Page 482 of Once Upon a Fable

Holy shit.

I froze.

Who the hell was that guy?

I didn’t recognize him.

Not a single piece of him.

He looked younger. Calmer. Happier.

Leaning in, I touched my bare cheek, my fingers trembling.

A scar I remembered Levin giving me followed the contour of my cheekbone. Another glinted silver along my jaw. Mementos of a time when I was too weak to fight off those who would do me harm.

Once again, a flash of panic shot through my blood.

Gemma was right.

I looked good.

I looked enticing.

I looked like a perfect meal to be molested.

“Wow, he’s a stunning specimen, isn’t he?”

“Can’t wait to see those pretty lips around my cock, Kas.”

“So much fresh flesh to mark. Come here and let me autograph it.”

I bent over, clutching the sink, trying to banish the sick ghosts inside my head.

Hands landed on my back, soft and gentle.

Arms looped around my waist, kind and loving.

Parts of me wanted to throw them off me. I didn’t want to be touched. Never again did I want another person to touch me.

But then I opened my eyes and locked onto Gem, and the mania inside me, the headache threatening to break me, and the vertigo that made me wobble all receded.

Gem.

Her.

Home.

With a sigh, I slouched against the vanity.

She hugged me tighter, pressing her entire body against my back. Her breasts warmed my spine, and her breath tickled my shoulder blades as we stood silently, her eyes wide and worried, mine shadowed with history.

She hugged a man I didn’t recognize.

But I recognized her.

I loved her.

I trusted her when she said she would never let anyone touch me ever again.