Page 102 of The Villain

I stared at him, my broken knight. “I don’t want better, I just want you.”

A rough noise groaned from his chest. “Am I worth saving?”

“Yes.” I reached for his cheek. “I’ll save you if you save me, too.”

His head dipped lower. “Tomorrow,” he said softly. “Tomorrow, I’ll save you,” he promised, his mouth inches from mine. “But tonight, I’m going to love the hell out of you.”

And then his mouth crushed mine.

Chapter Twenty

Athena

It was a kiss that was decades in the making. One that had faced death and died and was now resurrected.

His mouth consumed mine. Devoured it like he finally had the right to take what had always been his. We’d both lost so much, but sometimes it was only loss that could reveal what we’d always had.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting out a whimper of protest as he pulled me to him.“Your shoulder.” The last thing I wanted was to hurt his wound.

“It’s fine,” he growled, biting along my jawline until he reached my neck, settling at the sensitive spot just under my ear, the strokes of his tongue planting a vine of fire in my veins.

“You were shot.”

His free hand slid to my ass, gripping it hard so I could feel him. The length of him pressed into my stomach.“It’s fine.”

My fingers curled into the ends of his hair. For a second, I let my eyes drift shut, losing myself to the magic of his mouth.Tongue and teeth and lips—my skin was a blank canvas for the artistry of his touch. A canvas of dark night tattooed by the start of his kiss.

“Athena,” he groaned against me, a thrill of need racing to my bones when I felt how his big body trembled with wanting me.

And then my feet started to leave the ground.

“No!” My eyes went wide, and I backed out of his one-armed hold. “You’re not carrying me like this. Injured.”

His eyes glittered with lust. “That bullet could still be lodged in there and it wouldn’t stop me from taking you back to my bed.”

Darius advanced on me like a predator coming for his prey, and I had to stop him. I didn’t want him to hurt himself or make his shoulder worse.

“Wait.” I pressed my palm to his chest and then slowly slid it up to his cheek, my thumb stroking along his scar.“Do you trust me?”

“With everything I have.” His solemn promise would’ve sent me into a puddle at his feet, melted from the heat of his loyalty, if I wasn’t so intent on what I was about to do…and the thrill it gave me.

I met his stare, soaking in the depths of its sweetness, before I murmured, “Close your eyes.”

One brow lifted. Surprised. Then intrigued.Then hungry.And slowly, his eyes drifted shut.

I bit into my bottom lip, never having done anything like this in my entire life, but the way I needed him—the way I wanted him to have me and trust me—was beyond anything I could deny.

Carefully, I reached for the edge of the wrap used to sling his arm to his chest. Pulling it free, I slowly unraveled thefabric, feeling the heavy thump of his breaths like a bull blindfolded before the charge.

“What happens if I peek?” he rumbled, and I swore he stole a quick glance once I had the bandage wrap in my hands.

“Nothing, because I’m going to make sure you can’t,” I murmured and stretched the fabric over his eyes.

“Athena…” His tone was hoarse and hesitant as I wound the fabric around his head, blinding him completely.

“I want you to know…to feel what it’s like to trust me the way I trusted you,” I said softly, securing the blindfold in place.

I caught the flare of his nostrils and the ripple of tension in his body. He wasn’t used to being vulnerable. Not with his past. Not with his secrets. And not with his body.

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