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The trigger set off a detonation inside me.
Every man who’d ever touched me, every voice that’d ever teased me, and every fucking minute of agony I’d been given flooded through my brain.
I lost touch with reality.
Panic roared through my system.
I.
Lost.
It.
The man’s hand pushed me harder, trying to keep me lying down. “I told you, buddy. It’s all good. Just calm down, alright?”
His fingers bit into me.
I was a kid again.
A kid being held down for someone to rape and hurt.
No.
Fuck, no.
Rage I couldn’t control drenched everything.
I’d kill him.
I’d rip his cock off and tear out his heart—
My eyes snapped open, my hands wrapped around the wrist holding me down, and I let go of everything.
It was so easy.
Too easy.
The guy went flying across the room and crashed into the TV as I swooped to my feet with balled hands. It’d taken no effort at all. A simple flex of power. A dark decision to no longer be the victim.
He was my victim.
He would pay for every fucking thing I’d endured.
The guy rolled onto his hands and knees just as the TV toppled from the table and crashed to the floor in a splinter of glass.
I didn’t recognize any of it.
Where the hell am I?
I blinked at a coffee table with neatly stacked maps and climbing pamphlets in front of me. A sparkling kitchen in the morning sunshine existed behind me.
Everything seemed small and strange and—
“Who the hell are you?” the stranger stood, brushing off TV glass from his jeans. A small trickle of blood appeared in the corner of his mouth.
I was past words.
I was nothing but fists and fury.
He’d trespassed.
He’d entered this place where—
Gemma!
Her face and wonderful kindness shoved its way past my anger. Memories flooded me from yesterday. This was her place. This was her living room. I’d cleaned it last night and—
“You go
I crouched, ready to strike.
My instincts overtook me.
I couldn’t control them.
Couldn’t get the possessiveness to fade.
Some part of me knew this was Gem’s brother. I’d seen him on the video. He meant me no harm. He meant Gemma no harm.
But fuck, the blood from my dream was still in my nose.
Jareth’s voice howled in my ears.
My body burned from his unwanted touch.
No one. Fucking no one was allowed to touch me without consent again.
Darkness descended over any rational sanity I had left.
I shook my head, trying to snap out of it before it was too late.
Gem!
“Oi, you bastard!” The man didn’t give me a chance to stop myself. Completely unaware that I was seconds away from murdering him, he stalked around the coffee table and stabbed me in the shoulder with his finger. “Tell me where she is!” He stabbed me again, triggering self-preservation. “Tell me, right now! Otherwise, I’m go
“Oh, you’re in trouble, Kas. A new guest has a fetish for your sweet ass.”
I stumbled backward, bumping into the couch.
“Stop ignoring me!” the guy yelled.
“Strip, darling Kassen. Let’s see that pretty cock—”
“Where is my damn sister!”
I buckled over.
I tried to stop it.
I truly did.
“Bend over, pretty Kas. Spread those cheeks and let him stick his cock—”
I snarled.
“I always loved your ass. You were always the most reactive one whenever we’d play—”
STOP IT!
“What the fuck is your problem?” he yelled. “You’re mumbling like a crazy person.” He crowded into me. Trapping me between his body and the couch. My mind hissed. Whiteness teased my already manic vision. His body language bristled with aggression. His hands fisted. His face twisted with hate. “Cat got your tongue, you weirdo?”
“Cat got your tongue, Kas? Come here, and I’ll show you where tongues belong—”
“You know I’m speaking to you, right?” The guy’s hand landed on my chest, pushing me.
And that was it.
I shoved him backward, leaped over the coffee table, grabbed him from behind, and hurt him before he could hurt me. Spi
“Gemma! Gem!” He kept yelling as I punched him again, throwing him away from me with ease. He crashed against the wall before scrambling to his feet and throwing a vase at my face.
I spun to deflect.
The heavy porcelain landed between my shoulder blades, shoving me to my knees.
He took off with the sound of pounding feet. “Gem!”
Fuck.
He was ru
“He’ll hurt her, Kas. He’ll hurt her like Levin hurt you.”
I roared and ran after him.
“If he gets to her, he’ll break her, just like we broke you.”
I snarled and bounced off the walls, knocking a sunset print to the floor. The whiteness continued to blend my present and my past, tangling the human part of me that wanted to stop and the monster part of me that wanted to destroy everything.
