Page 64 of Savage Hearts

I wasn’t a man often hit with guilt.

Whatever was left of my conscience had been beaten and burned when I was thirteen, and what remained was an unrecognizable piece of char struggling to survive.

Yet,shemade me feel uncomfortable.

“That would be a last resort,” I said absently, letting my gaze fall on the delicate features of her sleeping face. She looked peaceful.

I wondered if she was, and why I fucking cared if her demons followed her into her dreams.

And why I wanted so badly to murder them all with my bare hands.

I nodded at Silas. “Come meet me at the warehouse before ten with Killian. We’ll go over the logistics one last time before the transport.”

He nodded, but I doubted he was paying attention anymore.

His eyes were back on Mila. I turned and walked out of the room without saying anything more.

If I could fall asleep by five, I would have at least a good three and a half hours of sleep before I needed to get up.

If I could fall asleep, that was.

Somewhere in this quiet house, I heard the faint echo of God’s laughter mocking me.

It wasnoon by the time the meeting was done, and my brothers had gone off with the tasks I had given them.

I walked through the silent house.

Rachel said Mila hadn’t stirred, and I wondered if she had spent her night fighting off sleep because Silas hadn’t given her a choice to go back to her own room. Poor baby.

That would explain why she was so tired this morning.

I smiled as I passed through the door to Silas’ room. Mila lay there, the covers pulled up haphazardly over her body, with one leg peeking out. She looked too small in this too-big bed. Especially since she was in it by herself. I watched her for a beat before taking a seat on the edge of the bed, grasping the foot that was sticking out of the covers between my hands, playing with it.

Her toes wiggled, drawing my attention.

She made a small sound—she was on the verge of waking up.

I pushed my thumb against her instep, and another small mewl of pleasure escaped her lips.

I shifted on the bed.

Jesus.

Even when she was doing nothing more than lying there, she was affecting me.

I waited for her to open her eyes.

And for a moment, her ocean eyes took me in before awareness could cut through her consciousness. There was a softness in them that I had become wholly addicted to at first sight.

Then she realized she wasn’t where she was supposed to be.

I held on to her foot a little tighter when I felt her try to twist away from me.

She glared at my hands before bringing her eyes up and meeting mine.

“What are you doing? Let go of me.”

I clutched her little pinkie toe between two fingers. I had the urge to spoil her with a wide variety of nail polish in different bright colors. I wanted to dress her up and show her off.

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