“Then?” What others would hear as a rough demand, I perceive as intimacy. There’s reverence in how he cups my cheeks, despite the tension in his jaw. “I need to be a good husband. Need to know everything about you.”
“A husband?” My voice is raw. From the gag. From the shock. “Myhusband?”
“Yes.” No hesitation. No second-guessing or offering me a way out. It’s ayesthat cuts as deep as his knife. “What do you thinkminemeans? What do you think filling you up with babies means?”
“You kind of need to ask that before you make someone your wife,” I say without a shred of reproach. Maybe…maybe I want him to ask me?
“No.” Resolve hardens his expression. “When we get out of here, I’ll make you my wife.”
My stomach twists as I let out the question that scares me the most. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t want anyone else.” A low growl rumbles from his chest, vibrating through me. “You don’t either.”
That earlier hope of clinging to my sanity is a distant, laughable dream. Because when he repeats his wish to marry me, the words make sense. They don’t strike me as madness at all.
They land softly inside me, a lock clicking into place.
My soul breathes easier as I absorb them.
Yes, our bond is unnatural. Wild. Forged in blood.
A connection that sparks while my sister lies paralyzed. While her boyfriend’s skin is going to be dropped at Knox’s doorstep sometime later today.
Despite everything, I’ve fallen for him, this savage, this stranger.
He was inside you. Takes care of you. Not a stranger anymore, is he?
He isn’t. Against all odds, in less than forty-eight hours, I’ve caught feelings for Knox.
“Is it crazy that I don’t?” I ground myself through our connection with my fingertips on his cheeks.
“Crazy? No.” Knox’s lips tug in the tiniest smirk. “My family and I…we were calledcrazy. Many times. By the living-hides. And?—”
“Thepeople, Knox. We’re people.”
“Living-hides.” His smirk fades, jaw tightening.
I don’t argue, leaving it at that. This moment is too precious to ruin. We’ll talk later. I hope.
“I was saying…” The tension in him eases a little. “You’re different. Smart. Beautiful. Even when you fight me, it’s sweet. There’s nothing crazy about you.” His voice drops. “Now tell me what happened. Tell me how not to hurt you next time.”
Right. He needs answers only I can give him. “You didn’t hurt me. There was nothing you could’ve done to avoid, uh, my hymen.”
He frowns, confusion darkening his eyes.
I clear my throat. “The blood, it was just a sign you were my first.”
“What?” His fingers clamp around my jaw, tight and demanding. “So when you said I’d be your first, was that some code I missed? Did it mean I should’ve been more careful? Because—fuck—I didn’t know. I—fuck. How do I fix it?”
How can someone so brutal and murderous look so adorable?
“It wasn’t a code. You’ve done nothing wrong.” As his frown deepens, I rush to add, “I would’ve bled either way, gentle or not.I’m built this way, but it doesn’t mean I’m hurt. Just means I’m not a virgin anymore. That’s all.”
“Well, I’m not bleeding.” The more confused he seems, the more ruthless his hold on me is, and I let him be rough with me. I’m growing addicted to his care. “I was a virgin too.”
“There’s no barrier on your cock. Nothing to show you were a virgin.”
“Okay. If my body doesn’t show it, then I’ll say it again so you’ll know.” He presses in closer, his body caging mine as if to block out the rest of the world. “I hadn’t been with anyone else. I won’t lie to you, Trouble. Ever.”
