Page 54 of A Sip of Sin

“Was it George this whole time?” asked Munro, lowering his hand to wrap loosely around Hollen’s neck. “As we grew closer and when we kissed—when I brought you into my bed, was that George I was giving myself to?”

Hollen shook his head, swallowing against the pressure on his neck that threatened to end him. He could scarcely breathethrough the tightness in his chest, his heart pounding. There was a shuffling of cloth as others moved silently behind, their shapes flickering over Munro’s shoulder.

“No. Munro, please believe me. That was always me. George is…” Hollen trailed off. He’d already said too much if the growling in his head was anything to go by. George had never had a problem with him telling anyone, but Munro was different. “He’s my friend.”

“Yourfriend?” Munro’s face flickered, his brows shooting nearly into his hairline. “He’s a demon.”

Hollen shivered. It was the same thing that had happened before with every other job, but this time Munro didn’t think he wascrazy. “And you’re a vampire. I don’t hold that against you, but if you have a problem with him, then you have a problem with me.”

“Hollen.” Munro’s face softened, his icy stare gaining a touch of warmth. “Tell me about him.” He loosened his hold, letting Hollen suck in a quick breath.

“George?” Hollen raised his voice when there was no answer. He could feel George there like a black, impenetrable wall. He seemed to shimmer with the effort of holding himself back, the tendrils of his strength growing and wrapping around Hollen’s chest like iron bars. There was a warmth to the tendrils, only it wasn’t soothing this time.

“Tell your boytoy to fuck off,” said George, his voice resounding inside Hollen’s skull. “You belong to me.” The bars tightened until they were bound closer than the hand on his neck. “You’re mine, and I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”

“Hollen,” Munro said soothingly, the very opposite of the screaming vowels in his head. He stroked his thumb over Hollen’s pulse, sending a shiver over his nerves. “I just want to help you.”

Hollen jerked away, breaking Munro’s grip with surprise more than strength. His head was fuzzy, his nose burning as the smell of his own blood overwhelmed him. He could see it in the way that Munro’s pupil’s dilated that he could smell it too, only in Munro it unleashed a starving beast.

“What are they here for?” asked Hollen, his voice so small in the room that he wondered if he might melt away. The others loomed close to Munro—men, women, but all of them predators.

“For George.” Munro looked over his shoulder, tension running through his limbs. Hollen braced himself.

“I can’t let you hurt him,” said Hollen, clutching at his chest. His heart was beating so hard it hurt, the ache spreading along his ribs. “He’s my friend.”

Munro narrowed his eyes before curling his lips over his teeth. He’d never looked quite so lethal—a predator more than a lover. Fear trickled over his nerves, wrapping around George and holding them both tight.

“He’s not your friend, Hollen.” Munro closed the space between them, pressing Hollen’s shoulders to the door and pinning him in place. The wood creaked from the strain, Hollen wincing under the touch. “He doesn’t care for you.”

Yes, he does.George was the one who looked both ways before they crossed the street and helped him get back up every time he was thrown down. George had instincts primed to keep them both safe. George had even offered to leave a dozen times, but Hollen had refused, terrified of the gaping wound he was sure to leave behind.

“I don’t believe you.” Hollen let out a hiss, trying to break away, but he was too weak. Munro’s hands must’ve been made of pure titanium—unbreakable and cold. A few others shifted, the chairs nearly vacated as they moved closer. There was a coldness to their beings that made the hairs prickle over his body.

“I wish you did.” Munro lowered his gaze, staring at Hollen’s lips. “I would never be able to describe the depth of my feelings for you—not with every language I have learned over the centuries. Know that I would kill for you and end it all just to see you thrive. Right now, all I can see is your demise, and it’s breaking me.” Munro shifted his gaze, his eyes shiny as his lips went tight.

One vampire behind stepped forward, his hair so dark that it shone blue. “Just kill him and be done with it.” Munro jerked at the voice, snarling as he turned on them. “I didn’t drive for twenty hours just to watch you lose your nerve.”

Hollen closed his eyes as George reared up, and he felt something slip within him. Munro’s hands faded away, the touch a distant echo of hurt and betrayal.

The sensation of falling down a dark tube was so familiar that he knew it had happened before. Flashes of blood and screams swept over his memory—of Goerge plucking Rhys’ teeth from his mouth and of the black fire that had consumed Rhys’ hand.

When he opened his eyes, he knew it wasn’t himself that Munro was seeing, but George.

Chapter Twenty-One

Munro

Yellow slipped in place of green, shadows scrawling over a pale landscape as Hollen went rigid, his eyes going wide with an unnatural glow. It wasn’t the first demonic possession that he’d seen, but they always terrified him.

On the outside, demons were often small and cute…or even sexy.Just like Hollen.On the inside, they were rage and wrath, sewn closely with absolute chaos. They could twist one heart or an entire civilization.

“Hello, Munro.”

The words came from Hollen’s lips, but it wasn’t him. There was a depth to the words that were unnaturally deep and dark, echoing long after the silence began. Each syllable seemed to hang, coating Munro’s skin in an oily slick.

It was the demon staring back at him, with yellow eyes and skin that swirled with endless patterns. He knew some of the languages that the tattoos spelled—so lost now that the words resonated in his memory alone.

“Is that what they call you these days?” the demon asked, licking his lips. His tongue looked sharp over dull teeth, Hollen’s body already starting to change from its pure innocence. Itwouldn’t be long before there was nothing of Hollen left but a cooling heart and a faint echo of his face.