Page 61 of Blood So Brutal

“Youfeel guilty?” He took a half step closer. “You havenothingto feel guilty over, Huntress. You’re not the one who ruined everything. You’re not the one who?—”

“I’m the reason your wings are gone, am I not?”

“My fatheris the reason my wings are gone.”

“I’m the reason you’ve been forced to live as your father’s servant for your entire life. It’s all been for this.” I held my hands out, flaring my new wings as far as I could, stretching them. “Is this what he wants? Because fuck, Wolf, I’m half-tempted to just give it to him so you could have your life back.”

His eyes darkened. “Don’t say that.”

“I don’t want to say it. Fuck, I don’t want tothinkit, Wolf, but that’s the truth! I’m not good at this!”

“Good at what?”

I started to respond but stopped myself. I took a long, calming breath and tore my eyes away from him so I could answer, “I’m not good at acting like I don’t care about you.”

Wolf closed the distance between us gently then slowly brought his hands up to my chin, forcing my eyes to his. “Say that again.”

I bit my tongue. I already said way too fucking much. “I hate you,” I breathed.An obvious lie.

He smiled, glancing down to my lips. “My violent, violent Huntress.” He brought his lips down to mine—just a breath away from me but not touching. He didn’t quite kiss me, just teased me, taking me in as if he was seeing me for the first time, as if he was holding me for the first time. “I never thought you would care about me again.” His voice cracked. My chest tightened.

“I didn’t want to,” I breathed. “Not after everything. I never thought I would let myself trust anyone again, especially not you.”

Only the faintest touch of pain flowed through our bond, but I moved my hands to his waist and felt the rush of something else cover it.

“I do not deserve you,” he whispered, the same thing he whispered to me our first night in The Golden City, before his father. Before the wings. Before everything. “But I will gladly spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

I thought he was about to kiss me, but he stopped and smirked. “Now turn around.” He backed up, and I instantly missed the heat of his body. “You have many admirable features, Huntress, but these…” He whistled quietly as he surveyed my wings. “Theseare impressive.”

I turned to face the wall so he could look at them. They were nothing like Wolf’s wings. Wolf’s angel wings had been brutal and muscular, but also soft and caressing.

No, these wings were sharp. There was nothing soft or caressing about them. I felt my power moving through them, and I used my breath to force that power out, expanding the wings even further until I felt the stretch at the base of my spine.

Wolf’s fingers trailed the waistline of my pants, toying with the hem of my shirt. I sucked in a breath when his other hand came down on the tip of my left wing.

It was a sensation I had never come close to feeling before. Every touch from his hand sent my nerves into a frenzy. The wings didn’t have much feeling, but they were sensitive to his touch, like they were made only for him.

“Let me feel how I touch you,” he whispered. I instantly knew what he meant. I lowered the mental shields to my bond, forcing the delicate sensation through it.

Wolf laughed under his breath. “Now I’m going to show you how you tortured me all those times with my own wings.”

“How did I—” I was cut off by Wolf’s right hand slipping under the back of my shirt. His palm slipped up between my shoulder blades, narrowly skimming each base of my wings.

Heat immediately pooled between my thighs.

Then, he pushed—lightly, guiding me forward until I pressed my own hands against the wall for support.

“That’s my girl,” he whispered.

Then, he ripped the shirt off entirely.

I gasped, starting to turn and face him, but he kept his hand solid on my back. “Let me look at you like this,” he said, his breath tickling the back of my neck. “Let me see how fucking powerful you are.”

The low growl in his voice sent a chill through my entire body. I stood before him in nothing but a thin chestwrap, one that did very little to cover anything that mattered.

But Wolf’s entire body was large enough to cover mine. The cool breeze disappeared as Wolf put both hands on the back of my neck, encapsulating me in his warmth. Then, ever so slowly, he slid those hot hands down my bare back.

“Wolf,” I warned, clenching my thighs together. “You’re teasing me.” His fingers barely brushed the base of my wings, sending flares of heat through my entire body.

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