Page 86 of Then We Shatter

“Are you sure you borrowed it?”

“Of course,” he says, looking affronted at my suggestion he might have stolen something. “And I’ve generously compensated a local fisherman for the loan of his vessel.” He rakes his fingers through my salty beach hair, taking hold of a short strand between his finger and thumb. “Nico’s a good lad. He helped unload the supplies and now he’s looking after the boat while I’m here.”

“Can you trust him?”

“He’s happy to help anyone who disrupts Eric’s activities,” he says. “I don’t know what you’ve worked out about the guy, but the rumors circulating about him aren’t good. Three local girls have gone missing in the last couple of years. According to Nico, Eric promised to help them make their fortunes as models, but they were never heard of again. You’ll know better than I what became of them.”

Unfortunately, I know all too well. Those girls won’t be coming home.

“That bastard has no friends here,” he continues. The creases on his brow deepen as he strokes the side of my head down to the blunt ends of my hair. “Did he cut it off, Kitty?”

“No, that was me,” I reply. “It was a pushback against his attempts to mold me into his perfect mate.”

It takes a moment for Killian to process what I’ve said. “He didn’t think you perfect?”

“Inconceivable, I know.”

Killian doesn’t laugh. He scowls. Perfect is exactly how this beautiful man sees me.

“If Eric could have knocked a few inches off my legs, he would have done,” I continue. “Instead, he made me wear stumpy shoes.” I stamp wet sneakers against the floor of the cave, then use my flattened palm to measure our height difference. For once I’m shorter. “I’m going to have to come up with a new name for you, Shorty.”

“How about I buy you the highest fucking heels and we keep the name?” he growls.

“OK.” I bite my lip to stop it trembling. This man… “Then what’s your view on these?” I ask, pushing out my chest. “Eric had me booked in for a breast enlargement.”

Killian’s teeth grind. “I should have gone with my first plan.”

“Which was?”

“To scale the cliff and kill him in his bed along with all the others.”

I would have gladly joined him in his killing spree, but before I can ask why he didn’t, Killian starts rummaging through one of the boxes and sets out a first aid kit.

He relaxes enough to smirk when he says, “Strip off, lovely. Let me see those perfect tits.”

It’s hot and humid in our little cave, and it’s purely Killian’s gaze that makes me shiver. He stands over me, partly because there’s no space to step back, but I don’t think he’d move from my side even if he could.

He trails a knuckle over one of my peaked nipples and then the other, a look of pure devotion etched into his features. When he crouches, his hands move lower and I widen my stance as he slides his fingers between my legs. His gaze is locked on mine as he removes the egg vibrator.

“We won’t be needing this either,” he says, tossing it to the side. He drops to his knees. “It’s served its purpose. Any time you need pleasure, lovely, you only have to ask.”

“Because you’ll be there.”

“Here,” he whispers as he peppers kisses across my stomach and down to my center.

Killian’s thumb grazes over my clit and he slips two fingers inside me. As I roll my hips to greet him, I rest a hand on his head, exploring his tightly cropped hair. I go to trace the deep scar on the side of his skull, but he stops what he’s doing and presses his forehead to my stomach. If he thinks I’m about to shower him with sympathy, he should know that isn’t me. I snag what hair I can and yank his head back.

“You don’t like your scar?”

“I don’t like what it represents.”

“Which is?”

“Failing you,” he admits. “I let a pastor shoot me in the leg for god’s sake, and it all went tits up after that.” Shame clouds his features as he settles back on his heels and starts gathering what he needs from the first aid kit. “I was too busy crawling across the floor to notice Danyl creeping up on me. He took my fucking gun before I knew what was happening. I should have been more aware of my surroundings. I’m better than that.”

“You are,” I agree. “Do not let someone kill you again.”

“Understood, boss,” Killian replies as he unfolds a sterile wipe and dabs at the grazes on my knees. “If there’s any killing to be done, it’ll be us doing it. Very soon.”