Page 146 of Shattered In Darkness

He’s close now. His grip tightens. “You want the truth? I don’t know if what I feel is even love. It’s obsession, Lola. It’s hunger. You’ve been under my skin since the first time I saw you. Nothing else comes close. I tried to walk away—I can’t. I want you. All of you. Even the fucked up, broken pieces. Especially those.”

A sob punches out of my chest. My fist slams against his chest, once, twice, again. “You’re not supposed to want the broken, Brody. You’re supposed to help fix it.”

He catches my fists, pins them against his shirt. “No one can fix it. Not even you. All we can do is survive it.”

He’s right. It pisses me off.

The fight goes out of me. I collapse against him, gasping. Tears wet his collarbone. My body is electric with hurt and wanting. His arms crush me to him, blocking out everything but his heartbeat and the smell of him.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper into the skin of his neck. “For everything. For not being strong enough.”

He shudders, his lips finding the top of my head. “Don’t apologize. You’re the strongest person I know. You’re just tired.”

I sob, and then suddenly, all the fight goes out of me. My knees buckle and I fall against his chest, shaking so hard I can barely breathe.

He catches me. He always does.

“Shh,” he murmurs, his lips against my hair. “I love you. I’m sorry. I love you.”

The apology cracks me open all over again. I kiss him, desperate and messy. He pulls me onto the bed with him, hands rough and gentle at once, tearing at my clothes, burying his face against my skin like he can’t get close enough.

Our bodies come together hard, wild. There’s no gentleness at first, just need, just the two of us trying to burn away the past, to make something clean out of all this pain.

There’s nothing sweet left in either of us. I want him to hurt me, to worship me, to fuck every bruise and ghost out of my body. I want to be ruined until I belong to nothing but this moment, until my skin is raw from his hands, my throat hoarse from begging, until there’s no room left for Marcus or Richard or any other monster in this house but the one I choose.

His mouth crashes onto mine. It’s a kiss that tastes like blood and grief, like everything we’ve done to each other, everything we can’t take back.

“Take it off,” he growls against my mouth, fists already yanking at my shirt, my bra. The fabric tears, he doesn’t care, neither do I.

I want to be naked, stripped down, exposed. I want the daylight to see every scar, every secret. Let it watch. Let it judge. I don’t fucking care anymore.

His hands are everywhere. Bruising, greedy, possessive. He squeezes my tits, pinches my nipples until I whimper, then soothes the sting with his mouth. Biting, sucking, leaving marks I’ll feel for days.

He drags his tongue down my sternum, teeth scraping my skin, leaving welts that are more proof I’m alive.

I arch under him, shameless, desperate. “More,” I hiss. “Don’t be careful. I don’t want careful.”

A savage grin cuts across his face. “Good. That’s all I know how to be.”

His fingers hook under the waistband of my leggings, yank them down. I kick them off, panties already soaked.

He doesn’t hesitate. He slides two fingers between my legs, rough, shoving them inside me hard enough to make me cry out. I’m soaking wet, aching, clenching around him, grinding my hips against his palm.

He growls low in his throat, watching the way I writhe, the way I cling to his wrist like I’ll die if he stops.

“Look at you,” he breathes, voice hoarse. “So fucking wet. You missed this, didn’t you?”

“Shut up,” I gasp, grabbing his wrist, fucking myself on his fingers. “Just… just fuck me, Brody. I need it. I need you to break me.”

He pulls his fingers free and wipes them across my lips. “Open,” he commands.

I do, sucking his fingers into my mouth, tasting myself, never breaking eye contact. He yanks my hips to the edge of the bed, spreads my legs wide.

The sunlight is merciless, painting every bruise, every imperfection. I want him to see all of it. I want him to own it.

He shoves his sweatpants down, cock thick and hard and leaking. Just the sight makes my mouth water. He drags the swollen head through my cunt, smearing my wetness all over both of us.

“Say it,” he demands, voice guttural. “Say you want it.”