Page 82 of Psycho Gods

From his expression, Malum had left his marks on me.

Orion whispered to Scorpius, and their faces contorted from sleepy to enraged.

“Don’t touch her like that,” Scorpius said as he yanked Malum away from me by the back of his neck.

Malum allowed himself to be pulled away without a fight, but his eyes were full of insidious promises.

He was going to rip away my secrets.

Tear me to pieces.

Ravage me.

He wasn’t going to let this go.

Backing away from the three kings, keeping my front to them at all times like they were wild animals, I collapsed back onto my bunk even though I didn’t want to sleep.

“I’m going to bed,” I announced.

Awkward silence stretched among the four of us.

“We can help you shower like we did before,” Scorpius offered quietly.

I pulled the comforter over my body.

“Um, that’s okay,” I said awkwardly.

Orion whispered, and I was startled at how close he was. “We’ll take care of you, sweetheart, we promise. Corvus just lost control of himself—he’ll be better.”

Sure, and I’m mentally stable.

The scent of chocolate-covered raspberries was deliciously sweet, and I held my breath.

Finally, he stepped away.

“You will be mine, Arabella,” Malum promised harshly across the room, then grunted as someone hit him.

I closed my eyes tight and breathed erratically because he knew my secrets; he’d seen me let myself get stabbed. The other men would freak out if they realized, and they’d smother me.

For some reason, he hadn’t told them yet. My heart skipped a beat as I realized he’d voluntarily kept my secret.

Malum was protecting me. It was almost…sweet.

He’d also kissed me like he was trying to consume me, again. He kissed like it was a war he was determined to win. Did he fuck the same way?

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to stop thinking about fire, whiskey, and sin.

My wrists tingled where he’d pinned them above my head.

Heat unfurled inside me, and pain streaked down my spine as I clenched my legs together.

I needed to concentrate on something off-putting and weird.

It was an emergency.

Desperate to stop my traitorous body’s reaction, I pictured Sadie trying to dance seductively in the fae realm. I hadn’t even known someone could move their limbs in two different directions like that at the same time.

The little pinpricks of pain streaking down my spine slowly faded away.

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