Page 129 of Brutal

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He hasn’t taken his hand away.

I don’t ask him to.

I don’t step back.

“What happens if they’re right?” I whisper.

His gaze doesn’t leave mine. “They are.”

“That you’ll react?”

“Yes.”

“That you’ll hurt someone?”

“If they touch you.”

A shiver moves through me. “Then what changes?”

Something moves behind his eyes. “I do.”

His words land in my gut and stay there.

I believe him.

That might be the problem.

I look at his mouth. He notices. Electricity flares between us. The same current from last night.

I don’t fight it.

I lean in.

Enough that if he moves only slightly there’s no space left for anything else.

He tightens his hand on my neck.

My breath catches. “Samson…please…”

“Don’t,” he says.

“Don’t what?” I ask, clearing my throat.

“You know what.”

I don’t.

Or maybe I do and I’m choosing not to admit it.

“That didn’t seem to be a problem before,” I say.

He shifts his thumb. “That was before I understood what I was dealing with.”

“And now you do?”

“No.” A pause. “And that’s the problem.”

I should step back. I don’t.

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