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“My fault.” A whisper. Stark.
The water fell in a hard stream.
“Nothing that happened was your fault,” he assured her. “Not then. Not now.”
She tilted her face up to look at him. “They died because of what I am.”
“No.” Absolutely certain. “They died because some sick freak believed he was going to change the future.”
She paled. “You really think the future’s set? That the prophets out there aren’t bullshitting?”
Careful now, because he’d heard Catalina’s last words to her, he chose his words with care. “I think Grim sealed his fate a long time ago.”
Her hand pressed against his chest. “And what about your parents? Did killing Grim bring you peace?”
“Not peace.” Never that. “But justice.”
She gave a slow nod. “Justice. It still feels empty.” Her lower lip began to tremble. Tough Dee—who could face down a Born and send him to the devil with a grin—was breaking his heart. “I’d rather have just had…them.”
He tucked her head against his chest and held her as the water poured. “I know.”
He let her cry. The tears she’d kept inside over the years. The tears she’d stopped shedding once she began fighting.
When the tears finally stopped, he lifted her and carried her to the shower. It was time to wash away the pain and the past.
Maybe, just maybe, it was time for them to begin again.
* * *
They didn’t talk in the shower. Simon stripped and joined her. The water beat on them and washed away the blood and the battle.
And they didn’t talk.
He carried her to the bedroom, put her in the middle of the bed.
The water glistened on her skin and her eyes, so very dark, met his.
Then she parted her legs.
He came down beside her, putting a stranglehold on his need. This time wouldn’t be about heat and desperation. This time, he’d give her something more.
Because that was what she’d given him.
His lips touched hers. A light, fleeting kiss. Simple. Soft.
His fingers trailed over her body. Caressed her breasts. Teased the nipples that hardened beneath his fingers.
“I want to forget.” Her whisper.
The first thing she’d said since her tears in the bathroom.
His cock, fully swollen and thick with need, pressed against her leg. Forgetting—that would be fleeting. The memories would come back. They always did. But he’d give her this moment.
Hell, he’d give her anything she wanted.
He wouldn’t rush. Because he needed, too. Her taste…
He kissed his way down her neck. Licked the faint scars from her past battles. Tasted her nipples. She twisted beneath him, rising eagerly and pulling in a quick breath.
