SWNOVELS Sinful: Chapter 44
The worst thing about being wild was the cold. I hated the cold. I stared out at the barren cemetery from the dark line of the woods, watching as Sin walked with Sirena through the darkness to the mausoleum.
“Is it always like this?” I murmured. “Watching. Waiting.”
“Always,” Bryce answered from my side.
“You really are a shadow,” I mused.
“I’m what lurks in plain sight.” He let out a sigh and shifted next to me.
“If it helps, I think Sin has finally wiggled his way into her good graces.” I watched as Sin pulled her to a stop and kissed her gently beneath the falling snow.
“And you’re OK with that?”
I smiled. “She’s been through a lot. I owe her. So yes. I’m OK with it. I want whatever she wants. I always have.”
“I’m pretty sure she didn’t want to be murdered with a shovel.”
I ground my teeth at his words. “That wasn’t me. That was Asylum.”
“Right. Right. Same coin. Different sides. Got it.”
I grunted. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to just get this shit out in the open.
Waiting is the hardest part.
Don’t I know it.
Shh. . . the wind is changing.
SHUT UP!
I shook the third voice out of my head and focused my attention back on Sin and Sirena, who had gone to sit on the stone bench near the mausoleum.
“Were you upset it wasn’t you trapped in that coffin with her?” Bryce asked.
I was quiet for a moment, contemplating it before I answered.
“At first, I was. I was upset that it happened at all. But you know how Asylum is. He sees things and goes for them.”
“And you? You just. . . wait?”
“I’m good at waiting. It’s all I know how to do,” I said. “Although, I’ve been getting antsy lately.”
“Your inconsistency is killing me,” Bryce muttered before pulling his dark hat lower over his head. “So is this cold.”
“It’s not cold when you’re in someone else’s arms.”
“I’m not fucking hugging you. I barely can stand next to you.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t be so dramatic. I’m not telling you I want to roll in the snow with you, Andrews. Besides, I doubt you could handle me. I’ve heard you’re vanilla.”
“Fuck off,” he grumbled. “And what are you? Chocolate?”
“Me?” I looked over at him. “I’m a spicy little jalapeño, baby.”
It was his turn to roll his eyes. “You know, sometimes you and Asylum are hard to tell apart.”
I nodded. “Good. That’s the point.”
“A frustrating one,” he muttered.
I ignored him and continued to watch Sin and Sirena. Bryce and I had come out here to walk and talk after I had him go with me to knock Jeff Lowe around a little bit. I’d heard he had some information about who had hurt Sirena. It turned out he was trying to make himself important and had nothing. Well, not nothing. Now he had two black eyes and a broken leg, but hey, some lessons were hard ones to learn. I didn’t mind being the teacher.
I smiled at the fact Bryce hadn’t tried to stop me. Instead, he’d simply watched silently while the crack of bone echoed through the night. Bryce was as twisted as the rest of us here at Chapel Crest. He just hid it better.
I admired that about him. That and his determination. He was stronger than anyone realized, the watchers included.
“Excuse me,” I said, stepping out of the shadows and adjusting my rabbit mask.
“Where are you going?” he demanded in a soft hiss.
“It’s a lovely night for a dance,” I said, turning to smile at him. “Watch. You’ll see.”
Damnit, Mirage. Fucking damnit.” Bryce’s voice faded away as I moved further from the woods and to the cemetery where Sin and Sirena were still sitting.
“Good evening,” I said, stepping up to them. They’d been so lost in one another and their notebook that they were scribbling in they hadn’t noticed my approach.
Sirena’s eyes widened as she took me in, her lips parting. I loved that look on her.
Kiss her for me.
If I kiss her, it’s for me.
Prick.
Asshole.
I silenced the voice in my head and looked to Sin.
“Hey. What are you doing out here?” he asked.
“Oh, you know me. Just outside frolicking.” I smiled at him.
“Of course you were.” Sin took the notebook they’d been writing in and closed it before stuffing it back into his jacket.
“Care to dance?” I held my hand out to Sirena, hoping she’d agree.
“There’s no music.” Sin shot me a sour look.
“Then sing, puppet,” I answered back, not taking my eyes off the beauty in front of me. She cast a look to Sin, who gave her a small nod. It was funny to me she sought his approval. A small flare of anger ignited within me, but I tamped it down, knowing she was that good of a girl and didn’t like stepping on any toes.
Her mitten slid against my palm, and I pulled her to her feet and against my body.
“Ready?” I asked, smiling down at her as I placed a hand on her waist and held her other hand in mine.
A tiny smile quirked her lips upward. That was the only green light I needed.
I swept her around the tombstones, the snow kicking out around us, dancing beneath the pale moonlight like we were characters from some gothic Victorian romance.
Just me. Her.
And me.
Of course.
Just us.
Perfect.
I smiled down at her, relishing in the way her eyes lit up as I lifted her easily over a low grave marker before spinning her around the next.
Before long, her laughter was bubbling out of her and sounding off into the night while Sin stood and watched as a shadow lurked on the edge of the forest, drinking everything in like he always did.
“Roses and whiskers
Don’t stop the purrs, mister.
This world is too big
To go it alone.”
I sang our song as we moved through the cemetery, her smile growing wider with each word falling from my mouth.
“So follow me through the thicket
And just try to fit through the thorns.
I’ll be right behind you.
No need to be alarmed.”
I spun her again before pulling her against my body and staring down into her pretty eyes before softly singing more to her.
“I’ll love you forever
And need you for always
Remember who we are
When we take the monsters down.
They’ll fall hard
But stick next to us
For in us, you can trust
To get the job done
Our pretty little monster.
No more tears
No more screams
We promise to give you the end to some.
It’s not a battle of fists and hits
For you, my monster queen
Simply lead the way to the place it all began
And we shall leave behind a bloody scene.”
Gently, I brushed my lips against hers before pulling away from her. She’d been so lost in the moment that she’d not noticed Sin at our side, but I had. I hoped my words stuck with her. A future that had yet to pass. The help. The training. That was it. Psychological warfare, not violence. Not yet.
“Dance with Sin, pretty girl,” I whispered, breaking free from her. “We’ll dance again soon. Next time, it’ll be in blood.”
I placed her hand in Sin’s and offered her a smile.
“Until next time, my love.”
And then I turned my back and dashed back into the woods.
I always kept my promises.
The answers were coming.
I smiled at that.