Page 86 of Cherished By the Sinners

His answer was a rumbled hum that vibrated through her, a sound that, had he been a cat, she would have called a purr.

The world faded to black in seconds, her sleep deeper and more peaceful than any she had ever known.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Mason

Mason watched Darlenefall asleep, her breathing evening out, with a satisfaction that was almost as good as sex.It filled something inside him, something sad and lonely he hadn’t known existed.

No one besides his brother had ever trusted him as much as Darlene.No one.

A strange emotion welled up from his chest, hot, clammy, and filled with an erratic, electric energy.His vision went blurry and something wet tracked its way down his cheek.

“Trust,” Magnus said in a soundless whisper.“I didn’t realize how great a gift it was until now.”

Mason could only nod.If he opened his mouth to try to talk, he’d blubber through it.

“No wonder Baz, Yvgeny, and Anna have been acting strange,” Magnus continued.“If they are feeling the same way as we are right now.”

“They would burn the world to ash if someone harmed the ones they love,” he managed to choke out.

“What is it that Baz calls us?Insane, obsessive compulsive, paranoid assholes.”Magnus nodded.“He is exactly right.”

Mason curled around Darlene’s body and let his mind drift off into a hazy meditation with the scent of her skin in his nose.

***

Someone was walkingthrough the suite, disturbing the air and spreading their scent.

Mason took in a deeper breath through his nose to see if he could identify the culprit.

Bazyli.

Mason stirred himself.Baz wouldn’t be in their suite if it wasn’t important.Especially now that he and Magnus had Darlene with them.

He carefully and quietly disengaged himself from Darlene, who’d somehow taken the arm he’d draped over her waist and wrapped herself around it.