Page 55 of Lesson In Honesty

Hiding her nerves from Tabitha zapped her energy faster than a quickie with Liam, she thought as she carefully cleaned each separate gash in the woman’s flesh. Some of them were shallow, little more than scratches really, but there were three that were deep, gouged by broken glass.

Because Tabitha was stuck in a frozen silence, probably still in shock from agreeing to a scene, Sierra chatted away like she did with her stuffies, waffling on about whatever came to mind. Her hands did their own thing, tending the wounds.

“These need stitching, Tabitha.” She could only procrastinate for so long before addressing the issue. Not that she was a doctor, of course. “Violet can take you upstairs to the medical office. The real one, not the play area.”

“Huh?”

“Stitches. The doctor needs to stitch your—” Sierra yelped when Tabitha went from docile to defensive in a heartbeat, snatching her hand away and snarling. “O-kay, then, that’s a no.”

“They’re fine. They don’t hurt.”

“They’re bleeding.”

“They’re fine.” As if to prove it, Tabitha clenched her fists.

Rolling her eyes, Sierra plucked a gauze pad from the kit and folded it into a strip. Technically, she had the sewing skills to do the job herself, but the idea of doing it without an anesthetic squicked her out. Plus, she wasn’t going to be the one to suggest it, not when Tabitha’s eyes turned to ice at the mention of anything medical.

“Will you at least let me bandage it so blood doesn’t drip everywhere?” Sierra glanced around and grimaced. “Everywhere else.”

Sullenly, Tabitha thrust it at her. “There’s not enough to blow out of proportion. It’s almost stopped now.”

“Yes, this red stuff dripping down your fingers is just a figment of your imagination. I’ve got a donkey stuffie waiting to have his tail sewn back on that’s less stubborn than you.” Unable to stop the sarcasm spilling from her mouth, she flattened out the offensive hand on the counter, wiped away fresh blood for the umpteenth time, and gently set the gauze where it was needed. “Are you always blind to how badly you’re hurt?”

“I’ve had worse.” Those blue eyes turned distant. “There’s always worse.”

“I guess in your career, you meet a lot of bad guys. But that wasn’t what you meant, was it?” Selecting a bandage, Sierra painstakingly wrapped the gauze. “I remember you and your brothers coming to see us after Wyatt died, you know. It’s one of those vague, dreamlike memories where it doesn’t seem real because grief shadows everything.”

“Dominic caused a lot of pain.” Tabitha lifted her gaze to meet Sierra’s. Hard now, so cold it was a wonder the remaining glass in the room didn’t crack. “I gave it back to him tenfold when I killed him. He died humiliated in front of an army of mercs, choking on his cock and bleeding out from the hole I left in his crotch.”

A shiver ran down Sierra’s spine. “I heard.”

Though her face was pale as water, there was a smidgen of color left in her lips when she smiled. “Caera, though… I’d never really felt anything toward my siblings before her. They were rough, tough assholes raised the same sadistic way as me. But she… that dainty, shy flower who grew up far away from the mansion… mmmn, Fairfax training has claws. Caera showed hers when she taught that cunt Rita who was boss.”

Frowning, Sierra risked her limb by reaching out and pressing her fingers to Tabitha’s throat. She felt the pulse beating, thick and fast. A little dampness on the skin. “Protecting what mattered most to her.”

“The kid.”

Sierra winced as the word rekindled that longing inside her, rousing it from where it slumbered like a hibernating dragon. Touching her palm to her empty, barren belly, she nodded. “Children are precious, Tabitha.”

“Some are.”

Before she could think of something to combat that, the door opened and heels clicked on the marble floor.

Watching Violet in the mirror, Sierra kept herself between Tabitha and the Domme. The tension rocketed again, sending the hairs on the back of her neck to full attention.

Coming to a halt in the middle of the disaster zone with a sharpclick-clickof those incredibly high heels, Violet set her hands on her hips, assessing the damage silently. With a softtskthat summed up her feelings on the matter, she continued over to the counter.

Tabitha went rigid.

“Excuse me, Sierra.” With a gentle nudge, Violet shifted her effortlessly aside and deftly assumed her place before Tabitha could bolt. Caging the sub in with her hands on the counter, Violet forged a strong visual link with her. “I don’t think we’ve really had a chance to talk since the formal introduction meeting, Tabitha. Grit speaks highly of you.”

A derisive scoff was all she got in return.

“Very succinct.” Unfazed, Violet maintained eye contact. “Now, is this all your blood splattered around the room, or should I be concerned about Sierra too?”

What the hell was happening right now? Sierra blinked, knocked off balance by the smooth, unarguable way Violet was taking over. More, it was surprising that Tabitha wasn’t mouthing off with smartass comments, pumping herself up into her menacing persona.

It had to be the eye contact, she mused. Tabitha had a good, intimidating stare, especially when she used the full force of those icy blues, but Violet’s emanated a powerful, calm dominance that was unrivaled.

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