Taking off my jacket and vest, I handed them to Ivy. She was so engrossed in what was happening, she didn’t even argue. Rubbing the side of my chin, I took a deep breath, turning toward the three stupid fucks now kneeling in the grass in front of me.
My hands trembled.
“Do you know my family had a rule against killing on Sundays?” I asked them as wind blew through us, sliding the gold brass knuckles onto my hands. “I’m very particular about keeping to the rules. So I’d never broken it…not until today.”
My fist struck, the brass hit into the side of the first, the oldest one’s face. I grabbed onto his collar before he could fall over, hitting him again.
“YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” I hollered as my fist hit his face over and over, flesh ripping out. It took all of my strength not to keep going. Peeling my hand back, dark blood dripped off it. I let go of him, and he toppled over. Reaching up, I wiped the blood from my cheek...or maybe I was spreading it more. Trying to calm myself down, I turned to the rest of them. None of them spoke. Not that they could with the tape over their mouths. Kneeling down, I put my hand on the next man’s face. “Do I really look like I’m the type of man who dies easily?”
He glared at me.
“I don’t like that look.” I frowned, pulling out my knife and stabbing him right in the eye.
“MIGHJ! MEH!” he screamed against the tape, writhing like a worm in pain.
“Much better.” I stepped back again. “You all must think you have balls of steel. You blew up a church. You all are so badass, right? Let’s see.”
One by one my men pulled them to their feet, all of them but Sammy, and pulled their pants down. The moment they did, the three of them panicked.
“Greyson, show them what type of men they really are.” I didn’t have to say it. He’d been waiting for it. His father was in that church. Grabbing onto the first one’s balls, he pulled on them before slicing through them. I was sure they were sobbing now, but I couldn’t hear anything over the thumping of my blood in my ears. The memory of Ivy, her first day out in the world as my woman, stumbling out covered in dust and blood, my grandmother burned, Donatella screaming. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I grabbed the balls on the grass and shoved them into its owner’s mouth before stomping on his mouth and face till he stopped writhing in pain and either died or gave in to the pain.
Taking the knife from Greyson, I grabbed on the second one’s hair, pulling his face back and carving the word fhealltóir into his face. He struggled, only making it worse on himself. Done, I slammed my head against his. No words could express my anger any longer and I was just roaring out in rage. “AHHH!”
Breathing heavily, each one of my men backed away from me as I reached into the back of the car, grabbing the rope and jar. Stomping back to Sammy, he just shook his head at me. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, I pulled him toward the tree, tying the rope around it and him, as well as any former Boy Scout should before I ripped his shirt open. His skinny white chest rose and fell over and over again and his fear kicked in. I ripped his jeans off him until he stood in just his formerly white underwear.
Flipping the blade in my hand, I then slid it deep into his stomach, making a gash deep enough to bleed him but not quickly.
Opening the jar of honey, I spread it over his face. “Your uncle once told me you were terrified of insects…how badass. Enjoy.” I patted his cheek, dropping the jar beside his feet and turning back round. I was not sure why or how. But I’d forgotten about her. Her big blue eyes only on me, covered in blood, surrounded by dead or dying men. And what was worse was the fact that I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.
“Make sure they all die,” I said to the rest of them and turned, walking past Sammy toward the mansion farther up in the forest. I could hear her following me in silence.
We walked until I couldn’t stand it.
“THIS IS WHAT I AM!” I hollered, turning to face her, and she stumbled back. “Whatever juvenile thoughts you had about revenge, end them. Because this is the only way I settle things. Your cousins…pray they die quickly because if they don’t I’m going to chain them to my basement like the goddamn dogs they are until I decide I’m done torturing them and set them on fire.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“Okay?” I took a step toward her, and she backed away. “Yet you’re scared.”
“No.” She frowned, pointing to my hands. “Forget the fact that you just touched some guy’s balls…I’m allergic to honey.”
She, still holding onto my clothes, walked around me and toward the mansion, leaving me so confused the only explanation for her half assed reaction was…Ivy was insane.
Why did that make me smile?
IVY
His room was massive.
And as I sat on his bed, I tried not to stare at him as he showered, because he didn’t have a fucking door, just a glass standing shower he stood under.
Just one look wouldn’t hurt, I lied to myself, glancing over to see his perfectly sculpted ass. It looked so hard from here. Tilting my head to the side, I leaned forward, now just openly gaping, until he turned and his eyes were on me as water traveled down an even sexier chest than I could have imagined.
Shit. Quickly, I faced forward again.
I’d cleaned up at the hospital and yet still felt dirty. I wasn’t sure if it was really my body or my mind at this point. Hearing the shower stop, I pretended to be interested in my nails.
“Are you so horny you can’t think of anything else?”
“Hey!” My eyes shifted to him and focused. He stood naked at the side of the bed, using the towel to dry his hair and not cover…his cock…his very big…thick…
“Hey?” He smirked, repeating me.
“Shut up!” I muttered, throwing his jacket at him. Why the fuck was I still holding it? It was annoying.
“I killed two men in front of—”
“I don’t know. It’s like Schr?dinger’s cat. They’re both dead and alive until someone can confirm either.”
He looked at me like everyone else did at the prison when I’d keep eating even as someone got stabbed at my table.
“They deserved it. You don’t have to question if I’m okay or not. Because they deserved it.”
“And if I killed someone undeserving?” he asked, moving to sit on his couch naked…still. Thankfully he’d dropped his towel in his lap.
I didn’t answer.
He didn’t respond.
So we watched each other until he spoke again.
“How long are we going to do this, Ivy?”
“What?”
“Fuck each other with our eyes,” he said, doing exactly that.
“We’ve only known each other for two days,” I said much softer...meeker than I wanted to, shifting on his bed.
“So?” His eyebrow went up.
He had a point. I didn’t even know him and I said yes to marrying him. Well, he’d never asked but still…
“Ivy.”
“Yes.”