Page 145 of My Revenant
“I fought a lot with Bull. I was determined to get to you, and he wouldn’t let me leave before I was healed. But I knew where you were, and I watched you as you went. I was always coming for you. It just took longer than I expected. And when I was ready, you were still running from me. I thought maybe you needed to. So I stayed close by, and I waited for you to stop.”
This time I didn’t fight the heat as it pulled from inside me again. There was a wound that still needed to be soothed. “No.Iwasn’t ready to see you. I couldn’t watch you run away from me again. You have stopped now, haven’t you, Rabbit?”
Jonah sobbed, arms around me, then legs. “I’ve stopped. I’ll never leave you again. I didn’t mean it when I said that. I never wanted to leave you. I was just so scared. I did so many bad things, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. It was all too much too fast.”
“You’re not bad, baby. You know that, right? No matter what you did, you could never be bad. You protected me. You did the best you could.”
He trembled in my arms, his face wet on my skin again. “W-what happened… to the bodies?”
I held him tighter. “Bull dealt with it all. They’re gone. No one will find them. No one will come for you. You’re safe. We’re safe.”
“And… the fire?” He whispered the last word, as if he wasn’t sure if he should bring it up. As if I still didn’t know.
“Police deemed it an accident.”
“That’s… not what I meant.”
“Look at me.” I forced him back, just enough to look into his eyes again. “You killed a murderer. An abuser. A monster. One that kicked us out of our home. One that—” My voice caught but I pushed through. “One that hurt me so many times. I love you for what you did for me.”
I meant every word. Jonah had killed for me. Had protected me far more than anyone else ever had. I’d kill for him too if anyone ever threatened him. It didn’t matter if they were supposed to be family. Nothing mattered except him. I’d burn the world down to keep him safe, just as he would do the same for me.
“Say it again,” he whispered.
“I love you.”
“Again.”
“I fucking love you. I love you more than I thought it was possible to love someone. I love you in ways I can’t ever put into words. I love your fire. I love your temper. I love when you’re needy and clingy and entirely unreasonable. I love your body, and I love your mind. I love every moment when you’re with me. You’re fucking mine, Jonah Hargreaves. And I love you.”
His pupils dilated, and I saw it, his spark. It was small, but it was there.
“Show me. Let me feel it. Love me, Devil. Show me I’m yours. Love me and let me feel it. Let me taste the love on your lips, let me drink it from your skin and feel the heat of it burning inside me. Burn me with it.”
fifty-three
Dex - Present
MINE.
His mouth was mine. I claimed it, my tongue demanding every inch. Jonah tried to meet me, match me, but that wasn’t what was happening here. This was me claiming him as mine and making his body and mind understand that. The kiss was messy. Brutal. His tongue slipped into my mouth, and I bit it. Sucked it. Tasting red. He groaned.
I released it to give his bottom lip the same treatment, sucking it between my teeth before I bit him. Tugged until he whimpered. Again, until it was red and plump.
His face was mine. I licked a stripe over his cheek and along his jawline, teeth nipping at the skin until he angled his head back to give me his neck.
That was mine too. My teeth sank into his flesh, and he cried out, his body jolting beneath mine, but I was only just getting started. I sucked until red bloomed to the surface. A beautiful bruise marking him as mine. Again, until his neck was covered. Until there was no way he’d be able to hide these marks with any clothing.
Lower. His chest was mine. I nipped at his collarbones. Marks from sucking and biting surrounded his nipples before I targeted them. Because they were also mine to claim.
Jonah was writhing beneath me, his voice loud and beautiful. Unrestrained. His hands on my shoulders, nails digging into my skin, spurring me on. When I’d finished with his nipples, they werered and swollen and perfect, sensitive to the point of pain, and Jonah loved it. That tiny spark in his eyes grew brighter.
“More,” he breathed.
I continued, marking my way down his body, so much thinner than it had been the last time I’d held him. He was still so beautiful.
My teeth sank into his thigh until he yelped. Mine. Again, until he was in tears. His hands still clawed into my back, keeping me close.
“More,” he cried.
