Page 45 of Possessive Vows

I don’t understand what she means. A second tear escapes her lashes. When I wipe it away, my thumb brushes over the thin white scars on her cheek.

The only proof on her face of what she survived. The only marks she can never cover with clothes. The marks she must see every time she looks in the mirror.

“Eight,” I growl.

She takes a deep breath. Shifts her gaze back to my face. And decimates my soul with her whisper.

“Six more to kill.”

Icy fury closes my throat.

I seal my vow with a nod.

They cut her for every man who hurt her. My woman survived horrors no human should ever have to survive. Eight men beat and raped her. Two are dead.

The other six will wish they were.

I’ll make sure of it.

Killing my brother is no longer a matter of family honor.

It is very, very personal.

Chapter 11

Camilla Vivaldi

Every part of me tremblesat the fire in Dimitri’s bright blue eyes. His fury matches mine, and for the first time since my attackers ran my car off the road, I no longer feel alone. He sees me.

All of me.

His nod is all I need. He’ll ensure the monsters who hurt me will suffer and die in the most horrible ways possible. My dark soul revels in his silent vow.

The hunger in his gaze banishes the constant shame battering at my insides. My ruined body heats with anticipation, and despite the fear coursing through me, desire heats my blood.

My nipples pebble and clit throbs. Slower to respond, my core gives a weak squeeze, the sensation unpleasant.

It’s too soon. I’m not ready. Misery echoes through me as I recall how difficult it was to recover from my surgery. How emotionally devastating it was. How mentally draining.

I step back, the buzzing in my brain warning of another panic attack.

He doesn’t chase me, but the lust shining from his blue orbs promises wicked delights. Without a word, he vows he’ll break down my walls and build me into a stronger version of myself. One with him by my side and in my bed.

I want it so badly my knees turn to jelly. Goosebumps rise on my exposed flesh, and with only my panties covering my sex, Dimitri’s heavy-lidded gaze stokes the heat in my veins.

“You are beautiful,moya so´lnyshka,” he rumbles.

My breath catches in my throat as his deep, smooth voice banishes the horrible words of my rapists.

“I was a model before, but they stole that from me, too. Iwasbeautiful. Not anymore,” I say through tingling lips.

Piercing blue eyes meet mine.

“Nyet,so´lnyshka. Your scars do not make you ugly. You are still beautiful,” he vows.

The honesty in his tone makes me want to believe him, but I have too much emotional damage to accept his words. I lift my chin, silently disagreeing with him.

“I have many scars. Do they make me ugly?” he asks.

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