Page 112 of Depraved

The smirk remained on Onyx’s face. “You’re welcome, brother.” He turned and left, as if he didn’t just drop this huge bomb on us—on me.

I was frozen on the spot. “Is it true?”

“My brother doesn’t know when to shut up.”

I spun around. “For once, just cut the crap, Granite. For once, pretend that you’re not this arrogant hard-ass without a heart and tell me the truth, man to woman. No bullshit.”

Suddenly, a glimmer of hope lit up inside me. Maybe—just maybe all wasn’t lost. God, I was hoping with every fiber of my being that he would be able to give me something—anything that would make it possible for me to forgive him. Now, while I stood there staring at him, I realized that was the worst part. The part where I hated how much I still wanted him even after what I thought he had done. But up until now, I would have rather died than admit it, and deep down, I hated that it wasn’t possible for me to forgive him. It was the one thing that slowly chewed away at my soul because it felt so incredibly wrong to want to forgive the man who, in my eyes, was responsible for Neon’s death.

I leaned my head to the side. “Please, Granite. Be a man, and not just the president of a biker crew.”

“Fine,” he stepped forward, “you want me to talk to you as a man, and not a monster.”

“That’s not what I said. I didn’t say you were a monster.”

“But you thought it. All the time you spent in that room crying, hurting, grieving—you thought it.”

“What did you expect? You let me believe a woman who was supposedly family to you was dead, and you did nothing to save her.”

He shrugged. “You’re right, I lied. But you want the truth, here’s the truth.” He took a step closer, and his eyes darkened. “As a man and not a president of a biker crew, all I can think about is you. All I think about when I lay in bed at night is how it felt to be with you, how it felt to be inside you.”

My thighs clenched.

“As a man, all I want is to listen to the soft moans that drip from your lips while I kiss you, touch you,” he stepped right up to me, looking down at me with hungry eyes, “while I fuck you.” Without warning, he placed an arm around me, lifting me easily, and I had no choice but to wrap my legs around him, steadying myself by grabbing his shoulders. This time he was looking straight at me, our eyes the same level. “While you were in there hating me, I hated myself for letting you. There were so many times I wanted to storm inside that room and tell you the truth, to make you want me again.”

“Then what stopped you?”

He cupped the back of my head with his palm. “You did. It was easier to let you hate me than it was to have you forgive me when I couldn’t forgive myself. What happened to Neon was my fault because of my obsession with a pretty ballerina girl. If I never came up with this fucked-up plan to justify why I had to take you, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

I eased my hand across his shoulder, touching the back of his neck. “So, Onyx was right.”

“Fuck Onyx.”

My gaze dropped from his eyes to his lips before looking back up. “You should have told me.”

“You should never have watched me from your damn window, ballerina girl.” His lips crashed against mine, my back hitting the wall as he pinned me between his hard body and the cold concrete. His kiss burned and reverberated through my entire body like rolling thunder. His scent, his taste, everything about him overpowered all my senses, and the world around us disappeared. It was just us.

No drama.

No pain.

No heartache.

Nothing.

Just us.

His lips were hard, rough and demanding. The way his tongue explored my mouth, it was like a man starved for a taste, and he couldn’t get enough. My body hummed, an ache throbbing between my thighs, and I tightened my legs around him.

A rumbling groan vibrated from his throat, and he moved his tongue deeper into my mouth. It was almost as if he was trying to consume me, and I wanted him to. I wanted to be consumed by him. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than for him to claim me in every way possible.

He grabbed my hands from the back of his neck and pinned them above my head, pressing me harder against the wall. I moaned the second he moved his hips, thrusting forward grinding his cock between my legs.

Greedy lips moved down my chin, across my jaw, sucking the soft skin of my neck. “You have no idea what I want to do to you, ballerina girl.” His voice was low and deep, sending shivers up my spine. “If you did, you’d know exactly what kind of monster I really am.”

I let out a breath as I craned my neck for him. “I can’t fight this anymore, Granite. I can’t fight us anymore.”

He tore his lips away from my neck, lifted his head, and met my eyes. “And I can’t be the better man here by walking away. I’m not a good man, Alyx. Don’t ever mistake me for a man who would do the right thing if that meant letting you go. Because I can’t, and I won’t.” He leaned closer, nipping my bottom lip between his teeth. “I can’t.” Placing the tip of his nose against mine, he whispered, “No matter how badly I want to be a good man, I’m not. Bad runs through my veins. I’ll destroy you, but not even that can stop me from keeping you.”