Page 116 of Curvy Dirty Omega

“You think so?” Lucy didn’t seem convinced, but that nasty spark turned into curiosity instead of disgust. “I don’t think she even knew how bad it was. My father didn’t want to worry her.”

Fuck, this wasn’t going well. Where the hell was Liam when I needed him?

“Regardless, even if she knew, I don’t think that justifies murder.” Lucy watched me closely, waiting to see how I would react.

“Maybe,” I admitted, forcing myself to release her shoulders to slide my hands up to her neck where I could feel her life pulsing in her veins. “But I can’t say I don’t understand why he did it, if that’s what was going on. Pain makes it impossible to think clearly.”

“For some,” Lucy agreed. Then she raised her eyebrow at me, mirroring the expression I’d made earlier. “But I prefer pain. It’s easier.”

“Is that so?” I tightened my hold on her neck, pulling her back against me. It wasn’t even a conscious action, but one born of instinct and need.

I wasn’t allowed to mark her first, but I wanted to bond her before she could run away. Then she’d never be able to escape me. Lucy could try to run away all she wanted after that, but I’d always find her.

Maybe I’d even let her get a little head start before hunting her down and chaining her to my chair so I could carve more than just my bond into her.

“Do you want me to hurt you, Lucy?” I raised my eyebrow again, mirroring her expression this time.

A flicker of that anxiety I’d scented earlier came back, and she watched me warily. I’d stolen control from her for just the briefest moment, offering something she might want, but I knew it wouldn’t last.

This girl was an enigma, and I didn’t think I’d ever really know all of her. That was fine. I didn’t care as long as she belonged to me – to Liam.

“Alphas are born hungry,” Lucy whispered, as if she hadn’t heard my question. “But so was I.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” There were still marks on her neck from when I’d held her like this while she was knotted to me. Her delicate skin bruised so easily and I couldn’t get enough of it.

“Desire tastes different when you’re born hungry.” Lucy sounded like she was confessing in church to a priest, ashamed of what she was, but I couldn’t be more enamored.

“What does it taste like?” Would I be able to taste it on her if I kissed her now?

I licked my lips and studied hers, wondering how much force it would take to reopen the wound she’d given herself when I was fucking her.

“It tastes like desperation,” she confessed, those words little more than a whisper.

Ice slid through my veins and I went completely still, refocusing on her eyes to see it wasn’t just that, but devastation too.

She desperately wanted this, but knew she couldn’t have it, and Lucy was devastated by that.

Why? Why couldn’t she have it – have us? There was nothing in the world she might want that would convince Liam to let her go. She could ask for anything, even demand he give up his pack, and he’d do it.

“I’m always choking on this hunger…” Lucy reached for me, and I was frozen in place. There’d been another shift in her, and this time I couldn’t read what it was. “My father always told me that to be loved means to be consumed, and I think I finally understand what he meant.”

If that's what she wanted, I’d consume her right here and now until there was nothing left, but my instincts were telling me that wasn’t what she needed.

She needed to fucking understand there was nothing she could possibly need or want that we wouldn’t give her.

Then a fresh wave of tears slid down her face as she looked up at me, and I felt…like maybe…she’d ruined me all over again.

Lucy smiled through her tears just like the last time and said something I’d never, ever forget.

“Cassius, I want to eat you alive.”

CHAPTER 41

Cassius

Maybe I wasn’t supposed to find that romantic, but I couldn’t help the wave of emotion that tried to break free the moment I heard that devastating confession fall from her lips like poisoned honey.

It didn’t matter if it was poisoned. It was still sweet enough to make my teeth ache, but that edge of destruction managed to temper the ache in my teeth. I couldn’t be more grateful to her for that, because I’d been dangerously close to bonding her again.

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