Grayson turned me over, his eyes scanning my face, then laughed hoarsely. He placed a soft kiss on my nose. “You need a shower, Princess.” He picked a leaf from my hair.
I looked down at myself. I was caked in dirt everywhere my body had touched the ground. I blushed up at him. The way he looked at me had my heart thumping. He stared down at me for a few minutes, and I let him. For once, the intensity in his eyes didn’t have me reeling. Instead, it pulled at my soul.
“You have me on my fucking knees, Ava,” he whispered, more to himself, before he kissed me. His kiss was sweet, but urgent as he pulled me tightly into him, his body surrounding me, holding me. He left me blushing and breathless as he pulled away. But I caught him slowly disappearing into his own mind, a crease forming between his eyes. I reached up and caressed his face, pulling him back to me.
“Is something wrong?” What was he thinking about?
His eyes darted over my face, his expression shifting. “How can anything be wrong, Princess? You’re here with me. You’re mine. Everything is perfect.”
Warmth washed through me. Yes, everythingwasperfect. Like so many times with him, I couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled out of me. He made me so happy; I couldn’t contain it all in my body.
Grayson dipped down and placed his mouth over mine, capturing my laughter in a kiss, his face filled with wonder when he straightened again. “Tell me I’ll hear that sound for the rest of my life.”
A lifetime with Grayson. The thought filled my body with a lightness that threatened to levitate me off the ground.
I studied his perfect face. My fingers traced softly over his scars. “You promised to give me a scar, remember?A scar for a scar,” I recited his words.
Grayson’s smile faltered. “It’s the only promise I’ll gladly break. I’m not going to hurt you, Princess. Not like that.”
So the knife at my throat had been a bluff.
But I wanted him to scar me. I wanted a visible mark that echoed the mark he had left on my soul. “You said that you like yours. That it reminded you of me.”
Grayson nodded, a furrow forming between his brows.
“I want that too.”
He shook his head, his smile returning. “I’m not cutting you up.”
“I want it here.” I shifted my pants down and pointed at my hipbone. “Two scars that matches yours.”
“Ava…” He shifted away, about to protest some more, but I didn’t let him. I captured his face between my hands and kissed him softly. He leaned into it, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me closer to him.
Grayson chuckled against my lips. “You’re insane, baby.”
And don’t I know it. “Don’t pretend you don’t like it.”
His smile turned wicked, but he kept quiet.
I picked up his knife, where it was discarded in the foliage. I studied the weapon for a second, trying to see why he had such an attachment to it. It’s always with him. “You say I’m yours? Then mark me as such.”
A low grumble vibrated in his chest. “Dear God, Ava. You knowjusthow to bring the monster out of me.” His warm fingers clasped around mine and the knife.
Heat spread through me, and I shuddered in anticipation.
Grayson let his forehead drop to mine. “Change your mind, please, Princess. I’m trying to be good. For you.”
I pulled my fingers through his hair. That was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t want todomesticatehim. I wanted Grayson to be himself—wild, free and a tad insane. Gods, I loved his crazy. It scared me, but I fucking craved it. “Don’t you want your mark on me?” I baited.
His breath came out in a woosh. “God, baby, you know I have a fucked-up urge to mark every inch of you as mine. I’ve wanted to carve my name into your perfect skin, right here.” His fingers grazed the skin over my heart, making it beat faster.
Grayson watched me tentatively, waiting for me to balk at his confession.
Thiswas the Grayson I wanted. Being his would be a rollercoaster ride in thebestway. I guided the knife to my hip, basking in the heat of his gaze. His fingers tightened around the knife, making my inner thighs clench. Why was this such a turn-on?
He shifted, lowering his mouth to my hip, placing gentle kisses where I wanted him to cut me, while pulling the knife from my grip. I stopped breathing.
The cold tip of the knife trailed lightly over my skin in the shape of Grayson’s scars.
