Page 156 of Dirty Eoin

With a roar, I turn and punch the wall. If she’s in pain, I want to feel it. I want to share it with her. I want to share every-fucking-thing with her.

But she won’t let me.

I punch the wall again and again, and every time she tries to grab my arm.

Anger. Frustration.

Love.

Malky McGrath will suffer like no others have before him for what he’s done to my fucking person.

“Eoin.”

I let her soft murmurs soothe me as I stand there panting, my skin now sheened with sweat. Then I watch as she gently captures my clenched fist, kissing my knuckles until my blood glosses her lips.

I swallow thickly. Does she have any idea how much I fucking love her?

Leaning over, I capture her lips with mine. I need to taste my blood from her mouth. I kiss her gently. I don’t want to hurt her again. She doesn’t pull away or try to stop me. She’s letting me take what I need as she does the same. Her hand reaches up to grab the back of my hair, and I can immediately sense her disappointment that I’ve had it cut. She never said anything, but I know she liked that it was too long. She liked me being imperfect.

Because she’s imperfect too.

I part our lips, my mouth now filled with the metallic taste of my own blood, and then I stare at her.

Bruised. Battered. Bloodied.

Beautiful.

“Why are you here, Jaine?”

She frowns. Does she regret coming now I’ve asked a question I wished I hadn’t? I don’t want her to ever regret coming here. I don’t want her to ever regret anything with me.

But she does. She has five months’ worth of fucking regret.

“I can’t sleep properly. I haven’t since it happened. Every time I do, all I visualize is the sword and what would have happened had I let go.”

I pull her tight against my chest, inhaling the scent of wildflowers from her hair. “But you didn’t let go.”

She snorts. “Try telling that to my brain every time I drift off.”

I exhale slowly. I don’t want to move. I’m enjoying the feel of her being back in my arms too much, her chest pressed against mine. Our hearts beating together and her soft breath on my neck.

Lifting my head, I take her by the hand. “Come.”

I walk towards my bedroom. We enter the same room as before. The lights are off. There’s just the warm, welcoming glow coming from a bedside lamp.

She turns to look at me. “This isn’t a guest room, is it?”

I shake my head. “There’s never been another woman in my apartment, let alone in my bed.”

She nods slowly in acknowledgment.

I watch as she removes her clothes, then she watches as I do the same.

We’re both naked, but this isn’t about sex or giving into lust. This is about me being here for her because she needs me to be. Tonight, it’s all about me offering her a safe refuge. We both get under the covers, and I switch off the lamp. Wrapping my arms around her from behind so her small body is safely cocooned by mine, I wait until her breathing evens out before placing a soft kiss on her hair, then let myself sleep.

I’m not sure how long passes when I feel her straddling my hips. She presses her slick pussy against my cock and I’m instantly hard. There’s been no one since her.

She rubs herself against my full length, and I raise my hands to her hips to let her know she can use my body as a means of escape if that’s what she needs to do to get out of her own head space.

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