Page 115 of Scavenger's Oath
Then her voice, soft,hoarse. “Myles…”
I turn and—fuck—her face…
Ivy’s cheek is swollen where she was hit, dark purple already blooming like spilled ink. Her bottom lip is split, and her eyes are glassy but locked on me like I'm the only thing she sees.
“Stop,” she says, but her voice trembles. “You came. That's what matters.”
My chest caves in.
“No,” I shake my head. “Theyhurtyou. One of them had hisfucking handbetween your legs…”
Dragging my hand through my hair, I scrunch my face trying to rid the image from my mind.
Her lips part, a flicker of memory flashing in her eyes.
Gritting my teeth, my voice drops to a raw whisper. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Myles,” she starts but as she tries to sit up, she grimaces and slumps back, hands clutching the sheets.
“Your head,” I say, already leaning in. “Shit. Ivy…”
She waves me off but she's obviously in pain. Just trying to downplay it.
“It’s my back. But it’s not that bad,” she laughs hollowly through shallow breaths, fingers still tight around the sheet.
Watching her brush it off breaks my heart. I slide closer, unsure of what to do with myself and all this rage still boiling in my chest.
Then she reaches up with trembling fingers and takes my jaw in her little hand. I freeze under her touch as every thought empties out of me.
Ivy pulls me forward and—as if I didn't just paint the floor downstairs with blood—shekissesme.
Not hunger and heat.
Slow, gentle. Likeforgiveness.
As if I didn't fail her in the worst way imaginable.
At first, I’m afraid to move. Afraid to break it.
Until my hand finds the back of her neck, cradling it gently as I savour her soft lips. The taste of copper coats my tongue as our lips lock tenderly.
For a second, the chaos in my head quiets and I just breathe.
When she pulls back, she smiles softly at me with a glimmer in her eyes. A look I’ve been dying to see since the day I found her.
Trust.
It wrecks me worse than her scream. Because it’s her, finally choosing me. Knowing that I can be everything she needs. Understanding, I’d kill for her.
The adoration in her eyes pierces through my self-loathing and makes me feel like the man I’ve wanted to be for her. The one who won’t turn her away, withhold love or deny her anything.
I rest my forehead against hers, my eyes burning. “You're insane,” I chuckle breathlessly. “You kiss me like that… after I just killed three men in front of you.”
“I’ve seen men die before.” She looks away and purses her lips. “But you killed them to save me. No one ever stood up for me, even in my old life. But you fought for me,” she whispers.
Holding my shoulders a little differently now, a warmth spreads through me.
No one protected her either, huh? She knows what that feels like to be abandoned, left to fight for herself. And I made her feel protected. In her eyes, Ididn’tfail.
