“I can’t believe this happened to you,” I sobbed.

He wrapped me closer and buried his nose into my hair.

It was the most amazing feeling in the world. I relaxed on top of him, so relieved and exhausted to finally be home. I knew I should’ve been the one comforting him, but he was the one who calmed me.

I probably fell asleep within seconds.

I woke rested and yet drained. Day must’ve passed into night, because it was dark in the room. I knew he was still there, though; I was plastered against him like superglue.

His even breaths were like a balm to my ears, and I sighed. I was in bed with Knox Parker. Finally. Though my eyes were gritty and I was sore, plus my heart ached from everything we’d gone through earlier, I stretched like a contented kitten.

I still couldn’t believe what I’d learned, still couldn’t wrap my brain around the horrors my man had suffered. It only made me more determined to heal him, though, to show him there was still good left in the world, life was still worth living, and being with the one you loved was all that mattered.

Letting my hands explore, I slid them up his arms, awed by how much they’d grown. I had no idea a bicep could actually get this big, much less Knox’s. He’d never been small, but...wow, he was massive now. And his skin was so sleek and hard, like slick silk over steel.

My nails scraped gently up the side of his throat and over his cheekbone, delighting in every aspect of him. I was going to make him see, one way or another, that no matter what, we could still be together. We could get past this, and heal, and be happy again.

He sucked in a breath, mumbling, “City.”

“Yes?” I stretched up to kiss his jaw.

He jerked. “What?” Sounding more coherent, he began to sit up, but I pressed a hand to his chest, urging him back down.

“You don’t have to go yet.”

“Felicity.” His voice reminded me of how he’d gotten that rasp. They’d kicked him, damaged his voice box, damaged his soul. But I wasn’t going to let that damage us.

I finally had my man in my arms. Kissing my way down his neck, I slid my hand up his chest. His breath caught, but a second later, he caught my wrist.

“What’re you doing?”

With a husky laugh, I nipped at his shoulder with my teeth. “Do you want me to describe my plans in detail?”

Against me, his body tensed, letting me know he liked what I was doing. But what he growled was, “Stop. This isn’t going to happen. Just because I held you doesn’t mean we’re back together.”

I paused and tipped my head to the side. “Yes, we are. Because we’ve never really been apart. From the moment you bumped into me in those woods, we’ve belonged to each other. I tried to deny it for two years, and you’re trying to deny it now, but it’s not going to change the facts. I don’t care if we’ve grown up. We’re still Knox and City at the core, and we’ll always love each other. You know why?” I leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Because we don’t know how to stop.”

His breathing picked up, the tension in him mounting. He turned to me, and I swear his mouth was close enough to press against mine. I could feel his breath on my lips. “I’ll still fight it,” he swore. “I’ll resist you because I can only hurt you, and I’d rather die than hurt you.”

“The only thing you’ve ever done to hurt me is when you’ve pushed me away.”

“I’m no good for you,” he insisted.

I shook my head. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“City...” He groaned, letting me know he was close. So very close to giving in to me. He just needed one more tiny...nudge.

Using the hand he wasn’t holding captive, I slid my fingers down his body and gripped him through his pants. “I can feel how much you want me.”

He grunted and seized that hand too, but he couldn’t seem to remove my grip from him. Instead, he groaned and pressed my hand in, forcing my palm to grind against his straining cock with more force.

“I’m in bed with a woman I find attractive,” he grated out. “Of course I’m hard.”

I kept working him through his jeans. “Oh really? So I’m just like any other woman to you right now, huh?” With a sniff, I continued, “Sorry, but I don’t buy that. In fact, I bet you couldn’t fuck me like a stranger. I bet the second you filled me, you’d put your entire heart into it. Because we belong together. We love each other.”

He growled and caught my wrist when I went for his zipper. “Really? Now you’re trying to convince me sex is going to fix this. I’ll go back to being the old Knox, and all this shit that keeps haunting me will just...go away.”