23. A Place For Judgment

23

A Place For Judgment

Saint

One answer. It's something I don't have to give her, but I'm too curious not to.

Violet's mind no doubt has a hundred questions swirling around, and I want to know which one she values most. While she probably thinks I've offered to tell her something to give her a peek behind the curtain, she doesn't realize it forces her to do the same.

I need to know what's important to this girl with the black hair and sapphire eyes that brand themselves into my brain.

Violet sinks against the tree as I let her go, and she shuffles back.

She's smart, so she doesn't blurt out what's on the tip of her tongue. She thinks about it. Her wild mind works like it does when she's sitting in the library studying .

Finally, her blue eyes flick back up to me. "Why was there blood on your shirt that first night we slept together?"

Slept together.

Of all the ways she could have defined her first time, she chose that. Almost as if it was sweet and innocent. She would rather live in the delusion that what happened between us was normal. That this relationship is consensual.

She might have given in to me, but even if she hadn't, I wouldn't let her go. Violet is mine whether she likes it or not.

Lucky for me, she does. Because her morals are as bent as mine are, even if she's never acted on them. I saw the truth when I slit Nixon's throat, and her entire chest flushed with excitement.

My kitten is as sick as I am.

Reaching forward, I grab the top of her jeans and pull them up. She lifts off the tree so I can slide them up to her waist and button them.

The plan was to throw her in the dirt and fuck her senseless, but her question gives me a better idea.

Pulling her sweater closed, I reach up and brush the smeared mascara from beneath her eye. "That's not something I can tell you."

Violet's shoulders deflate like this is the worst I've done of all the terrible things I've acted out on this girl.

"I'll show you instead."

"What?" Her eyebrows pinch .

Curiosity flashes in her gaze when she doesn't know what she's asking for.

Her blind faith in me is what gets her into trouble.

Most people think chaos is unpredictable. But that's only because they aren't smart enough to read patterns—to understand cause and effect. Chaos never looks like chaos at first. It starts as something simple. Something sturdy. Chaos is stability tipped an inch too far in one direction.

That's what I did with Violet.

Tipped her.

Broke her the fuck open and unleashed her darkness. Now she's messy and gorgeous and mine.

"You're actually going to show me?" Her eyebrows pinch while her cheeks are drained of color.

Excited, scared —every emotion paints her pretty face as she looks up at me. She's afraid of what she'll find when she digs, but she can't help herself.

"Mm-hmm." I reach down and grab my knife from the dirt, cutting the ropes free from around her arms.

I want to shove the handle in her mouth so she can taste what she does to me, but with my mind set on better things, I manage to control myself.

Reaching out, I take her hand. She pauses only a moment then laces her fingers through mine.

"Where are we going?" she asks, letting me lead her through the trees.

"Back to the house. "

Her eyes dart around, looking for signs of Sigma House, but she has no idea where we are. Unless you spend enough time out here, these woods are a maze.

She's quiet the entire walk, shivering beside me. It isn't that cold, but her body's coming down from her climax, and her eyes are a little hazy.

A perfect state to be in for what I have planned for her.

Taking a final turn around a grouping of trees, the gates of Sigma House come into view.

"Wait." Violet looks around, spotting her car across the road. "How did we get over here?"

"You ran well, kitten. That's how."

"But I never crossed the road."

"Or you don't remember it."

It's why the hunter always wins. The prey is too busy panicking. Overwhelmed with fear instead of trusting instincts. Violet crossed the road right before I caught up to her, but in the dark forest, filled with adrenaline, she didn't notice.

Stopping at the front gate, I pull out my phone and enter the code to open it.

"Should I bring my car?"

"It's fine out here." I tug her hand. "Besides, you're not leaving until I say you are."

Her blue eyes dart up at me. An ocean of questions, and I only gave her one. One day, we'll sit down and dig into all of them, but if she doesn't take small bites, she won't be able to swallow all the truths I could offer.

