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Katie reached up a hand and brushed it over my forehead, smoothing my hair back. The tender touch made me itch to kiss her. To wrap her up and never let her go.
‘Thank you for staying with me.’
‘Anytime.’
Her eyes dipped from mine as she let them drop to my chest before taking a steadying breath.
‘I don’t know what this is. This thing between us.’ Her long lashes brushed her cheeks as she closed her eyes before blinking them back up to me.
‘What do you want it to be?’ My pulse quickened as nerves flooded my chest. I wanted her to want... something. Everything.
‘I’m not sure. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy some of the... things we did. You tapped into desires I’ve never let myself explore and the thought of more is pretty tempting. But you stalked me, watched me, broke into my home. I’m embarrassed about you having seen me like that.’ Her voice quavered as she spoke, and I reached up to run a finger over her broken lower lip.
‘Katie, there is nothing I could see that would ever make me think any less of you. Being in a position of sexual submission, playing with degradation and deviant games, it all makes me crave you all the more. But I crave this too. The real you. The Katie I first met who was confident in herself and who she was. I miss her. All I wanted was for you to get over Tommy and move on. To reclaim the amazing, fun, passionate woman you are. I never dreamed anything more was a possibility.’
‘You really see me like that?’
‘I do. I’ve been watching you wilt, and it’s been killing me. I’m sorry about scaring you, and pushing myself into your life. I never meant to hurt you, or for you to get hurt as a consequence. If I’d realised how unhinged Tommy wa--‘
Katie cut me off with a gentle press of her lips to mine, stealing my breath right out of my chest.
Pressing a hand softly on the side of her neck, I tipped her head to give me better access. Her tongue swept over my lip as I let her take the lead, not wanting to hurt her split lip and bruised jaw.
The kiss wasn’t desperate or fuelled by lust. It was tender and sweet. It blew my fucking mind. More than having her on her knees in the woods, or spread over the counter. More than the most deviant thing I could picture having her submit to.
Shit, was this what Maeve and Esther risked so much for? That moment of intense sweetness that Katie had given me?
Because I’d fucking burn the entire world to have another one of those slow, delicate kisses.
When she broke the kiss, it was with a smile against my lips.
‘Bloody hell, Katie.’
‘What?’
‘You’re just fucking incredible.’
Hours later, I left the hospital. It took everything to pull myself away from her when she was feeling so vulnerable, but Ewen had broken into the home of one of Tommy’s band members. We had some beans to get spilling.
I pulled on a black balaclava as one of my men drove round to the back of the mansion, the gate already having been opened for us.
‘Be back as soon as I can,’ I told the driver. ‘Be ready.’
He nodded as I let myself out of the car and headed through the back entrance, following Ewen’s directions until I found them in a caterer’s kitchen.
Tommy’s bandmate, Evan, sat tied to a chair in the centre of the room, flanked by my brothers who’s faces were concealed like mine.
‘Ah, just who we were waiting for. Now the fun can really get started.’
Evan cowered as Logan patted his shoulder, the friendly gesture throwing him off.
‘Have you told him why we’re here?’ I asked, placing my bag down and making a show of pulling various implements out of it one by one as we chatted.
‘Not yet, we didn’t want you to miss it,’ Ewen leaned against a counter to the side of our captive.
‘Do you want money? I have money.’ Poor Evan. Clueless.
I remained quiet as I pulled the metal mallet out of the bag, placing it on the countertop with a satisfying thunk.
