LOGINBeatrice
My eyes flutter open, heavy and sluggish. My crisp white sheets are gone, replaced with a soft silky black that swallows the light. The air carries a fresh, clean scent. Cedarwood and mint.
A warmth presses into my back, steady and comforting. I shift my gaze over my shoulder and find Silas lying there, his arm wrapped around my waist. His eyes are closed at first, but he stirs, brushing a gentle kiss against my temple. The simplest touch sends a pulse
His brows draw together and he exhales slowly. "I don't think that's a good idea, angel.""You either take me to him," I say, voice calm but unwavering, "or I'll go find him myself."The muscle ticks in his jaw. He doesn't like it but he knows I'm serious. "Fine," he mutters. "But I stay in the room at all times."Silas and I walk in silence. Each step closer to Atticus's door tightens something in my chest; a coil of anger and disbelief. My bare feet brush across the cool marble, and I realize just how close his room is to mine. Right next door. I'm sandwiched between them. Between two identical faces and two very different souls.Silas pushes the door open and I follow him inside. The moment I step across the threshold, the air shifts. The smell of leather, musk, and smoke hits me instantly. The room mirrors Silas's in size and layout, but where Silas's sheets are black, Atticus's are blood red.Atticus is seated at the edge of his bed, elbows on
BeatriceMy eyes flutter open, heavy and sluggish. My crisp white sheets are gone, replaced with a soft silky black that swallows the light. The air carries a fresh, clean scent. Cedarwood and mint.A warmth presses into my back, steady and comforting. I shift my gaze over my shoulder and find Silas lying there, his arm wrapped around my waist. His eyes are closed at first, but he stirs, brushing a gentle kiss against my temple. The simplest touch sends a pulse of calm through me.He shifts my body, turning me to face him. One hand lazily threads through my hair, while the other trails soft, feather-light strokes along my arm. I'm not sure how I ended up in his bed, or what time it is, but I know I'm glad to be here."How are you feeling, angel?" Silas's voice is low, filled with tenderness that makes me want to lean closer.I blink away the last threads of sleep and let out a quiet laugh. "I had the weirdest dream," I say, voice s
Silas's shoulders slump. "No," he says quietly. "She'll never be a fucking toy to me."I scratch at the back of my neck, fingers digging into the skin like the irritation might bleed out. There's something coiled in my chest. An emotion I can't name. But it's burning, uncomfortable, and foreign. Guilt? I don't know. But whatever it is, I don't fucking like it and I don't know how to get rid of it.The word sorry will never come out of my mouth. It's not in my vocabulary. But I know I have to say something. Do something. Anything to fix the shift that's cracked between us.I finally ask, "What can I do?"Silas doesn't even look at me. He just starts yanking at the buttons on his shirt, ripping them clean off, letting them scatter across the hardwood floor. Then he kicks off his shoes and slacks in one rough motion and stalks around the bed like I'm not even in the room. He gets into bed beside her, careful but possessive. His arm slides protectively around
AtticusI catch Beatrice just as she collapses dead weight in my arms, soft and limp like a rag doll. Her head lolls against my chest, and for a second, the world just... stills.Her scent fills my nose. Vanilla. Warm and so fucking sweet. My arms tighten around her, feeling just how fragile she really is.Silas storms across the room, shoving me hard enough to make me stumble back a step. He snatches her away from me like I stole something that belongs to him. His jaw's clenched, eyes dark, barely holding it together.I don't fucking like that.I clench my fist, watching him cradle her like she's his whole world. I touched her, felt her nails digging into my shoulders, heard the way she whimpered and moaned; it didn't matter who she belonged to. She was mine in that moment.Kathy was right when she told me about her. She's stunning. I didn't want to believe it, but it was staring me in the face just now. Beatrice is everyth
The next few seconds are a blur. The jars, the plate, the bread, and the knife all go flying, crashing to the floor in a loud clatter. I barely have time to react before he's on me, spinning me around, lifting me effortlessly, and slamming me on the cold marble surface.His mouth is on mine. Hot. Demanding. Unforgiving. It's claiming with nothing but lips and teeth. His hands go to my waist, hard enough to bruise, and they're tugging at my shirt. No, ripping it.The fabric tears down the middle with a rough, jarring sound, exposing me to the cool air, to him. I gasp, crossing my arms, but he catches my wrists and pins them to the counter beside me. His eyes burn into mine. Feral. Hungry. Dark.He drags his hands up my body, palms rough, fingertips grazing every inch of bare skin before settling on my chest. He squeezes hard, and I can't stop the whimper that slips from my lips. Even his touch feels different tonight.He leans in close, his breath hot agai
BeatriceI toss onto my other side, shoving the thick comforter away with a frustrated sigh. The mattress is absurdly soft, cradling every inch of me. But sleep won't come. My body is exhausted, my eyes heavy, but my mind just won't shut the fuck up.The bed is perfect. The room is perfect. So why do I feel so restless?My eyes flutter open, again. The ceiling stares back at me, cloaked in darkness. My hand blindly reaches for my phone on the nightstand, and I squint at the harsh glow as the screen lights up.2:03 AM.I groan and flop onto my back, bringing my phone to my chest. A low rumble echoes from my stomach. "Seriously?" I whisper into the dark.Why am I starving in the middle of the night? My body has decided that sleep can wait until I solve my sudden craving for food. It's always at the most inconvenient time that hunger shows up. It waits until I'm cocooned in comfort.In my oversized nightshirt, bare-legge







