Page 46 of You Were Always Mine
I go still, my jaw locked, my chest heaving.
Because nothing in the world has ever destroyed me like this.
Her hand clamps over mine, pinning it against her thigh, dragging it higher in that broken mimicry. My body locks, every muscle taut, my breath sawing ragged through my teeth.
I should pull away. I should tear my hand back like it’s on fire. But I can’t.
I can feel her shaking. I can hear her sobs. And I know—this isn’t her wanting me. This is her trying to scrape him off her skin, trying to turn something foul into something else.
My hand trembles beneath hers, caught between rage and ruin. My chest heaves, heat flooding through me until I can barely see straight.
“Scarlett…” My voice is rough, strangled. “Don’t make me feel this. Don’t?—”
She presses harder, her tears soaking through my shirt as she cries into me.
And I break.
My head bows against hers, my jaw grinding so hard it hurts, my whole body quaking. “I’ll kill him,” I whisper, the words guttural, ripped from somewhere deep. “I swear to God, I’ll fucking kill him.”
Her grip on my hand only tightens, her sobs sharper, rawer, like my rage is the only thing keeping her upright.
And I sit there, trembling, my hand burning where she holds it, torn between ripping free and swearing I’ll never let her go.
Her sobs rip through me, hot against my chest, her hand still clutching mine like she’ll never let go. And then she moves again.
Guides me higher.
My stomach lurches when she drags my hand between her thighs, pressing it against the seam of her jeans. The heat of her burns through the denim, her legs trembling around my wrist as she holds me there.
“Scar…” My voice breaks, shredded, my body stiff as stone.
She pushes harder, grinding me against herself like she’s desperate to erase him, desperate to drown in anything else. Her tears fall faster, wetting the back of my hand.
“Please,” she sobs, her voice cracking. “Please, Kai. Replace it. Burn it away. I can’t stand feeling him—just make it yours instead.”
Every nerve in my body shakes. My jaw aches from clenching, my chest splitting open with rage and something darker.
I should pull away. I should tear my hand free.
But I don’t.
Because her broken voice pins me harder than her hands ever could. And the way she shakes beneath my touch carves me open until all that’s left is ruin.
I tremble against her, breath ragged, forehead pressed to hers, whispering like it’s the only truth I have left.
“You don’t know what you’re asking, Scar.”
But my hand doesn’t move.
Her fingers clutch mine so tight they’re white at the knuckles, forcing me harder between her thighs. The denim bites against my hand, her heat searing through it, her whole body trembling against me.
She sobs, ragged and desperate, every word breaking apart on her lips. “Please, Kai… harder. Don’t stop. Just make it go away. Please. Please.”
Her hips jerk, helpless, grinding my hand against the seam of her jeans like she’s chasing something she can’t reach on her own. My pulse hammers in my ears, my throat raw as I try to hold on.
“Scar—” My voice fractures, useless.
She shakes her head violently, her wet hair sticking to her cheeks, her eyes wild when they meet mine. “I need you. I need this. Don’t let me keep feeling him. Take it away, Kai, I’m begging you?—”
