Page 97 of Scarred Souls

I had a feeling that after the meeting, I’d need to remind her of her pledge.

“That’s the right answer.” I stood and slowly made my way to the end of the bed.

She watched me closely as I stripped out of my jeans and boxer briefs.

This wasn’t about flexing my muscles or letting Hope get a good look at how hard she made me. I stood before her, naked as the day I was born, to let her see the full extent of my damaged skin.

Countless times, Hope had shown me how brave she could be. She’d been open and vulnerable in sharing trauma from her past. She stood up to those who tried to intimidate her. And she lived a full and satisfying life despite the inescapable fear of being dragged back to the one she hated.

The thing that slayed me to my soul was the way she trusted me. With her safety and her body. Maybe even her heart. I wasn’t worthy, but I wanted to be.

Showing Hope my scars in all their stark brutality was a small step toward lowering my walls. I did it because I trusted her, too, and being vulnerable before Hope wasn’t as terrifying as I’d thought it would be. It just felt…right.

Hope’s amber gaze roamed over me, cautious but determined, and the only emotion reflected in them was desire. “You’re the most mouthwatering man I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

It still amazed me that Hope saw something pleasing where I saw horror. But then, didn’t she feel the same about her scars? And I’d never thought her anything but stunning.

She licked her lips before meeting my eyes once more. “Thank you.”

No more needed to be said. She accepted the part of me that for years had caused me to feel shame and disgust.

I nodded and swallowed thickly as the knot in my sternum unraveled a little more.

My captors had turned me into a feral, untouchable animal, and I fucking hated them for it. Worse than that, I despised myself for letting them have that control over me. They weren’t here anymore, holding me down. Why did I let them keep ruining my life?

And somehow—God, I didn’t know how she did it—Hope was bringing me back. She gave me purpose. She gave me strength. All I had to do was look at her and it was like a hundred-pound load lifted from my shoulders.

Before meeting Hope, I hadn’t been living. Not really. Her presence acted as a defibrillator to my withered heart and soul.

I tore the sheet from the bed, revealing the rest of her body. Hope shifted on the covers impatiently, her thighs rubbing together with the desperation of a junkie chasing her next fix. But it was a different kind of high she needed, and I knew exactly how to give it to her.

“There’s another first we need to scratch off your list.” I angled my chin low. “Be a good girl and spread your legs for me.”

Without uttering a word, she parted her knees slowly.

My eyes widened as I gazed upon her the way a starving man ogled a feast. “Goddamn, you’re beautiful.”

I placed one knee on the bed and then the other, wasting no time positioning myself between Hope’s thighs. “Wider,” I growled, and nudged them apart.

“Vaughn?” Hope said in a beseeching tone.

“Uh-uh.” I shook my head, my mouth barely an inch from the holy motherland. “You don’t need to beg this time, Gatita. This is all for me. Now, let me show you how I worship this pussy.”

I gripped her thighs, pushing them wider still, and held her in place. We both moaned at the first pass of my tongue. The second made Hope hiss and curse. I took my time, alternating between exploring her folds and lapping at her clit.

“Your mouth feels amazing,” Hope said, sounding a little breathless.

When I focused my efforts on her swollen little bud, she squirmed beneath me, arching her hips off the bed. “Keep still, or I’ll stop.”

“Don’t stop!” she snapped. “Don’t ever stop.”

My eager little minx liked this.

I smiled and kept working her, content to stay down here all day if I could. Hope’s noises became more desperate and her movements more frantic. She was so close. I wanted nothing more than to feel her come apart with my mouth between her legs, so I sucked on her clit and pushed two fingers inside her.

“Oh my God.” The leather belt creaked as Hope twisted. “That. Keep doing?—”

With a strained cry, her body tensed. Hope’s slick walls clamped around my fingers. And the moan she made as she came, had anything ever sounded so good?

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