Page 123 of Mine to Ruin

I take his hand and put it on my chest. “In here.”

His eyes well up, my Kian making a brief appearance, but then he shuts his eyes.

“I have cursed blood running through my veins.” His jaw clenches and his face falls.

I wet my dry lips. “I love you so much, with everything in me. Let me in...”

He disappears and comes back seconds later with ice and puts it over my ankle, massaging it gently, and I suppress a hiss. He helps me up, and I limp a little and stumble over my good foot, and land on his chest. He supports us, and we hold each other like that.

“I’ve never been more scared of losing you, and it hurts so much.” He pulls me to him, kissing every inch of my face. “I have never belonged to anyone but you,” he continues. “But you deserve better, so much better than a stitched-together man.”

I put my hands on his cheeks and brush my nose against his, our heavy breaths mingling.

“I want you.”

“Then marry me already.”

“I already said yes.”

“As soon as possible.”

I nod and a small smile tugs at his lips, then he’s kissing me. If marrying him takes his fears away, then I would elope with him a hundred times and more.

“Paint from here today. Let your feet rest a while. I’ll be in the home office.” His eyes brim with anguish, and it hurts me not being able to ease that. “I love you. You have the living part of me, Ellia.”

Later, I prepare a bowl of pasta and meatballs and a huge crispy green salad and knock on his door.

“Dinner is ready.”

He stands up and dips his head to kiss me. One day, he’ll win against his own demons. At the dining table, he digs into his plate and says,

“This is delicious.”

My lips tilt up in a smile, but it disappears when he opens his mouth again and adds, “I need to go out. I’ll be gone for a while.”

“Will Melanie go with you, too?”

“Yes, but you’ll have Brandon to keep you company.”

I sigh and slap a palm on the table. “Kian, it’s not like that.”

“If you say so.”

This back and forth is maddening, but one of us has to step off the hamster wheel. My eyes lock on him, and I square my shoulders, bending over the table toward him with my hands flat on the table. Resolution oozes from my every pore, and I infuse it in every word.

“I trust you, because you’re a smart man, and are fond of your dick and your life. Your heart belongs to me, your body belongs to me. You, in your entirety, belong to me.”

His thumb caresses my lower lip, and hunger burns in his eyes. It has a direct effect on my blood, heating in my veins. He stands up and lifts me on the table. He settles himself between my legs, and pins my hands above my head.

His nose trails up and down my neck, and he licks at the sensitive skin.

“You own me as much as I own you,” I say, fully believing it.

“Don’t move,” he commands, and I swallow with a nod. Kian releases my hands and I clasp them together over my head. He rips off my shirt, the buttons scattering, and he peels my shorts off me. He grabs my hips, and his mouth nibbles at my thighs. I lift my ass, and my thong comes off next.

I lay naked on our table, on full display and his for the taking. His belt drops with a clank on the floor. My eyes hone in on his powerful body on full display for me, those sculpted abs carved in his stomach, those strong arms and thighs, that happy trail leading to an imposing hard dick. At the V alone, saliva pools in my mouth. He is a masterpiece of human bodily perfection.

“You had your fill, now it’s my turn,” he says, impatient lust tinging his words.

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