My heart galloped like stampeding wild horses. Nibbling on my raw lower lip, I dared to graze my thumb over his bloody knuckles. He didn’t hiss or pull away, instead, simply watching me.
“Did you kill someone?”
The hushed question fell from my lips, and I realized I didn’t really care what the answer was. I already knew what he was capable of. And it didn’t scare me. I felt safer with him than I had with anyone else.
A strand of auburn hair fell over his hardened features, and for the first time, I allowed myself the pleasure of brushing it away.
A shiver danced over his shoulders as his face remained impassive.
“Not tonight.”
Nodding, I raked my fingers through his beard, and he groaned. The points of his teeth flashed a brilliant white in the yellow glow of the light over the sink. My fingertips prickled, and every hair stood on end. I turned the faucet on, testing the water temperature before guiding his hand into the stream. He didn’t resist, allowing me to clean his injuries properly.
“Why waste vodka when there is water right here?” I scolded, gently working debris out of the wound.
“Apologies, sweetheart. Liquor disinfects as well as cleans.”
Blood whooshed in my ears, drowning everything else out. I teetered on a precipice I couldn’t come back from. Images from the articles I read flashed in my mind. The newspapers hadn’t even published the worst of them, from what I found.
All I knew was that Kaelen Finnegan was dangerous, lethal, andmine.
I was certain of it.
The anxious pitter-patter in my chest wasn’t because of who he was, but rather, who he was to me.
“But you have killed? That man who was found mutilated outside a club a few years ago—that was you, wasn’t it?”
Double jeopardy was in play. Whether he confirmed it or not, didn’t matter. He nodded, and I sucked in a breath. With his free hand, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his large hand cupping my face.
“My brilliant omega.” A shock zipped through the pads of my fingers as he stroked the swell of my cheek. I leaned into his touch, wanting more of it. All of it. “Does that scare you?”
“No.” It really,reallyshould, but I had seen far more terrifying things. Kaelen didn’t hide who he was. All of him was laid bare for me to see. To take. If I wanted it. “What did he do?”
“Are you asking if he deserved it? Would that make you feel better if he did?” I stiffened, and his hand drifted to my neck, his fingers flexing over my drumming pulse. “What if I told you he owed the Family a debt, and when he didn’t pay up, I collected from his flesh?”
I searched his face, annoyed by the expressionless mask.
“Seems a bit extreme. Dead men don’t pay.”
He snorted.
“True.” A darkness settled into the recesses of his eyes. His thumb pushed into my chin, tilting my head back until our gazes met. “He raped Torin’s little sister. I made it hurt. He screamed and begged for mercy, still alive when I sliced my knife across his gut.”
The grip around my throat tightened, his massive hand squeezing ever so slightly. If anyone other than Kaelen held my neck like this, I’d be on the verge of crying. But with him, I relaxed into his touch, letting his massive palm surround me.
My pulse quickened, and my vision blurred around the edges. He swept along my lip before he released me, leaving a hollow feeling in its wake. I licked my lips, relishing the faint taste of him as I aimlessly brushed the cuts on his hand.
“Now. Tell me again, are you frightened?”
Fingertips pinched my hip, pulling me closer until we were flush. His heart beat steadily beneath my hammering one. His eyes bore into mine—warm and molten—making me melt in his hold. I looked away, now nervous for an entirely different reason.
“No,” I mumbled.
“You should be.”
The water rinsed clear as I poured it over his scraped knuckles. My thumb traced the tiny cuts, the air between us becoming heavy and making it hard to breathe.
“Did this guy deserve it?” I asked, his scarred hand rough under my fingertips.
