Ethan’s eyes widen as he looks at Ax.
“But, Ax…” Sammi whines.
“Why the fuck does everyone keep saying that didn’t I fucking stutter!” He shouts, spit flying. I feel a bit of heat in my lady bits watching him all dominating and shit. Seriously though, what the fuck is wrong with me?
Ethan straightens a bit, apparently not un-used to these outbursts.
“What do you need, man?” he asks, and Axle breathes out a sigh, bringing a hand to squeeze the bridge of his nose.
“Do you want Sammi?” he repeats himself.
Ethan pauses for a moment. “You don’t…”
“Do. You. Want. Sammi.” Ax repeats again, and Ethan darts a glance down to Sammi, who is watching this all with wide eyed fascination. I still want to cut her, but I have to admit this is pretty entertaining to watch. I wish I had popcorn.
Instead of answering, Ethan takes a step forward and puts a hand down to Sammi. I see her smile up at him gratefully, taking the proffered hand.
“You sure, man?” Ethan asks one last time, peeling his eyes off Sammi. Ax gives a brief nod and that’s all Ethan seems to need.
“Shipments in the first room,” Ethan tells him. “Need anything else?”
Ax shakes his head and Ethan shrugs before smiling down at Sammi and leading her from the room. We both watch them leave, not speaking until they are well out of earshot. When he finally turns his gaze back to me, it’s furious. I remember again how terrifying he can be when his anger is directed at you. Despite other instincts, I stand tall and stare straight back not flinching. Even when he slams the pathetic crafted door.
I watch him standing there, nose flared and eyes fiery and I can’t help but keep the smile off my lips. He may be terrifying, but fuck if that isn’t sexy. After a few minutes, his shoulders deflate, and he sighs.
“What the fuck was that?” he finally whispers. I shift a bit, not as sure how to react to this calmer and more reasonable person. I am still livid and I’m not too proud to admit, jealous. I heard the comments before, knew he wasn’t a virgin, despite spending his life here… but to be slapped in the face with a “sweet thang” was too much.
“She knocked,” I finally settled on. “You know, the whore nun.” He gives me an exasperated look.
“Then when she realized you weren’t here, she came onto me.”
I see how tense his jaw is despite his outward display of trying to be calm. I’m not quite sure if it’s directed at me or the whore though. Better damn well be the whore.
“Do you realize how fucking stupid it was to open that door?” he says plainly. “Do you want those fucking animals to find out you’re a woman? Do you know what I had to do to ensure Sammi didn’t get fucking gang raped every month? How many fucking people I had to kill and torture to make sure they fucking knew?”
I feel the heat rise in my face at the mention of her name. As twisted as it sounds, I’m jealous he killed people to keep her safe. Did he care for her? Does he still?
“It’s not my fault your whore decided to come for a visit,” I hiss back.
“Despite how many fucking times I’ve told you, you keep putting yourself right in the fucking way, you realize that? You realize I won’t always be there to keep you fucking safe?” he grinds out. I’m noticing how much more he says fuck when he’s upset.
“And I told you, I don’t need you to keep me safe,” I spit back, even though I am kind of feeling stupid right now. I know way better than this shit I’ve been pulling since I’ve been here. He’s right. I have not played it safe or quiet in The Tomb, and it’s going to cost me.
Just like my stubbornness is going to cost me now.
Twenty Eight
Axle
She has no idea how much I want to throttle her right now. How fucking scared I was.
I had literally been on my way up here to let her know some guys would be delivering some things into the other room when I heard a feminine shriek. My heart stopped until I ran up and saw Ana was okay.
“Don’t you realize by now I just want to keep you safe?” I finally rasp out, lifting my eyes back to her. I have no idea how women work. My knowledge of the opposite gender comes from what bits of media I can get in here, old books and stories. That and Sammi.
I can only vaguely speculate how Ana felt meeting the woman I was, admittedly, fucking before her. But I do know Ana has no fucking clue how much I fucking care. When I thought she was in trouble, I would have done anything to get to her, to keep her safe. I’ve never felt fear before like I did when I thought she was in trouble.
Her eyes fill with water at my admission and her shoulders and defensive posture drop. Such a tough, stubborn little thing. I won’t admit it to her, but it was fucking sexy seeing how she overpowered Sammi.