Revenge is Best Served After Reborn (James) novel Chapter 1474

The night had really settled in. Sophie was lounging against the bed, waiting for Colby to return after washing up. But instead of coming right back, the sound of the shower echoed from the bathroom. It was a while before Colby finally emerged. His hair was still a bit damp, and his robe hung loosely over his body, showing off his toned muscles and a perfect V-line.

The dim glow of the bedside lamp took Sophie back to the dinner party earlier that evening. Her cheeks warmed with a blush, and she instinctively reached for the light switch to break the moment, but Colby gently caught her wrist. There was a comforting warmth in his touch, and under the soft light, his deep eyes glimmered with a hint of longing.

"I'm all cleaned up," Colby murmured, his voice low and husky. He had scrubbed himself over and over to get rid of the blood's scent. In fact, he'd even changed his jacket before they got in the car to the castle, afraid Sophie might catch a whiff of the nauseating smell.

“I, I know…” Sophie stammered, though she thought to herself that seven times seemed a bit excessive. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. Colby now smelled of a fresh, clean fragrance, a stark contrast to his usual tobacco scent, pure and untainted.

“Sophie, don’t hurt yourself anymore.” Colby leaned closer, playing with her hair before planting a soft, fleeting kiss on her eyelids, like a dragonfly touching down on water. His kiss moved slowly to the corner of her lips. But just as she closed her eyes, Colby’s mind was hit with scenes of him wielding a gun, taking down one target after another earlier that night.

The kiss stopped suddenly. Despite being physically clean, he couldn’t wash away the stains on his soul. Those people were right; he was a madman. How could someone like him ever be worthy of her love?

Suddenly, the screens flickered with white static. Caelum jumped to his feet. “What’s going on?” he demanded.

“Sir! Someone’s breached the perimeter!” A security guard burst in, clearly shaken. The static on the screen flickered away, and Kiran’s face appeared, looking directly into the camera, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.