by R. Scarlett
But her single hand, clenching his powerful thigh, muscles flexing under her hard grip, caged him.
She knows me too well.
Fitz Junior cleared his throat and turned his focus to Molly. “So you attend Columbia?” he asked, his genuine interest cutting through the tension.
Fitz Senior scowled at the topic change, but deigned to lean back and sip his wine.
Molly nodded, removing her hand from Tensley’s thigh, and he missed it—and he hated the fact that he missed it. “I’m pursuing a bachelor’s in Fine Arts—I’m most interested in museum curation.”
Fitz Junior smiled, and Tensley had the sudden urge to bash his head in.
“The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has an excellent collection of Egyptian artwork. I go a few times a year,” he said.
Fucking bastard trying to suck up to her.
Molly’s returned Fitz Junior’s grin. “You like museums?”
Fitz Junior opened his mouth to reply, but his father slammed his glass of wine down on the table.
“It’s a pity what happened to Abaddon,” Fitz Senior said, his teeth stained red by the wine. Tensley saw how Molly gripped her thighs at the mention of her attacker.
“Let’s not speak of the dead,” Tensley said; he felt her eyes glance up at him. He took a large sip of his rum and let it burn to numb the lingering feelings about Molly in his body.
“Never stopped you before, amore. You loved raving about your kills.” Evelyn eyed him over her drink then turned her wicked gaze to Molly. “Your fiancé and I were very close once. Inseparable, some might’ve said. He used to kiss my bruises.”
Fuck me.
Molly stiffened, but only for a second. She tilted her head to the side, turning her addictively sweet smile to Tensley. “But that’s exactly it, Evelyn, you were close once. You’re his past, while I’m his present and his future.”
Tensley’s body seized as he took in Molly’s smirk. All the blood rushed from his head to his length as she bit her bottom lip then licked a drop of wine from her glass.
She smoothed her fingertips across the shadow of her mark and everyone’s eyes went there, bringing attention to the fact Tensley had claimed her, marked her, and Molly’s overt reference to the fact that he had not done so to Evelyn. Tensley, seeing her affection, her attention to his mark, stirred his beast to the surface.
He’d mark her again in front of all of them.
“Excuse me,” she said, letting her fingers drop.
Evelyn’s cheeks turned a deep red and her nostrils flared as Molly patted a napkin to her mouth and stood, pushing her chair out. “I think I’ll go to bed early; it’s been a long day. It was nice meeting all of you.”
“I think I’ll head in, too,” Tensley said, clearing his throat as he also rose. He didn’t wait for their protests before leaving the dining room, locating Molly on the grand staircase up ahead. He took the steps two at a time, then reached for her elbow—
“I had a nightmare, Uncle Tensley,” a tiny voice said at the top of the stairs. Molly and Tensley stared ahead at the boy, dressed in a navy blue pajama set decorated with sailboats.
“Donovan,” Tensley said as the boy’s bottom lip trembled. He wiped at the tears underneath his dark lashes, hugging a stuffed bear more tightly to his chest—a bear Tensley had bought at the hospital when he was born five years earlier.
Tensley let go of Molly’s arm and moved past her, lifting the boy into his arms. “Let’s tuck you in.”
Donovan wrapped his arms around Tensley’s neck and nuzzled in close before pointing back at Molly.
“Who’s she?” he asked, his big, curious eyes watching her.
“My fiancée.” Tensley turned into Donovan’s room and laid him on his bed, pulling the sheets up to his chin. Molly stood in the doorway, half hidden.
Donovan stared at Tensley in the darkness, his brown eyes so big and innocent. “What’s a fi-nan-see?”
Tensley chuckled. “It’s fee-on-say, and it means I’m going to marry her.”
Donovan cocked his head. “And have babies like Mommy and Daddy?”
Tensley grimaced. “Yes.”
Donovan lifted his head and squinted at Molly. “She’s pretty, but is she a…”
“A human? Sort of.”
Donovan’s face shifted to a stern expression. “You gotta be careful.” He sat up and patted Tensley’s chest. “She’ll take your heart and never give it back.”
