Page 96 of Owned

There was no separating the three of them.

I liked it that way.

They were always connected; tied to each other.

Tied to me.

In more ways than one.

He shifted and started to stand, but I tightened my grip on his shoulder. The tattoos that were visible under the edge of his sleeve swirled and writhed like living vines.

Like the ones in the garden.

Like the ones in my dreams.

“You don’t have to go,” I murmured.

“You want me to stay?” There was something vulnerable in the question that made my chest tighten. Conflict and desire swirled in his eyes.

I nodded and pulled him closer, and the chill of his rain-soaked shirt seeped into me as I wrapped my arms around him.

“Everything is going to be alright,” he murmured into my hair.

“Liar,”the grimoire whispered, and I closed my eyes to try to ignore it as I pressed my face against Valen’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to be alone right now. Not with everything that’s happened—”

He pulled back from our embrace and looked into my eyes, all seriousness and urgency. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

In my mind, the grimoire laughed.

I wanted to shut it out.

I leaned forward and kissed him.

Impulsive. Needy.

A few hours ago, I’d been lying on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood.

I’d almost died.

I need to feel something.

Anything.

Valen’s lips were cold at first, but quickly warmed as they moved against mine.

I pulled him closer and tried to focus on the taste of rain and salt on his skin. He seemed hesitant—unsure of my sudden need—but as his body met mine, something shifted. His fingers tangled in my hair and his mouth slanted over mine. His kiss was hard and possessive, but he was holding back.

Like I was breakable.

But I wasn’t—not anymore.

When I’d first come to Withermarsh, he and his brothers had relished my ruin… but everything was different now.

I was different.

I pushed the thought aside and gave myself over to the sensation of Valen’s touch. His hands were desperate as they slid down to my shoulders and slipped the straps of my negligee down my arms. The smooth fabric fell away from my skin and slid down my torso, revealing my breasts to his hungry touch.

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