Page 76 of Yearning For Her

Something inside her broke in that instant. All the emotions that had been held back by fear and adrenaline poured out. Her face crumpled, and a sob burst from her throat as tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want that. I couldn’t… Oh God, I couldn’t stop. I’m sorry.”

“Ah, Willow.” He turned toward her, and when he put his arms around her, she clung to him, burying her face against his chest. Gently, he kissed her hair. “Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was wrong. I couldn’t fight him. And I almost… If you hadn’t come…” A shudder wracked her, and she couldn’t stop the trembling that overtook her as she turned her face and pressed her cheek to his chest. “I can still feel him inside me, Kian.”

Kian cupped the back of her head, stroking her hair. “He’s gone now. You’re in control. Only you.”

Willow shoved away from him. “But I wasn’t! I knew it was wrong, everything about it felt wrong, but I couldn’t stop. I still let him. I was even…” She shook her head as more tears fell. Her next words made her ill. “Is this what you do?”

Those beautiful, sculpted lips of his fell into a deep frown, and some of the light fled from his gaze. He lifted his hands, showing his blood-streaked palms to her. The wounds he’d inflicted on himself had already healed. “Easy, Willow. I’m not your enemy.”

“But you’re like him. That…that’s how you feed.”

His eyes flashed. “I’m nothing like him. I only charm people who are already interested. Already willing. I’ve never warped anyone’s desires like he does, I’ve never bent anyone to my will.”

But how could she believe him after what she’d seen, after what she’d experienced? Was what she felt for Kain even real?

Or was he manipulating her?

Willow looked away from him, lower lip quivering. “How do I know you haven’t done it to me? That you haven’t charmed me?”

“Gods, Willow. I haven’t. I swear it, beneath sun and sky.”

She wanted to believe him, wanted those words to be true so badly it hurt. “How can I be sure?”

He closed the distance between them and cupped her jaw with both hands. When he guided her face up toward his, it was clear that there’d be no refusal, no resistance. Kian stared down into her eyes, jaw muscles ticking. “Because if I had, I would’ve already fucked you, over and over again.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I told you. My magic doesn’t work with you.”

Willow clutched his shirt. “But you tried. That first night we met. You tried to use it on me, didn’t you?”

“I thought I had. You wanted me, I felt it, and I thought I had given you the final nudge toward taking what you desired.” He laughed humorlessly. “And then you fucking left me. For all your want, you walked away, Willow.” Lifting his head, he once more met her eyes, and gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “What you felt then, and what you feel now, is real. No amount of my magic can change it.”

Willow sniffled and searched his gaze, searched that beautiful, glittering blue. And she knew. She knew he was telling the truth. It was there, open and raw, in his eyes, in his voice. “What did he mean about marking me?”

Kian pressed his lips together and glanced down the alley in both directions. “There is a means by which a fae can mark a mortal with a magical sigil. It declares ownership to all other fae. Marks the mortal as property, which is considered off-limits to others. And it serves as a bond between the fae and their mortal. One through which the fae can exert further control.”

“You mean…like a slave?”

“Yes, like a slave. Not always…but often. Sometimes worse.”

“And you intend to put your mark on me?”

“Never,” he growled vehemently, the light in his eyes flaring. “I’ve not done it once in all my years, Willow, and I’m certainly not going to start with you.”

Her tension eased upon hearing those words, but only slightly. Though Lachlan was gone, his presence lingered within her, its icy roots having sunk deep. No matter how much she willed it, her body refused to cease its trembling. “I’m scared, Kian.”

Kian wrapped his arms around her and held her against him. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

“Down this way,” someone called from the alley entrance, making Willow start.

“What the hell was it?” another person asked from the same area.

Willow turned her head in that direction to see a group of people funneling into the alleyway, all of them wary as they scanned the area.

“Felt like an earthquake or something,” one of the men said.

Kian reached down and picked up Willow’s purse. “We need to go.”

Her brow furrowed as he looped the strap over her shoulder. “But…but won’t that look suspicious?”

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