Tensley’s jaw clenched. He knew Donovan would be taught that at a young age. It was ingrained into them, into their society and culture, how dangerous it was to love.
He brushed back Donovan’s brown wavy hair and leaned down to kiss his forehead. It was quite affectionate—an affectionate touch, borderline unacceptable according to the High Court. They feared giving a child too much affection, too many hugs and kisses, would corrupt them even before puberty. Gabriella was always strict with Donovan after seeing what had happened to their eldest brother, unlike Chuck, who gave in and smothered him with affection when she wasn’t looking.
Gabriella, just like Tensley, was always thinking of their brother, of what had become of him. Had their mother been too soft on them? Were they given too much affection at a young age, allowing for Beau to be corrupted by that?
“No one can hurt you in your dreams, Donovan,” Tensley said, smoothing his hair back. “Don’t let them scare you. You’re stronger than them.”
Donovan nodded, his eyes fixated on his uncle. “Night, Uncle Tens.” He curled into a ball, hugging his bear.
Tensley stood and slid past Molly without looking at her, too afraid she’d see his struggle to be the cold demon. A thickness suddenly hindered his vocal cords.
“Tensley, wait…”
“Go to bed, I’ll be there soon,” he called after her.
He needed whiskey to calm the beast.
MOLLY DIDN’T SLEEP a wink—being in a house full of demons didn’t help much in the way of relaxation. She stirred under the covers, her hands skimming the empty side of the bed. Tensley had never shown up.
She huffed, throwing open her suitcase and pulling out a pale pink sundress. She pulled it on along with some white open-toed wedges before proceeding to do her makeup.
She’d received an exciting call from Mr. Cho just before bed: she’d been selected for the trip to Paris. She left in a week, and would spend three weeks living in a dorm room with another student and exploring all that Paris had to offer.
Molly wasn’t nearly as excited as she should’ve been, and it had everything to do with Tensley Knight’s anger at her.
Molly scaled the stairs and entered the massive, gleaming kitchen, spotting Tensley outside in the garden with a paper and a half-eaten piece of toast in hand.
Evelyn was perched across from him.
“Good morning,” a voice said from behind her, making her jump. The young man from dinner laughed. “Didn’t mean to startle you—just thought I’d introduce myself properly. Fitz Bardot Junior.”
She hesitated, staring at his outstretched hand before taking it. “Molly Darling.”
“Yes, I know.” Fitz Junior turned his attention to the two demons in the garden. “Don’t they look cozy…”
Molly pursed her lips.
Fitz Junior noticed her expression and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry; I’m sure it’s harmless talk between old friends.”
Molly nodded. “So what do the Knights have planned today?”
Fitz drank from his mug of coffee, leaning against the open doorframe. “A tour of their winery just out back. Should be fruitful.”
Molly lifted a brow. He was the exact opposite of her intimidating fiancé. “Riveting.”
Fitz chuckled. “I like you. I was expecting a terrified girl, not someone with a brazen mouth like us.”
Molly glanced at Tensley, who had finally noticed them. His dark, stormy eyes narrowed. “Probably because I’ve been around someone similar for a bit too long.”
“Is he as cruel as they say?” He now stared at Tensley as well, whose brow was pulled low over his eyes as he put his paper down and stood.
“Oh, no,” Molly whispered as Tensley stalked toward them, head high and mouth pinched. “He’s much crueler.”
“Guests! We’re heading to the vineyards!” Mrs. Knight trilled from the front of the house, interrupting Tensley’s death march over to Molly and Fitz Junior.
“Shall we?” Fitz Junior motioned for Molly to follow him into the foyer. She did so, throwing Tensley a sweet smile on the way.
MOLLY STOOD IN possibly the worst location in the Hamptons—between Evelyn and Gabriella. Gabriella continued to complain about her swollen feet, but when Molly suggested she sit down, the pregnant demon growled so loudly Molly thought she might be decapitated.
