Chapter 10: Chapter 10

“Harder,” he moaned, and I complied, using my full strength to guide my thumbs into the hard mass. He gasped the moment the knot released, and I could feel a ripple effect beneath his smooth skin. I targeted one after the other, forcing the tension from a lifetime of pain to leave his body, watching as he turned into liquid.

He bore scars, too. They covered his back, skin raised and twisted around his spine. I recognized some of it as shrapnel, and one looked like a knife wound that probably came within centimeters of his heart. I recognized some of the scars—I remembered every mission that resulted in injury because nothing pained me more or made me feel guiltier. He was perfect, which means if there was a failure of intelligence or security, it was my fault. How could he not resent me? How could he talk to me with such intensity and look at me with such desire?