Wicked Honey (18+)

Chapter 15

"I am," my voice cracks a bit and I try to quietly clear my throat. "So are you."

Sin runs a hand down the stubble on his face. He hadn't shaved in a while and to be honest, I didn't mind. It looked good on him. Well that's not fair- anything would look good on him.

"Couldn't sleep." He says easily but he's watching me carefully. Like he's waiting for me to freak out and lose my mind. Waiting for me to scream and yell at him for all the ways he's fucked up my life. But I don't. What would be the point in it now? He already knows and he doesn't care.

I nod once and look back over at Arrow, sleeping so peacefully I was almost jealous.

"Did I kill him?" I finally ask.

Sin pushes back a bit from his desk but doesn't make any move to stand. "No," he says. "I did."
I wish I could say that I was more surprised. I wish I could say that I was horrified. But I can't. So I just nod again. "We should've been more careful, we had no idea the lengths Tether would go to."

I shrug. "How could you?"

He rolls his shoulders, looking less and less like the arrogant mob boss and more and more like  a dutiful business man. It was strange to watch. "It my job to know." He finally says.

I feel as though he might apologize but it never comes so I just purse my lips. It's silent for a few more heartbeats. We just look at each other with some sort of mutual understanding.

Swallowing my pride, I say. "Thank you,"

Sin cocks his head. Lips turning up at the corners. "For?"

I nearly roll my eyes. "Killing him, Sin. Killing them."

Sin's lips turn back down and his face twists like he's tasted something sour. "Why did you stop calling me Greylar?"

My eyebrows furrow. "Arrow called you Sin. Everyone calls you Sin. I figured it was your preference so I switched."

"It's not."

"It's not?" I repeat like an idiot.

"It's not my preference." He looks so strangely serious.

"Oh," I say. "Okay."

Why can't I speak like a normal human?

The sides of Greylar's lips turn up in his crooked little smile. If you can call it that.

"Can I call you Grey?" I ask, shifting my weight. "Greylar is a little too formal for me."

Greylar's eyes flash with something. His fingers press harder into the pen he's holding until they turn white and he drops the pen. I'm afraid I may have stepped over a line when finally, he speaks. "Yes." It's chipped, formal, and almost distant. Just like him.

"I don't have to_" I try to back peddle but he interrupts me.

"If I didn't want you to, then I would've said no." He says. But it's still angry, he still sounds like he's just caught someone kicking his favorite puppy. So I nod and take a step back, ready to leave to the room when he speaks again. "Come here."

It's softer. Still not welcoming or warm. But I wasn't sure I ever expected him to be. His eyes sparkle with something that looks like malice. But I realize, after a moment of staring at him, that I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of him. Was I ever? Did I ever care that he killed people? That he just recently killed someone? What does that say about me?

My internal battle would have to wait. Because he's clearly losing patience. I slowly make my way over to him. Trying to pull down this tshirt past my mid-thigh but it doesn't work. Grey's eyes flick down, then back up.

When I get close enough, he grabs me by the waist and hauls me into him. I let out a little noise of panic but before I know it, Sin has me locked in his arms. My legs are flung over his right arm and he's wrapping his other arm around my back. My ass planted right on his lap.

I look up at him, scowling. And his lips turn up.

Why was that so attractive?

But his lips turn down once again and he looks deadly serious as he stares down at me. His hands tighten around my legs. "I'm going to kill him."

I knew he was talking about Tether. And something in my stomach stirred- and it wasn't disgust.

"You don't need to do that."

"He won't stop," Grey looks me over, like he's looking for breaking points or weakness. When he looks back at me, I can't tell how many he's found. And I'm not sure I want to know. "He won't stop until he has you."

A shiver shakes down my spine. "Why?"

Grey shakes his head. "It's a pride thing, he's trying to show us what he can do. And now- now that he's found something we have, he's going to try and take it." His arm tightens on my legs. He gives me a sideways glance. "It doesn't help that you're fucking beautiful."

The compliment is so backhanded that my eyebrows tug together. But warmth still pools in my stomach. I try my best to ignore it. "So the only answer is to kill him?"

Grey shrugs. "I could leave him with broken arms, broken legs and no tongue. But that just seems inhumane."

"Right, because you're quite the humanitarian."

Grey's lips tug up and he looks away from me. Like he doesn't want me to see him smile. But god I want to. Someday- I'll see him smile for real.

When he looks back at me, I'm still taken by him. With how close he is, I can see every feature. Every little scar. He's so ruffled. So jaded and dark. And I don't know why that drew me in closer. It should be like a giant red blinking stop sign. But it wasn't. Not for me. I was pulled into the depth of him. And I liked it.

It was rather terrifying to realize- I liked him. Not just the adrenaline rush he gave me. But I liked his crooked smile and his dark presence. I even liked his cruel words and the way he sparred with me. I know I didn't know him. Not a lot. But this- this dark twisted jaded man holding me tightly in his lap- I liked him.

"I don't want to enjoy this." The words are out before I can stop them.

Grey stares at me a moment before he speaks: "I don't want to either."

And with that- he presses his lips to mine.