Page 49 of Atone

I skate my hand up his scarred arm, and he tenses. Rage brewing in his gaze. The monster who lives inside every member of Sigma Sin. Although I sense Alex’s has more bite than the others.

And I see him clearly for the first time. Everything he’s been trying to hold back.

“You avoid me because you know I see you.” I pause my roaming hand, answering the question he refuses to. “You might have been a victim, but you weren’t innocent, were you, Alex? You’re just like them.”

A wicked grin stretches his cheeks. It knocks the air from my lungs. Utter amusement and pure maliciousness.

Alex drops his mouth near my ear and whispers, “Don’t pretend that doesn’t interest you.”

16

MY ONLY RELIEF

MILA

Alex is toying with me.

I can’t tell if it’s playful or cruel, but it’s clear he’s trying to get under my skin.

Of all the things I expected when I threw a knife at his head, it wasn’t this. And after he’s spent the past few weeks ignoring me, I can’t help torturing him a little back, just to see what he’ll do with it.

“You don’t know the first thing about me.” I angle my chin up.

He meets that challenge with an amused smirk. “I know you have a weakness for men who aren’t worth your time.”

“Who says they aren’t worth my time?” I wet my lips, and he swallows hard as his gaze hones in on my tongue. “Are you jealous, Alex?”

I sink back on the desk, spreading my knees farther so he’s standing between them. I plant a hand in front of me, gripping the ledge, and it’s all that hides my underwear from his view in this short skirt.

His eyes focus there—where I need him. WhereI’ve probably needed him since the first time he looked me in the eyes and lit this pulsing fire in my core.

“There’s no one for me to be jealous of, Mila.” His gaze snaps to mine.

“Because I broke up with Marco?” I glare. “Like he’s my only option on campus. Do you really think he’s the only member of the House who wants to get between my legs?”

Alex’s jaw feathers in irritation, and my threat lands with the intended impact.

Good.

I want to rile him up.

I’m tired of Alex shutting me out and acting like I mean nothing to him. The fact that he’s here now proves that’s not actually true. If pissing him off is the only way to break this ice-cold façade he’s mastered, then so be it.

“Maybe I’m wrong, and you aren’t jealous at all.” I jut my chin up, and his hazel eyes darken. “Maybe you’re just as desperate as they are to lose yourself in someone like me. How long has it beenfor you, Alex? Did you break the streak and fuck someone the second you got out of Montgomery, or did you decide to wait? How long did it take being locked in there before it was actually the lack of another person’s touch that was driving you insane?”

I’m playing with fire, and I know it.

Standing on the coals and daring them to burn me. Which is why I don’t hold back when I reach for him this time, planting my hand directly on his scarred arm, wondering if he resents me for acknowledging his scars or if he understands I don’t see them as a flaw.

I want his broken pieces.

I want him.

I want to understand what it’s like to experience what he has and survive it.

Bad enough to piss him off until he does something about this.

His fingers flex the longer I’m touching him. Tightening and shaking. Everything from his words to movements is a little choppy, but I don’t mind it. If anything, it fascinates me how he pushes through the pain.