Page 54 of Thorns of Silence

“What is this?”

“A picnic,” I explained as Cesar started to lay out a large red blanket, basket, a bottle of wine, and her favorite croissants. Her complexion paled and her eyes darted around frantically. What was it with this girl? I tried to do romance and she was getting pissed off. “We’re having a date,” I added, just in case she missed the point.

“I have homework to do tonight. I don’t have time for this shit.”

Cesar stood behind me and muttered, “She has that murderous look on her face. Is it mace time?”

Smart-ass fucker.

She stared at Cesar. “Take me back now,” she signed and mouthed slowly so he could read her lips.

Tension entered his shoulders. “I would, miss, but he’d shoot me,” he replied clearly.

“If you don’t, I’m going to shoot you.”

Cesar actually cracked a smile. “I believe you could too. Do you have a gun on you?”

Her answer was a frustrated sigh and a shake of her head.

I grabbed her chin and turned her attention back to me. “Do not address Cesar when I’m here. You can talk to me about shooting me.”

My thumb brushed over the fluttering pulse on her jugular. Fuck, her skin was so soft. She shivered, going slightly up on her tiptoes, but then as if she remembered herself, she yanked out of my reach.

“Stop being irrational.”

“Or what?”

I groaned deep in my throat, tempted to eat her out for dinner. “Or I’m going to bend you over my lap and spank you.”

Her kissable lips parted the slightest bit, the way they did whenever I said something unusual. Or maybe I’d said something completely wrong.

Fuck, I hoped I translated it correctly into ASL. It wasn’t exactly what they taught in those classes. After my captivity, my rage and nightmares came frequently, rendering me immobile to speak or express myself.

Thankfully, my therapist suggested ASL. I gave it a shot, but never told anyone. The fucking thing didn’t help in easing my communication during rage, but it sure as fuck helped me with Phoenix.

Then, as if she got herself together, she drew her hands up to sign. “I don’t want a date. I want to go home. To my sister, who your brother fucked over.”

I studied the stubborn jut of her chin. “Don’t you think we should focus on us and let those two fix their own problems?”

There was so much to learn about Phoenix, and I was more eager than ever. Snooping through her things only got me so far. I wanted to hear what she’d share with me.

Maybe she was unmasking the tiny part of me that was decent. Although there was this feeling that I’d fuck it up somehow.

Or maybe it was a guilty conscience speaking since I’d done absolutely nothing to assist Mother and Amon in retrieving the document she needed from Tomaso Romero. Except, she was more important to me. She was all I could focus on, the letter be damned.

“There’s no us.”

My hand splayed out on her lower back as I pushed against her. “There is and you know it.”

She flattened her palms on my chest, but she didn’t move them. “Why did he break it off with Reina so abruptly?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. Ever since their breakup, he’d changed. He was angrier, darker, prone to rage even quicker than me. “He won’t talk about it. All I know is that he’s pissed off at the world.”

She watched me as if trying to decide whether to believe me or not. It was the truth, but my brother and her sister were the last thing I wanted to talk about.

“You and me, Nix,” I started, trying to steer the conversation back to us. “We could set off fireworks. Fuck, wearethe fireworks.”

For a moment, she stared at me with a blank expression, and I worried I used the wrong fucking sign for fireworks. But then she rolled her eyes. “Just because I only get orgasms when thinking about—”