Page 105 of Captive Souls

Knox dipped his chin in confirmation.

He then prowled toward me. Though I knew the threat was gone, my heartbeat didn’t steady as I reflexively backed against the wall.

Knox caged me in.

His hands landed on either side of my head, and his body pressed against mine, his face hovering inches away, eyes landing on my bruise for a long moment before making true eye contact.

I winced at the abyss I saw in his gaze. The emptiness quickly retreating but first showing me a glimpse of who he turned into when he was killing.

Killing.

There I was, with a man who was the embodiment of violence, who had presumably just killed two men. Two very bad men to be sure, but he had snuffed out their lives.

Did that change how I felt about him? Did it kill any love inside me?

No.

The answer came within a second of the thought popping up in my mind.

No.

Nothing would ever stop me from loving this damaged, dangerous, deadly man.

“I need…” His tongue ran along his front teeth.

“What?” I asked immediately. “What do you need?”

He shook his head as if he were trying to banish thoughts, images. “This is when I would … clean my blood.”

This was when he’d score his skin with a knife. Purge himself. Hurt himself. As punishment for what he’d done? For who he was to his core?

I didn’t want to shame him for his coping mechanisms, but I greatly wanted to end the act of Knox hurting himself. Adding to an already overabundant collection of scars.

I licked my lips. “Can I offer you another option?”

My pulse thrummed, and warmth crept into my limbs. Need. It seemed impossible for me to have this feeling given the events of the past—however long it had been—but I did. I had a desperate feeling to feel alive. To be full.

Knox’s eyes widened a smidge, the tension in his jaw intensifying at my words.

“Piper,” he warned. “Do not offer something that you are not ready for in order to try to protect me.”

I reached up to cup his jaw. His body was a statue under my hand from the force he was using to keep himself still.

My other hand, rather crudely, went to cup him where he was already rock hard.

Flutters stirred between my legs.

“I offer you everything,” I whispered. “In fact, I demand that you take it. I demand that you take me so you can erase every touch from those who weren’t you.”

He jerked at my words, but he didn’t take a second to ask if I was sure. His mouth plastered to mine, and I hungrily sank into the kiss. Into him.

“They didn’t rape me,” I said, disengaging from the kiss with great effort.

Knox searched my face for a lie then nodded quickly. He didn’t visibly relax, but I swore I saw a wrinkle leave the corner of his eye.

“And, uh, one more thing,” I added before he could kiss me again. “It may make you rethink what we’re about to do.”

He clasped the back of my neck. “Nothing could make me rethink what we’re about to do, if it’s within your consent.”

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