Page 254 of Intense

“Start small. You don’t need to rush. Just touch him. Let him feel how steady you are.”

I step forward. My knees are trembling, but my hand doesn’t shake. I trail the blade against James’s cheek, over the puckered scar tissue. His smirk falters.

“That’s it,” Finn murmurs, his chest against my back. His voice is dark, reverent. “Look how perfect you are. Even with a blade in your hand, you’re still calm. Still in control.”

James tries to laugh, but it comes out strangled. “You’re turning her into you.”

Finn’s mouth curves against my ear.

“No. I’m letting her be herself.”

The words crack something open inside me. I drag the blade down James’s neck, light enough to draw a bead of blood. His hiss makes my pulse pound harder.

I glance back at Finn. His eyes are locked on me like I’m the only thing in existence. Proud. Possessive. Mine.

“Good girl,” he breathes. “Again.”

So I do. A slice down his arm. Another over the top of his hand. Shallow, but enough to make him flinch, enough to remind him he’s the one tied down now.

I find myself breathing heavier, my body pressed against Finn’s, my hand guided by his. It’s terrifying, it’s intoxicating, and it feels like freedom.

This is where I was meant to be.

I was always bound to find the other half of my soul in Finn. Two halves that complete each other.

“Beautiful,” Finn praises. His lips find my throat, his words a brand against my skin. “Every cut you make is a promise that no one will ever touch you again. That you are untouchable.”

James spits blood again, glaring at me with his one good eye. “You’re pathetic."

Before I can think, I drive the knife into his thigh. His scream rips through the room. My whole body jerks with the sound, but Finn’s arms are around me instantly, holding me steady, whispering against my hair.

“That’s it. Look at him. He bleeds for you now. He suffers for you.”

My chest heaves. I glance down at James, sweat rolling down his face, his arrogance slipping into something uglier—fear. And I realize I like the sight of it.

I lean back against Finn, my voice low.

“What now?”

Finn’s lips brush my ear again. “Whatever you want, temptress. You can walk away. Or you can end him.”

I look into James’s eye. His smirk is gone. The monster who held a gun to my head is nothing but a broken, bloodied shell.

And when I answer, my voice is steady.

“I want to end him.”

Finn smiles against my skin. “My perfect girl.”

Chapter 95

FINN

Taking the bloodied knife from her, I throw it down on the floor and pull out the gun instead.

I study her for a moment. My wife. My temptress. The woman who stormed her way into my blackened life and now stands here, trembling but unbroken. The most powerful woman I’ve ever met. Her chest rises and falls like she’s been running for miles, and still she hasn’t looked away from the bastard in the chair.

“Stephanie.” I tilt the gun in my hand, then offer it to her grip-first. “This one’s yours.”