Page 31 of Angel’s Claim

"That's not food."

"It's food-shaped."

I feel more than hear his laugh, a rumble in his chest that makes something warm unfurl in my stomach.

"Come on," he says, pulling back slightly. "Let's get you real food."

"I look like hell."

"You look beautiful."

I snort. "I've been crying for twenty minutes. My face is all puffy and—"

"Beautiful," he repeats, cutting me off. His eyes are serious. "You look beautiful."

And the way he says it, like it's a fact, like there's no room for argument, makes me believe him.

"Okay," I say.

He smiles and reaches up to brush a strand of hair out of my face. "You gonna keep wearing my cut?"

I look down at the leather still wrapped around my shoulders. "Do you want it back?"

"Fuck no." The answer is immediate. "Looks better on you anyway."

My cheeks heat despite everything. "Does it?"

"Yeah. Now come on. Let's get you fed," he says, and smirks.

I grab my backpack and follow him out the door, and for the first time since I turned on that phone, I don't feel like I'm drowning.

Because Angel's right.

I'm not alone.

And maybe, just maybe, that's enough.

Chapter 6 - Angel

I fucking knew she'd be wearing my cut.

The second I saw her standing in that doorway with red, swollen eyes and my leather wrapped around her shoulders, something in my chest clenched so hard I could barely breathe.

She's mine.

She doesn't know it yet, not fully, but she's mine. And the fact that she's still wearing my cut even after crying her eyes out over messages from her family just confirms what I already knew.

This girl is it for me.

I want to kiss her. I want to pull her back against me and press my mouth to hers and make her forget every cruel word her stepmother said, every threat her father made, every moment she spent thinking she was alone in this.

But I can't.

Not yet.

She's vulnerable right now. She’s hurting and barely holding herself together. Kissing her would be taking advantage of that, and I'm not that kind of man.

So instead, I settle for brushing her hair out of her face and telling her she's beautiful, because she is. Even with puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks, she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.