Page 4 of Thorns of Silence

Amon plowed through the crowd toward the sisters, Phoenix struggling to hold up her younger sibling.

“Let me.” Amon grabbed Reina from her while Phoenix shot daggers at him.

I tapped Phoenix on her slim shoulder, the electricity buzzing through my fingers like fucking lightning.Static, I told myself. Maybe the girl didn’t use dryer sheets.

Her gaze met mine and oxygen left my lungs as more images of her slammed into my mind.

Writhing under my body.

Moaning against my lips.

Dancing in a field of dandelions.

Laughing under the moonlight.

What thefuckwas happening? Maybe I was finally losing my mind. God knew it’d been a long time coming.

Fuck!

I didn’t need this shit right now. My episodes weren’t as frequent anymore with the sheer amount of torture sessions I dished out and subjected myself to. Things were under control;Iwas under control.

Focusing my attention back on Phoenix Romero, I watched her struggling to keep her sister upright, refusing to let go as Amon attempted to tug Reina away.

“Let Amon take her. He’ll keep her safe,” I spoke slowly and clearly, her eyes lowering to my lips to read them, and fuck if that didn’t make my cock twitch. I dug my nails into my hands, fighting the urge to touch her skin. I bet she was soft and smelled like spring rain.

Then her eyes narrowed and she flipped me off.

Taken aback by her response, I worried maybe the girl had misread my lips. Although, she was staring at them rather intensely.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket and handed it to her.

“Here. Type.” I wasn’t ready to reveal to her that I knew some ASL.

Her eyes flitted to the phone, then back to me, a grimace still marring her face. She turned to look at her sister in Amon’s arms, but Reina chose that moment to gag, spurring him into action.

“You two figure it out. I’m taking her into the office.”

I watched them disappear through the crowd before returning my attention to Phoenix. I flinched when I took in her expression. Icy blue glare filled with hate, chin jutted out. The girl stared at me like I’d killed her favorite pet.

Unfortunately, my cock liked it. Likedher. A lot.

And that was saying something, because my cock didn’t like much of anything these days. How…interesting.

I slowly circled around her stiff body, my eyes roaming the smooth skin of her décolleté and arms. Fuck, she was exquisite, but also strong. Soft and tough.

Dandelion.

I had no idea where it came from, but it fit her perfectly. Mother said the flower symbolized hope, healing, and resilience, but there was a legend which stated that if you could blow all the seeds off a dandelion with a single breath, then the person you loved would love you back. Mother had never parted with that romantic side of herself despite the horrors she faced in life. Some of it stuck.

And then there was her name. Phoenix. Risen from ashes. Wild and beautiful. Could she be tamed? I shook my head, chasing the ridiculous thoughts away.

Phoenix’s face was still turned on me, her expression contorted with anger. Jesus, what had I done to this girl to end up on her shit list?

“Type,” I demanded, which seemed to only piss her off more. The spark behind her blue eyes roared to life when I mouthed, “What’s your problem?”

She yanked my phone from my hand and pounded on the screen. It was a good thing I had a screen protector or she’d have fucking cracked it with the force.

Where do I start? The list’s so long it would take me a whole day just to type it up.