Wolf.e (The Soldiers of Bedlam Book 1)

by Paisley Hope

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had cravings for a man who wants me so much he finds it impossible to keep his hands to himself.

I want a man to look at me like he can’t wait to touch me at any given time of the day.

“The good girl with the smart mouth?” he asks low, his knuckles still grazing my arm in a static connection. “If you aren’t careful, little hummingbird, I may have to use that mouth to set you straight.” He leans in closer, and my knees go weak as his lips hover over my ear. “But maybe that’s exactly what you want…maybe you’re sick of being good, yeah?”

Problem is, everyone is hoping their lives will be like the works of literature my mother read to me over and over as a boy. Those books are an excellent escape, no doubt. But there’s a reason why they’re called fiction. The word fiction comes from the Old French word ficcion—meaning ruse. And that’s what love is, a fucking ruse. Romantic love, at least.

You can look away all you want, but you can’t run from me, little hummingbird.

“I have no fucking idea why I can’t stop thinking about you. No idea why I crave you the way I do,” he says evenly.

“The same way your heart doesn’t ask why it beats faster for me, I don’t ask myself why I want you. I only take, hummingbird.”

“You will hold no space to fear anything in this world except me. If anyone threatens you or tries to hurt you, they will be met with a suffering so deep that Lucifer himself will beg mercy for their souls. I’ll tear the flesh from their bones one layer at a time and rejoice like the angel of bloodshed I was trained to be.”

Ax tells me I love her, but I know better. This isn’t love. Love is just a word—this is something more. This is an unadulterated need. I need this woman more than I need air. When this is done, I’m gonna tell her just that, but until then my only mission is to keep her safe.

I used to think I wanted to die on the back of my bike, now I know I want to die buried to the hilt inside Brinley Beaumont with my name on her lips. Just like this.

“The day I met you was a rift in time. From that rift forward, there is only before I met you and all the days to follow. I just don’t think the word love means enough to describe that.”

I look down at Jake, this man I thought I could trust, and I feel absolutely fucking nothing as the life drains from him. I grin with the satisfaction of knowing my face will be the last thing he ever sees. Mistake number three: Underestimating my fucking queen.

“The way I feel about you, Brinley, a word as simple as love isn’t enough. You’re the blood in my veins.”