Page 222 of Kiss the Villain

It’s a heady, dizzying rush, and my whole body hums in delirious bliss. I feel high, not from anything physical, but from the way his entire existence seems to orbit around me.

I’m still dazed as he pulls out of me and then cleans me up with a wet towel.

I lie there, my eyes following his movements. I can’t help but notice that he’s lost weight, his legs look thinner than usual, his face has definitely sunken, and his stubble is longer.

For someone who wanted him in pain, I sure am not enjoying this.

And my chest twists whenever I see his new tattoo.

Something he got even with the possibility of never seeing me again.

Kayden lifts me up and slides me on top of him as he sits against the headboard. His big arms wrap around my waist as my back rests on his chest, my legs between his and my head pressed to his shoulder.

For just a moment in time, it feels like we’re in the apartment, just existing together, being peaceful.

Happy.

But that’s not the case.

And the silence is strained, which is an anomaly, because we often existed perfectly well in silence together.

Before I knew everything.

“You were never her replacement,” his quiet voice carries through the room, sucking all the air out of it.

“What?”

“Declan mentioned telling you that you were her replacement and that made you snap. He was just provoking you. That wasneverthe case.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does, Gareth. You’re entirely different, and I never saw her in you. Are we clear?”

“Even though you married her?”

“Is that what this is about? Marriage? It’s a business transaction in my world.”

“I don’t care. I don’t even believe in the institution, okay?”

Well, I didn’t before. Not sure now.

Now, I’m battling with a disgusting taste at the back of my throat.

“I never intended to rape Yulian,” I whisper.

“What?”

“I think you were so mad that first time we met because you thought I wanted to rape him, and that I was a piece of shit like those men who drugged and raped your wife, but I just wanted to mess with him. I had semen-like lube and wanted to take a picture, and that’s all. I swear.”

“I believe you. You don’t need to explain, Gareth.”

“But I want to. I don’t want you to think I’m like those men.”

“Iknowyou’re not.”

“My grandfather isn’t either.” I stare at the door opposite us. “I talked to him and he said he was there, but he left when Cassandra came along, not knowing what would happen. He stayed quiet afterward because the senator threatened to expose the murder I committed when I was fifteen. Baltimore was the police chief at the time, and he kept evidence and blackmailed Grandpa.”

He stares down at me, the gray similar to a storm. “What happened to that evidence?”

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