Chapter 54

Killian:

“I will take over things right now, boss.” Inna said, and I nodded.

“Let me know if you get anything, and if she chooses to give you a hard time, use your methods.” I said, looking at Inna who nodded. “And I want her alive when I am back. Only when she starts begging for it would we be punishing her for killing my men the way that she did.

I looked at Daria who was waking up for a few seconds before walking back to the suit where my mate sat with Natasha.

I knew that she was in pain, and judging by her conversation with Natasha, I knew that she was going through more conflict than she could handle. The pain that she was going through was one that I didn’t want her to be dealing with, and the fact that I was the cause of it, even if it was unintentionally, when I knew how fragile she was tore me apart.

Her eyes were fixed on mine as I entered the room, and I couldn’t help but find myself aching at the fact that she was avoiding my eyes as if feeling anything toward the situation was wrong. 

I didn’t know the pain that Elton really put her through, the trauma, and even the agony. But I can see in her eyes that his beating and sexual assaults were not the only things that she was forced to deal with.

“Who is she?”

“That is not the anger that I was waiting for.” I said, shaking my head at my mate. “I don’t want you controlling yourself. Let your anger out because you have to. Your wolf needs it.”

The fact that I felt her wolf for the first time, truly felt her, as she grew angry, was something that I couldn’t help but feel grateful for. And though it was for the wrong reason. Technically, the last thing that I wanted was for her to be angry, but I was still thankful for it.

“You had a woman in your room, Killian, what do you expect from me as a reaction?” She asked, and I shrugged. I pulled my gun out of its holster and she frowned in confusion. 

“The gun is unloaded, but hitting me with it would still give me a scar or a bruise for the night. Punching would work fine as well. You can yell, slap me if you want, and I will be taking that anger.” I said, and she frowned. 

“I am not abusive, Killian.” She said, clenching her fist.

“Nor am I a cheater, Eleanor.” I said, putting the gun back in its holster. “I found you as my mate and I can see it in your eyes that you have accepted me. And I will have you know that I accepted you with everything that I have and more, Eleanor. Therefore, no matter what the situation is, who the woman is, and whether or not she was naked, my eyes are for one woman, and one woman alone.” 

She looked down at her lap, and I smiled before putting a finger under her chin, raising her face for her to look at me. “And that woman is you, Eleanor Bernardi.”

Her eyes were fixed on mine for a few seconds before I pulled her to my chest, hugging her tightly. She hugged me back, and I kissed the crown of her head, letting my lips linger there for a few seconds before pulling away to rest my cheek over her hair. 

“I never want you thinking that I am going to look for another woman when I have you in my life.” I said, and she looked up at me. I smiled and ran my fingers over her cheek, looking her in the eye as I did. “I never wanted anything more than to be with an angel who has the heart of a warrior, a beauty, and a humanity that I wouldn’t expect to see when considering the circumstances that you went through.”

“But, Killian, things go beyond that. My humanity is something, but I am not dumb, I know that you are going to want to have your satisfaction, kids…”

“And I told you that I am more than willing to wait for you to trust me whenever you’re ready.” I said, stopping her. “I have my needs, yes, I am not going to deny that. But my respect toward you goes beyond me forcing you into something that you don’t want, or even worse, going around, breaking your heart as I looked for a different woman to satisfy me.”

Her eyes were fixed on mine as I spoke and her heart raced. I closed my eyes for a second before taking her hand in mine, kissing her knuckle gently. “I am a man that doesn’t like to compare, but I want to understand one thing; I was Daria’s lover for years, and in those years, I was invited to auctions. I doubt that I need to give you details, but the point is, girls were offered to me, and all I had to do was choose. These girls were of all ages, they were naked, and ready for me to touch, all I had to do was ask.” 

She gulped and I ran my finger over her hand, soothing her. “I didn’t react, and Daria was a lover who cheated on me.”

She frowned and looked down at our joined hands, wanting to pull hers before I tightened my grip around it. “Now, I am going to want you to put yourself in this scenario and give me your response. “Do you really believe that I would cheat on the woman, who is my mate that I am still fighting hard to earn? Because believe it or not, I am more than willing to chase you to simply prove to you that I want nothing more than to have your love and trust. I am going to do the rest. I am going to give you my life and soul. All I ask is for you to trust and love me enough to know that I am not going to harm you.” 

Her eyes dropped to our joined hands again and this time, she chose to relax before slowly removing her hand, making me frown in confusion. I didn’t tighten my grip this time in fear that she would think that I would be forcing her into something that she didn’t want to do. However, rather than moving away, I couldn’t help but smile as I saw her curling up and snuggling to my side. 

She slowly turned to my right hand and pulled it around her, and I chuckled before wrapping both my arms around her, tightening them as I pulled her to sit more comfortably on my lap.

“I am scared of losing you, Killian.” She said, her voice above a whisper as she spoke. “And if it is about trust, believe me, this is the maximum trust that I can give right now. To know that I am curled up in your arms and safe from harm is the most that I can offer right now. If you are willing to accept…”

“We have a base, malyshka.” I said, stopping her. “And that is something that I would be more than willing to hold onto. Now, slowly, day by day, we build the fortress over it. All we have to do is just give it its time, yeah?”