Page 63 of Knight’s Salvation

Shit, he was close to crying like a fucking pussy again.

“You back with me?” she whispered against his ear.

He shivered and tried to speak, but his voice came out nothing but a croak.

“Shh, don’t try to talk yet.” She tightened her hold on him and he sucked in a breath to calm his shit down. Mia had twice seen him at his weakest, but no way would she see him sobbing because someone finally gave a fuck.

He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m…I’m good.” The stuttering probably didn’t do much to convince her of that.

“It happened again, didn’t it? Like last time?”

“Yeah.”

She lifted up, and he rolled to his back so she was looking down at him. She bit her lip when her gaze landed on the dressing covering the front of his shoulder. “You’re hurt.”

“Just a scratch. It’ll be gone in a couple of days.”

She nodded, trusting him to tell her the truth. That equally pleased him and made him feel like an asshole all at the same time. “Can you tell me why this keeps happening?”

He owed her some kind of explanation, something after all she’d done for him. “I was born in Hell, Mia. Yeah, I’m made up of the same basic DNA as the others, but I’m still different…I’m more demon than angel.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “But that’s not even it. Something mutated when I was growing in that bitch who birthed me. Earth lacks something I need to survive. Over time the pain steadily grows worse until I’m forced to…” He struggled to find the right word. “…recharge. Then the cycle starts all over again.”

“So this happens a lot?”

“It’s not as bad as it seems.” A lie, but better that than the awful truth.

She didn’t look convinced, but didn’t call him on it. “How do you recharge? Is there something I can do to help?”

He grinned, tried to lighten the moment, play down the hell that was his truth. “It’s top secret angel business. Silas would cut off my allowance if I told you that.” She smiled in return, but he didn’t miss the concern in her beautiful eyes. He pulled her down and touched his lips to hers for no other reason than he had to. “Having you with me helps more than you’ll ever know.”

She looked tired, and he realized she’d been up all night looking after him. Pulling her down, he tucked her into his side and wrapped her in his arms, again reveling in the sensation of having her so close. It still amazed him her touch didn’t freak him out. He craved it.

“Sleep, Mia.”

Moments later, her breathing slowed and he knew she’d drifted off. But Zenon didn’t sleep. Instead he relayed every touch, every word she’d whispered to him, over and over in his mind, locking it in tight.

And for once he allowed himself to imagine what things might have been. How his life could have been different if he wasn’t a slave, if he’d been born different—if Mia could be his.

“Harder this time,Mia. Don’t hold back,” Zenon growled as he came at her again.

He grabbed her arm as if he were an attacker, this time from a different angle. Swinging out, she attempted a knife hand strike to the side of his neck, the move used to temporarily stun your attacker. He grunted and yanked her forward. Mia threw up her other hand, like she would if she were to use the heel of her palm to strike up and under his nose, but pulled back at the last minute.

Zenon growled again and swept her legs out from underneath her, laying her flat.

She hit the mat hard. “Oomph.” Mia gasped, worked at getting oxygen back into her lungs.

He held out a hand. “Up. Come on. Again.”

Okay, now he was just pissing her off. “I’ve had enough for today.”

He shook his head. “Up, Mia. Now. We’re going again.”

She tried to stare him down. “No.”

“You think a demon gives a shit you’re tired?” He was scowling down at her, but after three weeks of amazing orgasms and tender moments, he didn’t scare her anymore. Zenon was gentle, attentive—and filled with so much pain it tore her apart every time she saw that shadow creep across his face. But right then he was being a stubborn ass. She’d told him about the self-defense classes she’d started and how disappointed she was to be missing them. He’d had her training every day since, almost obsessively.

She shook her head. “I’ve had enough.” He reached down and grabbed her hand, attempting to yank her up off the floor. “I said no.”

“Get the fuck up now. You’ve had enough when I say so.”