Violet's eyes move to the front doors of the house as we pass it .

"We're going through another entrance."

She bites her lip but doesn't ask me to explain. Her grip tightens on mine, and her sweaty palms give her away. Her unyielding trust is the most confusing thing.

"You weren't in school this week," she says as I lead her around the back of Sigma House.

"I was busy."

"Must be nice."

"Not caring?"

She looks up at me with narrowed eyes for throwing her insults back at her. "Not needing to."

She's being sassy—relaxed. Right now, she's talking to me like I'm Kole. She's braver that way, thinking there's nothing to fear when I'm not acting like Saint.

She's wrong. But I let her get away with it because she'll learn soon enough.

Stopping at a large iron door at the back of the house, I punch a code into the keypad to open it and guide her down the stone steps inside.

"What is this?" She stays at my side down the dimly lit stairwell. "A dungeon?"

"This isn't a castle, kitten."

"Because you're no prince?"

"Exactly." We stop at the bottom of the stairs, and I punch in another code, leading her through the second door. "This is a place for judgment."

Releasing her hand, I shut the door behind us and lock it. Declan is the only other member of Sigma Sin with a code, and once it's entered, there's no getting in or out until it's entered again .

"You want to know what I was doing the last time you came here?" Walking over to a switch by the door, I flick it on, revealing blank walls and a tile floor with a drain in the middle.

But that's not what has Violet's attention. It's the chains. The knives on a nearby table. The chair with shackles in the middle of the room, and a board with restraints in one of the corners.

She tries to back up, but I grab her hand tighter and pull her with me.

"No running now, kitten. You wanted an answer to your question, and I'm going to give it to you."

"Kole."

"He's not here right now." I spin her, forcing her to face me.

She bites the inside of her cheek as she looks up at me. "What are you going to do to me, Saint?"

"I'm going to show you the real reason they call us Sigma Sin."

Reaching for her sweater, I rip it open again. This time, tearing it all the way down and peeling it off her. She's smart enough not to fight it.

I step back, watching her nipples peak through the thin fabric of her T-shirt.

"Strip. All of it."

"But what if someone comes in?"

"They won't." I tip my head to the side. "They can't. Just like you can't leave. "

She mulls that over for a moment before reaching for the bottom of her shirt and peeling it off. Her nipples peak with excitement and from the chill of the room.

It's nowhere near as cold in here as it is outside, but she's shivering in anticipation.

Next Violet reaches for the button on her jeans, stripping them off with everything else. And then she's standing in front of me, completely exposed.

Terrified.

Beautiful.

"Good little kitten." I approach her once more, wrapping my fingers around her throat.

She swallows as I tighten my grip, and my cock is rock hard at the reminder of how good it feels to be inside her when she does that.

"What does this have to do with Sigma Sin?" she asks, choking through the words as I make her fight for breath.

Just enough to make her foggy because I need her awake right now.

"Everything." I reach down and drive two fingers inside her. "You're dripping just imagining what I'm going to do to you. Lustful when you should fear me. Your perfect little cunt begs for my pain."

I shove in deeper, and her eyes roll back.

"Look at me, Violet."

Her gaze snaps to mine at the command.

Leaning in, I lick her parted mouth. Loving how her breath races while she fights for air. How her flesh speckles with goosebumps. How her chest heaves with every hard-fought inhale .

She's completely at my mercy. This stunning, innocent little creature placed her life in my hands and asked me to show her the ways of men who do unspeakable things. Men who laid the bricks around us. Who stained this ground with blood.

Her eyes beg me to slice her open. To make it hurt. To make her suffer until she sees the truth as clearly as I do.

"From sin, we were born. And through sin, we are revealed," I whisper against her lips. "You wanted me to show you?"

I pull back and loosen my grip enough for her to move her head with her single nod.

"Very well." I release her.

Her hands fly to her throat as she chokes in a breath. But I don't give her long to adjust—because she asked for this.

"Kneel."