Page 9 of Shadow

I saw his true monster. The one that couldn’t be called off once he had his nails embedded into his prey.

I wrapped my hands around his wrists and squirmed beneath him as he continued to squeeze my neck.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, his voice choked. “I love you, Sirena. So fucking much it’s ripping me apart inside. You’re it. You’re my girl. I already struggle so fucking hard with life, but you? I would set myself on fire if it meant I got to keep you forever.” A tear trickled down his cheek.“I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to be my father.”

He loosened his hold on me before abruptly yanking me to a sitting position and wrapping his arms around me.

“I love you so fucking much,” he rasped, his face buried in my neck. “I want to give you everything you’ve ever wanted. I don’t know how to do that. It’s the one thing I just don’t know.”

I held him back, finally understanding him a little more. He had so much trauma from being scared to love because it would be taken away from him that he didn’t know how to handle it when love was in front of him. All he knew was violence. All he knew was the hunt. The chase. The kill.

He pulled away, cradled my face, and stared down at me.

“Give me time,” he said, his brows crinkling. “If you-you want to try with Andrews, just…I don’t want to see it, OK? I don’t want to know about it. I want to live in this bubble where it’s just us. If you decide he’s a keeper, then we can talk about…more. Get to know him because I think he has many secrets.” He paused and swiped a strand of hair away from my face. “Just don’t fuck him, OK? Deal?”

I was so surprised that I blinked rapidly at him.

A tiny smile tugged his lips upward.

“Oh, specter. I’m not the monster you see me as. Not really. I am trying. It’s just hard for me. I guess I’m someone who needs to be eased into things. If we can do that, I think I’ll be OK.”

I reached out, tugged him down, and crushed my lips against his. He wasted no time kissing me back. Within moments, he had my nightgown off, and his dick buried deep inside me.

This time, he was gentle with me. There was no pain, only pleasure.

“I would die for you, Sirena. Over and over, if it meant your happiness,” he whispered against my lips as he made love to me. “I love you more than you’ll ever understand. And someday, I’ll put a ring on your finger and my babies into your belly.”

It was the first time he’d ever acknowledged marriage or children.

I kissed him again, letting myself go.

Dante Church didn’t know how deeply I was in love with him.

That needed to change. I’d just have to figure out how to prove it to him so he would never question it again.

SIN

Fuck, I hurt.

It felt like a razor blade cutting through my lungs whenever I tried to breathe. Piece of shit, useless, motherfucking Adam Larson.

I groaned and shuffled to the bathroom. Stitches’s arm laced through mine as he helped me along.

“Do I have to hold your cock for you, too, or are you going to sit when you pee?” he asked, letting out a huff of laughter.

“Might just piss my pants so you can change me, big daddy,” I muttered back.

He snickered at that and helped me into the attached bathroom to my hospital room. I winced as I lifted my hospital gown, my body screaming at me from the movement. Everything hurt. I’d been beaten nearly to death. The worst part was that most of it happened when I was unconscious and couldn’t fight back.

That’s precisely the kind of contemptible behavior I expected from someone as worthless as Adam Larson.

“I’ll wait outside. Don’t fall and piss on yourself.” Stitches stepped out the door and closed it, leaving me alone. I leaned heavily against the wall and managed to get my dick out.

I did my business and washed my hands before coming back out to the room. Stitches was quick to help me back to the bed, where I sat on the edge.

“I want to go home,” I said with a groan.

“Doc said in a few days.” Stitches handed me a cup of water. I sucked it down quickly and laid back against the mattress. He put the nasal cannula back on me. I probably didn’t need it, but I felt a little winded from the walk. They’d taken my mask away this morning, so I assumed I was on the mend.

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