Page 24 of Katie 2

“You know what I want,” I say, my voice low. It’s a command, something we both know too well.

She doesn’t say anything, but her eyes drop to my hands, and she tenses when she sees the blood there. Her hand covers her mouth in surprise. “Brad…”

I don’t answer. I don’t need to. She already knows.

I edge closer, and her back hits the side of the counter. I can almost taste her fear now. It bites at me in the air between us. The tension is sharp, but familiar. Safe.

“You know why I’m here,” I mutter again. She doesn’t answer, but I don’t expect her to.

I reach out, one hand curling around her neck. Not to hurt, not yet, but just enough to feel the soft pulse beneath my fingers. She gasps as she takes in the bruises and marks on my face. She should see it for what it is—my determination to keep her safe and my willingness to fight for what we have. It won’t take her long to figure out every mark is from the fight with Dan. Just like she’ll soon realize the fury still burns inside me.

She trembles beneath my hand, and part of me wants to hold her there, to feel her shake, to remind her who she belongs to.

But then I see it in her eyes. She’s scared. She’s scared of what’s coming. Or perhaps of what I’ve done.

“Tell me you’re mine,” I whisper, my voice catching in my throat. “Tell me you need me.”

She blinks rapidly. “I need you,” she answers. The words fall from her lips, fragile and unsure, but they’re enough. They have to be enough.

All I can cling to is the need to claim her, to remind her that she’s mine in every way that matters.

All I can think about is how I’m going to make this right. How I’m going to make her see that no one else can have her. Not Dan. Not anyone.

“I won’t let you go,” I growl, tightening my grip on the belt, “not now, not ever.”

Her eyes widen and her lips tremble. There’s a moment—just a second—where she seems to remember who I really am. Every rough, intense thing I’ve done to her builds in her eyes, overwhelms her. But she doesn’t move away. She doesn’t fight me.

Not yet.

My fingers loosen on the leather belt as I tie it around her neck. He blush burns my skin, but I don’t give her the chance to speak.

“You know you belong to me, don’t you?” I whisper, my voice dark and low, close to her ear.

Katie swallows thickly. Her eyes flicker briefly toward the blood on my hands. I tug the belt just a little harder, tugging it tighter against her skin, not enough to hurt, not yet.

“Say it, Katie,” I demand, my voice more forceful now. “Say that you’re mine.”

She’s scared. I can see that. But she’s also still here, still letting me hold her like this. That tells me everything I need to know.

“I’m yours,” she whispers, the words soft but real.

I let out a breath, feeling a slight sense of relief. I was right—she’s not going anywhere. She could have said no. She could have ended our fun and opened an incendiary fury in me, but she didn’t.

She’s not leaving me. Not running from me. Not unless I let her.

Her eyes glance at the blood again, and I see something else. A strange kind of understanding, like she’s finally accepting the truth of what this is.

“You want me to stop?” I ask quietly, my grip relaxing just enough for her to breathe easily. I make it sound like a question, but I already know the answer.

“No, Brad,” she says, her voice small but determined.

I smile coldly. “Good.”

I edge back, only to grab her wrist, dragging her toward the front door. There’s no struggle, not really. Katie so rarely fights me anymore unless I surprise her like I did when she was sleeping.

She doesn’t fight because she needs me like I need her. She understands the things I can’t put into words.

I don’t look at her as I open the passenger door of my truck, just gesture for her to get in.

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