Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

SERAFINA

The first three times my eyes open, Demo is standing at the end of the hospital bed, arms folded, staring at me. Massive. Mean. Slightly ugly, but I could totally see how some girls would think it’s that kind of ugly-sexy look, especially with his size.

I’m not a fan of Demo for a variety of reasons, but he’s at least keeping Des away from me.

The fourth time my eyes open, I see Tyrant. My heart monitor goes absolutely crazy and my body warms over as though I’ve been placed six inches from the sun.

I fucking melt at the sight of Tyrant.

“Tyrant,” I whisper.

“Right here, claimed one ,” he says in a deep voice. “Just catching up with Demo.”

I know Demo is going to tell Tyrant about Des. When he does, Tyrant has that sudden murderous look in his eyes.

“We took care of it,” Demo says. “Serafina and me. I kept him away from her. She threw a fucking fit until the nurses and docs sedated her. Then they booted Des from the hospital.”

“He was still here though,” Tyrant growls.

“Your brother was here too.”

“What?” Tyrant asks.

“When?” I ask.

“You were sleeping,” Demo says. “Luc wanted to check up on things. There were others from the legion too. I’m not sure who though. Whatever is going on here, it’s intense and getting to everyone.”

I see the way Tyrant’s jaw tightens as he nods. He has something to say but he’s holding it in. He thanks Demo for helping. Demo then looks at me and nods.

“Sorry for being a bitch,” I call out in a weak voice.

Demo leaves the hospital room and Tyrant comes to my side and leans down. He doesn’t kiss my forehead—he goes right for my lips. I feel self-conscious. My lips are dry, cracked, and my breath…

Tyrant kisses me hard. Commanding.

“Am I allowed to ask where you were?” I whisper.

“No,” he says.

His left hand takes a firm hold of my jaw. He squeezes. It hurts. That ache sends shooting pulses of need throughout my body. I feel like I haven’t been touched by Tyrant in a decade, maybe longer. I can’t believe what he’s done to me. What he’s unlocked inside me. A side I never knew existed. A side I never knew I wanted to explore.

My problem with that is that I only want it to be Tyrant who explores that side with me. I want him to teach me, push me, punish me . Nobody else. But what choice do I have…

My eyes fill with tears.

“I let you down, claimed one ,” he whispers. “You were attacked. You could have died. Whoever did this wanted you to die.”

“Tyrant, this is not your fau—”

He squeezes harder and the pain makes me lose my voice.

“I can’t wait to get you out of here. Soon, Sera. I promise. You’ll be better rested back at SA . With me.”

I nod. I agree with that for sure. I don’t want to be in this hospital anymore.

He releases his grip on my jaw and leans in to kiss me again. I can feel the tension pouring from him. He’s certainly not used to being in any kind of position that resembles vulnerability. At the same time, I feel the same way. I’m the one being attacked over and over. I want answers. I want this to stop. I want to know why.

There’s a sudden knock at the door and when it opens, I can’t believe my eyes.

My stepmother is here.

Tyrant growls under his breath as he stands up. It’s as though he knows who my stepmother is.

Does he?

Well, of course he does.

He knows everything about me…

Bridgette looks at Tyrant and she pauses. She sucks in a breath. She’s scared to death of Tyrant.

Her eyes move from him to me. “Oh, Serafina, what’s happened to you?”

Her fake, caring tone makes me want to roll my eyes and throw up.

“She was attacked,” Tyrant says. “Someone hit her in the head and busted her open.”

“What?” Brigette calls out. “How? Who? Why?”

Her voice seems concerned, even though she’s the one who arranged for my kidnapping and arrival to Sinners Academy .

“I’m working on that part,” Tyrant says.

I touch Tyrant’s right hand. It’s my attempt to tell him and ask him to ease back a little. Let me talk to my stepmother. I’m amazed she’s even here.

Tyrant moves around my hospital bed to the other side. He remains standing, tall and protective. Bridgette inches closer toward me. She then suddenly yawns. A big yawn. Enough that it makes me yawn.

“I’m so sorry about that,” she says. “I haven’t…” She swallows hard.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing. I just haven’t felt like myself.”

When she says that, she touches her right wrist. She looks tired. Groggy. Maybe even hungover.

“I feel so weird right now,” she says. “I think I drank too much wine. I think I blacked out. Can you believe that? Then I had a very strange dream. About a man in my bedroom.”

“What the fuck does this have to do with anything?” Tyrant asks.

Bridgette gasps and steps back. She blinks fast.

“Did you come here to check on Serafina or did you come here to use her to spread your fucking awful life with her to feel better about yourself?”

“Excuse me,” Bridgette says.

Tyrant flexes his chest and shoulders. I can’t believe my eyes when Bridgette lets out a yelping sound, stumbles back and trips over her own two feet, then topples down to the floor right on her ass.

