Page 80 of Blood and Thorns
I couldn’t argue with that. Sebastian moved with purpose, each strike a full blow that contained barely suppressed rage. His muscles rippled from the hit, both men shirtless as they circled each other like predators. They snarled as they punched, their knuckles meeting flesh and bone in a cacophony of sound that turned my stomach.
Wanting to concentrate on anything else, I returned toLangdon and clumsily signed, “Why is he upset?” Okay, so I didn’t know if that was what I’d actually said, because I was pretty sure I got a letter or two wrong.
But Langdon seemed amused with my attempt.You’ve been learning to sign?he replied on his phone, which just proved that I’d messed up.Why?
“I have a lot of time on my hands,” I admitted. “So it was either this or French.”
Langdon laughed, his chest puffing out with no sound.Keep trying.
“Why am I here?” I asked, my voice a whisper so as not to disturb the fight. “Sebastian seems… distracted.”
Langdon shrugged, taking his time to type.Isn’t that what you’re for? To be there when called?
“Because he’s upset?”
Langdon’s left brow rose, his head tilting to the side.You sound sure he’s upset?
I pursed my lips, unsure what to say. There was always a slight tension along his shoulders when he was upset, a tell that I’d noticed when he came home some nights. His eyes were darker, his touch harsher.
Something haunted him, I just didn’t know what.
The ropes stretched, with Caden thrown to the side with a crash that drew a gasp out of me. Sebastian turned, his eyes clashing against mine that he held.
There was so much rage there, his eyes nothing but a thunderous storm.
I should be terrified, especially because he’d taken a step across the ring towards me, his movements agitated. But I found I wasn’t scared, instead drawn to him like a suicidal moth to an open flame.
He kneeled, closing our distance as the tension between us cinched tighter around my chest. It had only been a fewweeks since I’d agreed to this arrangement, and I felt myself lost. Stuck, but also feeling more alive than I’d ever felt before.
I knew it wasn’t going to last. Either I found myself a way out, or Sebastian would get bored and kill me.
Not that I would let that happen.
He’d have to catch me first.
I found myself holding my breath when he jumped down to the floor, his expression cold. Hard. He reached out to cup my jaw, and I tilted my head back to show I wasn’t afraid of him. Which was of course a lie, but he didn’t know that.
“Why the fuck have I been summoned so late at night?” an unfamiliar voice snapped, breaking our connection and making his fingers stiffen against my skin.
An older man walked in, his steps self-assured as the bouncer, Miles, hovered by the doors. He scowled, looking between the three men before settling on me.
“Who are you?” he asked far sharper than needed, brushing his salt and pepper hair away from his face. “What’s the meaning of this, Caden?”
Caden spat blood by his feet before jumping down from the ring with an elegance that didn’t matchhis size. “Evening, Dad, we just want a few words is all.”
“So you sent a lackey to pick me up?” The older man’s expression was murderous when he looked back over. “You must be Sebastian’s whore.”
Sebastian picked the man up by his collar, lifting so he was forced onto his toes. I hurried to stop him, holding out my hand while Langdon and Caden remained unmoving.
“Sebastian.” His gaze warned me to back away, but I couldn’t. “Please,” I whispered, and with a clenched jaw he let the man go, only to reach for me. He gestured to Miles, who came to stand by his side.
“Be a good girl, and go wait up in my office,” Sebastian whispered, lips brushing against the shell of my ear.
“But–”
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Arabella.”
Chapter 36
