Page 38 of Bound

Her cheeks blushed, turning bright red. “I don't know if I should thank you or slap you.” Giggling, her smile grew wide.

My heart skipped inside my chest, careening around like a caged bird. She really was stunning. Everything about her was perfect, from her velvet smooth skin to her firecracker personality.

What the hell are you doing to me?

Cupping her jaw, I stroked her chin with my thumb. “I need you to know that I'm not keeping you here because I want to hurt you. I'm doing this to keep you safe. Those men will stop at nothing to get to me, and they know you were there too. They'll take you in a heart beat, I won't let them do that, Emery.”

I couldn't stop myself from touching her. I wanted her to feel my words, to understand that everything I was doing came from someplace good. She was my innocent muse, torn into shreds that I wanted to fix.

And she had no fucking idea what was waiting outside for her. That was the worst part. Emery couldn't see who I was dealing with, all she knew was what she had seen, what was tangible for her to try and make sense of.

I wanted to help her, care for her, do anything and everything I could just to ensure that she had a tomorrow. Because it was my fault that she was in this mess to begin with. It was a risk I should never have taken.

Her hand came up and covered mine, lashes fanning her lids like canopies. “Thank you,” she said, tipping her head into my palm as her tongue traced her lips.

“I told you not to thank me yet.” Smirking, I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her and taste her and finish what we had started. But I held back, not wanting to push her if she wasn't ready.

She was still hurting, her injuries fresh and new, her mind wandering aimlessly over and over from what she had been through. Now she had facts to dwell on, information about who I was and what was happening around us.

See me for me, not the monster I once was.

Her eyes glazed over as her head nuzzled deeper into my hand. “You can if you want to.”

“I can what?”

Smirking, she pushed herself up, leaning in closer. “Kiss me.”

“Who said I wanted to kiss you?”

“I can see it on your face.” Arching her back, her head rolled to the side, lids hooding seductively. “You better do it now, before I change my mind.”

Biting my lip, I smiled. “I won't say no.”

Gently, I brushed my nose against hers, our lips barely touching. The sensation of her skin on mine, of the warmth of her face, her breath, her beauty, it ignited the fire deep inside my soul.

This was why I needed to keep going, this was why I needed to stay alive. To find the person that could make me feel, the person who could help me smile and laugh, help me be complete.

For years all I wanted was to be a part of a family, and I could never see it until now. It wasn't what I had that would make me who I was, it was what I would find that would make me the man I wanted to be.

And I found it in this woman.

Call me crazy for believing that this woman was the one who could hand me everything I ever wanted. But it's not about what I knew about her, it's about what I felt.

This wasn't love at first sight, this was so much more.

Emery closed her eyes, exhaling against my face, and parting her lips. The tip of her tongue teased the entrance, softly licking my bottom lip.

That was it, I had lost it. I lost my control, I lost my will to be gentle and kind. All I wanted was to make her mine over and over again.

Because that was what she was going to be.

She was mine to save, mine to protect, mine to enjoy.

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