Page 11 of Savage Torment

“You motherfucker.”

“Is that the best you’ve got?” I retort with an eye roll, and I watch as her frustration grows so strong she growls. Fucking growls.

“You’re not worth any more effort,” she snaps, her face heating.

“Of course not,” I reply, turning away from her, but not before I grab her arm.

Tugging her along, she stumbles over her own feet to keep up. “Where are we going?”

I consider keeping my mouth shut, but decide against it.

“B.”

One word, and she’s willingly hurrying alongside me toward the faction dorms.

“You can let go of me now, I’m obviously going to come with you,” she grumbles, and I huff, fingers flexing on her arm.

“I’d rather not.”

I feel her gaze snap to mine, and I let her stare at the side of my face, loving any kind of attention from her, but I don’t slow our pace. We don’t have a lot of time.

Polaris seemingly bites back her annoyance, but as we take the winding path up to the vampires’ dorms, she reaches her limit. One sharp tug, a feeble attempt to get out of my hold, and I’m on the edge too.

I effortlessly yank her toward me, bringing her back flush to my chest. I regret it the instant I do. I’m overwhelmed with her scent, her sweetness, and my control wavers.

“Are you smelling me?” she blurts, eyes wide in surprise and she peers back at me, and I can’t help but repeat the same deep inhale before offering her a response.

“You’re intoxicating, Amica Mea. Sweeter than honey, deadlier than poison,” I admit, and she gapes in disbelief at my assessment as I run my nose up the column of her throat. I relish at the sound of her pulse quickening from my touch as a shiver runs down her spine.

“Amica Mea?” she whispers, but I snicker, offering no hint of acknowledgement as I force myself to release my tight hold to pull her along beside me instead.

This time, as we approach the vampire building, I don’t lead her around the side. Instead, I stride through the double door entryway with far too much force, and Polaris shrinks at the sound of them ricocheting off the walls.

I move in a blur, ushering her up the stairs before she can give into her panic. We’re at my bedroom a moment later, and I waste no time barreling through the door. Once we’re safely located on the other side I stop, releasing my hold on her as I lean back against it.

“You are…” The words to describe me fail her, and the harder she tries, the more they elude her as her emotions continue to boil.

“Welcome.”

“Sorry?”

“You are welcome. I was finishing your sentence for you.”

She scoffs. “I promise you, that is lightyears away from where I was going.” She folds her arms over her chest, desperate to create a barrier between us, when the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her garners her attention.

“P?”

I’m suddenly a distant memory as she turns to see her friend.

“Polaris,” I correct, reminding them of my presence as she stares at the man before us.

She takes her time raking her gaze over him from head to toe. The bite marks are gone, his grey-ish complexion along with it, but the tension in his shoulders confirms he’s not okay.

To my surprise, she doesn’t say a word until she’s peering over her shoulder, looking back at me.

“What did you do?”

I stare straight into her eyes, using all of my strength to offer nothing more than indifference, but she doesn't back down. Her eyes narrow, waiting me out, until I finally shrug. “I fixed it for you.”

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