Page 49 of Break
Even if she didn’t mean to. She got us trapped in her little web, and we can’t seem to break free.
Perhaps we shouldn’t have come here. Maybe we should’ve stayed away.
But the thought of another touching what bears my mark makes something unspeakable rise inside me. A rawness, an anger that even scares me.
The only thing that puts me at ease is having her close to me. That way, I can watch her. Keep her safe. Be there when she needs me.
And she will need me. She’ll need all of us because this world is fucked up and people will want to hurt her or take advantage of her. She may paint us as villains in her mind, but there are people out there who will do far worse to her than we did.
And they’ll do it without an ounce of love in their hearts.
It’s a stark contrast on what I thought this was between us. Can I even call it love? Or is it more a twisted claim that I, we, believe is the same?
She might have hated us for so long, and I can’t blame her. Her dad made her life a living hell and we only added wood to the fire.
But everything has changed now.
Hope moves around again, and it almost sounds like a soft moan that leaves her.
I lean forward in the chair, my elbows resting on my thighs as I watch her.
The moonlight filters through the drapes and casts a light hue over her face. Just enough to see how her plump lips part, how her chest rises, how her blanket crawls lower as she kicks.
Her restlessness peaks and she jumps up, clutching her chest, right where the marks on her skin are.
It takes her a beat before she catches me.
“For fuck’s sake, Knox!” She tosses her pillow my way. “Get out!”
The corner of my lip tilts up and I hold onto her pillow. Inhaling the fresh sent of flowers.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I say and lean back.
She shifts, sitting up on her knees, and tosses her arms in the air. “What do you want from me? Go away and leave me alone!”
Her voice is harsh and sharp, but it misses a certain bite.
I fling the pillow back, but she’s too late to catch it and falls back. She mumbles, curses as she scampers up again.
I push off the chair and stand by the side of her bed just before she finds her bearings again.
Her breath catches and my eyes linger on her breasts.
She huffs and crosses her arms, trying to shield her bare body from me.
“Are you naked?” I muse.
“No,” she sighs. “Not fully.”
A sound of defeat and her back relaxes slightly.
“Show me,” I say, and her eyes snap back at me, brows knitting together.
“No,” she says. “Hell no!”
Her hand lands on my chest, trying to push me back, but there’s not even an inch of movement from me.
“You don’t want me to go,” I taunt. “You like whenIwatch you. Not Jared. Not some other prick who can’t make you feel even an ounce of the pleasure that you know I can make you feel.”
