Page 16 of Sunrise

I glance at the clock on the microwave. It’s ten in the morning.

Of course he’d ghost me. It’s what he’s best at.

“How did you sleep, gorgeous?” I kiss Sophie’s temple and grab a spoon while she pours two coffees.

“Like a baby. Thank you for helping me. Again.”

“Any time.”

We sit down at the breakfast bar, and I scoop out a bit of the mug cake and offer her the first bite. “No, you have it, birthday boy.”

It tastes… not awful.

“You did amazing at the show last night, Knox. I know that was difficult for you.”

“Sorry I pitched us off balance and nearly sent us to our untimely deaths.”

She laughs. “Such a drama king.”

I devour half the mug cake. The middle is way better than the top. “Why’d he pick me?”

“Why do you think?”

“To make me suffer.”

Her mug is poised at her mouth, the steam billowing around her beautiful face. Our silence stretches for a long time, and I stuff another spoonful of this chocolate thing into my big fat mouth.

“He’s going through something,” she finally shares.

“We’re all going through something.” I’m not taking the bait. If she was going to reveal the truth, she would have by now. I respect the fact that she’sobviously keeping his confidence, but there’s a terrible part of me that’s jealous becauseIused to keep his secrets. No one butme.

Hell, I used to be hisbiggestfucking secret.

“He loves you,” she whispers.

“He’s got a funny way of showing it, then.”

“He wants you.”

I rest the mug on the table and walk away before I throw it up.

Chapter 6

Vault

I need sleep, but more importantly, I need answers.

Dropping into my chair, I pop the top on an energy drink and guzzle the whole thing, then get to work. Clipping the video feed from last night, I go over it again and again, looking for anything that might tell me why Sophie was set off by that couple.

The man keeps his distance the entire time. Sitting in a chair with a mask on, he barely moves, except to snap his fingers. The woman looks nervous at first, but Sophie warms her up fast. This entire interaction barely lasts five minutes. Sophie looks up at the camera a couple times, which sends heat spreading through my chest. She knows I watch. I nevernotwatch. Not only is it for her safety, it’s for my own purposes.

The only one I haven’t seen her with is Knox, for several reasons. Mostly because I haven’t been ready for what it’ll do to the demon that lives inside me.

But I love seeing this woman pleasure someone else. She prefers women over men at the Monarch and when she does take on dominating a man, their pleasure is derived through heavy degradation and bondage. Whips, leashes, being walked like a dog orstepped on, those kinks are easy for her to satisfy. She loves it, I can tell, and I love that she’s happy. She heals a part of me that’s remained damaged for a long fucking time.

There’s an art to Sophie’s machinations in the bedroom. It’s calculating and thoughtful, which I appreciate. When I asked her to be my partner, it came with a laundry list of hurdles I needed her to help me get over. She didn’t hesitate to say yes.

Sophie is an angel sent by the same god who hates me.

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