Page 49 of Claimed in the Dark

“You—”

“I will do whatever is necessary to keep you safe,” he whispered.

“You just killed him. With your hands.” I swallowed hard, still so rocked by it.

Bringing his right hand around my back but keeping his left arm around me, he reached for me. He lifted my hand from where I’d pressed it on his pectoral muscle. Sliding his callused hand over my palm, he lined up our fingers. “I did. And I would do it again. For you, sweetheart.”

My heart clenched at the endearment. Such sweetness from a brutal devil shouldn’t have made sense. I peered up at him, marking the sincerity in his solemn yet smoldering gaze on me, mixing the desire and concern in his expression.

He twined our hands together, linking our fingers. “I will do whatever it takes to convince you to trust me.”

I couldn’t breathe fast enough, bewildered by this transition from fear to lust. “I… I do. I do trust you.”

“I will keep you safe.”

I nodded jerkily, watching the seriousness of his face as he regarded me, holding me close and keeping my hand in his.

“I will kill any man who dares to threaten you.”

I stared at his hands again, knowing he was capable of it.

“And I will sever any bias you have about me. I will wait out every doubt you have about me.”

I shook my head, trying and failing to explain that it wasn’t that simple. It wasn’t that I doubted him. I doubted myself in surrendering to him.

“I know words are cheap,” he said, registering my conflicted status. “But I will show you. I will show you that my hands might be coated in blood as I kill those who want to harm you.” He leaned closer, dipping his head toward mine as he brought our joined hands closer. “And I will show you that my hands will only ever be gentle and here to catch you as you find your way to accept me.”

I closed my eyes, sinking into the husky tone of his soothing voice, the sweet promise of his words. Reaching toward him and needing him to surround me with his strength and heat, I angled my head up to meet his.

He nuzzled me, rubbing his cheek against mine. The friction of his beard over my skin teased me, and I almost lost the trapped sound of a needy whimper that stole up my throat.

“I will show you,” he whispered, kissing my cheek and keeping his warm lips against my skin, “that you don’t have anything to fear while I am near.”

My heart hammered faster. Adrenaline and desire coalesced in my veins, charging through me. Pulled to him, lured to lean on him, I slid my free hand up his neck and clung to him. With my arm raised to hug him back like this, I was fully aware of the pressure against my breasts, the push of my hard nipples against the wall of his chest.

“I will show you,” he coaxed as he kissed along my jaw, “that you can trust me to comfort you.” He smoothed his other hand up my back, easing his fingers beneath the silky material.

My breath caught as his thumb stroked further along my side, teasing a faint touch over my breast.

“I will show you that I can protect you and treasure you.” He ran his hand back down, all the way to my ass. Instead of cupping me there over my nightgown, he dipped under the thin fabric and gripped my bare ass.

I couldn’t take it. I was lost to this undeniable desire.

As he brought his mouth closer to mine, drugging me with these slow and lazy kisses, I turned my head and caught his lips. I kissed him, arching up to plaster my mouth to his and seal this insane lust with a lock of his words and my fantasies.

He growled, clenching his fingers as he squeezed my ass. Hauling me close, he pushed me into his embrace even more. Squishing me to stay flush to him.

And we kissed. And kissed. And kissed some more. He brushed his mouth over mine possessively, stealing my sanity. I parted my lips, impatient to taste him and suck on his tongue. In a mess of clutching each other and giving up on the requirement of air, we made out as he walked me back toward the bed.

“You asked me what I needed,” he reminded me after he tore his mouth away. The burning depth of brown in his eyes scorched me as he shoved the straps of the nightgown over my shoulders. The flimsy fabric fell, pooling at my feet.

“I need you,” he growled, feasting his eyes on me before plundering my mouth again.

I lifted my arms and clung to him, sticking to him and wishing for more friction.

“I need you like this,” he said, as he picked me up and lowered me to the bed.

He stood there as I leaned up on my elbows to watch him. Spreading my legs apart, feeling a rush of desire like I’d never felt before, I encouraged him to look his fill. To fill me.