Page 73 of Demons in My Bed
“You better have some answers for us when we come back, Bun-Bun. We’re not big on touching women who don’t want it, but those who aren’t friends are enemies, so the rules don’t really apply. And by touching, I mean using some… creative options to get the truth.” I let my gaze fall to the Wall of Depravity, as I liked to call it. Whips, floggers, chains, ropes, some questionable dildos...
Her eyes darted to Misha. Her last hope at getting out of this, though I already knew it’d be pointless. “Mishy, please.” Her voice cracked, and I lifted a brow. Nothing had really seemed to bother her before now—in fact, I’d expected anger, not whatever this was. “Please don’t leave me like this.”
He stopped right in front of her. “You are making me insane. I haven’t felt this out of control in decades. It can’t continue,kukola. I’ll be back in a while.”
“No, no, let’s just talk now. Ask me anything! I’ll answer! I promise!”
Misha pressed his lips together, shaking his head as he removed the bunny blades from his pocket and laid them down on a bench, looking pained. Together, we walked over to the door and then she really started to flip out.
“Fuck you guys! How dare you? I don’t even know why you’re so pissed! You could actually fucking talk to me instead of acting like a bunch of pricks!”
Misha walked out, and I gave her one last look before stepping through the door and letting it shut, cutting off her insults and hateful declarations.
The others were waiting, hanging out in Ashland’s bedroom now. Ash was starfished out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Felix was pacing, his anxious energy rolling off of him in waves.
“Was it just me or did she seem genuinely distressed?” I asked, rubbing my jaw with my thumb as I thought over her reaction.
“Nah, she did... but was it an act? My mind is so fucked right now.” Felix sighed and walked over to the window. The city lights were all glowing brightly, lighting up the dark night.
Ash rolled over onto his stomach. “How long do we give her?”
“As long as it takes. We need to check on Rhodes,” Misha grumbled, his shoulders sagging as he left the room. My big boy was a sad boy, and I didn’t like it one bit.
We filed out after him in search of Rhodes. I didn’t like that we’d found out two major secrets from Palmer in one night. She could fight—like, ninja-level fight—and she could heal herself. We’d all been obsessed with her immediately, but I had to wonder if maybe we needed to tone it down going forward.
Yeah, I was obsessed. Addicted. Wanted to lick her pussy from dusk til dawn and then roll around in her scent like a dirty dog... but I also didn’t tolerate disrespect. Lying was the quickest way to piss me off.
I just had to hope that this little punishment would set her straight. If not? Well, she was still stuck here, and that was a long time to try to keep secrets from me. We hadn’t gotten to where we were by letting things slide. She was no different. She couldn’t be. We couldn’t afford any fuckups.
Chapter nineteen
Theyleftme.Motherfuckerstied me up like a sacrificial lamb and left me in this... this...I glanced around, trying to control my breathing, but it was a battle I was losing.You’re stronger than this, Palmer. You’ve faced much worse. It’s okay, just breathe.
That was the fucked up thing about PTSD. Sometimes, no matter how rational you were with your thoughts, you could still get sucked into the vortex of trauma and there wasn’t a damn thing you could do about it. The dream I’d just had while I was unconscious hadn’t helped. It was never a fluid dream, always just snippets and flashes of memories—yet another way I wasn’t in control.
“Come on, push harder, Vale! You’re slacking, and one day it’ll end up costing you out in the field!”
I gritted my teeth and pushed through the pain, spinning and landing a roundhouse kick on Slade’s shoulder.
“Yes! Atta girl! Again.”
Sometimes, I really fucking hated Slade, but since he’d taken over our fight training, my body had never been in better shape. I’d made so much progress, and I knew Asrael had noticed. I’d even managed to take Hunter down to the mat last week for the first time.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Slade taunted, bouncing out of reach.
I snarled and lunged forward, intent on slapping that smug smile off of his face. He stepped to the side and had me pinned down beneath him on the mat in a matter of seconds.
“Ugh!” I slammed my hands down beside me in frustration.
He hopped up and held out his hand. “You did great. Every session, you’re showing progress. You’re learning how to channel that anger you hold onto, so once you can hone that, you’ll be a fucking force.”
Sighing, I slipped my hand into his and let him pull me to my feet. It was after hours. Asrael had mentioned that he noticed how hard I’d been working lately. I’d wanted to keep that up, so had asked Slade if he’d be willing to give me some private lessons a few nights a week.
Panting, I headed for a bench and sat down with a groan. My legs felt like jelly.
“Here. Drink your water.” Slade handed me my water bottle, and I guzzled all of it. He chuckled. “I wonder what it’s like to drink with you—if you drink alcohol like you drank that water just now, that could be either a disaster or a lot of fun.”
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I leaned back against the wall. My skin was glistening with sweat, and a cold shower sounded like heaven. “Too young to drink, remember?”
