Page 127 of Silk and Sirens

“You really thought you could touch her?” I snarled, my voice a quiet threat.

The man choked and sputtered beneath my grip, his feet kicking uselessly in the air and fingers clawing desperately at my forearm. But I didn’t even spare him a glance, not when my gaze stayed fixed on her, fascinated with every flicker of emotion cross her face. Fear. Shock. Satisfaction. She was fucking captivated by my violence as I squeezed the last breath of oxygen from his lungs.

Most people would’ve been horrified, but Aeris didn’t look away. It was what had caught my attention in the first place, her darkness that seemed to call to mine. She’d been terrified, but even now she refused to submit. She fought with determination, not giving up even when she didn’t know I would always come for her.

“Caden,” she whispered, and her voice, scratchy like she’d screamed, broke me out of this violent haze. I loosened my grip, letting the man collapse at my feet, then closed our distance, cupping her jaw and tilting her face towards the light. She had fresh bruises blooming across her cheek and jaw, her body shaking as her adrenaline finally waned.

Ignoring the way the material pulled at the cut on my chest, I tugged off my shirt and pulled it over her, buttoning it up. It was big enough to swallow her frame, even with the fabric torn from where the knife had caught me.

Her face was pale, bottom lip trembling as she tried to smile. It caused the cut on her lip to split, and I caught the trickle of blood with my thumb.

“You’re okay, Tempest,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers. “You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”

There was a puppy sleeping on my sofa, surrounded in fucking stuffing it had torn from one of the cushions.

“What did the doctor say?” Langdon signed before stroking the fluffy golden puppy with an honest-to-God bow on his head.

“He said her wounds are superficial.”

She’d been lucky.

I had eight fresh stitches running down my side from where one of those bastards had caught me, not to mention the holes in my knuckles from teeth. But Aeris … she’d refused a full examination, calmly telling the doctor they hadn’t gotten that far despite the dark bruises blooming across her thighs, the fresh cuts, and the clear signs of rough handling.

Still, she refused.

And for once, I didn’t push her.

“Well, how is she?” Dad asked, frowning down at the puppy like it had personally offended him.

Seriously, why the fuck was there a puppy in my flat?

He stood beside Sebastian in tense silence, the closest the two of them had come to anything resembling amicable in years.

“Probably drowning herself.” I’d given her and the doctor privacy, but the doc had left fifteen minutes ago. When everyone looked at me confused, I clarified. “She finds it relaxing.”

“Did you want Arabella to go check on her?” Sebastian asked, the lingering anger still evident in the rigid set of his shoulders.

“No,” I said firmly, not wanting to expose Aeris to anyone else she wasn’t familiar with.

“Taking Vivienne had been impulsive,” Sebastian muttered, and I ground my teeth to stop myself from snapping. Because he was right, I was the most level-headed of us, and yet my actions had hurt Aeris.

“It’s done now,” Dad said, wrinkling his nose when the dog made a little yip sound in its sleep and woke himself up.

“I’ll deal with Vivienne tomorrow,” I replied, my voice cold. “Right now, I need to make sure Aeris is okay.”

Turning, I headed towards my bedroom, the sound of running water growing louder with every step. The puppy trotted after me, its tiny nails clicking on the floor.

Aeris wasn’t in bed where I’d left her, so walking towards the en-suite I found her exactly where I expected. Submerged in the large bath, eyes closed beneath the water.

She looked peaceful.

Fragile.

Mine.

The puppy immediately tried to jump into the tub, paws scrabbling against the side. Aeris opened her eyes at the noise, coming up with a splash to smile at the bundle of fluff.

“You want to tell me why there’s a fucking puppy?” I asked, somehow jealous of a dog because she gave him a pat on the head before looking at me.