Page 10 of The Chosen
He pulled back slightly, searching my face. For a protracted moment, I thought he might renew his objection. Insist I wasn’t in the right headspace for this. I probably wasn’t.
Finally, he wrapped me in his embrace again, the feel of his body against mine giving me the comfort I so desperately needed.
“I’ll always give you what you need,” he said roughly before his mouth crashed back down on mine.
And this time, he didn’t hold back.
Chapter Three
Henry
Sex was the last thing either of us needed right now.
Or maybe it was the only thing standing between Ariana and a complete breakdown.
From the first time I’d spoken to her, she’d been pure and good and light. She’d endured hell and somehow remained true.
And because of me, she’d been forced to do something no one should have to.
I knew better than anyone how taking another life changed you. How it crept into your dreams and tortured you. How it left something in your soul that could never be erased.
I refused to let her bear that burden. I’d do everything in my power to carry it for her. To make sure it didn’t extinguish her fire. Her light. Her spark.
Tearing my lips from hers, I turned off the water and lifted her in my arms, her skin slick as I carried her into the bedroom. Water dripped from us onto the floor, but that didn’t matter. All that did was giving Ariana what she needed.
And right now, she needed me.
I set her on her feet beside the bed, water falling in rivulets off her body. I smoothed her hair away from her face and stared into her blue eyes. They seemed empty. Vacant. Haunted.
And it was all my fault.
Without taking my eyes off her, I managed to shove my wet jeans down my legs before ripping my t-shirt over my head, tossing it onto the floor with a thump. Normally, whenever I stripped in front of her, she greedily drank in the sight of me.
Not tonight.
Tonight, she looked like she was seconds away from breaking and I was the only thing that might hold her together.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, I pulled her against me, flesh against flesh. Then I crushed my mouth against hers. There was nothing soft or delicate about this kiss. It was raw and frenzied. Not because of some innate hunger that had been building inside us for too long.
But because of a desperate need to feel anything other than what she felt right now.
Hell, probably what she’d felt for the past decade.
I threaded my fingers into her hair, my grip on her head bordering on harsh. But it only made her kiss me harder, our tongues tangling, teeth clashing. She dug her nails into my back, her mouth moving against mine like she was trying to crawl inside me and steal my breath.
And I let her.
Let her push.
Let her take.
Let her shatter.
With my hand on her hip, I steered her toward the bed, our mouths never breaking as I lowered her onto the mattress and settled between her legs.
But this wasn’t about me. Not tonight. This was about her. Letting her take what she needed. Giving her some semblance of control in a world where she’d rarely had any.
I looped an arm around her waist and rolled onto my back, bringing her on top of me. She inhaled a sharp breath, pulling her lips from mine and flinging her gaze to mine.
