Page 61 of A Taste Of Darkness

“What?” I blinked a couple of times just to make sure I was awake. And yup, the image didn’t change at all.

Could still be a dream, though.

Without so much as a word, Milo reached for the razor and handed it to me.

“I’m not sure you should trust me with this,” I said, being completely honest. I was a pro at cutting myself if I used one, now imagine what could’ve happened if he let me shave his stubble.

“Practice makes perfect,” he replied, smiling softly. “Avoiding to do it won’t teach you a skill, cuore mio. Besides, if you cut me, you cut me. It’s not going to be the end of the world.”

“It might hurt and bleed heavily.”

He shrugged. “I’ve got a first-aid kit around here somewhere.”

“It might leave a scar.”

Milo chuckled. “It’d just be a reminder of you. I’d wear that scar like a trophy.”

Inhale.

Exhale.

Don’t you freaking dare melt, Sterlie. You’re better than that.

“Go ahead.”

With a shaking hand—I probably should’ve kept it steady—I laid the metal razor on his skin, not yet cutting anything.

“Keep the razor at an angle,” he said as he adjusted my hand.

Milo didn’t let go at first, instead, he carefully guided my hand and the razor down his cheek. I could feel the hairs coming off, or perhaps I was imagining things. It just felt weird.

After two or three strokes, he told me to rinse out the razor, which I did. And from that moment on, he let me do everything on my own.

With every stroke of the razor, I held my breath and waited for some kind of reaction on Milo’s part. Something that told me that I hurt him. I felt like I was hurting him, but I couldn’t see blood, nor was he reacting much.

I didn’t attempt to move over his jawline and down his neck yet—that looked scary and a lot more complicated.

Milo told me exactly where to cut the sideburns without accidentally removing too much, which I did anyway on one side, but it was barely noticeable.

His chin and upper lip were also scary territory, but with a little bit of Milo’s help, I got through it without leaving a single cut. Okay, maybe there was a teeny tiny cut slightly above his cupid’s bow, but I swear that wasn’t my fault.

As we got to his jawline and neck, I had to take a deep breath and send out a little prayer. How the freak was I supposed to shave down the mound of his jawbone to underneath his chin, without cutting him?

Oh, God, how was I supposed to shave around his mandibular angle? That thing was sticking out like a sore thumb.

My first attempt at not cutting his jaw failed. There was a little cut and I felt miserable about it because this time, I couldn’t even blame Milo for moving or anything. Also, this time, I suppose he actually felt the cut because he flinched slightly, but he didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry,” I said, suppressing tears.

“It’s alright.” Milo offered me a smile, nodding for me to keep going.

Taking a deep breath, I rinsed off the razor and tried again.

“Why is your jawline so sharp?” I groaned, noticing I cut him once again. “I’m surprised your jawline isn’t cutting the razor.”

Milo chuckled, but I grasped his jaw in my free hand and stopped him.

“Laugh one more time when I have this thing pressed to your skin, and I’ll cut your throat.” It wasn’t supposed to come across the way it did, but I suppose it did things to Milo.

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