Page 203 of Hymns of the Broken

Sawyer smirks, her body still trembling. “We’ll save that for when we come back later if you haven’t decided to talk like a good boy.” She says as she pats his cheek and Blake looks like he’s trying hard not to sob.

Jasper releases him with a shove, and I pull Sawyer back into my arms, holding her steady, grounding her in the aftermath.

“Let’s go, baby,” I whisper, kissing her hair. “Let’s let him sit with that for awhile.”

SAWYER

Riot’s hand barely closes around my wrist before he’s yanking me up the stairs, urgency and hunger radiating off him in waves. He drags me into the nearest empty room, slams the door shut, and pins me to the wall so fast my breath leaves my lungs in a huff sound.

His eyes are wild. Wild from everything that just happened below.

“I’m sorry if that was too much or if you weren’t ready,” he says. “I just—fuck, Hellcat. The idea of that asshole thinking heactually got you off—thinking he took something from you—made me want to rip him apart. I needed him to see the truth. He needed to know that you had never belonged to him. He could never own you. He could never have what we have.”

My pulse thrums, I reach forhim tangling my fingers inhisshirt and pullhismouth to mine. Bruising, desperate. All teeth and tongue and fury and gratitude.

“It’s okay,” I whisper against his lips, breathless. “I loved it. It was so fucking hot, Riot. You, Jasper, everything. I wanted him to see. I wanted him to know he could never touch me like that. I feel like I took a piece of me back.”

He lifts me off the ground and my legs wrap around him on instinct. He grinds me into the wall, his cock is already hard pressed between us, but I shake my head. A little laugh escapes as he kisses a line down my jaw.

“No,” I murmur, catching his face in my hands. “Not yet. Save it for later.”

He growls, nipping at my throat, hands rough and trembling. “You trying to kill me, Hellcat?”

I grin, thumbing his bottom lip. “No, Riot. I want him to see me fall apart for you. For both of you. I want him to know there’s nothing he could ever do that would make me his—not even for a second. I want him haunted. I want him to feel realize he’s nothing to me.”

Riot’s eyes flash with wicked, grateful pride. He’s breathing hard as lets me down, pressing his forehead to mine. “Fuck. You’re perfect. And you’re so much filthier than you pretend to be, aren’t you?”

I bite his lip, just enough to make him hiss and smirk. “Maybe. But only for you.”

He kisses me again, softer this time, all promise and possession. “Then let’s make him wish he’d never met you.”

JASPER

I take the stairs two at a time, letting the door slam shut behind me. My hands are still shaking with the need to break something, but instead, I follow the sounds of Riot pacing, energy bleeding off him in waves.

He’s in the hallway, raking a hand through his hair, chest still heaving. The adrenaline in my veins hasn’t settled either—not after what happened in the basement, not after watching Sawyer walk away from him like a queen leaving a chained dog in the dirt.

“Good move,” I say, voice rough as I shoulder up beside him. “You wiped that smug look right off his fucking face.”

Riot barks out a laugh.“Yeah, well, let him try to pretend after that. That fucker deserves to live with it the rest of his life. Knowing he will never have that. Not with her, not with anyone. Hell, if she even lets him live.”

Every inch of me is still buzzing from watching Sawyer unravel for us, right where Blake could see. “He knows. You could see it all over his face.”

Riot’sgrin fades into something darker, almost reverent. “She wanted him to see. Wanted him to know he could never have her like we do.” He brings his hands up to run them through his hair. “I hope he wishes he’d never touched her.”

We go quiet for a second, both of us probably replaying the humiliation on Blake’s face. But then Riot gets a wild, proud spark in his eye.

“She stopped me,” Riot says suddenly, like it’s still echoing in his head. “I was ready to fuck her against the wall up here, but she told me she wanted to wait.” He looks at me with wide eyes. “I think she really is going to let us fuck her in front of him. You ever heard anything hotter in your life?”

I let out a real laugh. “No. I haven’t. After what happened I think it’s a great way for her to take back her to take back everything he took from her.”

He’s quiet for a beat before he grins again. “Agreed. She’s the one running the show. She wants Blake to see what he can’t have. She wants him to see her completely fucking claimed.”

I nod, the sense of awe cutting through the anger. “Then let’s make sureshe gets exactly what she wants.”

And for the first time since we dragged Blake down those stairs, I feel a dark, perfect peace settling in my chest. Our girl is about to take back everything he took from her.

Riot’s still grinning, that wild, hungry spark lighting up his eyes. He glances toward the stairs, then back at me. “You know what we need down there?”