“You’re hurt,” Thorn muttered, easing me into his arms. “We need to take care of that cut.”
It was only then that I noticed a small cut on my knee from when I’d dropped down earlier. It was bleeding, and the pain hit me full force as I curled up in Thorn’s arms, whimpering in a desperate attempt to show him how much it was all hurting me.
“I’m going to take care of you,” he murmured softly, and I hid my face under his arm.
He took me to the bathroom, got a first aid kit and patched up my knee while I watched silently. Part of me wondered why he refused to punish Pia, and the other was desperate for him to make amends. I wanted to hate him, but my feelings let me down time and time again. I was addicted to the kind of pleasure with pain he doled out on me, and I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever be able to walk away from it.
“We need to talk,” I whispered, and his eyes shot up to meet mine. “I need to understand you. I need to know who you are.”
“You know enough,” he replied roughly, and I felt my eyes welling up with tears again.
I snatched my leg away from him and glared, saying, “You’re keeping me in the dark. It’s unfair. I need you to trust me.”
“Do you trust me?” he asked, his burning eyes meeting mine.
I pondered the question. He was a monster, a kidnapper and a rough lover, but despite all of it, I knew I would place my life in his hands. I already had so many times before.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He stared at me, contemplating my answer, and finally, I saw his shoulders sag as he slid down the marble wall and faced me.
“Ask,” he ordered. “Ask me anything you want to know.”
Chapter 5
Thorn
I stared at the woman in front of me, finally seeing her for whom she had become in the past few months since I’d taken her, the girl I’d watched dancing in The Nutcracker whom was no longer. In her place was a woman, a beautiful, strong woman, I had managed to shatter into pieces. I’d never hated myself more than watching her in that bathroom, wondering whether I was harming her by taking away the life she’d dreamed of and giving her the one I wanted her to have.
“Ellis,” she finally whispered, and my skin prickled at the thought.
The name had an effect on me I didn’t fucking like. I didn’t like thinking about him. For me, Ellis was a chapter I had closed when I sent a bullet to his chest. I didn’t want him in our lives. I didn’t want his memory to live on, yet I knew there were unanswered questions when it came to him, which I’d given Rose permission to open that Pandora’s box.
“You want to know why I killed him,” I said roughly, and to my surprise, she shook her head right away.
“No,” she said, her voice gentle as her beautiful eyes connected with mine. “I need to know why you chose him to train me. Why not you? Was I not good enough for you?”
I stared at her, trying to understand where she was coming from, because she was dead fucking wrong. Of course she was good enough. She was too good. Too pure, too beautiful and too fucking young for me to be able to touch her. I knew I’d ruin her. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to hold back the second I got my hands on her, and I knew she’d hate me for it. I had chosen a different man, a man I trusted like he were family, to take on the role that I was too scared to accept as my own, and he had let me down in every way possible.
I still wondered whether I’d ever be able to sever the invisible tethers that held my Rose to Ellis and whether she’d eventually get over his death at my hands and come to forgive me. As much as she hated him, I knew she’d developed feelings for the man as well. It was impossible not to with the relationship I’d thrust them in. Now, it was time to come clean.
“I was afraid,” I managed to get out through gritted teeth.
She stared at me incredulously, but I found it hard to meet her gaze.
“Afraid of what?” she asked softly, and I finally risked a look into her beautiful blue eyes. “Afraid of me?”
I clenched my jaw and knew she noticed how hard it was for me to open up about this. I was struggling, finding it difficult to tell her the true reason.
“You were different,” I finally managed to get out. “You’re younger. Sweeter. Inexperienced. Not like the others.”