Page 83 of Black Heart

For a heart-stopping moment, I fear the Scythe’s bloodlust hasn’t been sated, that he’ll turn that brutal strength on me next.

A whimper escapes my raw throat as he looms over me, one gloved hand reaching out...

And then, with a gentleness that unmoors me, Kaden cradles my tear-streaked face. The coppery scent of blood mingles with the warm, familiar scent of leather as his thumb brushes over my bruised cheekbone.

“Layla.”

My name is a broken whisper.

Kaden’s touch is impossibly tender as he trails his fingers down my face, tracing the paths of my tears. The brush of leather against my sensitized skin sends involuntary shivers through me, and my mouth trembles with his name on my lips.

His other hand reaches for the cables binding my wrists, snapping them effortlessly. Each loop of cable falls away, andwith it, a small measure of the crushing terror that had gripped my heart.

Kaden works in silence, his hands steady and sure despite the fine tremors that wrack his powerful frame.

As the last of the restraints fall away, I pitch forward, muscles too weak and traumatized to support my weight. But Kaden is there to catch me, enfolding my abused body in his strong arms. He holds me close, cradling me against the solidity of his chest as if I’m the most precious thing in the world.

Hot tears spill down my cheeks. “I failed. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you?—”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Kaden soothes, his deep voice fluttering the hair at the top of my head. “Your bravery is one of the many things that draws me to you.”

I feel small and fragile in his powerful embrace, but also impossibly safe. Protected.

I burrow into his chest, desperate to hear the steady thrum of his heartbeat.

He strokes my hair with a trembling hand. “I’ve got you, Wraithling. I won’t let anyone hurt you, ever again.”

The words are both vow and prayer, whispered like a benediction against my temple. I clutch at him, fingers digging into Kevlar, terrified he’ll dissipate like smoke if I let go.

“I’m sorry,” I rasp, throat raw from screaming. “I shouldn’t have come here alone. I thought I could handle Dawson, that I could stop the AI launch, but I—” A damaged sob wrenches from my chest. “I was so stupid...”

Kaden lowers us both to the floor, settling me in his lap as he leans back against the server rack.

He starts to remove his mask, until I reach up with shaking fingers.

The mask comes away under my hand, revealing the face I’ve come to know so well. Those piercing blue eyes, now bloodshot and glistening with unshed tears. That proud, aquiline nose, flaring with each ragged exhale. Those sensual lips, usually quirked in a sardonic smirk, now pressed into a thin, bloodless line. And that jagged hook of a scar, a silver river on a flawless face.

His thumb brushes over my lower lip as his gaze roams over me, his eyes twin pools of torment as he takes in every cut, every bruise, every smudge of grime and blood. His throat works as he swallows hard. “I’m so sorry. I failed you when you needed me most. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but please, let me help you now. Let me take care of you, in whatever way you need.”

Kaden’s voice breaks on the words, a hairline fracture in his usual iron control. “I swore to protect you, to keep you safe from the monsters in my world.” His hand fists in my hair, clenching almost painfully. “When I saw what he did to you, what he was about to do...” A shudder ripples through his powerful frame. “I have only felt such fear, such blinding rage, once before. The thought of losing you, of being too late...” He squeezes his eyes shut, brow furrowing as if in physical pain. “It unmade me.”

I reach up to touch his face, my fingertips grazing his scar. “But you weren’t too late.”

His eyes snap open, blazing with a ferocity that steals my air. “I will always come for you, Layla. No matter what. No matter the cost.” His grip gentles, hand cupping the back of my head. “It’s taken me too long to realize that you are everything to me. I’d scale the heights of heaven, rip the wings off angels and use their feathers as a bed for you to dream on. I’d dive into the depths of hell, steal the devil’s horns, and crown you queen of my underworld. That is my promise to you.”

I’m so filled with emotion, my throat is tooclogged to respond. How could I form what I’m feeling into words, anyway? It’s too much,somuch, that I give him my soul through a kiss, instead.

My lips mold against Kaden’s, soft and pliant, seeking to convey all the things my voice cannot. He responds with a groan, his mouth slanting over mine, tongue delving deep to stake his claim.

The taste of him floods my senses, whiskey and smoke, danger and devotion. I cling to his broad shoulders, fingers digging into muscle as he devours.

It’s a kiss of absolution, of forgiveness for perceived failures and unspoken fears. It’s a kiss of gratitude, of awe at the lengths he would go to protect me, to avenge even the slightest harm done to me. It’s a kiss of possession, claiming him as mine just as surely as I am his.

The harsh clang of metal on concrete jolts through both of us, and we pry apart.

Kaden’s arms tighten around me as his head snaps up, eyes narrowing to slits.

Slow, mocking applause echoes through the ruined server room. A man in an immaculate suit emerges from the remaining smoke, stepping over Dawson’s amputated jawbone.

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