The winery was beautiful, going on for miles as they strolled through rows and rows of grapevines just beyond the Knight’s estate. Chuck removed a grape up ahead and offered it to Gabriella with a flourish, but she simply scoffed and stormed away. He simply shrugged and ate it himself.
Molly turned down another row, popping a few grapes in her mouth and adjusting her sunhat.
“So what did you do to piss Tensley off so bad?”
Molly spun, a grape falling from her palm. “What?”
Evelyn sighed. “You pissed him off; he won’t even look at you. I could taste the anger rolling off of him all through dinner.”
Molly glared, not taking the bait. “We’re fine.”
Evelyn laughed. “Oh honey, be pretty, not stupid.” She shook her head and pulled fruit from a vine, squeezing each grape until it popped. “You’re too soft for his thorns.”
“I have my own thorns, thank you,” Molly retorted.
Evelyn smacked her lips together. “He’s not someone to play with. He’s a scorpion, a snake full of delicious venom. He’s cruel and ruthless.”
“I believe he marked me with that delicious venom, no?” Molly raised her chin, displaying her bare throat, where she felt the collar tightening.
“Doesn’t mean he can’t mark another,” she bit back and laughed.
Molly’s hands curled into a fist and she told herself over and over again: You cannot break her neck, you cannot break her neck, you cannot break her neck.
Evelyn’s eyes shone as she laughed, chewing on the tip of her finger. “Would you swallow his venom?”
Molly took shallow breaths. “Would he swallow mine?”
Evelyn barked a bitter laugh before sliding a finger down Molly’s cheek. “You don’t deserve his mark.” Evelyn stroked her stained fingers along Molly’s cheek.
Molly dug her nails into Evelyn’s wrist, shoving the woman away. “Don’t touch me.”
A sinister smile formed on Evelyn’s lips. “Okay.” Evelyn lifted her arm and twisted her own wrist until it snapped, staring at Molly the entire time.
“What are you—”
“Tensley! Oh god, you bitch!” Evelyn cried, falling to her knees as she cradled the wrist she herself had broken. “Tensley!”
Tensley appeared in their row and walked fast toward them, a look of confusion and disgust painted across his features.
“What happened?” Tensley looked to Molly, but Evelyn cried out again.
“She broke my fucking wrist!” Evelyn wailed, blackened tears staining her cheeks as she pressed her deformed hand to her chest. “She just lost it. She’s unstable, Tensley.”
Molly shared a long look with Tensley, begging him to believe her. She didn’t need to beg though. If he didn’t believe her, it was on him now.
“What’s going on?” Gabriella asked, appearing beside Tensley.
“She just kept telling me she was going to destroy Scorpios, that she was going to take you and your family down—” Evelyn cried out again, moving her wrist to show how it swayed abnormally loose.
That was what made both of the two Knights freeze. Evelyn knew the right words to play into their fears. Any threat to their family or Scorpios made the person an enemy.
“She’s lying,” Molly said, breathless from the anger stirring inside her. She knew Tensley felt the spike in emotion, but what surprised her was his anger wrapping around her throat and squeezing.
“Go cool off,” Tensley instructed, his face a mask of stone.
Molly huffed loudly, her chest heaving as her eyes glowed terrifyingly brightly.
She glared at Tensley’s hand wrapped around Evelyn’s forearm, her chest tightening until it became painful to breathe.
Molly stormed away, three pairs of demon eyes boring into her back. This was not how she’d envisioned things would go, and she couldn’t take much more.
MOLLY FASTENED THE fake pearls around her neck, taking a deep breath before she ventured out of the bedroom. She’d heard that Tensley had rushed Evelyn to the warlock on staff to have her wrist reset, and it made Molly’s blood absolutely boil.
To “cool off” as Tensley had instructed, Molly spent the better part of the afternoon in the small library on the main floor, flipping through ancient books that were often first editions.
After a few hours of reading, she had to get ready for another dinner party. She’d gladly have gone back to her microwave dinners and ramen at home if it meant avoiding another meal with Tensley and his horrible colleagues, that was for damn sure.
