Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
I leaned in and kissed her. It was my favorite way to silence her when she was fretting about things she had no need to fret over. “There’s no reason for you to be sorry. And I’m telling you right now, I will work through those issues. Because I need to be with you, Scarlet. In every way possible.”
As I looked into her eyes, she gasped and her whole body shivered. Her fingers curled into my shoulders as she clung. “But you said --”
“I did, sweetheart. Look. We don’t have a lot of time so let me just say that you’re not the first woman I’ve seen driven to the brink. But you’re the one who snagged my heart.” She sucked in a breath, tears forming in her lovely green and gold eyes. “And before you go thinkin’ it’s because I feel sorry for you, it’s not. Not even close.”
“I wasn’t, you know, trying to escape for myself. If it were just me, I’d have left the second I realized there was an MC in the area willing to protect me.”
I nodded. “Wylde said he was pretty sure you were protecting your sisters.”
She nodded. “I was. Hammer said if I tried to tell Claw, Dad would just give him one of my sisters. Or both of them. He said if Claw didn’t, he had plenty of men in Grim Road who’d take care of Sunshine and Rainbow. If I ran from him, I knew it would be the same. It wasn’t something sexual, Mars. He never touched me, and I have no idea why. He was punishing me. He wanted to hurt me but seemed to think I was… I don’t know. Dirty? Not someone he wanted to touch? He never said, really. He threatened to let his brothers in Grim have me if I tried to run, but he never touched me. Sexually, that is.” She winced, tears spilling from her eyes now. “I thought that, if I… well, if I killed myself, I could get away from him and my sisters would still be safe.”
“That bastard is gonna get everything he deserves when I get my hands on him. I promised you I’d make him suffer and that’s a promise I intend to keep.”
“I wish I could tell you I didn’t want you to. I can see that it might take a piece of your soul when you do it. But I’m just selfish enough to let you do it anyway. But my promise to you is that I’ll find a way to put your soul back together.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her. “Baby, I think you already have.”
She leaned in to kiss me and this time, I took that kiss where I really wanted to go. I swept my tongue across the seam of her lips and she opened willingly, meeting my tongue with a tentative stroke of her own. She shivered again, letting go of a small whimper. When she continued lapping at the inside of my mouth with an experimental stroke, I knew she wasn’t afraid. Still, I needed to make sure.
“I don’t want to frighten or hurt you, Scarlet.”
“You won’t,” she breathed. “You’re not.”
“Tell me what you want from me, honey. I have to hear the words.”
“I want you to make me yours. All the way, Mars. It’s selfish, I know. But it’s what I want.”
“So I can keep you safe from Hammer.”
“No.” She smiled at me. A beautiful, tender smile. “Because you’re the man who gave me hope. I’d never expect you to do something you didn’t want, but I’m telling you right now, I never want to be with another man. Could never be with another man. Not in any sense of the word. I’d always compare him to you and that’s not fair to anyone.”
“Fuck. Me.” It was my prayer. The only thing I could think of. “I’ll be good to you, honey. I’ll protect you with my life and I’ll never cheat.”
“I’ll be your partner and always have your back. I’ll be whatever you need.”
“Together.” I put my forehead against hers once again.
“Yes, Mars. Together.”
I kissed her again because I had to. Unexpectedly, she tugged at my shirt until I moved my arms to let her pull it free from my body. She leaned in to nuzzle the notch in my chest just below my throat, then she licked up my neck and nipped my chin. My fucking cock shot rock-fucking-hard. I tried to shift away from her, but she just followed me with her hips. There was no doubt what she wanted. She wasn’t being shy or even the least bit hesitant. No. She took this biker and brought it to him.
“I know you think I’m fragile, Mars. I promise you I’m not. I’ve been beaten down, and yes, I hurt myself, but not because I didn’t want to live. Never that. But I’d do anything to protect the people I love. Anything.”