Page 82 of Sinful Scars

It’s like I’m seeing her for the first time, and she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“Elle…”

But her eyes have moved to my scars once more.

I freeze as she reaches out to trace her fingertips along them, the skin pebbling beneath her touch.

“I’m not afraid of you.” She gently strokes my scarred skin.

I shudder, both from her words and her touch.

“You should be.”

She ignores me as she traces along my shoulder and then down my arm until her fingers are interlaced with mine.

“Sit with me.” She tugs me over toward the bed.

I don’t have the energy left to fight her, so I do as she says, perching on the edge of the bed beside her.

Our knees touch, and Elle keeps hold of my hand, squeezing it tightly.

“You’re lost in your head.”

“Yeah…” I sigh, my shoulders sagging with the weight of the past few days.

“Did he hurt you?” Elle moves my hand to her lap. “Is that why you have these scars?”

She turns my hand over to start tracing the ones covering them.

“My father—” I shake my head. “Igorhurt me in many ways.”

I hate myself for not letting her know the whole truth.

“Can you stay the night?”

My chest tightens at the hope in her voice.

How can she be so forgiving of what I did?

I don’t deserve it.

I don’t deserveher.

I can only hope she will be just as forgiving when she finds out what else I’ve been keeping from her.

“I want to, but I need to go.” I reach out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “But I want you to know that I’ll always be out there, protecting you, Elle. I promise you that.”

Her beautiful green eyes start to glisten with tears, but she nods.

I let myself trace her lower lip with my thumb before getting to my feet.

Every step away from her feels like there’s a ten-ton weight on my back, but it’s for the best.

She needs time to process, and sleeping together would only confuse her more.

I’m about to duck out through the window when Elle gets to her feet.

I turn on instinct and bite back a groan as she saunters toward me with such need in her eyes that it almost sends me to my knees before her.

---