Page 225 of Bound By Crimson

---

And whatever came next—whatever risks she took—

he was the only thing that mattered.

Chapter Eighty-Three

Raw and Guttural

She was in bed, lying still like always.

Pretending.

The same way she had for months.

She kept her body still. Breath measured. Movements faint, like someone who’d forgotten what strength felt like.

And then the door opened.

No knock.

No warning.

Just the sound of the handle turning.

Then—his smooth, velvet voice.

“Lyric...”

Her heart jumped into her throat.

Kai.

She didn’t move.

Not right away.

He stepped closer. Said nothing.

Just stared.

She couldn’t read his face.

Was it pity? Was it love?

Something in between?

He knelt beside her, leaned down, and wrapped his arms around her.

And she melted into him.

Her body moved before her mind could catch up.

She hadn’t been touched in months. Not like this.

Not gently. Not familiarly. Not by someone who held her like this.

She cried into his shoulder, hating herself for needing it.

For needing him.

---