Absolutely not.
Sin does not get to tease me and walk away, thinking he’s won. That would be terrible for our partner dynamic.
I frown at him. “Do you suffer from long periods of memory loss in a day?”
He quirks a brow questioningly. “No, why?”
“It’s a symptom of multiple personality disorder,” I answer. “I think you should get yourself checked out.One minute, you’re swearing that you wouldn’t touch me, even if your life depended on it, and the next, you’re making comments about eating me out on a table.”
Sin laughs, and I mirror his eyebrow quirk from a moment before.
“I wouldn’t touch a Council whore,” he corrects.
“I am not –” I grit out, annoyed to be back to this.
“I know,” he cuts me off. “I didn’t before, but now I do.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, frowning now.
“You’ll figure it out,” he answers, winking at me before apparating out of the room.
Alone now, I let out a groan before pulling my fighting gear out of the chest.
One problem at a time, Vivian.I remind myself.
Sin’s mood swings are a problem, yes. But considering I’m stuck with him, I’m categorizing him as a chronic annoyance – like period cramps. Meanwhile, I have a bigger issue to worry about. Namely, there’s a decent chance I’m about to be captured by the Council and forced into becoming Leon’s personal sex slave.
I shudder at the thought and pull out a few extra knives.
Over my dead body.
Chapter 23
Rule twenty-three:Don’t go back to your toxic ex, no matter how hot the sex was.
By the time I’ve finished getting dressed, most of the others are already waiting in the courtyard. My fighting leathers are starting to feel like a second skin, though at least now, I don’t need to wonder how everyone here seems to know so much about my time as a Guardian. Cassandra told Arianna everything she could about the secret organization. She only ever kept one secret from Arianna, and that was Leon.
Sin’s eyes meet mine as I make my way down the stone steps, and I ignore the way my breath catches at his intense stare. He has an unnerving habit of making consistent, unbroken eye contact. It’s as if we’re locked in an unspoken war, where he wants to see inside my soul, and I refuse to look away,lest it comes across as submissive. I can try to blame it on not wanting to look like prey, but really, I’m sprinting as far away as possible from the meek person I tried to be for Leon.
Never again.
I will never make myself smaller for those around me. If I’m going to be surrounded by large, powerful people, then I need to become larger and more powerful.
Metaphorically, of course. Everyone here has at least a few inches on me, and Sin is a freaking giant. But I can be smarter.
Sin meets me halfway, stopping me before I reach the others. His eyes sweep over my body, pausing at every dagger I’ve sheathed away as if he’s assuring himself that I haven’t forgotten any. There’s an air of agitation around him, though his tattoos aren’t glowing. A small part of my throat constricts at the realization that Sin doesn’t want me to do this. No one here does. But here they are, supporting my choices.
No one is forcing me to obey them. I try not to focus on how good that feels.
“How is your leg?” he asks quietly so the others don’t overhear.
“Better, thanks. The wrap is helping,” I answer.
His gaze hardens. “If we get there, and the bond pain is so bad that you can’t walk, I’m apparating us back.”
His tone holds a warning to it, one that suggests I not argue with him. I stiffen but nod in agreement.
“I’ll be fine,” I lie through my teeth.