My enemy got to the end of the corridor before I snatched his clothing and yanked him to a stop. In a single breath, I pi
A door opened to my right. A feminine shape appeared.
An unholy shout shattered my eardrums. “KAS! Let my brother go. RIGHT THE HELL NOW!”
The whiteness over my vision vanished.
Reality swept in.
I stumbled backward, landing against the other wall, breathing hard.
Ah, shit.
Shit!
Raking my hands through my hair, I mumbled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean. I tried to stop. I didn’t mean...” I looked up at Gemma, who stood with messy blond hair, cute gray pajamas, and wide, worried hazel eyes. “I was having a dream and—”
“Gem, who the hell is this?” her brother bit out.
My instincts roared to life again.
A snarl spilled from my lips, completely out of my control.
Gemma pointed a finger at both of us, her hands shaking with anger. “Joshua, not another word. Go into the living room. I’ll be right there. Kas, just stop it. Calm down and breathe.”
“I’m not leaving you with this madman,” Josh spluttered. “Are you crazy?”
“LEAVE!” she yelled. “Don’t make me ask again.”
Her brother’s eyebrows vanished into his hair before he grumbled something under his breath, glowered at me, and then trudged down the corridor. He stopped at the end. “I’m two seconds away from knocking you the fuck out, you bastard. Touch my sister inappropriately, and you’re a dead man.” He gave me one last glare before disappearing into the kitchen.
The moment he was gone, Gemma dropped her arms and hugged herself. She sighed heavily, her gaze pi
I shook my head, prepared to grovel for her forgiveness. “I woke and didn’t know where I was. The dream I’d been having was...violent. Your brother tried to comfort me, I think. But he touched me, and it set off a chain reaction I couldn’t stop.”
She nodded slowly. “But you’re aware now? You know what you did, and why you can’t do it again?”
I dared step toward her.
I waited for her to flinch or show any sign that she was afraid of me before wrapping my arms around her and holding her tight. Her scent filled my nose, her heat calmed my racing heart, and I was able to breathe properly for the first time since waking up. “I do. Christ, I’m so sorry. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to prove to your brother that I’m not a danger—to him or to you.”
The tension faded from her body. “Thank you.”
Sickness continued to rage in my blood.
Vertigo made the ground shift beneath my feet.
Fuck, what had I done?
“Tell me how to fix this,” I murmured into her hair. True terror noosed my heart. “Tell me I haven’t just ruined this before it’s already begun.”
She shook her head, snuggling closer. “We both knew this would take time.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
“I know.”
“What can I do to fix—?”
“Kas.” She looked up, her eyes glossy with sadness and understanding. “It’s okay.”
“He probably won’t agree with you.”
“Well, he shouldn’t have come in uninvited.”
“And I shouldn’t be such a fuckup that I tried to kill your only brother.”
She laughed under her breath, granting fresh pain but also dispersing some of the intense pressure in my chest. “We’ll get through this.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me. “Together, remember?”
I shuddered.
How could she forgive me for this?
How could she forgive me for any of it?
Wrapping my arms around her again, I squeezed her so damn tight. “I’m yours, Gem. Every part of me. I’ll never stop trying to be better...for you.”
“Ah, Kas.” She hugged me back. “It’s okay. It will be okay. You’ll see.”
“I love you.” I nuzzled her nose with mine. “I don’t think I’d be able to breathe again if I ever did something to make you hate me.”
“Lucky for you, that won’t happen.”
“But I almost murdered—”
“And we’ll put strategies in place to stop it from happening again.” She kissed me gently. “I love you too, Kas. And I welcomed you into my home, knowing how hard this might be...for both of us. If you’re not coping, tell me. And if I’m not coping, I’ll tell you. But regardless of how hard things get, it will get better. I know it will.”
My cock twitched with hunger. A hunger that didn’t come from lust but pure, unconditional love. I’d never wanted someone as much as I wanted Gemma. I’d never wanted to do anything, be anything just to ensure she was happy and safe.
My heart chose that moment to bind her to me. Not just for now. Not just temporary or permanently but forever.
Past life.
Past death.
She was it for me. I didn’t need more days or nights to know. I didn’t need to explore this new world and navigate a globe full of people.
She was my people.
The only person I ever needed.