Page 68 of Warrior Unraveled

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Wesley felt Virginia’s body shake under the force of her sobs, while he held her in his arms to comfort her. The strongest woman he’d ever met was cracking under pressure, and all he wanted to do was soothe her pain.

So much was clear to him now. She wasn’t the hard-nosed disciplinarian that the others at the compound would rather see the back of. She was a woman whose guilt was wearing her down, a guilt for which she’d been trying to atone for decades. And by her own admission, she’d never confided in anybody after telling her father, who by the sounds of it, hadn’t given her any comfort.

Wesley stroked his hand over her long hair, trying to calm her with his touch.

“You must have saved so many lives since,” he murmured softly.

“It’s not enough,” Virginia choked out.

“You’ve protected your kind ever since. You’ve done so much good. Don’t you think it’s time to forgive yourself?”

He put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head so he could look into her face. The skin around her eyes was red and puffy, her eyes still full of tears. Her lips quivered.

“You couldn’t know. We all make mistakes,” he said, grasping for anything that he hoped would make her feel better.

“But my mistake cost people’s lives.”

“How can you be sure of that?” He sighed. “The demons seeing you with Jonathan wasn’t your fault. Who knows how many demons are roaming out there, trying to ferret out a way to destroy your kind? It could have happened to anybody.”

“But it happened to me.”

“And it will happen again, to somebody else. You’re never safe from detection. Your aura identifies you as a preternatural. Demons can only be identified by their green eyes. What if they wear sunglasses? And it’s not like you can smell them. You’re at a disadvantage unless you’re invisible. And you said yourself that takes a lot of energy.” He rubbed his fingers over her cheeks to wipe away her remaining tears. “What I’m trying to say is, don’t let this guilt destroy you. You’re better than that. You’re strong, and you’re good.”

“But I have to be punished for this.”

“You’ve punished yourself enough. You continuing to beat yourself up isn’t going to bring your friends back. It isn’t going to help anybody. Put it out of your mind, and think of all the good you’ve done, the lives you’ve saved, the future you have ahead of you.”

She sniffled. “But what if I make the same mistake again? What if I’ve already repeated it?” Virginia met his gaze then, and he read the question in it. The question that had been there since the moment they’d met.

“I can’t force you to trust me. All I can do is tell you that I’ll never hurt you or your kind. But I understand that it’s hard for you to trust a stranger after what you’ve been through. Just know this: I won’t give up on you. I’ll do anything to prove to you that I’m worth your trust. No matter how long it takes. Because you’re worth it. And because I want you.”

She raised her hand and cupped his cheek. Wes turned his face to press a kiss into her palm. “Why are you so understanding? Why don’t you condemn me like my father did?”

“He should have never condemned you. He should have been there to help you through this. But I’m here now. I will remind you every single day if necessary that you don’t have to feel guilty anymore. You’ve atoned a hundred times over since then. You deserve to be happy. And if I can help you find a little happiness, then that’s what I’m gonna do.”

For the first time since Virginia had come to his room, a small smile formed on her lips. “You’re so good to me.”

He chuckled. “I can be even better, that is, if you want me to.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Are you trying to come on to me?”

“Is it working?”

“I don’t know, what do you think?” Virginia put her hand on his chest and ran her soft fingers over his skin, making it tingle with anticipation.

“Maybe I should work a little harder on my powers of seduction.” He winked at her.

“Really?” She shifted on his lap and slid her hand to his groin, where his cock was starting to lift the towel. “Harder than that?”

“Oh, yeah, much harder than that.”

Virginia untucked the towel and peeled it away so she could stroke her hand over his erection. Wes groaned, and felt his cock jerk and pump full of even more blood.

“Babe, you’d better be careful with that.”

She slid off his lap and put her hands on his knees, spreading them apart. “Oh, yeah? Maybe in that case I should use something more gentle, like my mouth.” She dropped to her knees in front of him.