Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
She pulls back from me before lifting her shirt again. “That’s what this is. It spells mine.”
The fuck?
I crouch down to get closer to her, my gaze roaming over the cuts, and as the blood continues trickling out of the wounds, I can start to make out the brutal letters.
It makes me fucking sick, and as I straighten back to my full height, I grip the counter on either side of her creamy thighs, my head dropped low between us. “This should never have happened. Not in my home,” I tell her, racking my brain for any sign that she was in danger, but coming up blank. My home security system was on and active just as it always is, but I haven’t had a single notification for somebody being on the property.
“There’s more,” she murmurs.
My head snaps straight back up, meeting her guilt-ridden stare, her blazing green eyes filled with unshed tears.
“I let him touch me,” she admits, the tears finally falling down her cheeks as her eyes fill with shame. “Is there something wrong with me? I was scared and disgusted. I felt like I had no choice, but when he touched me, I didn’t even try to push him away. I didn’t scream for help or try to get him off me. I just . . . I let him do it and . . . fuck, Knight. Even after everything, I still came.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, doll. It makes you human.”
“But I’m terrified of him. Every time I see him, I become crippled by fear, but when he starts touching me, I can’t . . . I can’t tell him to stop. I shouldn’t want it like that, especially after everything that’s happened, but I do, even though I know at some point, it isn’t going to end like it did today. He’s going to kill me. I feel it in my bones, but there’s something about the fear that just . . . It excites me.”
I nod, not really understanding this, but I’m not about to tell her that she’s wrong for the way her body responds to the fear.
“Are you mad?” she finally asks, glancing up at me.
A stupid smile pulls at my lips. “Fucking furious,” I tell her. “But not with you. Him. You’re mine, and despite what I’ve told you, when it comes to this motherfucker, I don’t like to share. I’m going to kill him for putting his hands on you.”
She arches a brow. “My, oh my, Knight Slater. You’re gonna kill him, huh?” she teases. “That sounds awfully possessive of you. Might I remind you that you and I are—”
“Are what?” I challenge.
She visibly swallows, and I take her hips, scooting her right to the edge of the counter. “It’s just sex. Really amazing, burning-hot, might-die-without-it kind of sex. But it’s just sex.”
A smirk lifts the corners of my lips. “You fall into my bed every fucking chance you get,” I remind her, just in case she’s forgotten. “Your body trembles at my touch, and your eyes. Doll, your eyes are a window right into your fucking soul. This stopped being about sex a long time ago. Don’t try and play it down. This means something.”
She lifts that gaze, her eyes silently begging me not to push this. “And what if I’m not ready to admit that just yet?”
“Then I’ll give you all the time you need.”
“Shit,” she mutters. “I think I preferred it when you were a bossy asshole.”
“Don’t worry, I’m still that guy.”
“Oh, wonderful.”
Harper takes a heavy breath, and I watch as her chest rises and falls before stepping back and giving her a bit of space. Cutting across the bathroom, I start searching for my first aid kit in the cupboard before taking it right back over to her.
I open it on the bathroom counter before indicating to the shirt covering her beautiful body. “Take it off.”
Without hesitation, she lifts it over her head and exposes the wounds on her ribs, and I won’t lie, my gaze can’t help but skim across those perfect pierced tits and stunning tattoos. “There’s too much blood. I think it might be better if I just get in the shower.”
I nod, more than agreeing with her, but from what I can tell, most of the blood is just smeared from earlier. There’s only a small trickle left, but nonetheless, I’m going to fix her up anyway.
She jumps down from her perch on the sink as I reach into the shower to warm up the water. As she wanders toward me, I lean back against the counter and watch her.
“What?” she murmurs, noticing my stare.
I grip the edge of the counter as I kick one foot over the other. “What is it that you like about him?” I ask. “Is it how he touches you or the fear he provokes?”