Page 66 of Knotted By the Triad

I nodded. A flash of anguish appeared in his eyes. The next thing I knew, he was lowering himself to his knees in front of me with his head bowed.

“I am sorry,” he whispered.

I was stunned silent for a moment.

“Wh-what are you doing?” I asked.

“I should have cared for you properly from the moment you became my wife. You should never have needed to leave our home in the middle of the night and risk your life because you needed money. I’ve failed you.”

“Daemin, get up.”

“No. I need you to hear me. I will never allow you to worry about anything like that again. Whatever you need, just ask me. If it is within my power to give it to you, it is yours. And if it’s not in my power, I’ll kill whoever has the power to make sure you get what you want.”

Uh, swoon! He made murdery stuff sound so romantic.

This man was really on his knees apologizing to me. A smile slowly pulled at my lips. I squatted in front of him, ignoring the protest from my sore muscles, and slipped my fingers beneath his chin. When I lifted his face, my smile disappeared. Tears shimmered in his eyes.

“We've failed you, mate,” he whispered. “We don’t deserve you.”

My chest tightened. This wasn't the cold assassin from the book who'd eventually thrown me away for another woman. This was the man who had nearly died protecting me, who had trusted me with his life, carried me beneath him when we fell from the sky, covered me with a blanket while I slept, and now knelt before me because the thought of me needing something hurt him.

“We're starting over, alpha,” I said softly. “Let's forget the past.”

Daemin swallowed as I took his hands and helped him stand.

“I don't deserve your forgiveness,” he mumbled.

“You haven't done anything undeserving of forgiveness.” I let the words settle between us before glancing down at myself. “Now, I could've sworn you promised to take care of me.”

His gaze followed mine. I was still completely dressed.

I looked back up at him. “Why am I still fully dressed, alpha?”

Literal flames flared in his eyes. Daemin stepped closer, and suddenly his hands no longer trembled. He returned to the task of undressing me, moving slowly, careful of my injuries. He eased my arms free of my clothing without pulling against my ribs, then helped me step out of my pants. When he reached my underclothing, he paused.

“Don't get shy on me now,” I whispered.

A growl rumbled from his chest. My dragon practically melted. Daemin slowly eased me out of my remaining clothes. My strawberry-and-chocolate scent strengthened in the warm bathroom, mixing with the spicy aroma of leather and cloves surrounding him.

When the last piece of fabric was gone, I stood completely naked in front of him. Daemin stepped back. His gaze traveled over me slowly, and suddenly that bold woman who'd teased him about being shy wanted to cover herself.

“I look better when I'm not bruised and battered,” I muttered, staring down at myself, realizing I wasn’t as bruised as I’d expected. “I'm already starting to heal.” I lifted my gaze to his. “Is it because of my dragon?”

Daemin nodded. “I thought you weren't able to shift.”

“I'm not. And until meeting you all, I'd never heard my dragon's inner voice.”

He considered that for a moment. “My dragon didn't become this chatty until I met you. Perhaps meeting us awakened your dragon. In time, you may even be able to shift.”

I smiled. “Awesome.”

Then I noticed where Daemin was looking. His eyes had dropped between my thighs. Heat flooded my entire body.

I cleared my throat. “I'm going to get in the shower now.”

Daemin nodded. He walked to the shower and opened the glass door for me. I stepped inside, grateful for the chance to escape his stare before my scent gave away even more of what his attention was doing to me.

I turned and reached for the door. Instead of closing it, I was forced to take two steps back when Daemin stepped into the shower with me.