Page 53 of Psycho Beasts
Xerxes chuckled. “Just wait until you see the library.”
“Any books on how to maim without killing?” I asked innocently.
“What?”
“What?” I inspected my cuticle like I was a prim lady without a care in the world, not a hot mess missing three of my nails from where they’d been ripped off. Violently.
A comfortable silence fell as we both lost ourselves in homicidal thoughts.
Xerxes licked his swollen lips and leaned forward. “Who are you trying to maim, alpha?”
I choked, and it wasn’t from the three cookies in my mouth.
For some reason, when he’d said “alpha,” images of silk ropes, gasps, and his naked body gyrating had flashed through my mind.
Xerxes’s red tongue snaked out across his swollen, split lips, and he raked a hand across his stubbled jaw.
“You,” I blurted out.
He leaned closer, purple eyes sparking with heat. “Oh, really?”
I nodded like a blithering idiot. Weren’t we talking about maiming? It felt like we were talking about something else.
“There is actually something I want to show you.” Xerxes pushed his chair back and offered me his large, blood-splattered palm. “Come with me.”
It wasn’t a question.
Apparently, I was a pervert, because I swore he emphasized the word come.
Before I could debate the merits of bringing my plate of cookies with me, Xerxes tugged gently on my hand and dragged me through his mansion. His callused thumb slowly dragged across my wrist.
Months of violence and zero sexual action had fried my brain, because my core fluttered.
Yes, I was turned on by a thumb.
This was a new low.
Before I could blurt out something embarrassing, like a compliment on the shape of Xerxes’s knuckle—it was nice and lean, not too knobby—we came to a halt.
We’d walked through the entire mansion, and stood in an alcove hidden at the end of the hallway, in front of a black door with a brass handle.
Xerxes grabbed the handle like he was going to open it, but stopped and rested his forehead against the door. He took a deep breath as his biceps and forearms bunched.
“Um, do you need me to break down the door?” I asked awkwardly, unsure what was going on.
He must have been more tired than I’d thought.
I took a step back, ready to throw myself at the door and showcase my prowess.
Xerxes’s large shoulders shook as he chuckled weakly. “No, Sadie, that’s not what I need.”
Still, we didn’t enter.
“Let me kick it.”
In a tavern of nightmares, a lifetime ago, I’d once broken Lucinda’s door when she didn’t answer me. She’d been safe and asleep in bed and had gasped in awe at her big sister’s physical prowess.
Just kidding. She’d said, “Sis, you’re acting like a psycho. You need to learn how to relax.”