“I’ll be in my office if you need me.” My eyes popped open and found Angel’s staring back at me. Was that meant for Josh or me? He was the one making me do this. If I needed rescuing from anyone, it was he.
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Josh replied. Angel didn’t move. He was waiting for something.
I nodded and then turned my head to stare at the chandelier directly above me. I listened to his footsteps, which eventually faded as he walked further away.
“Pretty intense guy, huh?”
I shivered. “He’s a monster.”
“You shouldn’t be afraid of him.”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because even monsters have a weakness and something tells me he’s discovered his.”
I turned my head to face him. He was unwinding his power supply cable and staring at me with a grin. “Angel doesn’t have weaknesses. His power is in making you believe whatever he wants.”
“Not weaknesses. Just one.”
“Care to share?”
His look was skeptical. “You don’t see it?”
“Should I?”
“It’s you, beautiful. You’re his weakness.”
“Me?” It took me three tries to speak the simple word. He continued to set up as if he didn’t just make a lie out of everything I knew to be true about Angel.
“We men can be simple minded creatures so I can tell you, we don’t act possessive over pussy unless the pussy was attached to something we wanted even more.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It’s like I told you. We’re simple minded.” I didn’t give him a response, and he didn’t wait around for one. He finished setting up, and I held my breath, waiting for the first moment the needle would corrupt my skin. When it finally did, I closed my eyes and zoned out. I felt the first pinch, but not the second or third or even the hundredth. Hours had passed before it was over and the silence broke.
“There. All done. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“I just had my skin permanently marked against my will to satisfy a man’s ego.”
“Are we done here?” Angel’s voice interrupted his response and simultaneously penetrated all my senses.
“We’re done. Would you like to take a look before I apply the wrap?”
Wordlessly, he moved across the room, and I bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from running away. He’d catch me before my feet even touched the ground. His intoxicating scent teased me when he finally stood over me. I waited for his next move. Craved it even. It was addicting, our song and dance. Our tempo was one only we could hear.
His fingers lightly skated over my hip as he studied his barbaric idea of marking as Knight property. I studied the wings where the armor should have been.Or maybe he thought of me as just his…
“So you like?”
“It will do,” he answered when our eyes met. Something told me he had other ideas of how to mark me as his. He moved away again so Josh could wrap my hip, but he hadn’t moved far away. He stood behind Josh, but instead of watching him apply the wrap, he watched me.
“All right, man. Leave this covered for a few hours, make sure you keep it clean and apply anti-bacterial ointment for a few days.” He started to rise, but Angel gripped the back of his head and slammed it down on the tabletop. Josh’s groan as his head rose was the only sound in the room. Just as quickly as the first, Angel repeated the violent act. This time, I scrambled backward as quick as I could, using my hands and feet to propel me. Blood smeared his nose and lips and dripped onto his white shirt. “What the fuck, man?”
“If I ever hear you whistle again, it will be your last.” He tossed a thin stack of neatly wrapped hundreds on the table and growled, “Get out.”
He quickly snatched up the money and threw his equipment in his cases before slamming them shut and running away. I stood in silence with Angel and considered what to do or say. He stood up for me like he had all those years ago, and while it didn’t erase the last two weeks, it confused me.
The sound of the front door opening and slamming shut couldn’t even break the invisible cord that bound us. Any moment, it could snap, and I knew it wouldn’t be cruelty and pain he unleashed, but something much more powerful than I could handle.
He turned to walk away, but I couldn’t let him go. Not when he continued to play the game with my mind and heart.
“Do you always beat up your friends because they were rude?”
He made a quick turn on his heel and held out his hand. I slipped my hand in his after hesitating long enough to feel his impatience grow. My fingers trembled, but I managed to force them still until he swept his thumb across my knuckles. My legs were the ones to tremble this time as he helped me down from the table.