Page 56 of Redd

“Not that one, the other one.”

“What's your deal?” she asked, snapping her hands to her hips. “You don't see me asking you about your tattoos or the scar on your neck.”

Tugging up the collar on my shirt, I threw my arm out and snatched her hand from her waist. “What happened? Why is your palm like this?”

Yanking her hand free, her mouth turned paper thin. “I don't have to tell you a fucking a thing. It's none of your business.”

I had struck a nerve. But I ignored her defensive stance and pressed her. The scars I could see were bad enough, they made my insides boil. There was no doubt that she had been beaten. The long lines reminded me of belt marks, but hers went far deeper than anything I had endured.

But her hand was a different story, with thick white skin, curling and crawling like fossilized worms under the surface. . .

I'm going to kill that motherfucker.

“Tell me who did that, was it one of those men? Tell me it was the guy who came up on us first.” Softening my eyes, I pleaded silently with myself, hoping that the person responsible was already dead.

“It wasn't him or the other guy, it was—one man.Diablo, the only man that had authority to disfigure me if he pleased. And he pleased, over and over.” Her eyes glossed over, holding in tears she didn't want to let out. “Can we not do this? I don't want to think about it.” Raising her fingers, she nervously played with her lips. “It was my fault most of the time anyway, I would screw up. I deserved—”

Don't you dare—

Cutting her off, I refused to let her foolishly put blame on herself. “You deserved none of that.” Taking a step in, I held my hand up, slicing the air. “None of it was your fault, there's nothing you could have ever done that would deserve treatment like that.” I wasn't going to let her try and make excuses for what was done to her, there was no way I was going to let her think that she earned the scars she had been given. “I'd save you over and over again, it wouldn't matter how many times he tried to take you back. I won't let you go, I won't let him touch you ever again.”

“Redd, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you have to understand, I'm not worth the risk you're taking. I'm sorry for putting you in this—”

Swooping in, I cupped her face, tracing her jaw with my thumbs. Her skin was soft and delicate like porcelain. Her cheeks flushed, turning the prettiest shade of crimson. Trailing the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip, she let out a light exhale, tipping her head into my palm ever so slightly.

Letting my eyes settle on hers, I did exactly what I had been talking myself out of.

I kissed her.

Smashing my lips onto hers, I stole her taste, I stole her breath and her pulse as I kissed her like a woman should be kissed.

She didn't want to think about her past, so I gave her something to think about. I gave her a new memory to look back on, a new moment that wasn't built off pain.

Her body stiffened like a board in my hands, and I expected her to shove me off and jump back. She didn't.

So I kissed her harder, slipping my tongue into her mouth and licking with gentle flips and soft twirls. She tasted sweet, with a hint of innocence and a spice of temptation.

Her nipples hardened, grazing my chest as I pulled her closer. Parting her lips wider, she opened and accepted whatever was happening between us.

Digging my fingers into her hair, I tugged at the roots, tipping her head back so my tongue could go deeper.

The muscle in my pants throbbed, pulsing hard and fast as my heart sped up and the blood began to surge through my veins, feeding my body.

Bijou moaned into my mouth, her muscles relaxing, chest falling forward as her hands drifted up to my shoulders. She kissed me back. Her tongue danced around mine, lips suckling and plumping with desire.

Slow down, don't push her before she's ready.

Fuck it, take her. You want her, so take her.

My brain fought with itself, battling the good and evil as I tempered my own heat. I knew what I wanted, and I knew what the right thing to do was.

It wasn't doing this now, it wasn't taking advantage of her if she felt weak or had reverted into some state of protection. Her body came alive, but that didn't mean her head was in the same place.

Pulling my lips from hers, I flicked my eyes around her face, trying to read what was running through her head. Was she upset I had kissed her? Was she angry that I over stepped some invisible boundary she had set up around herself?

In the end, it didn't really matter. Even if she was willing to give herself to me right then, tomorrow she might regret her moment of forbidden pleasure.

There was enough going on that she had to deal with, regret didn't need to be another emotion for her to have to wrangle.

“Bijou, there is nothing I want more than for you to know that you're worthy of this world. It's not always going to be full of pain, it's not always going to be full of hurt.” Brushing my fingers across her forehead, I pushed the loose hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “You're alive, you're here. . .” Pausing, I brought her face to my lips and kissed her forehead. “Give me permission to do this, let me show you what you're worth.”

I kissed her to show her she was alive.

I kissed her to show her she was still beautiful.

And that kiss. . . It sealed what I had felt in my chest from the second I laid eyes on her.

This woman was worth everything I was about to do.

---