Page 173 of Bound By Her

“I know you put your body on the line.”

He spun her—so fast, so effortless,—and suddenly, they were face-to-face.

His slick, bare chest burning against her corset-clad body, the heat of him making her stomach tighten.

“I know the darkness you’re talking about,” he said, his face so close that she could feel the words against her lips.

Adria swallowed.

Her breath was unsteady. She could feel the moment tilting, shifting—becoming something she wasn’t ready for.

But Kaydon wasn’t done. “When my shoulder healed, I was different.”

His voice wasn’t teasing now.

“We shatter. And we put ourselves back together. Stronger.”

She huffed a quiet laugh. “Eric thought you might be having a hard time.”

His fingertips skimmed the side of her face, and she held her breath.

“I love life,” he said simply. “I’m not about to let one experience cheat me out of it.”

His eyes—those deep, autumn eyes—held something solid. Something unshakable.

Not naïve. Not reckless. Just…him.

She arched into his body, just slightly. Feeling the thrum of his heartbeat against hers.

“So, you’re okay?” she asked, the question barely audible.

Kaydon let out a full laugh, his body shaking against hers.

“Fuck no.”

But when the laughter faded, he added softly, “But I will be.”

Her gaze fell to the floor, words forming before she could stop them. “Eric was worried.”

Kaydon’s fingers curled under her chin, tilting her head up.

He studied her. Searched her.

“Maybe I wasn’t the person Eric was worried about.”

Her chest squeezed—too tight, too much.

And then, he let her go.

He stepped back, just slightly, but it was enough.

Cold air filled the space where his warmth had been.

She should have been relieved.

Instead, she fought the ridiculous, impossible, dangerous urge to chase him.

“I’m going to find a way to repay you,” Kaydon said.

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