Page 45 of The Devil's Redemption

“We’ll work on getting you back to 100 percent and see what Hawk has to say next week. But I’m not going to allow you to push yourself too hard. It’s not worth it, Sasha.”

She opens her mouth to say something but thinks better of it and closes it again. Instead, she gives me a slight nod before hopping down off the table and walking out of the room.

Hawk gives me a sympathetic glance before I follow her out of the room. When I catch up to her in the hallway, I snake my arm around her waist.

“Hey,” I turn her toward me, forcing her to stop walking away. “You know that I only want what’s best for you, right?’

She shakes her head slightly but answers, “I know.”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to go back to work, it’s just… With this threat that Jasper left… I would die if anything happened to you again. Once we get rid of him for good, I will feel differently.”

She takes a deep breath before responding.

“I know. I’ll feel better once I know he’s been dealt with, too. But…” she begins to choke up a little bit. I take her face in my hands and try to calm her down. “He’s taken so much of me already. I need to get back to my life. I need to show him that he hasn’t won. That I’m still whole.”

“I get that. Really, I do.”

I want to ask her to tell me what happened. I’ve been consumed with knowing but notreallyknowing what that bastard did to her. I want her to give me her pain. I want to bear the weight of it.

“Sasha, I…” I begin, but I can’t ask her.

I can’t ask that she relive that pain. That sorrow.

“What is it?” she asks earnestly.

“I’m just still so fucking sorry. About everything.”

“It’s not your fault, Blade,” she promises.

I nod my head before leaning down to steal a kiss from her.

“Let’s go upstairs for a little while.”

Though slightly apprehensive, she agrees.

I know she’s been through something terrible. I would never try to make light of that or minimize what happened. But I wonder if I can help her replace that fear? Replace his touch with my own? I follow her up the stairs to my bedroom, then I close the door behind us. As she sits on the bed, I lean up against my dresser, waiting to see what she may do or say next. But there’s nothing.

Slowly, I walk to her. Her eyes catch mine, and she can see exactly what’s in them. I don’t stop my forward progress, I only trust that she will lead once I get things started. If she wants nothing to do with it, then I’ll stop. But if she doesn’t put an end to it, I’ll take her for the first time in far too long, hopefully erasing some of her pain and replacing it with the pleasure she’s come to crave.

I lean down, gripping her face in my hands, and my lips land on hers.

She doesn’t stop me.

My tongue reaches out, massaging hers as I push through her soft, parted lips. I can’t stop the moan that escapes me as I place my knee on the bed next to her and lay her back onto the mattress.

She doesn’t stop me.

My hands move from her cheeks, down her neck and over her shoulders. I stop at her elbows before covering her tits with my aching palms.

She doesn’t stop me.

Why?

Is she okay? Is she scared? Is she visualizing me as Jasper, and she thinks there’s nowhere to go?

I pull my lips from hers and stare, waiting for her to open her eyes. I need to see if she’s okay. But they never open.

“Sasha… Open your eyes.”

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