Page 136 of Fated to the Hunters
Throughout the day, the need for pain intensified. No kiss, no touch of hers could ease the urge to cut. He held her close, making sure she was distracted and only dropping his façade when he knew she wasn’t around. She busied herself with unpacking the old backpacks and washing the dirty clothes, keeping her safe distance from the weapons. Ezra took those, setting them in the spare bedroom where he knew she was less likely to go.
That evening, he held her until she was fast asleep before he carefully rolled out of bed, retrieving one of his daggers. Thoughhis lungs functioned just fine, he’d hardly been able to breathe all day. She wasn’t suffocating him, but his conversation with Mateo lingered in his mind. The longer it festered, the more he knew he had to do as Mateo suggested.
Ezra stepped out into the cool, night air, finally feeling his lungs expand. He sank the dagger deep into his thigh, feeling as if the pain kicked his lungs into gear again. He sat on the porch stairs and stared up into the star-filled sky. The moon was bright, though not entirely full.
He focused on the cool air burning his lungs as he inhaled deeply and let the pain take control. He was so lost in the sting and the blood dripping down his outer thigh that he didn’t notice Scarlett until she sat next to him on the stairs. He froze, following her gaze down to his thigh, where the tip of the dagger was deep in his flesh.
Fuck.
“You didn’t come back to bed.” Her voice was soft, though laced with concern.
“I’ll be right there.”
She laid her hand softly over his, and he surrendered the knife without a fight. She rested the blade onto her bare lap,hisblood staining her precious skin. He wasn’t sure why, but it made him sick to his stomach.
“Scarlett,” he breathed, reaching for the blade, but Scarlett stopped him.
“Have you been hiding this from me? I mean I haven’t seen you cutting yourself since that day in your room. I didn’t know how to talk to you about it.”
“I haven’t cut myself since then.”
“But you have suppressed the urge, haven’t you?”
“I have.”
“Why?”
“You,” he stated plainly. How was he supposed to put into words that he was scared to lose her? Or even worse—that he was scared todisappointher.
Scarlett sighed and turned his hand over. One thumb circling his palm, her other running over the ridges of his forearm. “You don’t have to change who you are for me.”
“What if you don’t like that version of me?”
“I would rather learn to love every side of you than to never know your true self at all. I wantyou, not the person youthinkI want.”
Scarlett picked up the weapon, and his heart nearly burst out of his chest as she ran the tip of the blade hesitantly over his skin between two old scars. It barely drew a drop of blood, but watching her cut him and satisfy a need she didn’t understand made him woozy.
“I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to hide yourself. I’m not saying that it will be easy for me, or that I will enjoy seeing you hurt.” She took in a deep breath, holding it for a few beats before releasing it. Her thumb ran over the mark she’d left on his skin, and the irritation from it only made it that much sweeter. “I will do my best to meet your needs. I might not do it like any of the other women you’ve been with, but I hope you can forgive me.”
Why in thehellwas she asking for his forgiveness? After all, it was him who was asking far too much of her. “There is nothing to forgive.”
“You are too sweet and so very patient with me.” Scarlett looked up, and he let himself drown in the storm behind her eyes as she laid his hand on her lap and reached to cup his face. “I love you, Ezra, and I can only trust in Isis that she will help you see that I will do my best.”
He blinked, his vision blurry. He didn’t understand why until salt hit his lips—he was crying. “S-Scarlett,” he stuttered, trying to form his thoughts into coherent words. “You are the best thingthat ever happened to me. Nothing compares and nothing will ever compare to you.”
“I love when you say my name,” she whispered.
Ezra’s lips twitched into a smile, and he could no longer resist her. He leaned down and softly stole a kiss. “I love you,Scarlett,with every piece of my broken, scarred soul.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Scarlett
With another kiss, Ezra seemed to seal his promise for eternity. His words sank through her skin into her muscles, penetrating her bones and soothing all the way into her soul. She’d always been scared that she wouldn’t be able to meet his needs, but finding the courage to cut him and give him the release he craved, felt good in a strange yet empowering way. It only proved how strong she could be for the ones she loved.
Isis trusted her to take care of Ezra in every sense, and she’d just taken the first step in doing so.
Scarlett crawled into his lap, tilting her head to deeped the kiss. His fingers pushed under her shorts and grabbed her bare ass, tugging her even closer. Scarlett felt his erection beneath her but when she tried to rock against it, his hands stilled her and he shook his head.
