Page 66 of Little Puppet

I allow her to keep it as I lay on my back and cross my arms in defense.

“Go ahead. I’m listening.”

She takes in my rigid posture and change of tone, shifting her naked body on the bed awkwardly.

“I don’t want you to think you have to say anything back, and I don’t want you to run away, either. I have to say my peace, and then we can move on from it.”

I narrow my brows. “You’re making me anxious, and when men like me get anxious, it’s not good for anyone, Grace.”

Her eyes flare at my use of her name, and I fight a smirk. I do it to unnerve her, just like I use darling at the perfect times to melt her into a puddle. I discerned early on it was a weakness of hers, and have been using it to my advantage ever since.

She takes a breath and then releases it, not saying a word.

Finally, I sit up and pull her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her. “Spit it out, or I’ll spank you.”

Her cheeks heat. “How about I tell you, and you still spank me?”

I shake my head, fighting a laugh. “Incorrigible little puppet.”

She beams. “I love you,” she says, and my heart stops. Fucking stops in my chest, suspended in paracardial fluid, fighting to regain its rhythm.

“Excuse me?” I ask her. I heard her, but I crave to hear it again—like the defibrillator that’ll restart my heart.

“I love you,” she repeats, more sure of herself this time.

“That’s what you had to tell me?” I ask, waiting patiently for the other shoe to drop.

She nods, nuzzling her nose against mine. “It’s fucked up, I’m sure. For the kidnapped woman to fall for a blood-thirsty kidnapper, but I can’t help it. Whether you keep it beating or not, my heart is yours.”

I can’t think. My brain is short-circuiting. Neurons are misfiring.

It’s a full system failure.

“Cain?”

“Mm?” I come to as she kisses my lips softly, slowly.

“Are you alright?”

“I love you, too,” I blurt and freeze.

After assessing my insides, running a system diagnostic, and then nodding when I agree with the words I just spat at her, I double down. “I love you, too,” I tell her again.

She turns in my lap, straddling me as she attacks my mouth with a punishing kiss.

“I thought you were leaving me,” I tell her when I pull back from her kiss.

Her hands gently cup either side of my face, her hazel eyes softening. “And go where, Cain? After touching the flames of wild passion, one can only descend to the pits of hell, I’d think. Nothing in life would be fulfilling without you beside me. Besides, I think I’m still a prisoner, right?”

I laugh despite the seriousness of the situation. “How do you figure?”

She leans back, running her hands over her piercings. “Well, because you’ve got your hooks in me, of course.”

Her grin is rueful as I tug her back into my mouth, kissing her breathlessly as I let her words bathe me in a new veil—one that’ll shroud me from the world surrounding me for the rest of my life. With her love, I’m protected.

With her beside me, I’m whole.

Grogily,I pad to the kitchen, where I hear Grace banging around. However, when I entered the room, I discovered more than her just cooking breakfast.

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