Page 389 of Coal Hearts

As soon as he’d mentioned that damn word, I was his.

Unbearably, unwillingly his—and he’d avoided me ever since.

“So?” Victor scowled, yanking me out of my thoughts. “You gonna tell me how you did what you did, or is it some sort of secret?”

Henri dabbed his mouth with a napkin, wincing a little as the cuts on his knuckles refused to heal. “Secret? Why would it be a secret?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Victor rolled his eyes behind his tangerine lenses. “The fact that secrets seem to be a trend with you? First, you sneak into my home under false pretences, then you announce you’re a Mercer, and now you murder as easily as if you’re a hired assassin.” Leaning closer, he smirked dangerously. “What other skeletons are in your closet, mon ami?”

Henri flicked me a look, his eyes black and stony.

God, my golden collar and cuffs seemed extra heavy today.

The bite mark on my neck ultra bright.

For three days, he’d shut down.

Buried himself in books and closed out the world.

The longing I’d grown used to—the unshielded yearning within him that made my heart flutter despite myself...all gone.

Or at least...hidden.

He’d been monosyllabic ever since he’d left me dripping against the wall, and I probably deserved it.

He saved me.

Avenged me.

That one act of kindness had somehow negated all his badness...at least in my newly twisted mind. I curled my fingers into fists on my knees, ignoring the small twinge in my hand from punching Larry.

When Henri had exploded out of the darkness like some murderous werewolf—when he’d given a lupine howl on the storm’s wind and morphed from a man into a tornado of violence...that’d been the moment things had changed for me.

Not in the shower.

Not in our bedroom.

That moment.

And...no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t undo that moment or change how my heart now felt.

He’d saved my mind from ruination.

Protected me from a lifetime of emotional scars.

He’s still good...deep, deep inside.

I know it.

Running his fingers over my bare shoulder, Henri didn’t seem aware he’d reached for me as he tipped his chin at Victor. “No more skeletons, Vic. I swear.”

The way he reached for me...even now. The bond between us...despite everything.

I’d been wrong to think he was heartless.

If anything, he was heartful.

Too full.