Page 90 of Taint My Soul

My eyelids grow heavy as hours pass, and I melt into the heat of his arms, losing myself in a deep sleep. By the time I open my eyes, the morning sun rises on the horizon, splashing its golden rays across the city. Behind me, Saint dozes off with a tiny snore. I pick up his hand and lift it off my waist. I slip off him and get to my feet. I take one last look at him before I pick up my backpack and leave.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

SAINT

Asoft groan escapes my lips when I roll over on the couch. My hand instinctively moves against the leather, searching for that familiar warmth. I can’t find it. He left. Of course, he left.

My eyes flicker to the morning sunlight pouring in through the window. I grunt and sit up, looking around the empty house. A hollow feeling sits on my chest. Thirty-eight years of my life, I have never wanted something real. It’s absolutely terrifying. It’s terrifying that a part of me still aches for him even though we spent the entire night together in each other’s arms. That I want to wake up to the scent of him pouring into my lungs. That I want to hold him close, even for a few more minutes, before he returned to his apartment.

I regain my footing and rub my hands along my face in pure frustration. I stride over to where I’d left my phone last night. I pick it and tap on the message icon, finding his new phone number.

Me: Hi, good morning. How are you?

Three dots appear, bouncing on my screen, then disappear almost immediately. I shut off my screen and toss the phone onto the couch, heading upstairs to take a shower.

Was he still terrified of what happened last night? I didn’t want to hurt him. And I’d never lay my hands on him the way I did when we had a contract. Hell, I don’t even know how to have sex with someone without attaching lack of intimacy to it. Maybe I’m not the right person for him.

He’s better off with someone else. Some guy who isn’t the successor of a dangerous mafia syndicate. A guy who hasn’t tainted his soul with blood, who isn’t terrified of truly going after what he wants.

When I exit the shower, I put on some black shorts and head downstairs to the study. I spend my time looking through the contract. I had set up an appointment with my sister at the office to discuss the contract. She had a master’s degree in law and finance had always looked through everything we signed under the company’s name. After a while, I pick up my phone and look at Mason’s chat again.

Still on fucking read.

Is he avoiding me? I mean, if he is, then that means last night meant nothing to him.

I let out a frustrated grunt and leave my study. I’m too focused on my phone that I don’t know when a thick black fabric goes over my head, tossing me into darkness. I struggle to fight off the intruders, but there isn’t just one of them. When the cold steel muzzle of a gun kisses the back of my head, my body goes still.

Shit!

Is Cyrus fucking with me again?

“Stay still, asshole.” A deep voice thunders as he pulls my hand back and ties me up. They drag me out of my apartment to the parking lot. They toss me into the trunk of their vehicle and drive into the city. Loud hip-hop music thumps from the speaker of the car as they drive around the city. Tires hum aimlessly against the asphalt until it comes to a screeching halt.

It doesn’t take long, and they haul me out of the car and drag me into a building.

The thick black fabric slips over my face, and my eyes widen in absolute shock when I see my siblings standing in front of me. There are a few other people here, too. Some friends of my brothers. “Surprise!” They cheer.

They brought me to the Sovereign. There’s only one motherfucker who’d do this, and it’s my cousin, Syn.

I blink at them.

What’s happening?

Olivia stares at me, mouth agape. Her smile slowly fades when she steps forward. “It’s your birthday, idiot.”

Virgil appears from the small crowd and tosses a shirt and some pants onto my chest. “And this was Cross and Sinclair’s idea.”

Of course, it’s them. Always at the crime scene.

“Happy Birthday.” Cross approaches me with a malicious grin. I throw my hand around his shoulder and lock him against my grip, pulling him chest to chest.

“Thank you, little brother.” I let him go, and I slap a pat on Virgil’s shoulder. “Thank you.” He nods in response. “Come here, Olivia.” I open my hands for a hug. She steps into my embrace, and I press a kiss on her temple. “Thank you for this.”

I can’t remember the last time I celebrated my birthday, at least not in this grand kidnapping style. I head into Syn’s office and shut the door behind me. I’m supposed to feel this light happiness, but a concave ache settles in my chest.

I smile through the tumultuous emotions, sliding my legs into the trousers and buttoning up my shirt. When I finish, I turn around and grab the door handle, opening it to the party.

My heart crashes against my ribcage when my eyes land on the guy standing at the glass entrance of the building. “Fuck me.” I whisper to myself. He’s here. I didn’t expect this, but of course, if Syn pulled this off, he’d fucking make sure he got him here.