Page 76 of Sin

“What?” I all but shouted. If Mal had taken advantage of her, I’d have his head on a pike faster than Vesuvius wiped out Pompeii.

“No, no, nothing bad. I’ve been starving since the attack, and, um... he helped me.”

My eyes narrowed once more as I took her in. She clearly wasn’t starving now. In fact, she was luminous. Everything about her seemed to glow. Her hair had an extra sheen, her eyes filled with inner light, her skin radiant and youthful. Merri had always been beautiful. No one could argue that, but now? She was breathtaking.

“I see.”

“You’re mad.”

“No.”

“Your jaw is clenched.”

“It’s always like this.”

She raised a skeptical brow. “You know how when a woman says she’s fine and she’s never actually fine? That’s you right now.”

“It never should’ve gotten to this point. You shouldn’t ever be unclear about the details of your feeds.”

“If it makes you feel better, that part is crystal clear. It was the before times. There was a cellar and Daddy Death and passing out in an elevator... I think?”

No. That didn’t make me feel a damn bit better. Also,Daddy Death? Grim was in on this bullshit too? Fuck me.

“Merri, if you are in need, you have a responsibility to ask us for assistance.”

“When the fuck am I supposed to do that? You avoid me at every turn, Mal ignores me, and Grim won’t even touch me. All I have is Sin, and he wasn’t here. Neither were you, in case you forgot. Apparently I have to be on death’s door—or in his wine cellar—for any of you to help me.”

Had it really been that bad? Was I off releasing my pent-up violence while Merri had been nearly starved to death?

What kind of protector was I?

One who nearly let her get taken by a Knight. One who couldn’t recognize her suffering. One who didn’t deserve a moment of her time.

That stopped now.

“Go get changed.”

Her eyes widened at my abrupt shift in topic. “What? What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“We’re going to the gym. Meet me down there in two minutes.”

“But I?—”

“Two minutes, Red. No arguing.”

I didn’t give her any room to fight me on this. Turning away from her, I strode back down the hall and took the stairs, heading for the gym.

Merri was going to learn something useful tonight. And I was going to teach her.

Tension builtin my muscles as I awaited her arrival, the clock on the wall ticking down the seconds until she was officially late. If I had to, I’d toss her over my shoulder and haul her to the gym myself, but I wanted to see if she’d heed my command.

Ten seconds past my time limit, she stepped into the room, her long hair up in a high ponytail, body now clad in a matching set of skintight baby-pink workout clothes. Fuck. She couldn’t help herself. The woman was my every fantasy come to life.

“Okay, big guy, I’m here. What do you want from me?” she asked, hands on her hips.

“You need to learn how to defend yourself. You were completely vulnerable during the attack, unable to fight or resistthe thrall of the Knight. I can’t do anything about the latter, but I certainly can help amend the former.”

A slight smirk tugged at her lips. “You want to teach me how to fight?”

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