Page 33 of Silent as Sin
Something special was beginning between us. I could feel it in my bones.
I let her stay there a moment longer, memorizing the way it felt to have her in my arms, before I eased back. Careful, slow, not to startle her. She blinked up at me, eyes hazy from sleep, hair tangled wild around her face, and Christ—she was beautiful. More than Roxy, or those like her, ever could’ve been with all their make-up and clothes meant to entice a man into sin.
“I’m gonna grab a shower,” I said, my voice rough with all the thoughts in my head. “I’ll come back to get you for breakfast.”
For a second I thought she’d stay quiet like always. But then her lips parted, and a single, soft word slipped free.
“Okay.”
It was faint, barely a whisper, but I heard it clear as a bell.
My chest tightened. Her words were starting to mean more than anything anyone had ever given me, more than most of the promises I’d heard from brothers I’d bled beside.
I gave a short nod, because anything more would’ve cracked me wide open, then stood and grabbed my cut from the chair.
I stepped into the hall, pulling the door shut behind me, just as the door across the hall opened.
Roxy.
She emerged from another brother’s room, hair tousled, dress hanging open over her naked breasts, lips curved in a sly smile meant to gut me. Her heels clicked as she shifted into the hall, tossing her hair back with a flick that was all performance.
She wanted me to look. Wanted me jealous.
I wasn’t.
I didn’t even slow. Didn’t spare her more than a glance. Just opened the door to my own room without a word, without a flicker of interest.
Let her play her games.
She could suffocate the whole damn clubhouse with her perfume and smirks, fuck every brother who’d bite, and it wouldn’t change the truth burning in my chest.
The only woman who mattered was the one I’d just left behind, tangled in a blanket and finally beginning to trust me with her voice.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE COMMON ROOMwas quieter in the morning.A few men lingered over coffee, the constant clink of mugs and low voices filling the space. Throttle sat at the table across from me, boots propped on the empty chair beside him, coffee steaming in his hand.
Ashen had ridden into town with Warden, business he hadn’t explained, and though he’d promised to be back by noon, the hollow space he left behind gnawed at me. He was quickly becoming special to me, and I didn’t have the strength to stop it.
Throttle tried to fill the emptiness with his presence alone.
He didn’t talk much, just sat steady, glancing my way now and then with a nod or the faintest smile, like he was checking I was still there, still breathing. Somehow, it helped. His presence was quiet but sure, anchoring me to the room.
The door opened.
Perfume hit first, heavy and sweet, and then Roxy’s laugh trailed in with her. She swept into the common room like a queen heading to her throne, sliding straight into the circle of women at the bar. They pulled her close, voices rising in bursts of gossip and loud laughter.
Not all of them were cruel, the one called Holly had smiled and waved at breakfast, but a few made their resentment clear. And when Roxy’s voice lifted, I heard my name slip from her mouth.
I froze.
Her gaze found me immediately, piercing as fangs. She didn’t speak, didn’t need to. The look was enough, mocking, dismissive, certain she already knew where I stood.
I tightened my hands in my lap, eyes down, but I could feel her stare crawling over me.
Throttle shifted. His boot scraped against the floor as he swung it off the empty chair. His gaze cut across the room to Roxy, then back to me, solid and unbothered.
Just like that, she looked away.
