Page 99 of Cinder
I’m no longer the virginal bride my brother promised Viktor.
Lars secures me in his arms, and I smile, feeling content and safe. And I let myself stay like that. Cocooned in contentment and safety, long after I feel Lars’s breath soften with sleep.
My eyes close.
I could get used to this.
Feeling warm and loved.
Safe inhis arms.
My eyes flick open, and a burst of fear chases away any contentment.
Because I’m not safe. Not here. Not anywhere.
This isn’t real.
Lars is not my knight in shining armor.
He can’t be.
Because there is no escaping Luca or Viktor.
I need to get back to the motel.
I need to stop thinking I’m living inside some fairytale where the princess gets her happily ever after. Because that’s not my reality.
I manage to slip out of bed without waking Lars. But I pause to watch him sleeping before I leave, absorbing him into memory.
Sadness crawls into my chest. He looks beautiful. Strong and muscular, his powerful body taking up most of the bed. The sheet has slipped down to his knees and his cock rests thick and long on his thigh.
That was inside me.
I lick my lips, wishing things could be so much different.
I turn away and pick up my scattered clothes.
“Are you seriously sneaking out on me?”
His voice stops me before I get the chance to dress.
I turn back and look at him lying on the bed. His glorious, inked body a stark contrast to the white sheets. He doesn’t attempt to cover his nakedness.
“I should go,” I say, stepping into my panties.
“No kiss goodbye?” he asks.
I walk back to the bed and climb on. Leaning down, I kiss him goodbye, but in a swift move, he rolls us so I’m trapped under him.
When I look up into his eyes, I see the affection there. “Stay with me tonight. I want to wake up with you in the morning.”
“I wish I could, but I have to get home.”
“That motel isn’t home. You should stay here with me until we can find you somewhere better than that shithole.”
I lift my head and brush my lips across his. “How about we talk about this later.”
“Why?”
