Page 39 of Unholy Obsession

I don’t know what to say to that, so I don’t say anything. I just lie there, his hand warm against my skin, and for the first time in a long time, I feel even more fully...seen.

Exposed, yes, but not judged. Not rejected. Just... held.

It terrifies me.

But maybe, just maybe, it also makes me feel safe.

The silence between us stretches, heavy and loaded. Bane’s hand is still on my face, his thumb brushing lightly against my cheekbone.

I can feel my pulse thrumming in my neck. Too fast. Too loud. He hasn’t said a word, but his silence speaks volumes.

It makes me feel seen in a way that’s so sharp it borders on painful.

No one everseesme.

I don’t know what to do with it.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I murmur, turning my head to break his gaze. The movement pulls my cheek from his hand, and I feel the loss of his touch like a phantom ache. My skin prickles in its absence.

“Like what?” he asks, his voice unshaken. He always sounds like he knows exactly what’s going on in my head. Like he’s ten steps ahead of me in a game I don’t even remember agreeing to play.

“Like you’re waiting for me to fall apart,” I snap. I can’t look at him. I stare at the edge of the bed instead.

He exhales softly, and I feel the warmth of his breath against my temple before I even realize he’s leaned in closer.

“I’m not waiting for you to fall apart, Moira. I’m waiting for you tolet go.”

The words hit me like a punch to the chest.

My throat tightens, and I swallow hard, trying to push down the surge of emotions threatening to rise. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Yes, you do,” he says, and his certainty makes my stomach twist. “You’ve spent your whole life building walls, fighting to keep everyone out. But what has that gotten you?”

I hate that he’s right. I hate that his words cut so deep that they scrape against parts of me I’ve worked so hard to hide. But more than anything, I hate that I don’t have an answer.

“I’m going to untie you now. You’ve doneso welltoday, dove.”

I glow under his praise. It literally lights me up from the inside, like I’m suddenly filled with helium and none of the heavy darkness or shadows can touch me now.

“I know how difficult this was for you,” he continues. “I believe in you, Moira. But this is the beginning of you learning to believe in yourself.”

I relax against the bed as his fingers come to my skin to untie the silken ropes. They didn’t actually hurt. He was skillful with the perfect amount of tension he allowed in the rope and his knots.

The moment I come free, I reach for him.

Daring what I probably shouldn’t. Maybe he’ll tie me right back up again. But earlier, he liked it when I begged.

“Please. If I’ve done so well, been such a good girl…” I swallow, but I don’t lower my head and flutter my lashes like I do when I’m flirting with a potential hookup at a bar.

I just look him straight on, my stomach swooping as his dark, intense gaze locks with mine. No guile. No games.

“I’d really like to fuck you, Bane.Please.”

His eyes darken, and his nostrils flare. He lifts a finger in front of my face, and it’s probably only my imagination to think his hand is trembling.

“Yes. But only once a day, and only if you behave as well as you did today.”

SIXTEEN

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