When I reopen my eyes, not one of my men has their hand raised.
“Huh?” I ask, gaping.
Tate rolls his eyes, slowly ambling to his feet. “What? Is it really too hard to believe that we’d be celibate? Dammit, Em, you really have no faith in us.”
“You…haven’t…”
“Nah.” Sin shrugs his shoulders. “No girls interested me.”
Helio simply grunts and shakes his head.
“You know I only ever loved you,” Avery replies with a cheeky grin.
“I thought there was something fucking wrong with me,” Desmond admits, still avoiding eye contact. “I couldn’t even stand a woman’s casual touch.”
Tate just glares at me. “What about you, Emily Lopez? Has any man touched those silky thighs of yours? Kissed your neck or lips? Kneaded those perfect breasts?” He scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling. “Are you really that much of a hypocrite?”
“I didn’t fucking ask you not to have sex!” I hiss, wheeling on him. “I didn’t even know you!”
He drops his arms and balls his hands into fists. “No, but a part of you must’ve known when you asked us this question that none of us would even fucking look at another woman. But you probably didn’t have the same qualms, did you? How many men have you fucked? How many—” Before he can even finish his statement, I’m across the room and slapping him across the face. His head whips to the side, eyes darkening, but he doesn’t lift a hand to stop me.
“I’ve dated, yes,” I seethe, already knowing that Avery and Sin will track all of these guys down and make them pay. Fortunately, they have no way of knowing who they are, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try. “But I never touched another guy. Something always stopped me, and now, I know what it is. A part of me knew I had to be loyal to you fucking assholes.”
“Hey!” Desmond says lightly. “Don’t group me in with all the other assholes.”
“Do you want a gold star?” Tate asks dryly, giving me a slow, mocking clap. “A tiara? Would that make you feel better? Face it, Emily. We’ve always loved you more than you ever loved us.”
“Don’t make me slap you again,” I warn, pushing myself onto my tiptoes so I can stare into his eyes. “Where the hell is this coming from?”
Without responding, Tate turns on his heel and stalks down the hall. I hear the familiar sound of a door slamming closed.
The bastard had locked himself in my bedroom!
“Insufferable, conceited, asshole prick,” I murmur, glaring in the direction he disappeared down.
“You can spank his ass later,” Desmond says, attempting a feeble smile. As soon as I meet his gaze, he diverts his eyes and focuses on Burke’s unconscious body.
What the hell is that about?
Desmond claims he has his memories back, so why is he acting like I don’t exist? That we haven’t been lovers for centuries?
Does he…not feel that way about me anymore? I know he claimed that he hasn’t been with another girl intimately, but what if he developed feelings for someone? The thought feels as if someone had poured gasoline inside of me and then lit a flame. All that’s left is charred, unrecognizable organs.
If Desmond decides he no longer wants to be with me, I’ll accept that. I love him enough to let him go if that’s what he desires.
But I’ll irrevocably lose a part of myself in the process.
Helio, with a grunt, leans down to pick up Burke. Without preamble, he dumps the sleazy businessman into one of the dining room chairs. Burke’s head lolls to the side, but he remains blissfully unaware.
For now.
With a cocksure grin, Sin saunters forward, his fingers already alight with blue flames. He presses them to Burke’s cheek, and the man jerks upright. Before he can scream, Desmond shoves a sock into his mouth.
Burke’s gray eyes flick towards me, as if because I’m a girl, I’ll be more inclined to help him.
Ha. I may be a pretty package, and I may go out of my way to help others, but I’m still wrapped in barbed wire. One touch from me, and you’ll bleed.
“My…friend, here,” I begin, pointing towards Desmond. He winces at the term, his normal smile faltering, but doesn’t contradict me. “He told me some things. Some very bad things.”
I lean forward until my face consumes Burke’s vision.
Can he see the darkness lingering just beneath the surface?
“He said that you paid him and the others to kill me. Is that true?”
Macabre satisfaction rushes through me when sweat beads on his forehead. His face drains of all color, as if he knows that the next few minutes won’t be pleasant for him.
I’ll get my answers, even if I have to resort to unthinkable tactics. After all, I’m not human, and now that I know the truth, there’s no point in pretending.
“I don’t…I don’t…” He spits out the sock and begins to shake his head rapidly, ugly tears racing down his cheeks.
“Are you calling Desmond a liar?” I ask softly. When he doesn’t answer, I tentatively brush a piece of sweaty hair away from his face. Helio growls at the contact, almost as if I had rubbed Burke’s cock instead, but I ignore him. “Let’s play a game.”
“Oh! I love games,” Sin sings from behind me. “Especially the ones that turn everyone against each other and end in a bloodbath. Is it Monopoly? Please say it’s Monopoly. I call the shoe!”
“I’m the shoe, asshole,” Desmond quips. “You can be the dog.”
“Em’s always the dog,” Avery adds immediately.
Ignoring their verbal sparring, I feel my lips twitch upwards into a smile that’s made of nightmares. Nightmares and pain.
“Let’s see how long you last until you give in,” I begin, caressing his cheek. “If you can last…say, one hour without confessing the truth, I’ll let you go. How does that sound?”
It’s strange how quickly one can fall back into old habits. When I believed myself to be human, I was…nice. At least, I thought I was. I had numerous
