Page 113 of Blood and Thorns

There were no lights. No voices. Just the faint, steady sound of running water.

It seeped down the stairs, saturating the carpet and making each of my steps squelch.

I’d found her in the overflowing bath, the knife on the floor and her wrists slit. At eight I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t respond. Even when I shook her or called her name.

“I’m so fucking angry,” I whispered to Sebastian, my eyes burning with tears I refused to let fall. “Why was she so selfish to take her own life?”

Dad had found me in the bathroom, and rather than offer comfort, he’d broken down. Sobbed for a wife who didn’t want her life with us. A woman who didn’t wanthim. Didn’t wantme.

It was the first time he’d looked at me like I was the reason she’d chosen to die, as if it was my fault. And that look never faded. Not when I cried. Not when I triedharder. Not when I did everything for him to feel something towards me other than obligation.

That blame was a weight I could never seem to shift. But Dad had never thought about taking the same exit as Mum, and despite his faults, he was still here.Was.

I choked down a sob, captured by Sebastian’s hard, unrelenting gaze. “He was all I had left, and you took that away.”

“I didn’t kill him.”

I began to shake, and it was only Sebastian’s grip that kept me on my feet. “You didn’t?”

He shook his head, the movement slow and his jaw clenched.

The crushing wave of grief subsided as I concentrated on the weight of his words. “Why?” I had felt his rage, the savage rise and fall of his chest as he’d held me in his arms while I’d broken into pieces.

Sebastian reacted; that was what made him the Beast. He was volatile and didn’t allow anyone to challenge him. And yet he didn’t kill the man who had hurt his toy.

“Because now you owe me.” He stared down at me, and I made sure I tipped my chin in return.

“How could I possibly owe you anymore than I already do?”

His upper lip twitched, those eyes I was so obsessed with darkening with desire. Or it could be that I was projecting, because now I knew my father was well and alive, I was somewhat aware of how close Sebastian held me. One hand gripping my wrists against his chest, and the other spreading on the small of my back.

“You’ll stay.”

It took me a moment for his statement to register. “Wait… what?”

The sheet had draped low, and he made quick work ofremoving it until I stood naked. I didn’t feel exposed, or cold. Not when he watched me with such heat, and something else. Something that sent a thrill through me. It was like he wanted me to defy him, just for the sick game of crushing me beneath his power.

“You’ll stay with me,” he repeated. “You’ll never try to run.”

“I told you to double my debt if you didn’t hurt him.”

“Then it’s doubled.” His fingers grazed my jaw, gentle and possessive. “And now,belle,you owe me a lifetime.”

“Sebastian…”

His head dipped, his lips gentle as he swallowed my protest. “You’ll let me take everything, won’t you,belle?”

He nipped along my jawline, teasing the skin, and I found myself arching to the side, giving him a better angle as he moved down my neck. He had the ability to steal my thoughts. My breath. Even my heart.

But this wasn’t something I would bend to.

“No.” My answer was a whisper, and I winced as he grabbed the hair at my nape and tugged my head back painfully. His lips found mine again, and this time there was no gentleness to the way he claimed them. It was aggressive. Possessive.

And I was drowning in his intensity. Aching for it, even.

I met his aggressiveness with my own, but I should’ve known I could never be in his league. Picking me up he laid me back down on the bed, his body hovering over mine as he devoured me as if I was his lifeline.

As if this was real.