Page 17 of Fear the Reapers
I bet if I examined her palms, she’d have four crescent-shaped scars in each one, from years of her nails digging into the flesh. I recognized the scars that only years of pain and frustration can bring. She was a fighter.
My eyes locked in on her, seeing her in a new light. The look should have intimidated the fuck out of her, but it only seemed to make her hold her head higher and jut her chin out further. She eyed me hard with a mixture of fear and excitement as she took in the blood splattered across my body, but instead of pulling away like I had expected, her body leaned towards me. It appears darkness enticed the little thing.
It was an interesting twist when Tristan came in and broke up all the fun. I didn’t want to hurt her. Not right away, at least. No, she was strong. So much stronger than what I had expected. I would need more time. Luckily for her, all we had these days was time.
After washing up, I headed downstairs to find her frustrated, staring at Cyrus and Tristan as they held a private conversation. Tristan only spoke openly around us. It was the reason my brothers and I were the only ones who lived in our home, and the staff stayed in separate quarters on the property.
Initially, we thought of keeping the girl with the staff, but we didn’t exactly employ the most virtuous men. We don’t allow anyone to touch what is ours, but having her live with them would be like throwing her to the fucking wolves.
Frustration marred her features as she scowled at the two of them and strained her neck trying to listen in on their conversation. She wouldn’t hear anything. Tristan was always careful with strangers.
I descended the last few stairs and made my way towards the three of them. The sound of my incoming steps had the entire room on edge. She couldn’t see it, but I recognized the look in my twin little brothers’ eyes. Me coming near her made them nervous.
They assumed I was going to attack her and because of my track record, I couldn’t blame them. Before my interaction with her upstairs, I probably would’ve done exactly that. But she was different.Special. She deserved much more than that.
“Where the fuck is Atlas?” Cyrus asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Tristan’s subtle movement as he stared me down and mimicked his twin’s pose. Subconsciously the two were more connected than anyone else would ever understand.
“He’s taking care of some business. Don’t worry about it.” I said, silencing their worries with a lie.
Truthfully, Atlas wasn’t answering any of my calls either. I had no clue what he was doing. I checked in with security and they reported he took a drive a few hours ago.
It was clear Atlas wanted to stay off the grid.If he were in any real danger, he would’ve called. Out of the four of us, he was the most responsible, so if he needed a little time away, I’d cover his ass.
“Should we wait?” Cyrus asked, nodding his head towards the girl.
“No, let’s just get this over with.” I said, advancing towards her eerily still body.
The girl had some sense of survival in her, after all.
“Don’t you fucking touch me.” She hissed, her eyes morphing into rounded orbs as she shot up from her seat and backed up against the wall.
“Relax, Stevie,” chastised Cyrus with a smile, “we aren’t going to hurt you… yet.”
The name Stevie didn’t match the woman standing in front of us. It was masculine and rough when this woman exuded femininity and softness. Long, midnight hair, pristine creamy skin and delectable curves that begged to be bit into. She was a fallen angel, if I ever saw one.
“What are you guys planning to do with me?” She asked, her chest heaving despite the calm tone in her voice.
She was good at hiding it, but I could see the panic sinking in and the sick sadist in me loved watching her squirm. I stepped forward, ready to play with my meal just a little. Atlas had already given us strict orders on what we could and could not do to the girl, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have a little fun at her expense.
Tristan recognized the look of mischief in my eyes and stormed out of the room without another word. He hated the beast that dwelled within me because it reminded him so much of the one he had to face almost every night as a child. I couldn’t take that pain away, but at least my beast would ensure that no one ever fucked with any of my brothers again.
“Turn around.” I ordered, my features completely void of emotion.
To my surprise, she did what I asked without a word of protest. I could see the fire in her eyes the moment the order left my lips. The tightening of her fists and the slight tremble of her body told me exactly how she felt about following my orders. So, I didn’t understand why she was following them so easily.Just how far would she allow me to push her?
“Take off the jacket.” Cy ordered, smiling smugly to himself.
“No.” She countered, focusing her eyes on one of the few blank walls in our home.
“Do as he says.” I hissed, letting all the playfulness leave my voice.
After a few beats of silence and to both of our surprise, she moved. Slowly, she pulled off her jacket before crushing it into a ball and flinging it at the couch.Such a little fighter, even when she’s giving in to our demands.
She moved to wrap her arms across her chest in an act of silent protest, and it was then that I noticed the white bandage wrapped around her forearm.
“Who did that to you?” I growled as rage licked across my skin.
