Page 97 of Sinful Wrath

I reach for her wrists and slowly lower her hands.

In truth, I might have been freaked out by her honesty a few weeks ago. Having her fall for me was the last thing I wanted, especially when I needed her to call off this wedding.

But so many things have changed between us since then, and I find myself feeling nothing but happiness at her words.

“It takes a lot more than that to freak me out,solnyshka.”

“Is that meant to be comforting?”

“Yes.” I rub my thumbs over her wrists. “And I want you to know that I’m falling for you too.”

“Really?” Her eyes shimmer as she looks into mine.

I release her wrists so I can cup her face. “Really.”

I bend down, capturing her mouth with my own.

Her lips instantly part for me, and I take my time stroking my tongue against hers.

By the time I pull away, she’s breathless and flushed, but her eyes are lowered.

“Lucia?” I have a feeling that wasn’t the only thing she wanted to tell me.

“There’s something else I’ve wanted to tell you for a while now, but I could never find the courage to.”

“Whatever it is, you can tell me.” I squeeze her hand.

She nods, biting her lower lip.

“When I was fifteen, I was kidnapped by one of my father’s enemies.”

I bite back a curse as her words sink in.

“They held me captive for days, beat me up and threatened to rape and torture me if I didn’t cooperate.”

“Did they?” I demand. “Because I’ll fucking kill them?—”

She reaches out to cup my face. “There were only a few cuts and bruises.”

“Lucia,” I rasp, my body vibrating with rage.

She shakes her head. “The emotional torture was the worst. It took me a long time to get over it, but eventually I did.”

“Just because you got over it doesn’t make it okay.”

“No, but I learned to defend myself because of that attack. I made a promise to myself that I would never let someone have that sort of power over me. It’s part of the reason why I hate being told what to do.” She looks at me sheepishly. “I hate feeling out of control.”

She takes my hand and entwines her fingers with mine, holding them against her heart as she talks.

I shift my body closer so that we’re both sitting cross-legged with our knees touching. I want nothing more than to pull her into my arms, but I can tell she wants to have some space while she speaks, so for now I’ll make do with a few comforting touches to show her that I’m here.

“I’m so sorry that happened.” I rub my thumb over her cheek.

She leans into my touch, her brown eyes filledwith such sadness as she gazes up at me. “That’s why you were able to fight off those two guys in the park…”

“Yeah. I think the park attack triggered some sort of PTSD.”

“In what way?”