Page 25 of Savage

I ended the call and stared at the screen for a moment, my hand trembling around the phone. The weight of Marcy’s words pressed down on my chest, thick and suffocating. My stomach twisted as my thoughts spiraled.

If I had looked harder or said something to Lainie sooner, they might not have had the opportunity to do another trial run…whatever that even was.

The bathroom door creaked open behind me, and Talon filled the doorway. His bare chest rose and fell as his gaze sweptthe room as though he was searching for a threat. His hair was still mussed from being asleep, but it didn’t take away from the intensity of his focus, or his rugged sexiness.

“What happened?”

The concern in his rough voice hit me like a gut punch. I tried to speak, but the words got stuck in my throat.

He crossed the small room in two long strides, his hand coming up to brush against my cheek. “Tamara.”

“I messed up,” I whispered. “I should’ve seen it. I worked there and didn’t know. People got hurt. Maybe even died. And I just…didn’t see what was happening. And when I finally did, I ran.”

His jaw flexed, and something dark flickered behind his eyes. His voice was low and fierce as he commanded, “Don’t.”

I blinked up at him.

“You don’t carry this,” he said, cupping the back of my neck and pulling me in until our foreheads touched. “I do.”

My breath caught.

“You’re mine. And if these bastards try to get to you, they’ll have to kill me first.”

Everything inside me cracked. The fear, the guilt, the shame. I didn’t know how to hold it anymore. But somehow, I didn’t feel like I had to, with his words anchoring me.

Talon didn’t pull away. He stayed right there, forehead pressed to mine, one hand cradling the back of my neck while the other curled around my waist. He held me together just by being close.

“Marcy called. She’s one of the nurses I worked with.”

His muscles tensed, but he stayed right where he was. “What did she say?”

I explained about the trial run before whispering, “It’s all too much.”

“That’s why I’m here,” he rasped. “You don’t need to carry this alone. You have me to do the heavy lifting on shit like this now, baby.”

His lips brushed my forehead, and the dam inside me cracked again. Not in the same way as earlier. This wasn’t fear. It was relief mixed with something deeper.

Sometimes, all you could do was cry it out. That was exactly what Talon gave me, holding me through my tears. When they passed, I lifted my face. His eyes met mine, dark and dangerous, but so full of caring that my chest ached.

“Better?”

“Yeah.” I sniffled. “But only because of you.”

He brushed the tears from my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. “Good.”

“Why do you make me feel so safe?”

His expression didn’t change, but emotion flared in his gray-blue orbs. Then he leaned in and kissed me like he was staking his claim. There was no hesitation or slow build. His mouth crashed into mine, hot and demanding. I gasped, and he took full advantage, his tongue sweeping in and claiming every inch of me.

His fingers tightened at my waist as he lifted me to my feet before backing me against the wall.

This kiss made me feel like I was his entire world. As though this was the only way he knew how to tell me I wasn’t alone anymore.

And oh boy, did I need it.

I kissed him back with everything I had, tangling my hands in his hair to pull him closer. My knees felt shaky, and my breath was unsteady, but I didn’t care. Not when he poured so much into the press of his lips and swipe of his tongue against mine. When Talon finally pulled back, his chest rose and fell like he’d run a mile.

His thumb brushed over my cheek. “You’re mine. Doesn’t matter what comes next. You’re not facing it alone.”

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