28. Camille

Chapter 28

Camille

A s Kage spoke about what had happened with Silas’s brother, it threw me how casually he spoke about torture. For all I knew, maybe it was something he did all the time. He’d told me that side of his life was violent and while I’d seen it for myself when he'd slit Silas's throat, I’d been in denial about just how much of his life was based on pain.

I couldn't deny, however, that Kage’s darkness excited a dark part of me, too. I loved how protective and ruthless he was, which made me wonder what I was capable of. Kage brought out the darkness in me whereas Dante harnessed it and Ty…well, I had a feeling that despite the fact he wasn't involved in the mafia the way Kage was, and even if the only person Ty had ever killed was the innocent person he'd killed in the car crash, Ty's darkness was a deeper hue than even Kage was capable of.

“Through it all, the bastard wouldn't talk. His single refrain was ‘We will endure’.”

Ty shifted in his seat, his expression hardening. I frowned. Something was wrong.

“What is it?” I asked Ty. “Why did you just react like that?”

Ty hesitated then said, “It was something my dad used to say. That we’d endure."

“Endure what?” Kage asked.

“Anything. Everything. It meant our family was strong. Unstoppable. Obviously, he was wrong."

At his vague reference to his family's murder, I reached out and placed my hand on Ty's arm. To my surprise, he didn't shake away my touch.

I thought back to Silas's oak tree tattoo, the same one his brother had. “Silas and his brother had oak tree tattoos. The oak tree represents endurance,” I murmured. Those roots, deep in the ground, the acorns propagating themselves – it was ancient, ongoing, near-impossible to cut down. "And Ava, she had the acorn tattoo. Maybe she really did get it for Silas, before things went bad. It must be a family symbol or something. Maybe it goes beyond Silas and his brother. Maybe his parents are involved in whatever is going on."

"Going on?" Kage said. "You mean the attack on you and Ava's death?”

I hesitated, wanting to tell him about the missing kids, but remembering my promise to Bianca. I didn't think any of the guys were involved and I was going to tell Bianca that. Tell her we should bring them in and see if they could help.

I held Kage off by saying, 'We will endure’? That sounds ominous. Like there's some kind of united front planning something far bigger than the theft of my gold bar. Maybe the gold bar was just the beginning. Maybe they're collecting funds for something really horrible."

Kage frowned. “Maybe.”

Ty jumped up from his chair and walked around the kitchen counter. He stood there, his arms outstretched, hands flat against the marble top, his head bowed. He muttered something under his breath, then slammed a fist down onto the countertop. I jumped and glanced at Kage and Dante, who were watching Ty intently.

Dante stood. “What’s going on, Ty?"

“My dad had a branch from a pine tree tattooed on his forearm,” Ty bit out. “So did my mother. She said it was because one of their favorite spots was under a pine tree.”

Okay, so that was weird. But it didn't mean his parents were somehow connected with Silas's. “Flowers, trees, nature tattoos are common,” I assured him. All three of them stared back at me with matching somber expressions. “Silas and Troy's tattoos were in a different spot, for starters, and were of a different kind of tree. It’s too far-fetched to be connected, right?”

“You’re probably right,” Ty faintly agreed, but his face had turned ashen. I noticed, all at once, a mark on his forearm. I hadn't seen it before. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see it more clearly, but Ty turned his body, so the mark was blocked from my view.

It could have been a bruise. But from what I'd seen, it looked like a fresh wound that had started to scab over. And he was hiding it on purpose.

“Ty, you said you came here to find your family’s killer. What exactly brought you here?”

Ty scowled. Any walls he'd lowered in talking about his family shot back up. “Sorry to disappoint, but this isn’t going to turn into a weird love fest where we all share our thoughts and feelings. I’ve told you all you need to know. If we're done here, let’s get started on the drawing assignment.”

I looked at him like he was crazy. “Now?”

“I want to get the first assignment over with. The sooner it's done, the sooner we can get to the point where we're out of each other's lives. It's what you want, right?"

Why didn't I agree immediately? Instead, we stared at each other, the tension in the air building until Kage sighed.

"Rebel, are you sure you want to do the project with him?"

I hesitated then nodded. "I'm sure."

Something like relief flickered in Ty's gaze.

“Then I should go. I have class,” Kage said. “Thanks again for last night." He clenched his jaw before turning to Dante. "Both of you."

"What the hell happened last night?" Ty said.

Kage grinned. "Sorry, this isn't a weird love fest, remember? You want to start sharing openly, maybe we will, too. Right, Dante?"

Dante slowly smiled before standing as well. "Right. But here's a hint." Dante pulled me into his arms and kissed me deeply, then gently transferred me into Kage's arms, and he kissed me as well. The contrast between their touch, their kisses, left me shaken and breathing hard. It told me exactly what I had in store for me if we ever actually had sex together.

"Take care with her, Ty. Or what I did to Troy will look like child's play compared to what I'll do to you."

"Yeah, yeah," Ty muttered. "I heard you the first, second, and third

Dante and Kage made a show of kissing me before they left. The whole time, I was aware of how Ty watched us. "Let's get this over with," I said.

Ty led me up to his bedroom. I followed him inside. The bed was made, everything neat and tidy.

He started gathering his art supplies. I sat down on his bed, not sure where to place myself. All I could think about was the fact Ty was about to see me fully naked again, and not just for a minute, like when I'd stripped during Casino Night.

“My robe is on the back of the door if you want to change. No one said you have to be buck naked from the start.

