Page 105 of When Hearts Awaken

“I’m proud of you, Tay,” I whisper to myself in the dark, needing to hear those words. “You let someone in. That’s damn b-brave.” A shuddering exhale escapes me.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I frown. It’s late. There shouldn’t be anyone.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Panic seizes me, but another thought slips in.Could it be him?

Quickly, I scramble off the bed and walk toward the door, hoping, no,wishing,the person on the other side is the only man who’s ever made me feel completely safe, the man who used to say I was breathtakingly beautiful.

I wonder if I’ll ever hear those words from his lips again.

“Who is it?” I call out.

“Minx. It’s me. Open up.” The unmistakable rasp. The possessive tinge. My pulse quickens.

I throw open the door and there he stands, his chest heaving like he ran up the stairs to get to me. His face is flushed, his eyes wild with passion and intensity, a blazing fire that’s too strong to contain.

“Charles?” I whisper, staring at him, my nerves lighting up in his presence.

He expels a ragged exhale. His arms shake as he grips the doorframe above him.

Like he’s one second away from tearing into me.

“I’m a fucking idiot,” he rasps. “I shouldn’t have left you here alone. I was in shock. I knew something bad happened to you. I suspected you were assaulted. But it was one thing to suspect something and another thing to know.”

His throat ripples, and he thumps the wall for emphasis. “I left because I fucking wanted to raze the world. I wanted to burn everything and everyone who’d hurt you. I c-couldn’t control my emotions because I fucking hated how helpless I was. How I wished I knew you when you were sixteen, how I wished I could be there for you to protect you so you wouldn’t have to go through what you did. B-Because, I…I…”

Charles’s eyes burn, lightning in stormy skies. “Icraveyou. The way you make me feel alive. The way you challenge me. The way you call me out on my bullshit. And now, knowing what happened to you, and seeing you still standing tall, proudly each day, I’m fucking obsessed with you. It’s terminal. Uncurable.”

I clutch my sweater, my pulse rushing in my ears. What’s he saying? Is he saying—

“I realize I never answered your question. It’s not because I couldn’t answer you, it’s because I was too damn stuck in my own head. I was dying inside when I thought of what happened to you.”

He huffs out a ragged breath, his voice deepening, his nostrils flaring. “Taylor, I swear to God, I’m going to find every single bastard who hurt you that night. I promise you. I’ll make them pay, and I’ll—” His chest rises and falls, a cyclone approaching me at breakneck speed, but I don’t want to leave.

I want the storm to take me with it.

“You’re not damaged. You’re not messed up. You’re not dirty. You’re a warrior, a queen. Those battle scars make you more beautiful in my eyes because they are a testament to your strength. You, Taylor Peyton-Anderson, are the most fucking breathtakingly beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

Tears escape my eyes and I rake in one inhale after the other.

He sees me. Truly sees me. Thorns and all.

Hestillthinks I’m breathtakingly beautiful.

Charles’s eyes sharpen, a growl rumbling out of his chest, and with one quick stride, he steps into the room, hoists me to him, and slams his lips on mine.

His kiss is savage. Feral. It’s messy and violent. Wetness streaks across my face as his hand cups my cheek before he pivots and slams my back on the closed door.

I pull back and touch my cheek, gasping when I see the red liquid. Blood. I quickly look at his hand, and I see the same crimson essence seeping out of his fist. “Charles, what happened?”

“Just a cut. I don’t fucking care.” He pulls me back to him and swallows my next words with his talented mouth.

The temperature rises, the inferno overtaking us both. He pulls my hair, I bite his lip, he digs his fingers into my ass, I claw his back. He shrugs out of his coat and his tie. His suit jacket crumbles to the ground.

His tongue duels with mine before he swipes it up from my chin to my temple, like he’s tasting and kissing away my tears. I moan, the sound foreign to my ears. My body burns as I grasp his dress shirt, needing it off him. I hear fabric tearing, buttons pinging on the floor, but I don’t care.

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