Page 93 of Greed

“I’m sorry,” Riker whispered.

“For what?”

“For not believing that you were in danger. Penny mentioned it to me, and I told her she was being ridiculous, but it seems she might be right after all. That demon attacked you because of me.”

She looked away from his eyes, unable to hold his stare when he was being so truthful with her, yet she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she already knew.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe from now on.” He smoothed back the hair that was blowing around her face. “Do you like it up here? Sometimes I like to stretch my wings, but I mostly fly over the ocean. It’s peaceful out there.”

“It’s beautiful, Riker,” she said and laid her lips upon his cheek. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Always, Minetta. Would you like me to show you the ocean?”

She was sore and tired, but as she stared in the direction of the dark water that glittered with the moonlight, she could only smile and nod.

She may not have gone to him of her own volition, but she couldn’t picture her world without him now.

I laid still, holding Minetta to my chest, but couldn’t fall asleep. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the image of the shadow demon trying to drag her to Hell out of my head. I would have torn the place apart looking for her and wouldn’t have stopped until every last demon responsible was destroyed. She murmured something in her sleep, her muscles twitching.

“You’re okay, my little bird, I have you,” I whispered, and her body settled.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” She yawned and looked up at me. Her dark hair draped around her delicate features, his heart swelling with the unspoken emotion.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“This really sexy guy woke me up.” She smiled wickedly, and even though it hadn’t been that long since I had her screaming the walls of my penthouse down, my cock was ready for more.

“How about you tell me something you promised you would but have conveniently been quiet about ever since?” I raised an eyebrow at her, and she groaned, making me smile.

“Do I have to talk about it? Can’t you just ravage me again?”

This time I laughed. “Oh, I plan on ravaging you again very soon, but first, let’s talk. You don’t seem like the type to go back on your word.”

She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. “Fine, but I’m only going to tell you the short version.”

“Deal.” I pushed myself up to lean against the decorative backboard attached to the wall.

“It was my first year at college, and it was a typical frat house party that got a little out of control. I was there with three girls that I was rooming with and who I thought were friends. I mean, they were in a sense, but just not the way I thought.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said.

“Girls have a code at a party. We’re supposed to look out for one another. You know, check on each other and make sure our drinks aren’t spiked or that if one of us is missing, check and make sure we’re okay. That sort of thing.”

“I’m assuming they didn’t look out for you?”

“You would be correct. I’m sure you can put the rest of the story together. You don’t need me to go into all the details.” Minetta played with the edge of the sheet. She was obviously uncomfortable talking about this, yet I had to press a little more. I needed to know who had hurt her.

“Who was it?”

She sighed and turned her gaze to the massive window that stared out at the dark night sky. “Why do you want to know?”

“Because I need to know.”

Her eyes that never missed a thing swung back to mine. “And what do you plan on doing once you find out?”

I decided a politically correct answer was best. “I’m not sure yet, but whoever it is, needs to be punished in some fashion. If not for yourself, Minny for anyone else that has been hurt since. I’ll find the answers, and whoever it is will be marked.”

“Marked?”