Page 58 of The Collector

He would burn it all down.

To feel the warmth of her smile again. To know Raven hadn't lost the only thing that ever made him feel like more than the sum of his sins.

He just hadn't been ready to accept the pull she had over him. To let her know the way he was starting to feel about her start changing him, rearrange all the plans he had in play. He needed to say the right thing here. Show her how sorry he was, make her feel like she was important to him—she made him feel like there was something in this shitty world worth being here for.

And he couldn't lose that feeling. Or Mynx.

Now, how could he make her see that? His intentions to claim her might be the answer. Now all he had to do was work up the courage to present her with the choker.

"I never meant to hurt you," he said, offering her the last piece of armor he had. He ran his hand through his hair before he continued, his stomach turning as he did—this might be his only shot at making this right.

She laughed and continued to apply her makeup.

Raven's voice was low, stripped of bravado, each word weighted with the kind of honesty that didn't come easy to him.

"I handled the way I feel about what's happening between us like a complete asshole. I should have told you how I felt", he said, eyes fixed on her reflection rather than her face. "I came here hoping to show you what our time in Cabo changed in me."

Mynx paused, her hand hovering near the compact, but she didn't speak.

"To be brutally honest," he continued, "you took me to a place I wasn't sure I could ever find in myself. You broke down every wall I spent years building to keep the world out."

His voice cracked slightly at the edges, not from weakness, but from the sheer effort it took to say the words aloud. Vulnerability wasn't his language—but this moment, this woman, demanded it.

It was a glimpse of the man beneath the armor. The one no one else had ever seen. The one he'd buried so deep he wasn't sure he'd ever find again—until her.

He stood there, exposed, hoping it was enough. Hoping Mynx would see past the damage and into the truth of him. Hoping she'd still want what they hadn't finished.

Mynx held his gaze, her breath caught somewhere between disbelief and something far more dangerous. For a long moment, she said nothing. The silence wasn't empty—it pulsed like his heartbeat in his throat.

She stepped toward him, slow and deliberate, stopping just shy of his reach. Close enough for him to feel the heat of her presence, but far enough to remind him how far he'd fallen.

"You wrecked me, Raven," she whispered, voice trembling with restraint. "I've spent the last few days wondering if I was just another quick piece of ass. If you were taking advantage of a naive girl stuck in a situation she couldn't change."

Her eyes locked onto his, and for a moment, he saw everything—hurt, longing, fury, desire—all tangled in the gold flecks that had haunted him since Cabo.

"Or," she continued, "if you feel this flame building between us, too. The scorching heat I feel when I look at you. That pull that makes me want to submit everything I am for just one touch."

Raven's breath caught.

"You want forgiveness?" she said, voice low and dangerous. "Then tell me why I should give it to you."

He didn't move. Couldn't. The moment was too fragile, too raw. Mynx wasn't asking for excuses. She was asking for the truth. For the kind of honesty that stripped him bare.

And if he didn't give it to her now, he knew he'd lose her forever. Her hand hovered at his chest, not quite touching, fingers curled like she didn't trust herself not to touch him.

Raven's voice was quiet, stripped of the sharp edges he usually wore.

"Do you know what I am? What this life—this world—has made me, Mynx?" he said, eyes searching hers. "It's made me hard. Emotionless. Cold in ways I didn't even notice until you showed me what warmth felt like."

He took a breath, steadying himself against the vulnerability clawing its way out of him.

"Having the chance to hold something soft, something real… that's not something I ever expected to just fall into my life. But then you showed up. The beautiful paradox—who busts my balls and somehow still manages to caress my heart."

His mouth pressed tight, shoulders locking in place like he was bracing for impact. But he didn't look away.

"Surely you can see it in your heart to give me one more chance. Just one. To prove I'm worth the risk."

It wasn't a plea. It was a confession. And for Raven, that was more than rare—it was sacred.