Page 362 of Coal Hearts

Not looking up, she just huffed. “Fat lot of good it did.”

My awe of her tumbled over. “You’re far too brave, little nightmare.”

“Not nearly brave enough,” she whispered back.

Silence fell.

Letting her hand go, I slid my fingers to her shoulders and down her front. She flinched as I rubbed my thumbs over her nipples and caressed her full breasts.

Her eyes snapped closed. She stayed stiff and unyielding.

My heart thudded as I dropped my touch lower.

With gritted teeth, I washed between her legs.

“How close did he get?” I grunted at how soft she was, so delicate.

Her eyes flew wide. Her cheeks flushed, but she held my stare. “He...he breached a little but didn’t get any further.”

He was inside her...

Even a fraction.

Fuck!

Black-hot fury tore through me all over again.

How fucking dare he.

How fucking dare he touch her...hurt her.

I lost myself as I inserted a finger, desperate to eradicate him from her mind and memory. I struggled to stay human. “D-Did he hurt you...past the obvious?”

Temper flashed in her sunshine eyes; anger I wasn’t prepared for. “No more than you.”

I winced. Couldn’t help it. The scorn and condemnation in her gaze arrowed directly into my heart. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” she said coldly. “If you were, you’d realise what you do to me. How you make me feel. How cruel you are even when you think you’re being kind.”

“Cruel?” I choked. I kept stroking, trying to remove as much of that bastard’s imprint as possible. “I-I saved you.”

I didn’t think about the sexual implications. Didn’t demand anything of her. This was clinical. Medical. Unemotional.

Unemotional?

Fuck.

I burned alive with emotion.

She jolted as I continued touching her, then looked away. “Yes, you did save me. And for that, I owe you a thank-you.”

It felt as if my blood caught fire.

The creature within me wanted to do a thousand things to deserve another thank-you. To give her a million reasons to be grateful. To be worthy of her praise.

He almost stole her from me.

My finger hooked against my control.