Page 114 of Brutal Obsession

“Cian, what happened… It’s not your?—”

“Stop.” The command bullets through the room. “Yes, it is.”

I claw at the comforter to fend off a frustrated scream. What can I say so that he’ll understand?

“Fine.” I swallow back the tear-induced congestion. “It’s your fault I’m like this.”

His chaotic eyes snap to mine. A muscle jumps in his jaw. After a second, he hangs his head and clenches his hands to his waist, as if he needs the extra support to hold himself up.“I know…”

“Apologize to me.” The strength in my voice shocks me.

Cian exhales a shaky breath. “Harper, I’m…I’m so?—”

I stop him with a shake of my head. “With your hands.”

“What?”

“Apologize to me with your hands.” I hold his gaze until he understands.

When the electricity begins to crackle in the air between us, I wish I could get up and throw myself into his arms. But the exhaustion in my body from the drugs and pain is bone-deep. I can’t move, not without making my head swim.

All I can do is lie still, willing him toget over herewith my eyes.

Cian takes one step, then another. His fingers reach for his shirt. He draws the dark fabric over his head. His beautiful, bare chest is littered with bruises. The past twenty-four hours haven’t been a picnic for him, either, but it doesn’t change a thing.

I want him more now than I ever have.

Shirt dangling from his fingertips, he gazes at me for a long time.

“Are you sure about this?” That edge of lust sharpening his words causes me to bloom inside like a field of wildflowers.

I nod with desperate eagerness. “Completely.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” I promise.

He glances away for a moment and then back at me. “I’ll try to be gentle, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold myself back.”

“Don’t, then.” I smile. “I don’t want you to.”

Seconds tick by while Cian stares at me before he strips off his shirt and pants.

This is how I know that Cian is some kind of magical creature. Even in my current state, the moment the man heads that glorious, naked body of his toward me, I feel like it’s my birthday. Like the moon and all the stars in the sky shine just for me.

For us.

He looms over me like a golden, nude Adonis before gently removing my clothes. I don’t recognize what I’m wearing, so he must’ve been the one to dress me. Which means…

He’s already seen it.

Whatever mark Enzo left on my body after performing his sick procedure.

Yet despite that, he’s here, crawling over me and kissing my bare, ticklish skin.

The emotional roller coaster I’ve ridden over the past twenty-four hours means that when lust floods my system, I barely even recognize it.

That changes the moment Cian lips touch mine. Our kisses probably taste like blood, sweat, tears, rubble, and God only knows what else, but it’s the most glorious taste in existence after believing I’d never share this with him again. He seduces my mouth, letting our tongues reacquaint themselves with a delicious, languid ease that triggers slick heat to flow south of my belly button.

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