As the train of her sheer black gown whispered across the floorboards, Molly heard a whimper. She paused and slowly opened the door to Donovan’s room to find him curled up on the floor of his room, his face against his kneecaps.
“Donovan? What’s wrong?” Molly kneeled beside the five-year-old, being careful not to accidentally sit on one of his many toy airplanes.
“My mommy hates me,” he sobbed, wetness coating his rosy cheeks.
Molly wiped at his cheeks and shook her head. “Oh, no, honey. She loves you.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Donovan’s body stilled and he blinked up at her. “She does?”
Molly swallowed. She wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to say anything, but Donovan’s tiny heartbroken voice, wet lashes, and rosy cheeks made her cave. “Of course she does! I’m sure she’s just stressed about the baby.”
He sniffled and wiped his snot on his sleeve. “She told me I was being naughty, but I just wanted to play outside.”
“Well,” Molly said, sitting more comfortably on the floor, “it’s too dark now to go outside. Would you like me to read you a story instead?”
Donovan nodded and went to a bookshelf in the corner, selecting a faded red book and handing it to Molly.
“Here we go,” Molly said, scooping him up. He wrapped his arms around her neck and when she sat him down on his single bed, he laid back down, blinking those doe brown eyes up at her. She sat on the edge and opened the book.
“Fallen the demon king
So vicious and strong is he
Until he fell for a lesser being
A human princess
With a heart so weak,
Perfection in her form and smile
He felt something within
Low and true
He fell in love,
And Fallen’s heart did grow
The pain and heavy weight of it
Deterred his growing love
Until he cast her kingdom down
Into the depths of hell
For she was cunning and she was crazed
Now Babylon is his to reign
And where he sits upon his throne
With not a heart and empty soul
Learn thy lesson, from my mistakes.”
“Wow…not exactly like the bedtime stories I heard as a child…” Molly muttered, closing the book.
“It’s very important,” Donovan said, scooting under his covers.
Molly smiled and brushed his hair back. “You should try to sleep. It’s getting late.”
He rolled onto his side, planting his face into the pillow. As Molly stood and made her way to the door,
he whispered after her. “Please don’t hurt him.”
She turned, tilted her head. “Hurt who, honey?”
“Uncle Tensley.”
“I won’t. Promise.”
He smiled and she turned, her heart heavy and sore. Molly rubbed at her breastbone, aching to breathe without such weight bearing down on her.
TENSLEY DRUMMED HIS fingers against his thigh, glaring around his father’s office. As a child, he’d always wanted to see beyond the doors and witness his father at work. Now he wished he’d never seen any of it.
His thoughts crept back to Molly and Evelyn at the winery. As soon as he’d led Evelyn away, he’d known it had all been a ruse to turn him against Molly—his ex had been on him immediately, touching and kissing and generally just being the obnoxious gnat she always was.
Tensley looked at the clock; he was late for the party. All the highest members of Scorpios had been invited, and just as he was about to join them, Fitz Senior walked in.
“Tensley,” the old man said, going straight for the liquor cabinet.
“Can I help you?”
Fitz Senior gathered two crystal glasses from a tray then poured Mr. Knight’s most expensive whiskey into each. He handed Tensley one and sat. “Join me?”
“You certainly make yourself comfortable,” Tensley said, resettling in his father’s desk chair.
“What’s mine is yours, right?” Fitz Senior said, sneering above his glass. “I
thought it made most sense to speak to you while your father is busy with the guests,” he said after a long, tense pause. He licked his lips, soaking up all the whiskey. “Since you’re taking over Scorpios, I want to speak to you, man to man, leader to leader.”
Tensley fought back a smile. “Of course.”
Fitz Senior sipped his whiskey before continuing. “Our territory is powerful. With the expansion, you’ll have the most territory in our realm. You’ll surpass your father, and his father, and set a new standard for your family. Everyone will fear you.” His nails clicked on the glass as a sly smile formed on his thin, wrinkled lips. “How important is the territory to you?”