Page 10 of The Sinners Gambit

“Calm down. I’m joking to ease the tension,” he says.

“To answer your question, I’ve been watching you for a long time, and I believe we’d be the perfect pair.”

“Yeah, in death,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“That can be arranged. I want you in all lifetimes, but for now this life will have to do,” I profess.

“Can I go back to my room? Or will Your Majesty have me stare at you both until you’re done.” Looking at her plate I see she cleared everything except for the carrots. I make a note to tell the cooks not to put them on her plate next time. I also notice the steak knife missing, which thrills me.

“Let me escort you.” I stand up and walk to her as she tries to use the length of her arm to hide the blade. I step closer than necessary because I can’t help it, but I also want to provoke her. “I wouldn’t want you to get lost.”

I expect her to back up, but she gets closer. “Wouldn’t want the secrets hidden away in these walls to get out, would weKiller?” Something about the way the word killer rolls off her tongue has my stomach fluttering.

“All in due time,little firecracker.” My eye catches on a loose strand of hair on her head. Instinctively, I go to move it, expecting her to swat my hand away. She surprises me when she leans into it and our eyes lock. If only for a moment, there’s a lustful wanting mirrored in our gazes.

It may have been too much for her, as her anxiety gets the best of her. “Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me,” she spits as she winds her arm back for momentum. She brings the hilt of the knife to her palm so she can stab me, but my other hand is ready for this. I grab her wrist and twist.

“Nuh-uh-uh.” I try to be gentle with my movement as I force the knife out. “I see everything.”

“Scalpel,” Naomi calls out to the nurse next to her, who immediately hands it over.

I should probably be looking at the surgery, but I can’t keep my eyes off her. Forcing myself, I look away to the man she’s doing trauma surgery on after a bad car crash.

Naomi’s eyes are furrowed in concentration as she sticks her hand out expectantly. “Suction.”

It wasn’t hard to get in here. A little fake badge and some IT magic let me inside. And thankfully we’re all gowned and masked-up in the surgery room. No one will be the wiser.

She’s super precise with her cuts. It’s almost an art form.

“What did he do?” whispers one of the nurses to the other. I see Naomi’s eyes twitch in their direction, but she doesn’t say anything. She prefers peace and quiet when she’s working.

I almost want to yell at the nurse, but before I can even finish the thought the other one responds, making my blood boil. “He was driving drunk with his pregnant wife and two-year-old child. They didn’t make it.”

My eyes instantly go to Naomi, who freezes. She looks more obviously toward the two nurses, who immediately stand up straighter. “Sorry,” they both blurt out, averting their eyes.

“The time for gossip is outside my OR,” she seethes, but I think the anger is toward the man on the table rather than the nurses. I see her hand twitch as she goes back to work. She pauses and takes a deep breath before cracking her neck.

I wonder if she’s considering letting him die on this table. But she goes straight back to work, standing by her Hippocratic Oath. But it was there, I saw it. That moment of consideration whether to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. He doesn’t deserve to live. He dies a day later from internal bleeding. It makes me wonder:was that at the hand of God or my firecracker?

She tries to lunge with her other hand, but I grab that one with my free hand. Naomi forces her head forward, but I take each wrist still in my grasp and twist so her arms hold her like a straight jacket with her back to my chest. I lean over to her ear. “Shhh. It’s okay.”

“Let go of me!” she screams as she tries to thrash around and head-butt me again.

“If you promise to behave.”

“I’ll never promise that,” she snarls.

“You’re right, misbehaving sounds way more fun, don’t you think?” I whisper into her ear as I feel her quiver against me with desire. I hear a glass clink against a plate and look up to see Axel still in his seat, sipping his wine.

He raises his glass in cheers in our direction. “Don’t mind me, I'm enjoying the show!”

“Ugh. Fine. Let go!” As her head shakes to try and get free, the apple cinnamon smell of her hair consumes my senses.Delicious.I bet she’s as sweet and tart as an apple. “What are you smirking at?” she demands.

“Nothing.” I smirk. “I have a proposal—let me train you.” It was always the plan to help her truly embrace that ruthless side of herself that I first saw at the coffee shop. She was fully composed, but I knew she was just itching to fully kick his ass. She’s good at defense already, but there’s always room for improvement. That’s why Axel and I also train non-stop.

Her head shakes in disbelief as her cute eyebrows furrow. “Why the hell would you want to do that?”

“So you can feel more in control, firecracker.”

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