Page 6 of Dark Things
3
Rebelle
After classes, Haunt takes me back to the new house. We got in last night, but I’m still not used to all the open spaces, lack of mercs rushing around, and Stan’s looming presence. It’s a large, ranch style house with a huge barn on the far side of the property. There’s some beautiful landscaping with trees dotting the whole property. A couple of horse paddocks line the long drive to the front of the house.
If it wasn’t for who it belonged to, I’d consider it one of my dream houses. Big enough to fit all of those I love, plus space for my horses. All it would need is a ranch dog and a porch swing to make it complete.
As soon as we enter, Haunt leads me up to my bedroom before going to his to drop his bag off. He knows I need to decompress before officially meeting his twin sister for dinner, and I need it more nowespecially after the encounters with the guys. My peopling skills have been severely lacking since my attack. I tend to isolate myself away from everyone. It’s hard to trust those around you when numerous people are out to kill you.
My room at the new house is way more lavish than the one I had at the compound. There I had a small space with a double bed and a desk. I shared a bathroom with the rest of the mercenaries; nothing was ever private. I haven’t had anything to myself since before I was arrested.
The cream and blue comforter on the queen-size bed is beautiful and the view from the window almost makes the reason why I’m here worth it. I have my own bathroom with a large soaking tub that I will be taking advantage of and a walk-in closet filled with clothes that I wouldn’t normally have. It’s nice to be in jeans and T-shirts again instead of black cargo pants and black long-sleeve tactical shirts. There’s even a few skirt options, although I don’t think I could wear them again. It must have been Haunt’s twin that did all this shopping. I can’t see Stan giving a fuck whether I had anything nice.
“Are you still in here?” Haunt asks, tapping on the door before walking in.
I throw myself on the bed staring up at the ceiling. It’s painted the same cream as the comforter. Maybe I should get some glow-in-the-dark stars. My old room in my parent’s house had them, and staring at themuntil my eyelids drifted closed was always my favorite way to fall asleep. “Is she here yet?” I ask.
The mattress dips to the right of me, and he grabs my hand in his before lying down next to me. His wintergreen scent mixed with his vanilla and bourbon body wash surrounds me, and I inhale, closing my eyes for a second. Sometimes it’s enough to trick myself into believing this isn’t my reality.
“Yeah, she just got here. I’m sure she’s going to love you just like I do. Maybe you’ll be friends. You’re on the same equestrian team, and she knows a lot of the people in this place.”
His large thumb traces small circles over my knuckles as I open my eyes and turn my head toward him. He’s like looking at a famous painting and the sun at the same time. My heart hurts enough to bruise.
“I know she’s your sister, but I wouldn’t count on us being besties. Besides, I have you.”
He pulls my arm so that I’m resting on his chest, and his other hand scoops me closer. In all things Haunt has kept me sane, away from my dark thoughts long enough to see the beams of light, but he’ll never understand what it’s truly like to be inside my head. Even if that’s all he’s ever wanted.
“Cat isn’t like other girls, Reb. She’s kind and has a good heart. And knowing her, she’ll probably love your prickly ass.”
I bite his pec before rolling onto my stomach to stare at his beautiful face. “I’m not good for her, Haunt.I’ll corrupt her with all the dark parts of me, and I can’t watch her crumble when she learns what I have to do. It’s bad enough that you know.”
He grabs my face with his huge hands and pulls me up until we’re nose to nose. His minty breath whispers over my lips, and his eyes hold on tight, locking me into his gaze.
“Stop being the martyr, Reb. We’re doing this together because it’s the right thing. We stick to the plan, ride it out to the end, and then we’ll be free to be whomever we want. Cat isn’t going to get in the way of that, but she could be an asset. We’ll keep her safe, but you need people. I can’t be everywhere all the time.Fidati di me, gioia mia.”
His lips brush mine, and I hold back a moan. I love when he speaks to me in Italian. I’ve learned some of it during these last three years, but it makes me hot when he whispers it to me while we’re tangled up in each other.
The kiss deepens and I run my fingers through his silky hair. Swirling my tongue around his, I can taste his love through the kiss. I would love nothing more than to strip down and ride Haunt until the sun goes down, but other people are waiting on us. I break the kiss, giving his hair a small tug before peering into his eyes.
“She’s a civi. She doesn’t even know that your father has been fighting in a silent mafia war for almost half a decade. And what we all do for him, thatwe’re his killers. I don’t know how we’re going to keep all this shit from her. It’s hard enough living in the same house, but now you want me to get close to her? I don’t know if I can. The last person I was close to, Stan stole from me. My brother was only a small child when he got his hands on him.”
“We’ll figure it out. As soon as we find Magnus, Stan will die and we can all get the fuck out of here, Cat included.”
He licks his lips like he’s tasting me before darting his tongue out to lick the seam of mine. My blood heats, and a tingle rushes over me. I grab his T-shirt with both hands, knuckles white as I stretch the cotton fabric.
I open up again, and he advances, intensifying the kiss and pulling me close. A large palm goes to the back of my head and the other to my ass, hoisting me up so that my legs fall to either side of him. I can feel him hardening under me and know if I don’t stop this we’ll be naked in no time.
“Later,” I whisper between flicks of my tongue. My hands travel up to his hair, and I give it a sharper tug.
“Keep pulling my hair like that and we won’t be leaving here any time soon. You know how hot I get when you take control.”
I groan and flop to the side. “Don’t say shit like that. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to play, and now that’s all I’m going to be thinking about when wehave dinner with your sister and the cum stain you call a father.”
“We can play after. Thank God he’s not living here with us. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my hands off of you for another twenty-four hours. Come on, let’s get this over with, and then we can come upstairs and barricade ourselves in here for the rest of the night.”
He rolls off the bed and offers me a hand up, slapping my ass as I walk toward the bedroom door.
I saw some of the house when we got in late last night and a little this morning, but this is going to be the first time I’ll be roaming around in the afternoon. It’s a lot larger than the main building of the compound, but I can see all the similarities. Hidden indoor and outdoor cameras, a high tech security system, and even the extra gun safe behind the painting in the entryway are the same as I’m used to. It took me a few minutes last night to hack into the system and put the indoor cameras on a loop sequence when we’re home. And when we’re not home, everything looks as it should. A skill I learned from one of the mercs when I first got to the compound. He’s dead now, but he was a pretty decent guy for a trained killer.
