Page 95 of Godless Saints

“Moon!”

He caught my arm. I twisted hard. Shoved him. My elbow caught his jaw. Pain flared in my hand.

“Get off me!”

I slipped on ice. My knee slammed into stone. Cillian grabbed me before I fell completely. We crashed down together.

“Put me down,” I snapped as he hauled me up.

He didn’t. He carried me back inside. His grip pinned me to him. I hit his chest. Twisted. “What the fuck, Cillian?”

He set me down the second we were inside. I grabbed the nearest book and threw it at him.

Cillian moved fast. Caught my wrist. Took the second book and hurled it across the room. It slammed into the wall.

“Do you hate me that much?” His voice cracked. “Am I that fucking worthless to you?” His fist clenched at his side, voice rising. “Everything I did, I did for you.”

He dragged a hand through his hair, hard, then backed away. His back hit the wall. He slid down it slow, sitting on the floor like I’d gutted him. Shoulders slumped. Exhausted. Stripped raw.

“I can handle Declan. I can handle Aleksei. I can handle Sawyer, Vivienne, your father, every fucking court screaming at me to stay away. I can handle all of it.” His voice dropped, barely above a whisper. “I cannot handle you looking at me like I’m filth.”

He dragged both hands over his face, hard, then dropped them. “You blocked my number. You left after that night like I was nothing. Like I was just another Ashbourne stain on your perfect fucking life.” His throat worked, eyes wrecked. “I know who I am, Hyun. I know exactly what my name means. I thought you saw something else in me. Maybe I was wrong. You can leave.”

Cillian’s voice went flat. Dead. “I’ll have someone take you back to Evermourne. I’ll put men on you so Carrick doesn’t get close. You don’t have to see me again.” His jaw clenched once.

“I’ll stay away.”

CHAPTER 23

MOON

Cillian didn’t get up. He didn’t sneer. He didn’t grab me or pin me or fight back. My anger shattered. What the fuck did I just do? I dropped to my knees. I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and yanked him forward until our chests collided.

My arms locked around his shoulders. I pressed my forehead to the side of his neck and breathed him in.

All this time pushing him away for optics. For control. What did control ever save?

“Don’t ever change,” I whispered against his skin, voice cracking. “Don’t lose that fucking accent. Don’t change your name. Stay the man who kissed me in front of the entire academy like the world could burn. Stay the man who ruins me every time he touches me.”

I inhaled.

“Just… stay mine.”

Cillian’s hands came up fast and frantic. He gripped me with bruising strength and yanked me down.

We crashed to the floor in a messy tangle of limbs and desperation. I landed on top of him, chest to chest, hips pressed tight against his.

His arms locked around my back. One hand shoved under my shirt, hot against bare skin. Fingers dug into my spine, pulling me down harder. His hand buried in my hair and yanked until I gasped, then he forced his tongue into my mouth.

We panted against each other. Hearts slamming. His cock hardened fast beneath me.

“You came back for me.” Kiss. “That’s it for me now. I’m never recovering from you.”

I buried my face in his shoulder, fingers clutching his shirt. My whole body shook. But I didn’t let go. And neither did he.

We ground together on the cold wooden floor until I couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m still pissed at you,” I gasped into his open mouth, biting his lower lip.

“Yeah?” Cillian thrust up against me, tongue sliding against mine. “I fucking love it when you’re pissed at me.”