Page 125 of When Ashes Fall

It wasn’t until Knox lifted his head from my shoulder that I realized what he’d done….

He’d left his new mark upon my flesh.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

Briar

I lay unmoving, too stunned to react as Knox wrapped his arms around me, rolled to the side, and held me securely against him. I wanted to relax into him and savor this moment, but I couldn’t.

His breathing slowed; he was content to ignore that he’d branded me when I’d told him not to.

“You… you bit me,” I whispered.

Knox stirred and lifted his head. His breath warmed my shoulder as he gazed down at me. “So I did,” he murmured as if he hadn’t realized it.

“I told you not to. I told you to give me time.”

His shrug set my teeth on edge, and it took everything I had not to knee him in the nuts. There was no remorse in his eyes as they locked onto my shoulder. His lips twitched toward a smile while he examined his fresh marks on me.

That stupid idea of maybe having things change one day went up in smoke as my sex-fueled high gave way to reality. There was no maybe one day with this man; like my mother, he had no respect for me.

“My instincts took over.”

He said this as if it were a perfectly reasonable explanation. His flippant tone incensed me more than the fact he’d gone against my wishes.

“They didn’t take over the last time we were together!” I snapped.

“Didn’t they?” When he lifted my hand, I snatched it away from him. His jaw clenched as he grasped my wrist and turned it over. “I left bruises all over you, but there are none now. I was too rough with you last time because that was what the beast wanted. It was what I wanted too.”

“And this time, you violated my trust! I’d rather have you be too rough with me. I actually enjoy that!”

Something dark shimmered in his eyes. He licked my blood from his lips as his cock stirred against my hip. There was no way I was having sex with him again.

When I went to pull my wrist away, his arm locked around me and he kept me clasped against his chest. I stiffened, but I had to proceed very carefully here. Denying the beast could cause it to unleash, and I couldn’t risk that.

How had things gone from so amazing to so awful in the blink of an eye? Had I really contemplated staying here to see how things played out with him?

I was an idiot! He was never going to be Seth, and he would never respect me in the same way he once did. Knox was too damaged for that.

“You’re supposed to be gaining my trust, not betraying it,” I whispered.

“You already trust me to keep you safe. You know I’ll kill anyone who lays a hand on you.”

But who will protect me from you?

“That’s not… that’s not what building trust is about,” I told him.

“But it’s a start. You’ll grow to trust me more as time passes.”

I didn’t say anything as his fingers brushed the hair back from my shoulder. I winced when they grazed the wounds there. Despite my distress over his actions, satisfaction gleamed in his eyes.

How could I ever grow to trust him when all he ever did was what he wanted? He didn’t care about my feelings. If I stayed, he’d constantly trample them beneath his overbearing demeanor, and I couldn’t have that.

“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

He disentangled his arms from me before rising. With long strides, he stalked into the bathroom; the water ran for a couple of seconds before shutting off. Knox emerged with a wet towel and sat beside me on the bed.

“Sit up,” he said.