Page 27 of Broken Souls

So I cross the hall and knock on his door, not caring that it’s well after midnight. That he’s probably asleep or in the middle of fucking his girl – who he brought in this morning, unconscious in his arms while he bled from multiple holes in his body. He made another fucking mess for me to clean up, having blown up a human’s house, but at least his girl is here now, under his protection so there is hopefully no one else for him to kill.

When Khalid opens his door, naked and without shame, I ease into telling him about Micha being the traitor.

“I’m sorry,” he says, but I force my agony down, keep my pain hidden. If he knows I have claimed her as mine, he will not do the duty he is required to do. That Ineedhim to do because I’m pretty sure I fucking can’t.

“Her life does not matter,” I lie. “But if her dad planted her, then this will mean war with the Blacks.”

I say that to remind myself just how much she needs to be punished. Although we do not need the Blacks’ support in our war against Antonio, if we have to fight both of them at once, we might not survive. Throw in whatever gang or police force she sells the ledger to – whether for money or a clean slate, and we’re fucked.

Khalid’s jaw tightens as he looks over at his girl. She’s asleep in his bed, and I know he wants to go to her. But he wants to protect her more, and there is a traitor in the place she sleeps.

Terrified he might go after Micha now, I order, “Get some rest. I will look further into Micha and let you know when I need you.”

I shut the door behind me, closing him off, blocking his path to my girl. But in the loneliness of the hall, where there is no one she needs to be protected from, I clench my fists.

I need to punish her for her sins.

Hurt her like she’s fucking hurting me.

Stalking down the hall, I head to her room, where my little traitor is fast asleep.

Ten

HER

I’m yanked out of bed by a heavy hand. Reacting on pure instinct, I throw a fist into my attacker’s body. He grunts as I connect with whatever part of him I hit, but my focus is on the grip he still has on me. Grabbing his thumb, I wrench it back as I twist my arm to free myself.

His other hand wraps around my neck and shoves me back down onto the mattress. His body quickly crushes me, and for a second, primal panic consumes me. But then his lips are on mine, and familiarity washes through me. I know this mouth, the roughness of these hands as he gropes at my breasts.

“Varius?” I rasp in the darkness of my room, my pulse spiking as he presses a hard thigh between my legs.

He has been avoiding everyone since he got back from Aleric’s, but I’ve felt his rage and pain through our bond. I tried to go to him, to knock on his office door while he was locked in there these past two days, but he never gave me permission to enter. So I’ve been forced to wait until he came to me.

“Do you want to talk –”

He sucks my tongue into his mouth, forcing me to shut up. His fingers tighten around my throat, making it fucking clear what he wants from me.

My body, not my words.

Pressing his thigh harder into me, he snarls, “Fight me.”

A shiver rushes down my spine. I don’t hesitate. Don’t dare disobey by asking questions. Couldn’t even if I wanted to, my flight-or-fight response kicking in as if I’m really in danger.

I wrench my mouth away from his; he moans as he licks the side of my face. I swing my fist into his side, aiming for his smallest rib. He grunts and releases my neck to grab both of my hands. So I send fire down to my fingers, but he snuffs them out with the large palms of his when he crushes my hands into fists.

I cry out, the thrill of submission exciting me even as I worry that I’ve burned him with my flames. But he doesn’t seem to be in pain. Or, at least, he doesn’t seem to notice it, his attention back on my mouth as he forces his tongue inside mine.

I bite him, and he hisses. He pulls his tongue back, but it’s just to speak. “Harder,” he rasps before plunging back between my lips.

My teeth close fast, but before I can do more than brush his tongue, he’s released one of my hands to grab my jaw. He forces my mouth to stay open, my teeth just scraping his flesh as he takes what he wants.

With my free hand, I swing for his rib cage again. He stops kissing me as he grabs that hand and pins it back over my head. Wrapping one large palm over both of mine, he holds me firmly so I can’t move.

I stare up at him, my chest heaving, my body shaking at the thrill of his conquest.

Staring at me, darkness swirling in his eyes, he trails one hand down my naked body. Goosebumps flare everywhere he touches, and I arch up into him when he gets to my breasts, my nipples so sensitive they hurt.

“You like that, don’t you?” Varius growls as he cups me. “Such a naughty little thing. I bet I can make you come just from playing with these.” He pinches my nipple, and I cry out.