She chuckles, even through a wince. “The works, Lex. Milkshake too.”
He lays his forehead against hers. “I am so goddamn glad you are okay.”
“Is this okay?” she asks, gesturing to herself with a look of doubt.
“Absolutely, you can still be put back together.”
She’s obviously okay enough for now, and I don’t want to get caught spying, so I finally close the door as quietly as I can possibly manage. Soren takes a step back a moment too late. He’s too high to expect quick reflexes, and while I’m annoyed with him, I’m more overwhelmed by everything I just saw. Seeing what happened to Sable in the last month has changed me, and I barely recognize reality. Rage builds inside me, fueled by a lack of pain meds for her and a need to lash out at the source of all this pain.
“You don’t deserve her,” I say, hoping he’s finally going to give me the fight I want. Carl Briarwick is dead, and there’s no chance of me fighting him. “You didn’t even help me dig that damn grave.”
“She wanted me to face her, didn’t she? Isn’t that why you guys stuck me in the car with her? So I could see what the fuck I did?” His voice rises, but the soundproofing Lex mentioned should prevent him from disturbing her. “You wanted me to see and smell and know everything he did to her like it was my own name. You wanted me to hate myself, and I fucking do? So what the hell else do you want, Hadrian?”
I stare at him like I’m seeing him for the very first time. I don’t know what happened. Getting what happened between him and Arabella has never been something I’m interested in, but I do see how deeply he regrets his actions, how much he cares for Sable, and how very much all of this is hurting him.
“I’m sorry,” I finally say. “Picking a fight with you was a low blow.”
“Because I’m high?” he demands in a mocking tone.
“Yeah,” I agree, not seeing any reason to lie or fight him over the truth. “But also because you’re obviously going through something, and you clearly feel bad about what you did. I’m not making any excuses for you, and I still believe what I said, but I’m sorry anyway.”
“Don’t be. I deserve a hell of a lot worse.”
“Have you spoken to your brother?” I finally manage to ask, wondering if Orion ever did reach out after I warned him how hard a time Soren was having.
“He occasionally texts to tell me what a curse it is to share faces with me, but no, not really.”
My chest twinges a little bit at that. The twins have always been abnormally close even though Soren has always acted annoyed by it. I’m not sure what either of them will do without the other.
“You should tell him we have Sable. Earn yourself some brownie points,” I suggest.
“I fear you underestimate just how jealous my brother is.”
“Yeah, I guess there were a few times he tried to kill me when we were little, weren’t there?” I’m not sure why I try to extend the olive branch, but rather than taking it, he looks at me like I’ve utterly lost my mind. I guess I have, because a very small and stupid part of me yearns for us to be friends again.
CHAPTER 24
LEX
Sable eats her food,sighing happily with each bite, and I smile like a fucker. Do I have any right to enjoy anything this much? I never thought watching someone eat would bring me this much satisfaction, but any enjoyment or pleasure I can give her, I’ll gladly provide. The hotel’s robe hides her body from me, but each time she reaches for another fry, I get a little flash that makes my cock jump. The shower runs in the background, the door stands open, and I know for a fact Hadrian is attempting to listen in as he gets clean.
Her robe parts, revealing her pretty pink nipples. The urge to suck one or both into my mouth nearly overwhelms me. Denying myself her is a torture I’ve never experienced. Sable is addictive, and I had no idea how much of an animal I’d turn into when constant access to her wasn’t on the table. Things are different now, and I’m fine with that. I can’t pin her down and take my fill whenever I want, but that doesn’t mean she won’t ask me to. Truthfully, I wouldn’t want to, not when she’s this fragile.
“Fuck Carl and his stupid dinners,” she says, finishing the milkshake with an elaborate swirl of her tongue over the straw. Does she have any idea how appealing she is, even covered in bruises? I need to take things slow with her, but my cock is sohard it’s starting to make me insane. Blue balls may be a myth, but coming in your pants isn’t.
“Bad cook?” I ask, taking the empty containers and wrappers from her reach and throwing them in the trash rather than encouraging her to continue.
“Among other things…” Her tone suggests something nasty, and once again, I don’t ask.
This is as good a time as any to rip the Band-Aid off and find out what her uncle did to her. She seems to want to tell me, but I can’t handle it just yet. I’m a coward, and it feels so damn good to be in her presence again. I’ve been back with her for less than an hour, and I’ve already had to stitch her up. The rest of the truth feels like it can wait. A delusion feels better for the moment.
There are painkillers in my bag, and I take them out to make her night a little easier. I grab her a ginger ale from the mini fridge, knowing she likes it. I hand her two pills and open the can before passing it off to her. She looks right through me, narrowing her eyes as she drinks the soda.
“Let’s get it over with, Lex.” She pushes the subject and the can back to me.
“Get what over with?”
“Do you want to know what he did to me?” Her blue eyes flash the most intense color, and if she’s going to break down, I have every intention of being here for her.
