Page 66 of Blind Devotion
“I do. I’ve made my choice.” He gently nudged my face back toward him. “You’re my choice, Tessa.”
I twisted around in his arms. Even as hope sparked in my chest, I couldn’t help but question those words. My palm landed awkwardly on his chest, the cotton of his shirt doing nothing to hide the sculpted feel. He caught my wrist but didn’t pull me away, so I let my hand trail up to his collarbone, then neck. His hand fell away and drew a path up my shoulder and down my spine to grip my ass. I moaned softly as my fingers roamed up his chiseled jawline, covered with a short stubble beard. They danced through the hairs, soft yet scraggly. I pressed my body closer to his, soaking in everything he could give me. More, I wanted so much more.
“Does killing get easier?” I asked. I felt invincible with him so close. Nothing could touch me, nothing but him.
“And whose life are you planning on ending?”
“Don’t worry, you’re safe,” I teased.
“Now I’m even more curious. Who other than I has your attention,ma tigresse?” My tigress.
I flushed at the new nickname, the one that matched the origami piece he left in my room two days ago. Is that how he saw me? Strong, independent, ferocious?
“My father. You offered, but I want to be the one to do it. I want it to be slow. I want it to hurt. I want him to suffer for everything he put me through. For all the pain he inflicted on me and my mother.”
“And I’ll be at your side, every step of the way.”
My breath hitched. He understood. It brought me comfort I didn’t know I needed.
“Do you think my brother and mother are looking for me?”
“Do you want them to find you?”
“I don’t know. I’m not the same person they knew. Maybe they won’t accept that. I don’t want them to think of me as a victim. I don’t need or want their pity.”
“You’re not a victim. You’re a survivor.Ma petite rescapée.La mienne.” My little survivor. Mine. The violence he said it with made my lips curl up. His fingers pressed harder into the skin on my hips. “You’re stronger for it. Now it’s up to you not to let your past define you, but you need to accept that it does complete you. If you ignore it, a piece of you will always be missing.”
A sob escaped me. “I remember being overpowered. I remember being forced. I remember not having choices, or them being taken away from me because I was weaker.”
“A weak woman never would’ve survived that hell and come out stronger. A weak woman never would have convinced me to stay my hand.”
“Have I convinced you?”
“What do you think?” He squeezed me, possessive and demanding, as he shuffled closer. “I told you, you are my choice. I don’t say that lightly.”
I melted against him. My monster, my savior, the safest place for me. It was hard to believe we’d been at each other’s throats only a week ago.
“I’d like you to train.”
I rubbed my lips against his. “You’ll train me? In what?”
“Not me. Alizé. She’s an expert at self-defense.”
I drew my head back sharply. “Alizé? Your sister who wears heels all the time?”
“She might sound and look like a prim and proper businesswoman, but she’s lethal when she wants to be. Once you feel at one hundred percent, she’ll help you take your power back. You’ll never be defenseless again.”
His lips molded to my forehead, making my heart flutter. How could he be so murderous and yet so gosh darn sweet at the same time?
“Sleep. I’ve got you.”
I shook my head and leaned in closer, my mouth grazing his.
“I’m too wired. My body feels like it’s on fire.” Especially with the way his fingers brushed up and down my spine.
He tilted my chin up, just a gentle touch, but there was so much command behind it. Then his mouth was on mine. Hot and heavy, capturing my lips, forcing them wide open as his tongue thrust its way in until I was swept away in him. My breaths were his. My skin was aflame. My nerves were firing on all sides because he wasn’t just kissing me, he was devouring me and taking all I had in one kiss until my head was spinning. It was just as good as our first.
He broke away, and I chased after him, panting eagerly. A finger pressed to my lips.
