Page 26 of Betrothed in Fury
“Thank you,” he says, taking me by surprise.
“It’s my pleasure.”
He locks eyes with me for what feels like the first time since he started his torturing Sik Vik, and I can still see the beast, as though he hasn’t been able to cage it back in his mind yet. “Imeant for letting me do that my way, but also, yes, thank you for the water.”
“That was my pleasure too.”
He studies my face. It seems that even with my reputation, he has some doubts about what I might have thought about that display, though it seems that’s only occurring to him now that he’s snapped out of the trance that led him to do such vile, twisted things to Sik Vik.
“Everything he told you was true,” I say, and his expression twists up. “After you finished, while Jaime and Krychek cleaned up the mess, I had one of my guys run a background check, verifying the assault and the time he did.”
“Oh, yes. I never questioned whether it was the truth.” He says it like a man who understands his gift, which is truly stunning. I’ve been known to torture a man, but nothing like what he did. And definitely without any certainty that I could get a truthful confession from them. Makes me proud to have my seed in his stomach, beyond the power play it was at the time.
“I’ll get you some more water.” I return to the bar sink when he pushes to his feet.
“I should go,” he says quickly.
“You’re staying here tonight.”
“I need to check in with my brothers, make sure Wrath is okay, and I need sleep.”
“You can call your brothers from here, and you’ll take one of the spare bedrooms, where you can shower off before bed.”
I see the wheels spinning in those deep blue eyes as he’s trying to figure out if he can trust me—the guy who dominated him earlier—to care for him.
“We’re on the same side, Logan. Don’t forget I’m the one who’s made sure your family has been safe these past few years.”
He nods, and I don’t imagine because he wants to, but because he’s still exhausted after that marathon of torment.
I pour him some more water as he stands in silence.
When I return to him, I hand it over and he sips, assuring me he’s at least rehydrating.
“He hurt my brother,” he finally says, as though reminding me why he committed such grotesque acts. It takes me by surprise, but only for a moment. That reserved part of him has returned, the one reasoning away the beast.
“Do you think I would judge you for what I witnessed?”
“I want to be clear I’m not like you or your father.”
“That’s going to be a hard case to make now, don’t you think?”
He grits his teeth, but it doesn’t stir in him the rage I’ve seen most of the night, I’m sure only because he doesn’t have the energy to give me that much.
“Come on,” I say. “Jaime will get you situated. And we can chat tomorrow over breakfast before you head back to the Center to check on Wrath.”
He doesn’t fight me. In the state he’s in, I could probably do anything I wanted to him. I could commit such perverse acts against him, and he would be too drained to stop me. Which assures me my duty is to protect him, even from myself.
Jaime enters and fetches him. “Take care of our ally,” I say, and as he steps out of my study with Logan, I seize his arm and drag him close, whispering, “And if I discover you so much as shoot him a dirty look, I’ll carve out your eyes, understood?”
He gulps. “Yup, boss.”
As they head on their way, I know I’m in trouble because after tonight, I’m more certain than ever that Logan Wilde is mine.
To mark.
To claim.
To possess.
