Page 75 of Vega

Small tattoos marked his temple and the skin beneath one eye, adding danger to features that were already difficult to ignore. His nose was broad and well-shaped, his lips full, and a thick black beard covered his jaw, trimmed cleanly along his cheeks before growing fuller beneath his chin. Diamond studs flashed in both ears whenever he moved.

Ink climbed from beneath the collar of his shirt and covered his throat, disappearing across shoulders and arms that looked powerful enough to remind me exactly how easily he had carried me. His chest stretched the fabric of his fitted shirt, and the silver chain resting against it only made me notice the size of him more.

He was beautiful and intimidating all at once. Far more attractive than I had imagined. The mask had hidden a threat. His face revealed an entirely different kind of danger.

I stared at him. “That is statistically unfair.”

One of his thick eyebrows lifted. “What is?”

“For a psychopath to be that beautiful.”

Vega laughed openly. The movement changed his entire face. His eyes narrowed slightly, and a wide smile revealed straight white teeth.

I became even more enthralled and irritated at the same time. “And you have the audacity to have a beautiful smile.”

His laughter deepened. “You sound mad.”

“I am.”

“Because I’m not ugly?”

“Because the universe rewards terrible men with excellent facial structure.”

He shook his head and extended one hand. “Vega.”

I looked at it, then at him. “You’re introducing yourself after kidnapping me?”

“We skipped a few steps.”

A giggle escaped me as I placed my hand in his. “Sonnet.”

His hand remained around mine a second longer than necessary. For the first time since waking up inside that house, he felt like a person instead of a shadow standing between me and the door. Seeing his face didn’t erase what he had done, but it made trusting him feel less impossible.

I released his hand, saying, “You were right about what I saw.”

The humor left his expression.

Then I told him everything.

Once I was done, I even told him Donovan’s last words. “Then Donovan told him the truth would come out eventually. Those were the last words I heard before I ran.”

Vega’s jaw tightened. “He’ll never stop looking for you.”

I looked toward the locked door. “So Roman is going to kill me before I ever get to have sex. That feels unnecessarily cruel.”

Vega’s eyes snapped back to mine. “What?”

I immediately regretted saying it aloud, so I chewed on my bottom lip embarrassingly.

“You’re a virgin?”

“Yes.”

He nodded but his eyes widened a bit as if he were surprised.

The ease with which he believed me was insulting. So, I folded my arms. “Why did you accept that so quickly? Am I so unattractive that it makes perfect sense nobody has ever wanted to sleep with me?”

His leaned forward, bringing that perfect face closer and making the room shrink around him. “You’re one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Not woman. Things. Like something too rare to compare to anybody else.”