Page 48 of Kael

I dragged my thumb across a smear of blood on her cheek. “You’re not weak anymore. And that turns me on more than anything you’ve ever done for me.”

I kissed her, crushing my mouth to hers.

She tasted like copper and rage. She gasped against my mouth, and I swallowed it like it was holy water. My hand fisted in her hair, yanking her head back so I could go deeper. She melted into me, her body trembling against mine.

When I pulled back, she was shaking. Her eyes were wild, her pupils blown wide.

I pressed my forehead to hers. “Can I fuck you right here?” I breathed. “Please, Bunny.”

She nodded. I was too desperate to wait for her to say it aloud.

I turned her, walking her backward until her hips hit a stack of crates, and bent her over them. My hands yanked her pants down just enough. The soft, full curve of her ass filled my palms. I gripped her harder than I should have. She was soaked.

I freed my dick and pushed into her in one slow, deep thrust. She gasped, her body tensing, but she pushed back to take all of me.

“Kael—” Her voice broke on a moan. “Fuck… yes. Just like that.”

I fucked her slow and deep from behind over the crates. One hand fisted lightly in her hair—it had grown longer—while the other gripped the soft flesh of her hip, pulling her back onto me with every stroke. Her ass bounced against me, soft and plush, the sight making my grip tighten.

“Harder,” she breathed, fingers scrabbling for purchase on the wood. “Please… don’t stop. I need it.”

“Fuck, Bria,” I groaned low against her neck. “That was beautiful. You looked intoxicating in your rage.”

She moaned softly, her breath catching with every thrust. She took me—deep, wet sounds of skin on skin filling the space. I kept my pace, leaning over her so my chest pressed to her back.

“You did so good tonight. I’m going to push you so far,” I rasped, my teeth grazing her shoulder. “I want to see how much you can take. How deep you’ll let me in. You’re going to be such a good girl for me… aren’t you?”

She came hard around me, her body shuddering, a broken whimper slipping out as she clenched tight. I followed right after, burying myself deep and filling her with a low groan.

I stayed inside her for a long moment afterward, breathing against her skin, my hand stroking down her side.

This was only the beginning. I was going to make her my equal—and she was already starting to let me.

Chapter 27

Bria

I couldn’t stop looking at my hands.

Even after Kael cleaned them in the warehouse sink, even after he drove us home in silence and I showered, the blood still felt like it was under my nails. Phantom, but sticky. Permanent.

I sat on the edge of the bed in one of his T-shirts, knees pulled up, staring at nothing. Kael leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching me the way he always did—like he was cataloguing every crack in my expression.

“Talk,” he said quietly.

I let out a shaky breath. “I thought I’d feel sick. Or empty. Or… wrong.” My voice sounded strange in the quiet room. “But I don’t. I feel… lighter. Like something that’s been sitting on my chest for years finally moved.” I looked up at him. “Is that fucked up?”

“No.” His answer was immediate. Flat. Certain.

I swallowed. “I keep replaying it. The way she looked at me when she realized I wasn’t going to stop. And instead of guilt, all I feel is this… hunger. Like that was only the beginning.” My fingers twisted in the hem of his shirt. “I want to kill Darius next.”

Kael’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t move.

“I mean it,” I said, stronger this time. “I want to be the one who kills him. Not you. Not your men. Me. He tookeverything first. He should be the one who sees my face when it ends.”

Silence stretched. I could hear my own pulse.

Kael pushed off the doorway and crossed the room. He crouched in front of me, one hand settling on my knee. For a long moment, he just studied my face.