negatively affect him in any way, and he never felt an ounce of guilt or remorse after he and his team had tortured someone for intel or ended the lives of those who didn't deserve to live.
Even when they’d taken Rose, knowing she was innocent, he hadn't expected to feel a drop of regret for what they planned to do with her. She had been deemed a necessary sacrifice, and all six of them had been good with that, their eyes fixed so firmly on their revenge that they’d been blinded to anything else.
Then Rose’s defiant attitude changed everything.
It jarred him out of his single-minded objective, made him see her as a real person and not an object of value to achieving his goals. Her bravery and determination, her sass and strength, made him aware of things he hadn't thought possible.
For a decade, he had believed himself to be a monster incapable of loving another person, not safe to be around, and a danger to humanity. Knowing he’d thrown up because he’d laid his hands on a woman who was firmly lodged in his heart told him the truth.
He’d never been a monster.
Always been capable of connecting with people, even if his conscience had been badly damaged by the experimental drugs he’d been given.
If he wasn't still capable of normal human emotion, he wouldn't have been down on his knees vomiting, his stomach painfully cramping, because he’d hurt the woman who owned him.
In the end, it had been Rose’s small hands stroking his back that had him looking over his shoulder. The look in her eyes, the understanding, the acceptance, had almost been enough to bring him to tears.
Instead, he’d shoved to his feet, yanking her into his arms and holding her tight while he washed out his mouth, then he’d shoved her up against the wall and taken her hard and fast. His bruising pace must have hurt her, but she’d clung to him, her nails digging into his skin as she screamed out her release loudenough that Blade would have heard no matter where he was in the house, even if he didn't have enhanced hearing.
To keep them all safe, Rose included, Voodoo had given her a sedative before they left the mansion. The plan was to get to Rose as soon as her brother was with her, but in case anything happened to delay them, he couldn’t allow her to have intel that could potentially be tortured out of her.
His girl was strong, but she was still human, and it was better for her if she didn't know where she’d been kept for the last week.
That was changing afterward though.
Rose was his, and he had no intention of letting her go even if he had to lock her back up in his room until she agreed to stay with him. The mansion would be her home, and she would learn its location.
None of them had spoken on the drive to the private airfield.
No one had spoken as they loaded onto the small private jet.