Wow. He was trying to make things less uncomfortable for me. I waited, sure there was going to be an insult thrown my way at any moment.

"I'm serious, Camille. I'm fucking exhausted and don't have the energy to battle with you right now. Change into the robe and I swear, I'll make this as painless as possible."

He kept his back turned to me as I slowly stood and got his robe. Then I quickly took off my clothes, put them on his dresser, put the robe on then returned to the bed.

He sat on his desk chair, his drawing pad balanced on his lap and his drawing pencils within easy reach.

"Lean back on the bed on your elbows but push one shoulder of your robe down so I can see your right breast."

I sucked in a deep breath and nodded, then did as he said. I felt my nipple harden but he just looked between my body and the sketching pad and started drawing.

I held my breath until he said, "Try and relax."

I snorted. "You think I can completely relax when you’re looking at me like this?" I demanded.

He looked up at me. "Yes. Because as far as I'm concerned, you could be anyone right now. And you have nothing to be ashamed of. You have a beautiful body. I've always thought so."

My heart warmed at his compliment, but it also confused me. Why was he being so nice to me suddenly?

"I can hear you thinking. Just relax. I’m not going to try anything."

I wasn’t buying it, though. I watched as his hand moved above the paper and there was something intimate about him capturing me on the page, knowing his eyes were taking in every detail, every goosebump, every pucker.

I shifted back on the bed and tried to make myself comfortable, but it was hard, considering I was naked in front of a guy I still had feelings for. Ambivalent and conflicted feelings, sure, but I'd loved him once.

"Do you feel comfortable baring your other breast?" he said, his voice deeper and darker, suggesting that he wasn't quite as unaffected as he was playing to be.

I cleared my throat and pushed off the robe, so my entire chest was bare. His gaze homed in on my nipples, both hard now, and a small smirk played at the corners of his mouth.

“It’s cold in here,” I said defensively.

“Uh huh.” He nodded, returning his attention to his work.

My cheeks reddened.

I hated that his gaze alone was turning me on. Thank God my pussy was covered otherwise he might see how wet I'd become.

I studied him as he focused on his art. It was the only time I’d seen him fully relaxed since he’d arrived here - the creases in his forehead had disappeared, along with the coldness in his eyes. In that moment, he was just Ty, the artist, uninhibited and free, lost in his own world. It was a glimpse of the guy I once knew. A guy my heart ached to meet again.

“How’s it going there?” I asked after a while.

He shrugged. “It helps that I have such a beautiful subject to work with.”

He said it absently. As if it was a given I was beautiful.

"Beautiful, huh?"

“Don’t read too much into it,” Ty shot back, but his mouth tipped into a smile. “I found the spider I drew last week beautiful too.”

“Been drawing a lot of arachnids lately?”

“I started drawing them in prison. You could say spiders kept me company. And sane. Drawing them was therapeutic for me, and God knows I needed it after what happened."

“I'm glad it helped you. You’re an amazing artist.”

He grunted. My eyes darted to the mark on his arm again.

"What happened there?" I asked, nodding to it. He glanced down and shrugged.

"Just making sure I remembered something important."

"You did that to yourself?" I gasped.

He pulled down his sleeve, covering it up, but didn’t reply.

He didn’t say anything for the longest time and neither did I. I just sat there, watching him as he was completely consumed by his drawing. At some point, he looked up and caught me staring. Embarrassed, I looked away, my cheeks flushing.

“I didn’t paint that swan picture, Camille.”

That was the last thing I’d expected him to say.

“What I feel for you, it's complicated and sometimes it's dark. I'm different from the guy you knew. I hurt and I feel the need to hurt others. But I would never do something like that to you. I swear."

For some reason, I believed him, and it healed something in me. "If you hurt, Ty, why hurt me? Why don't you let me help? We meant something to each other once."

“You’re better off without me in your life. Trust me.”

I blinked at him in surprise. It was as big a revelation as he’d given me in a long time, but before I could form a response, his eyes were back on the page. His expression hardened and he switched off, making it clear that our little heart-to-heart was over. He abruptly stood.

“You can get dressed,” he said quietly. “I’m done.”

“Can I see it?” I asked as I tugged the robe closed over my chest.

"That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Seriously?” I arched an eyebrow. “This whole deal was your idea. You asked me to work with you and I agreed. The least you can do is show me.” He still didn’t look convinced. “I don’t understand the problem.” I frowned at him. “Unless you made me look ridiculous or something?—”

"Jesus, why would I do that? I need to pass this class, remember?"

“Then show me,” I pushed, folding my arms across my chest. “Or I won’t draw you and then we’ll both fail.”

“Fine." He held out his sketch pad and took it. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but the picture staring back at me took my breath away. It was stunning. He’d captured everything, from the light in my eyes to the soft curves of my breasts. It wasn’t a lewd picture, it was so beautiful that I couldn’t look away. Everything I thought I’d known about Ty was captured in this one drawing and it gave me hope that somewhere, deep inside, the boy I’d known was still there.

“Well?” he asked after a moment, his voice gruff.

“It’s amazing” I murmured, still staring at it.

He nodded. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised by his abruptness. “Okay.”

I grabbed my clothes off his dresser and then slipped outside his room. I pulled the collar of his robe closer, inhaling his scent. Something had shifted between us again. I just couldn't count on it. Ty might let down his walls while he was drawing, but the rest of the time, I had to brace myself. The war between us would battle on.