Page 25 of The Vixen

He could slit my throat before I’d remember to lift a hand.

“Here.” He flips the blade and catches the metal; extends the handle toward me. “Go ahead.”

I blink at the blade. Flip my hair as I turn away with ahumph. “For an excellent liar, you’re terrible at bluffing.”

“Look at me.”

Teeth sinking into my inner lip, I inhale. When I turn toward Sawyer, his face is as serious as his voice.

Liar.

He’s anincredibleliar.

“Look at my chest.” He brings the knife to a burn scar above his pec and follows it across his sternum. “I’ve already proven that I’d die for those women.”

“You’ve also already proven that you’d enslave them.”

“So call my bluff.” He flattens the knife against my chest and pauses a beat before pulling away. It bounces off the bench and clatters on the hardwood. The sound lingers as Sawyer and I stare at each other—neither blinking.

For a moment… I’m convinced.

The next, I’m certain he’s lying.

He’s too selfish. And too delicate. And too smart.

Three weeks in the mines, and he never raised his voiceonce; never so much as glared at a Keeper—always with his head down, his eyes at his feet.

His will may be indomitable, but his survival instincts outrule his pride. There is little doubt that they will outrule his conscience.

And yet… Every second of silence carries tension so thick, it steals the oxygen in the room until my breathing turns shallow and my unblinking eyes dry.

Speak, I will him. He doesn’t obey.

Blink.

Break.

Please.

“Okay.” I look away as my lungs quiver. “Tomorrow morning, someone will take you to the mines.”

When he goes to stand, I reach for his chest, my palm flattening against a scar. “But I don’t want that,” I whisper, voice crackling.

My eyes close with a cringe that I don’t hide. “You think I asked you here for sex, but that isn’t true. I asked you here because I’m desperate.”

“I don’t care.”

Sharp. Final.

Not a single attempt to fake empathy.

“I know.” My eyes open as I nod. “I hurt you. Lied to you. I can’t blame you for being angry. I don’t blame you for thinking I’m a monster.”

I inhale a breath; let it shake. “In a way… That’s why you’re here. I’ve tried duplicating your methods, but in every instance, I’ve had to slit the subject’s throat.”

My eyes point to Sawyer’s lips as I watch for a twitch—for a slight tug of muscle. “I can’t make people fall for me like you can. I spent three weeks studying your methods up close, and even knowing what you were doing, I found myself feeling unusually close and trusting toward you.”

No movement.