Cabin of Axes - Bea Paige Page 0,22

who I am and being confined here. The thing is, I’m not strictly their captive. The door to the basement is only ever locked by me and the only thing keeping me here is the storm, not these men.

“Darling?” Berrin persists, watching me carefully.

“Leave her. She doesn’t remember anything, do you?” Franklin asks almost accusingly. He pins his gaze on me and I bite my lip, a flush of heat warming me from the inside out. The tension thickens as he leans forward in his seat. He’s on edge and every time his gaze drops to my chest and bare legs, his hands grip hold of the armrests tighter.

“No, I don’t remember anything,” I lie, placing my empty mug on the table in front of me. I stare at it, at the droplet of honey on the rim just beckoning me to lick it. I’ve become accustomed to drinking black tea with honey to sweeten it just like the Torben brothers do. It’s an acquired taste, one I’m enjoying.

“Can we get you another?” Berrin asks me, nodding to my empty mug.

“That would be nice. I’ll take it with me to my room…”

“I’ll make it,” Franklin says, snatching up my mug before anyone else can offer to do it.

We lock eyes and he swallows hard, backing up quickly with my mug clutched in his hand.

“Thank you,” I whisper, my chest tightening as Franklin twists on his feet and practically runs to the sink. In his haste to get as far away from me as possible, he drops the mug on the floor. It smashes on impact.

“Fuck!” Franklin exclaims, bending down. I can’t help but notice how his hands shake as he collects the broken pieces.

“Franklin, do you need a hand?” Mathieson asks from his spot on the other side of the room. Like Franklin, he seems to want to put some distance between us, and given how his friend’s acting around me, maybe it’s a good thing.

“I’m fine!” he snaps back, clearly far from fine.

“I should go, thank you for breakfast,” I mumble, getting up.

“Wait. There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Berrin says quickly.

I look over at Franklin, at the way he’s clutching hold of the ledge of the sink. “I don’t think this is a good time.”

“It won’t take a moment. Please…” Berrin adds.

“Okay.” I plant my arse back on my seat. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I believe it would help if you spent some more time with us,” Berrin says gently, his voice low, smooth.

“No!” Franklin suddenly snaps, spinning on his feet and giving Berrin such a nasty glare we both flinch from the impact.

“Franklin, she came here for help, so let us help, at least until we can get her to the hospital.”

I drag my gaze from Franklin’s fierce scowl and back to Berrin. The concern flickering in his gaze goes beyond the need to help a fellow human in distress, even though, admittedly, it’s less distress these days and more of a perpetual need to be fucked. The lust I feel for them all is undeniable. I’m constantly on edge, returning to my room under the guise that I need space but really because I need to relieve myself. I’m beginning to think I’m some kind of nymphomaniac that’s escaped a special unit for the sexually addicted.

“I’m not sure that being left to your own thoughts is helping your… situation,” Berrin continues, canting his head as he watches me. To be fair, he’s probably right. Of course, I don’t tell him that.

“If she wants to be alone. Let her be alone,” Franklin snaps, slamming a pan onto the draining board. I watch as he grips the edge of the sink again, so hard that this time his knuckles turn white.

“Franklin, what the fuck has gotten into you lately?” Berrin growls, glaring at him.

“It’s fine. I’ve interrupted your life here. I’m sorry,” I mutter.

“No. Ignore him. Come spend some time with us in the den tonight. We’re working on a bespoke chess set for one of our clients. All of the pieces are a different character from a fairy tale. We can talk. It might help.”

“I appreciate your concern, I do, but I’m okay with just biding my time until I can leave.” It’s a lie, but it’s all I have.

“See, she doesn’t want to spend time with us,” Franklin grinds out, sounding more like a petulant child than leader of this trio.

“Yes, we know