Tristian had scared me. The violence had been absolute. But as I stood there in his arms, I realized I’d never felt more secure. Maybe my father had broken that part of me, the part that knew to run from dangerous men.
Or maybe Tristian was just different. He was a monster to the world, but he was a shield to me. He had nearly killed a man to protect my name, and in the dark reality of my life, that made him the only sanctuary I had left.
Chapter twenty-seven
Tristian
The adrenaline from the ring hadn’t fully settled as the night went on. I sat on the edge of the couch, the apartment quiet after the roar of the gym. In the other room Ingrid was sketching. I could hear the soft scratch of pencil on paper.
I leaned back, my mind racing. I had almost killed a man tonight. I had broken him apart with my bare hands, and instead of recoiling in horror, Ingrid had pressed herself into me. She was more clingy, more desperate for my touch than ever, justifying the blood on my knuckles. She was afraid, but not of me.
It was a dangerous kind of codependency I was watching take root—a manifestation of her trauma, her fear of abandonment, and her need for a protector. As long as the monster wasn’t snapping at her, she was content to curl up in its shadow.
The soft padding of feet on the hardwood pulled me from my thoughts. She walked toward me, looking achingly small in one of my oversized sweatshirts and a pair of socks. She looked at me with a deep trust and longing that I didn’t deserve. I reached out, my fingers disappearing into the silk of her hair as she sat beside me.
“Something on your mind, doll?”
She bit her lip, a flush creeping up her neck. “My boyfriend...” she whispered, the word sounding like a secret she was embarrassed to share.
I felt a dark tug of satisfaction. I maneuvered her until she was straddling my lap, her heat grounding me. “Your boyfriend, huh?” I muttered. I leaned in, pressing a kiss to the sensitive skin of her neck, breathing her in as she trembled. “And what about your boyfriend is on your mind, doll?”
“Even though the fight was brutal, and I was scared you were going to get hurt... I love how athletic you are... and I like the way you did your combos.”
“Combos?” I chuckled.
She nodded. “You were so fast and quick. It’s scary… but impressive.” She added, that bloom of red in her cheeks deepening, “It was even… kind of sexy.”
I shook my head, a grim smile tugging at my lips. “Something tells me you’re happy that guy is in the hospital after all.”
Her eyes softened. “I’m just happy it wasn’t you.”
“I know, doll. I know.”
I glanced at the clock. The night was fading, and I knew I should get her home before her father noticed her absence—maybe he’d lay even more bruises on her porcelain skin—but she stopped me before I could speak.
“Can I ask you something?” The blush on her face deepened to a bruised red.
“Anything, baby.”
Her lashes fluttered. I could feel what was coming next, already knew from the look in her eyes. I could see the hunger in them, the same hunger that she’d brought to me before.
“Can... can I have another one of my firsts with you?”
I looked at her legs, the way they gripped my waist, and felt my resolve crumbling. My hands tightened around her waist harder than I meant to. “Baby, it’s getting late,” I muttered, though my body was already betraying the lie.
“You ignored me this afternoon...”
The guilt-trip hit its mark. I’d ignored her because I had planned on losing. I had planned on being a broken mess tonight to satisfy Darragh. But looking at her now, her body pressed against mine, I realized Darragh’s terms weren’t worth a damned thing.
“I know.” I sighed, my eyes darkening as I looked at her. The protector in me was losing the war to the predator.
“On your knees.”
She didn’t hesitate. Like a good little girl, she slid off my lap and sank to the floor between my legs. I held out my hand, and she slipped her delicate one into it, gasping as I guided her palm to the heavy, throbbing weight behind the fabric of my pants. I leaned forward until we were inches apart.
I could hear her breath hitching, feel the shallow, desperate breaths she was taking.
“You have two options. Forget this ever happened and get dressed so I can drop you home, or... open your pretty little mouth and take my cock down your throat.”
