way to deal with it then I wasn’t going to argue. I could even admit that it was working already. The only feeling I was having trouble moulding into it was lust. That fucker couldn’t be sated by rage alone. But it sure kept good company with it when it wanted to.
I pushed myself upright and moved to draw back the curtains, letting in the light of the pale sunrise so that it spilled over my flesh.
I pulled a pair of sweatpants on and released a long breath as all of the roiling emotions in me fought to be heard and I smothered them with anger.
My hand curled into a tight fist and I crossed the room, taking the key from my nightstand before unlocking the bathroom door and throwing it wide.
Tatum was curled up in the porcelain claw foot tub that dominated the centre of the space. I guessed it beat sleeping on the marble tiles, though if I hadn’t switched off the underfloor heating last night that might not have been the case.
She was sleeping in a sweatshirt and her panties, her arms curled beneath her head as her brow pinched with some nightmare. Or maybe she could just tell on a subconscious level that her nightmare was standing over her. Her bare legs caught my attention for a moment too long and that treacherous desire I felt for her slithered beneath my skin.
But that was okay, I could accept it. I wasn’t going to waste time pretending that she wasn’t hot. Or that I didn’t want to fuck her again. There was no point lying to myself about that. But it didn’t mean anything other than that. Her flesh called to me on a base level, but her soul could rot for all I cared.
The scent of vanilla and honey blossom lingered in the air from her skin and I remembered the way it clung to me for a full day after I’d had her. That smell was a form of torture in itself, pointing out the weakness of my flesh.
I growled beneath my breath and reached out to set the cold water running in the tub.
Tatum shrieked as she jerked awake, leaping from the bath and slipping in the puddle of water as she did so. She fell towards me, arms whirling in panic before she slammed straight into my bare chest.
I caught her and she looked up at me in surprise as I offered her a dark smile before dropping her onto her ass on the cold tiles.
She scrambled backwards until her back hit the door to Kyan’s room and she stared up at me with undisguised fear and hatred brimming in her eyes.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she breathed. It wasn’t an accusation or even an insult, more like a genuine question as she tried to figure out how a man could become as twisted as me.
“Many things,” I said as I stalked closer to her, enjoying the way she cowered against the wood. “But top of the list right now, would have to be you.”
I stood over her for a long moment as she panted beneath me, her blonde hair spilling everywhere, looking almost like it had after I’d spent a night buried in her body.
I folded my arms over my chest, my eyes narrowing as I assessed her. Was she finally starting to get the message or was she only just starting to fight back against the rules she lived by now? Not that it mattered. We’d break her in sooner or later. I was just glad to be along for the ride.
“Get up,” I commanded and she scrambled upright until she stood before me, her back pressed to Kyan’s door.
I stood there for a long moment as she refused to utter another word, looking at me like I was the worst person on Earth.
Try, one of the worst demons in hell and you might be getting closer, sweetheart.
I turned my back on her abruptly and moved to take a piss.
Tatum gasped behind me, but she didn’t actually say anything.
“Complain about it and I’ll get a pot and make you hold it for me every time I need a piss. Maybe even when I need a shit, too,” I growled and she looked at me for a long moment like that was the worst thing I’d threatened her with. But if she believed that then she was deluded. Things were going to get a lot worse than holding a piss