Page 139 of My Solemn Vow

“Valor,” I snarl.

It comes out just as sharp and angry as I intended.Maybe a wolf has its bonuses.

As if commanded, Valor stops. He withdraws his fingers and steps back. Knife pinched between his thumb and palm, he keeps his hands open, showing me in the mirror that he’s no longer touching me.

So much for trusting him.I spin around to face him.No. I’m going to trust him again. I’m going to give him the opportunity to give me reasons to trust him.

Valor slowly lowers his hand and offers the knife out to me.

I don’t take it, but I nod, and Valor understands. He starts at the collar of the blood-splattered shirt. The fabric is more drenched than I thought because blood squelches out as the knife cuts a path through the material, and cool liquid runs down my torso and to my thighs.

After slicing through the bottom seam of the shirt, Valor sets the knife on the vanity next to me and brings his hands to my waist. He runs them up under my breasts, reaching behind me and unhooking my bra.

With the closeness, I lean forward and kiss him. He’s soft and pliable, letting me set the pace. All the while, he keeps undressing me tenderly, pressing the T-shirt sleeves and straps of my bra down my arms before tossing them away.

Valor hooks his fingers into the waistband of my panties.

I place my hands over his and scold him through uneven breaths. “Where’s the fun in that?”

His mouth falls open, and after a beat, he picks up his knife.

Using his finger as a barrier, he protects me as he slices down the center. I clench the muscles of my core, willing myself to stay as still as possible and staving off the violent shudders threatening to course through my body.

Arousal and fear, feeling so much the same yet so different, wreck my nerves. They heighten every piece of this experience.

The fabric of my panties sounds tortured as it’s cut away, and he drops to his knees before me, waiting. Choosing to trust him after being on the receiving end of his rage is hard, but I do, with a small turn and a deep breath. Facing the mirror again, I give Valor the opportunity to redeem himself.

The mirror is cool against my fingers, and I hesitate.

Trust our mate.My wolf encourages me.

When I’ve settled, Valor continues, his finger protecting me from the knife along my underside and up to my ass.

I can’t help the breath that leaves me in almost a moan as he drags his finger along the knife’s path between my legs.

“Much better.” Valor hums in approval once the waistband is cut again and the fabric naturally falls down my legs.

He makes a show of putting the knife away and setting it on the granite vanity far away from us. Then, through the mirror, I get to watch him strip.

I curl my fingers as my need only increases.

His shirt, less bloody than mine, mars his skin with a smattering of red, and I look down in the mirror to take in the sight of it on my abdomen. Blood acts as evidence in the war of taking myself back.

When I raise my eyes back to Valor, he’s waiting. He tucks his thumbs into his jeans, already unbuttoned and unzipped, and removes them with his boxers down his legs.

I’m only woman. No one can blame me for the lust at seeing Valor hard for me.

Because I know how good he makes me feel, my hesitation isforgotten in an instant. Especially when he drops behind me, down to his knees, and out of sight below the vanity. I lean more weight against my pelvis and raise up onto my toes, allowing him better access to me.

Valor slides his tongue along my slit, all the way up to my asshole, and I clench, shocked by the sensation.

He groans. “You taste amazing. I’ve wanted this for so long.”

“Well, we often want what we can’t have,” I grumble, trying to be playful, and it earns me a well-honed smack to my ass.

I practically lose myself in the bite of that sting. My body relaxes under the pain and what it does to me.

But Valor doesn’t strike again. He goes back to eating me out, sucking my clit, his nose teasing my entrance.