Page 217 of Toxic Kiss

Thud.

My heart pounds hard behind my ribs as he fixes those blue eyes on me. The tattoos stand out against his skin. The dark ink of pain-filled lyrics announces who he still is despite the pretty words.

Under his gentle touch is a man who will purposely make me jealous because he loves seeing the fire in my eyes. This is a man who will bribe an officer to look the other way so he can fuck me roughly in a jail cell.

Cyrus is a grade-A asshole, and that will never change. But I’ve changed.

I don’t need him to show me his sweet side. The one I’ve always known was buried within him. No. Now I crave all the parts of him, even the ones I hate.

Maybe, I always have. Maybe that’s why we work.

He isn’t the boy who held me under water, even though he still can. This is Cyrus stripped raw. It makes my heart ache because I’m the only one who knows this version of him. When he looks at me, there’s so much need in his face it almost frightens me.

Standing from the bed, he holds out his hand. I let him pull me up, and wordlessly, he begins to undress me. With each piece of clothing removed, he strips away one more layer of scar tissue from my heart.

His fingers softly trail lines along my skin. The gentle caress doesn’t match the desire in his dark gaze. He is like fire and ice. Two extremes trapped in one body, warring for dominance. But the sides calm when we are together. My presence is a neutralizer to the chaos that threatens to tear him in two.

“Lift,” he says, tapping my legs one at a time to remove my underwear.

They disappear across the room, and I stand before him completely naked.

Cy steps back as his eyes roam over my body. My muscles tense and quake in anticipation. My nipples are hard, and my breathing is uneven. I can feel the wetness gathering between my thighs as he towers over me.

“You should run, Butterfly. Find somewhere to hide and never come back here,” Cy says, his voice low as he undoes the button on his jeans.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper, and he closes his eyes as if the words hurt.

“You should. I’m not a good man, no matter how hard I try. I’ll always be toxic, and I’m terrified that I’ll destroy you.”

Taking a step toward him, I shake my head and place my hand on his chest. His skin is hot, and I can feel the steady rhythm of his heart. I slide my palm up and cup his jaw.

“You already tried that, and I’m still standing,” I say softly. “I choose you, Cyrus Vale, because for all the damage between us…I understand now. Love isn’t pretending none of it happened. It’s choosing each other despite it. I forgave you long before I admitted it. You’ve always belonged under my skin.”

His breath catches a moment before he kisses me. It is more intense than before. I can feel all the grief he’s been carrying. I give myself over to it…to him. Not because I’m weak…but because, for the first time, I trust the fall.

“Lay down,” he whispers against my lips.

Cyrus peels his jeans off as I recline and watch the show. The shiny piercings on his hard cock make my mouth water. Despite my throat still being raw from his abuse yesterday, I want to do it again.

Cy crawls up the bed, and I lick my lips. He doesn’t say anything, but I spread my legs and wrap them around his waist. My fingers run through his hair, and my nails leave lines on his neck and shoulders as he drops his lips to mine.

The kiss is not fast. True to his word, Cyrus takes his time. But each passing second heightens the desperation in my body. I wiggle and press my pussy up to rub against him.

Cy groans into my mouth, and I’m barely holding it together when he starts teasing me. He grinds down on my aching clit, and I feel the piercing flicking from side to side. It’s driving me fucking insane. A whimper of desperation ripples up from my chest as I give into the sensation.

“You’re making it very hard to behave, Butterfly. And here I was trying to be a gentleman.”

He nudges the tip of his cock into me and pulls out again.

“Cy…” His name comes out breathy.

“You want something, Butterfly?”

He teases me again and again. Only pushing in enough to set my body on fire. The piercings rub just right, making me arch off the bed.

“Cy, please…”

“Tell me what you want.”