She’s terrified of Tyrant yet the look on her face says she doesn’t know why. It’s like watching a distant memory desperate to climb back to life.

“I’m so sorry,” Brigette says as she climbs back to her feet. “I really did myself in. Are you okay, Serafina? Honestly?”

“I’m fine,” I say. “There’s nothing to worry about. You have no reason to ever worry about me.”

Bridgette blinks fast. She’s really struggling right now. Trying to find her evil cunt side yet she’s scared. She wants me to comfort her too. After all these years…

“Maybe take it easy with the drinking,” Tyrant says. “You live alone, don’t you? A big house. You never know what can happen.”

The tone of Tyrant’s voice makes me shiver.

Bridgette is a second from bursting into tears. “I should probably go. I wanted to see you. Check on you. I did. You seem okay. If you need anything…”

“She’s fine,” Tyrant says. “I think we all can agree you’ve done enough.”

Normally Bridgette would be firing right back. Instead, she scurries out of the hospital room, filled with terror.

I turn my head and look up at Tyrant.

I know.

I’m not going to say a thing to him. He looks down at me. We’re talking without words. I think I know everything. He attacked my stepmother. He drugged her. He hurt her.

I give myself a second or two to decide if I’m supposed to get mad at him or not. If I should threaten to call the police. (Not that it would do any good because I’m sure that Tyrant and all the others are well above the law.)

“Tyrant,” I whisper.

“Choose your words very carefully, claimed one ,” he growls at me. “Do not confuse the lines. They still exist.”

Fuck.

I swallow hard. My chin quivers.

“Who else?” I whisper.

Tyrant leans down and touches his forehead to mine.

“Anyone who could possibly be a threat to you, Sera,” he whispers.

Before I can think about responding, his right hand moves under the blanket on me and he goes right between my legs. His grip is tight, fierce, controlling.

His eyes lock with mine again. He pulls the hospital gown up with his fingers. I’m not sure if he means to move as slow as he is. It’s seductive. My toes curl. As soon as I feel his bare fingertips against my inner right leg, I melt again. My bottom lip quivers.

“Please, Tyrant,” I purr. “Please…”

“What? You want another name? Huh? Or should I just play with your clit until you let this all go?”

“B-both,” I whisper and close my eyes.

“Open your fucking eyes and look at me while I pleasure you,” he growls.

It’s instant the second his pointer and middle fingers slap between my legs. Slicing between my wet skin with ease, moving up, hooking under my clit. Fingertips rolling over my clit and then pressing. My hips thrust and the machines attached to me start to beep.

Tyrant curls his lip and bares his teeth at me like a monster about to feast. He adds more and more pressure against my clit. It starts to hurt, but that’s when it starts to really feel good. My body now recognizes pain and pleasure as one, but only if guided properly by Tyrant. I don’t think I can ever be touched by someone else and achieve the same result.

Tyrant presses even harder, grunting as he does so. My body jumps again and I bite my bottom lip. My eyes become watery but that doesn’t stop Tyrant’s touch. Why would it? I don’t want it to stop.

“You know who else I paid a visit to,” Tyrant whispers. “I had no choice, claimed one . Not after what you told me. And then I found the letter. You kept it.”

Oh, fuck. He went to see my ex from high school?

Did he kill…

I groan. His fingers move in a magical motion. My body is fully engaged now. I’m soaked and inching toward climax way too fast.

“Not dead,” Tyrant whispers. “At least not physically. I just had to know for sure, Sera.”

I groan. “Oh, fuck…”

“No way he would come after you now,” Tyrant says. “Maybe I just wanted to fucking hurt the person who touched you first.”

Tyrant is pure psycho. Psychotic and beautiful all mixed together. He slides his fingers down and slams into my pussy. I can’t help but scream.

Tyrant kisses me, stealing my screams, which is good because I’m starting to come. His fingers are like magnets not just for my clit but also for my G-spot. My orgasm plays out on the monitors behind me as my heart rate soars, along with my blood pressure. Other machines are beeping like crazy. I know it’s only a matter of seconds before nurses come rushing in to check up on me.

Tyrant’s two aggressive fingers exit my body with the same force as they entered. He slides his fingers against my clit and then his hand is gone from my body. The timing couldn’t be more perfect because two nurses hurry into my room to check on me.

I throw out a quick lie that Tyrant made me laugh. I’m pretty sure anyone can look at my face and know I’m lying. I’m blushing, gently sweating, gripping the sheets tight. My toes are permanently curled. My inner thighs are trembling and my pussy is throbbing.

As if I need anything else right now, Tyrant steps back to let the nurses check up on me. He stares me dead in the eyes and brings his pointer and middle fingers up to his mouth and he sucks my cum off. He licks his lips, curls his lip, and I watch his chest puff out as he takes a deep breath.

My eyes move down and I see the bulge inside his jeans. He’s tasting my orgasm and it’s making him hard. And I’m watching it.

The heart monitor starts to go crazy again.