I drop my chin to my chest, making sure my eyes are half-lidded as he forces me to stand with the bloody knife in his hand. Helene and my parents stop their argument to revel in my pain as Kane leads back to our cell on this prison of an island. I don’t speak or drop the act as he roughly tugs on the leash. “Clean your face.”
I trip over my own feet when he tugs again on the way to the bathroom. As soon as we’re inside with the water running, he lets go of the leash and cups my face with both hands. His lips softly move over my features as he whispers, “My beautiful Delilah.”
There’s more care in his hands when he undoes the buckle on my nape. I catch sight of my reflection on the glass shower panel as he soundlessly sets it on the vanity beside the sink. Their pride makes sense now. It looks like he beat the shit out of me.
My lips are smeared in his blood like lipstick; my teeth are worse when I smile. I have to pull my bottom lip down to check that there’s no injury with the amount of blood around my mouth.
Kane stops me as he undresses me then strips down himself. Once we’re both naked, he holds my hips and walks me into the shower. The warm spray makes me hiss as watery blood runs down the back of my thighs. He soothes the sting with his palm, covering the raw skin from the spray.
“I’m sorry, koukla mou,” he whispers against my lips.
“You’re not.” I laugh lightly.
His smile is boyish as he playfully narrows his eyes. “I’m not, you’re right. I love seeing my name on you.” He walks me backwards so I’m stuck against the corner of the shower with the tiles at one side, the glass at the other. Cupping my jaw, he whispers, “Kiss me.”
I gently press against his shoulder, tilting my head to wash my mouth and face but he pushes me back. “Kiss me like this, with my blood on your lips and tongue. Let me live right here,” he traces my lips with his thumb, “until I make you come.”
My Kane.
The reverence and awe on his face is a reminder of who he used to be. I lean up on my toes to thread my arms around his neck, taking the pressure off my throbbing ankle. Like before, he’s the only person who can make me feel human. With him, I’m Delilah and I still crave humanity. More so than when I was a teenager.
“I loved who you thought I was,” I admit, then stop him from analyzing it as I seal my lips over his. There’s pain and a broken, fractured version of love that can’t exist any longer fueling us as he kneads my ass, grinding into my stomach, moaning into my mouth. He moves with purpose, cleaning his blood off my lips as he massages his tongue against mine with the same motive.
I’m left breathless as he rests his forearm against the tiles and pulls back. I follow him, searching for more, but he slowly brushes the tip of nose against mine. Without the steam surrounding us, I’d still only see Kane as he strokes my cheek with the back of his finger, barely even touching me as if he’s afraid of tarnishing me.
“You only allowed me to see half of you,” he whispers. “I was so hopelessly in love with that diluted half. What will I do now that I’ve seen every magnificent piece of you, Delilah?” He crooks his finger and traces from my brow bone to under my eye.“This mind is…” He smiles. “It’s inexplainable. It shouldn’t have survived everything we’ve done to you, but you’re a rose growing through concrete, refusing to let anyone stop you.”
Step one of ensuring I’m never the silly naïve girl again is the hardest: do not fall back in love with Kane Xandros.
I used my body to get his love because it’s what I had at my disposal. Now I use it to push it away as I press our chests together.
“One day, I’m going to make you mine again.” He curls his fingers around my nape, stopping me. “I will only ever divorce you so I can do it all over again—correctly.” His eyes flicker between mine as he lies to himself. “You’ll be my wife properly then. I won’t sign for you, you won’t have a chain around your neck, you’ll walk to me with a smile on your face. We’ll start fresh—a clean slate, a blank page that isn’t crumpled and dirty.”
Blood drips down his palm, slowly trickling against my skin as he leans back, allowing the spray to reach me.
“You’llwantto be mine again.” Dropping his hand from my face, he balls his fist then slowly extends his forefinger to bring it to my chest to write across my chest. “I’ll deserve you again.” He pauses in the middle of the word like he can feel the lump in the throat. “One day, Delilah Leroux, I’m going to kill everyone who hurt you, and you’ll say your husband did that for you.”
He steps back, allowing me to read “MINE” across my chest. The water washes the bloody letters away as he dips his head, leaning down to chase the ghost of the four letters with his tongue all while he stares into my eyes, silently begging me.
I hate my weak, fickle heart as he softly kisses down my chest.
Kane holds my waist like he’s afraid I’m going to disappear as he smiles up at me before he wraps his lips around my nipple. I have to flatten my hands on the wall behind me to stop myself from touching him.
The arrogant twat smirks as he kisses across my chest, pausing with his cheek pressed to my chest. “This will be mine again one day.” Then he gently kisses directly over my heart. “I’ll earn it back, pretty girl.” I grab his hair to pull him up, to stop him from manipulating me again, but he drops to his knees and holds my hips. “Be quiet, koukla mou.” The spray drips from his hair, clinging to his lashes. “All prayer is personal, and a pious man shouldn’t be disturbed.”
14
KANE
Delilah’s breath stutters in her chest, her stomach fluttering between my hands. Her moans are soft, airy, fucking perfection. I don’t look away from her beautiful eyes as I pull her hips closer. Her back is pressed to the corner of the shower, her cunt directly in front of my thirsty mouth.
I’m gentler than I’ve ever been as I slowly kiss her inner thigh, making my way closer to her soaked pussy calling to me. The spray dampens the taste of her but there’s still a faint iron tinge from my blood. I moan into her thigh. My Delilah—beautiful Delilah—softly strokes my hair back while I write my love for her on her skin until I reach her clit. She gasps, arching her back when I softly brush my tongue against the sensitive nerves. So fucking beautiful. An indestructible masterpiece.
I hug her thigh, pulling it up over my shoulder to take the strain off her injured ankle. “Ride my face, koukla mou.”
Her eyes slightly narrow as she looks down at the floor then back to me. “I’m standing.”
“So? Grind your needy clit against my tongue while I fuck you with my fingers. I want you drowning me by the time I’m done.”
