Growling, Dom leaned forward, her shoulders rounding predatorily as she lowered her hands to the floor. Her eyes stayed locked on me hungrily as she crawled forward, a jungle cat closing in on its prey.
And though I didn’t doubt that she could have devoured me whole, I kept my shoulders rolled back and my chin held high. Right now, I had all of the power here. But the second she caught a whiff of my fear, I was done for.
“That’s better,” I cooed as she drew closer. Impatience painted her every feature as she sat back on her heels, but I simply smiled down at her. “You wanted to say something.”
Resting her hands on her thighs, she drew in a deep breath. “Kiera, I’m sorry.”
“Is that the best you’ve got?” I cocked my brow.
A sigh. “I… shouldn’t have lied to you. I shouldn’t have been so cruel. And I should have known better than to expect it all to go away on its own.”
“All true…” I tilted my head to the side, relishing in the sight of my tormentor groveling.
“So I’m on my hands and knees, begging you, Kiera. Please forgive me.”
“Do you think you’ve earned that? My forgiveness.”
“I think—” her rebuttal was immediate, but she swallowed it down with a grimace before it could dig the hole she was in any deeper. “I want to earn it. I’m trying to earn it now.”
“Show me then. How badly you want it.” I leaned forward on the trunk, forcing her to crane her neck to meet my gaze.
Then, much to my surprise, she grabbed my ankle, pulling me closer to the edge of the car. I could feel my authority starting to slip already, “Did I say?—?”
But before I could finish the sentence, Dom was pressing her lips to the sole of my foot, kissing up its center. “Please. I will do anything —anythingyou want me to. But I can’t live like this.”
With each word, her kisses grew more passionate, her hand drifting up my calf and massaging the muscle as she worshipped my feet with her lips. “I need you, Kiera. More than I’ve ever needed anything. And that fucking terrifies me.”
Her attention shifted to the tendons lining the top of one foot, while her spare hand idly massaged the arch of the other. “I will crawl through glass, I will carve your name into my skin, I will ruin my life all over again, but I just need you to let me in. Let me prove to you just how worthy I can be.”
The words, along with her soft breath tickling at my ankle, was enough to make me shudder. I was still so sensitive from Spencer taking me, and now Dom’s caress was like a livewire connected straight to my nervous system.
I couldn’t imagine that this was the same Dom who’d taken me against the bar of that train car. Though the desperation was the same, the need in her eyes paired with the reckless, shameless pursuit of the thing she wanted most.
Me.
Just the thought of that night was enough to summon a flush of excitement to my core.
“I’m sorry that I ever hurt you, Kiera. I’m sorry for every single time. But I swear on my life, if you let me back in, I’ll never let you get hurt like that again.”
The words broke something open in my chest. I gasped as I met her gaze, my legs spreading slightly as her kisses began to trail higher up my calf, crossing over the sensitive skin between my knees.
But before she could rise fully to take me, I pushed her head back, sending her right back down on her heels.
One more second, and I lose all control.
As confusion flooded her gaze, I hopped down from the Camaro and scooped up my sweatpants, leaving her on her knees as I strode toward the door.
“Kiera…” She called after me, still on her knees.
But I hardly glanced back, afraid of what might happen if I saw her like that. “We’ll talk later. Apology under consideration.”
82
KIERA
Somehow,we survived two more weeks of waiting despite The Oracle’s silence, the boredom that permeated the house, and the raging tension lingering between Dom and I.
She’d made her apology, and now the ball was in my court. I just had to figure out what the fuck to do with it…
