Page 91 of Hawke

“I had to, or he would have killed my mom.”

My grip tightened on her chin. “You were forced, Delilah. You were coerced. I do not believe in human marriages anyhow. It is only a fucking piece of paper. Humans have no authority to bind souls together. It means nothing.”

Delilah wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. “Yeah? A priest was there, though?”

“For a god that does not exist,” I said soothingly. “The only goddess that binds souls is Selene, the Moon Goddess.”

“I don’t understand.” Delilah continued to wipe back her tears.

“Marriages between humans mean nothing in this life, Sunshine. They are only partnerships. They are not binding after death. Humans have not been granted soulmates. At least, not to each other yet.”

I held Delilah, stroking her hair, sharing comforting words of how much I cared for her. That none of this was her fault and how strong she was, because she was strong, and so fierce.

But the more silence there was between us, and the more I comforted her, the more anger I felt rising inside me. I couldn’t wait until I saw Shane tomorrow and ripped the bastard to pieces. I wanted to watch him slowly die by my hand for torching my precious woman.

“Sunshine, how did you ever survive for so long with this male? You were with him for five years before you found me. What made you run?” I ran my claws down her back and goosebumps appeared. She moaned softly, her face rubbing against my bare chest.

“Shane always had full control of me when my mom was alive. He threatened to kill her, if I ever did anything stupid or tried to run away. But I learned tolove him, I guess.” She shivered. “I became the perfect actress. He really thought I cared about him. And then one day, my mom and stepdad died by poisoning, and then Shane became the Don.”

“Were you sad when your mother died?” I asked.

“At first.” She swallowed. “But if she really cared about me, she would have seen I was miserable.”

I held my mate a little tighter. Never again would she suffer. Never again would she have to act brave in front of anyone ever again.

“My acting paid off, though. Shane believed that I really cared about him. After our parent’s death, he had to go away on business. He left me at the house, telling me he would only be gone for a few days. A maid approached me; she handed me a bag and pulled me down corridors I didn’t even know about. I didn’t even know who this maid was—never seen her before—but my gut told me to follow. She led me outside, and she pushed me off the property. It was like I had no say, she just shooed me to go.”

She smiled, wiping away a tear. “She went back into the passage like she was never there, and then I hitchhiked across the country and got far away.”

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the bed. She could have been raped, beaten, or murdered hitchhiking like that. But thank fuck she hadn’t been, and I found her when I did.

“Never hitchhike again, Sunshine.”

And thank the goddess for that maid.

She wiped the rest of her tears away. “I won’t. I’m here now. If you still want me?” she asked hopefully.

“Of fucking course I still want you! I don’t want you putting yourself in danger like that, ever again, damn it!” I grabbed the back of her head, pulling her toward me and pressing my lips against hers.

I bit at her lips, causing her pale pink lips to darken, abusing them until they parted, and I slipped my tongue into her mouth. We both moaned, our bodies pressing against each other. I raked my hands down her body, cupping her breasts until I flicked her nipples through her shirt.

“You are mine, Delilah.” I pinched her tits.

Her moans echoed in the wood covered apartment as I pushed her down into the mattress. Her hair flared out onto the blankets, her lips parted, and her flushed cheeks looked so fucking sexy I was ready to fucking knot her right there.

“I want you so fucking bad, Delilah, and I don’t want you to ever doubt it again.”

“H-he touched me, though. My brother–”

“Don’t care–” I took my claw and ripped my shirt off her body. She was left in nothing but her boy short, pink underwear with black trim. It was hot as hell, and my cock strained in my sweats, leaving drops of come on the front.

“You’re mine, and I’m going to leave my marks all over your body. I will wash away any signs of his scent with mine. Do you understand?” I growled into her ear.

Her body shivered as I pulled down her underwear. There was barely any blood, and I didn’t fucking care if she was bleeding a fucking river. I was going to claim her pussy with my cock today. She would know I would claim this pussy whenever I wanted.

“Do you want my cock, Delilah?” I asked, pulling down my sweats.

My cock bobbed, slapping my stomach with a smack.

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