His chest gave that ugly lurch again, the one he hated. For a second he just stared at her, like her words had cracked something deep inside he’d been hammering shut for years. Then his jaw flexed, and he leaned down, kissing her slow. Not the bruising, claiming kind they’d done in desperation before. But soft. Lingering.
Carla trembled under him, her hands curling into his shoulders, not sure what to do with this gentleness. His lips traced her mouth like he was memorizing it, tasting every shaky breath she gave back.
When he pulled away, just enough to breathe against her, his voice rasped low. "You’ll have all of me. Every f*****g piece."
Her breath hitched, her body arching toward him. She’d braced for roughness, for the usual Kael who f****d like survival itself depended on it. But
