Page 80 of Taint My Soul

Not wanting that kiss to ever end.

Not wanting his touch.

Nothing else matters except my survival.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

SAINT

Amber light floods into my apartment, revealing my immediate younger brother, Virgil. Every ounce of excitement from the kiss bleeds through my veins when I lay my eyes on him. He sprawls on the charcoal-leather couch, eyes tracking the room as I walk around, taking off my jacket. “Is there a problem?” I ask when he doesn’t take his eyes off me. I walk to the wine shelf and lift a red wine bottle, pouring myself a drink. All I think about, even in this moment, is our kiss.

As I stride back to the living room, I sit down opposite Virgil. He looks at me, eyes sharp with a censorious stare.

“You are not the same person, brother.” His fingers rest on the leather couch. He doesn’t take his eyes off me.

The wineglass lingers below my lips. My harsh eyes snap over to him. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“That man at Genesis.”

“What about him?” I ask, shoulders rising into a shrug. I relax against the leather chair. He rises to his feet and paces the space between us.

“You are supposed to be the next king of our empire. You should have been home when all of this was happening. But you weren’t. You were in some goddamn city fucking your personal assistant.”

My pulse tenses. I set the glass aside and force a smile at my brother.

He was wrong about fucking Mason. Unless he wants me to, I’m not planning to fuck him anytime soon.

And fuck him for thinking I wasn’t all in for family.

I have bled for this family. I got my first battle scar even before Virgil turned ten. I have sacrificed my entire life for legacy. And I won’t stand here and watch him think I’d ever choose someone who doesn’t matter over family.

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to insinuate.”

“You fucking know!” He barks, neck corded with veins, and his eyes fly wide with a piercing stare. “Fuck this! You’re supposed to focus on the arranged marriage with Adanna. We almost lost everything, and you drove off with your lover.” He seethes, and the humiliation in his voice deepens when he mentions the word lover.

My fingers clench and unclench. Bile burns at the back of my throat. My jaw works.

He’s right.

My priorities are in the wrong place. What makes me think it’s okay to run across that street to ask him for a kiss? What makes me think it’s okay to enjoy kissing him? Did my father’s punishment not teach me a lesson?

“Think about this, brother, and make sure you are at the house tomorrow.” He picks up his car keys from the side stool and circles me to the elevator.

“I need you to do something for me.” My tone stays flat, just as his steps slow to a soundless halt. “Get Bernard to one of our torture houses. He needs to answer some questions.”

He groans an inaudible response and leaves me in the suffocating apartment.

I leave the unfinished wine behind and head upstairs, stripping in the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and enter the enclosed glass shower, twisting the knob. My body tenses and relaxes when the warm water splashes against my corded back. I press my hand against the glass, and steam rises around me while I keep my head down.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck me!

Why did I think I’d ever get a happy ending? Why did I think that what happened with Mason in the prison cell could change anything? Why did I want his touch? What even makes me think that when he sees who I truly am he’d want to stay?

The dangerous sinner beneath.

The man whose soul has been tainted the very moment he stepped into the world.

I lift my right hand from the glass, and I slam my palm against my head repeatedly.