Page 82 of Brutal Prince

Briar’s behind me, body flush with mine.

What did he do to me? But an internal check produces nothing except the tight headache of a good sobbing session, and a dull ache where a rock’s pressing into my hip.

A warm, steady breath washes over the back of my neck. Goosebumps scatter over my arms and legs, and I slowly turn to look at Briar.

We’re under the boughs of a massive oak tree. The floor is mossy here, only the odd stone. My head is on his arm, and he’s sleeping.

I remember crying. How he held me so tight.

I’ve never felt that…safe before.

None of it makes sense. If anything, I should have run away. Briar’s not someone I want to be alone in the woods with. I grasp his wrist and lift up his arm. It’s heavy, and long, and I already know I won’t be able to move it much without waking him.

I barely lift him an inch before his massive hand grabs my belly and squeezes. I go stiff in shock.

“Briar.” His name catches in my throat, mingling with a gasp when his lips touch the back of my neck.

“Jesus, you smell so fucking good,” he says, those words chasing warm puffs of air over my skin.

Oh God, why did I wake him? Now I can’t move away if I wanted to. It feels like the forest’s claimed me and I’ve gone and taken root.

Briar’s lips skate over my neck, my jaw, my cheekbone. He rains a flurry of light kisses over my face, hesitating when he reaches the edge of my mouth. For a moment he hovers there, his warm, sweet breath fluttering over my lips as the hand on my belly moves down.

Get up. Run away. Don’t let him pull you under!

Briar groans as if he can’t hold back anymore, and his mouth crashes against mine. He takes without asking, dancing without letting me lead, all the while ignoring my mewls of protest.

A frantic ache bursts into my core, thumping in time with Briar’s furious kiss.

How the fuck could I want someone so badly? I don’t care if I never breathe, eat, sleep, or regain consciousness again. All I want is him. I want to give him everything. More and more and more, until there’s nothing left for me to give.

Nothing left for him to take.

I shiver violently at the thought, and Briar pulls back with a reluctant exhale. “You cold, Angel?”

As if offering up the heat of his body, he pulls me hard against him.

I can feel every muscle on his body.

And his rock hard cock.

How easy it would be to just lie here and let this happen. To let him slip a hand up my skirt and tug down my leggings. For his cock to—

I shove at him and scramble up. He lifts his hands in mock surrender, a strange half-smile on his mouth as he stares up at me. Lowering his hands, he props himself up on one elbow.

Laying on his side, he should look defenseless, weak. He doesn’t. He could be a leopard waking from a catnap.

His earlier words tumble back into my mind.

Just tell them you don’t like it here.

Thankfully — thankfully — I don’t have any tears left. He drained them out of me like the sun drains the deserts.

He doesn’t deserve to know, doesn’t even deserve an explanation, but I’m hoping it will be like a thorn in his paw. Something small, seemingly insignificant, but that will drive him mad over time. And the only mouse around to take it out would be me.

“My father—” I swallow hard, and fist my hands at my side. “Stage four Hodgkin Lymphoma. Know what that is? It’s a cancer that attacks your lymph nodes. They thought they got it in time, that they could cut it out.” My voice fails for a second, but I bite the inside of my bottom lip hard enough to taste blood, and then force out the rest. “They kept cutting and cutting, but that didn’t stop it spreading. Eventually, there was nothing left for them to cut out. Not without killing him outright.” I let out a soft laugh. “They dragged it out for a year. A fucking year. That was when he told me and my mom that he’d had enough. That he just wanted the pain to end.” I hold up my hand, fingers spread. “He died five years ago.”

Through my entire toneless monologue, Briar’s expression doesn’t shift an inch. But his eyes keep darting all over my face, like he’s scanning me for the first hint of a lie.

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