Unbroken

She knew he wasn’t just talking about her mother. Skye had such a soft nature, she was easy prey to judgment. The perfect fodder to the talkers. And now she was changing before his eyes, turning inwards, lashing out…

It would turn to poison if she let it in too far.

“You’re a star,” he told her then, resolutely. “And Leo and me will never stop orbiting you. So if you’re not going to shine for them, shine for us. We will never put that light out. I promise.”

Her face softened as her hardness ebbed away. “What would I do without you? You’re like my dark prince—”

“Dandelion prince,” he cut in, though his lips barely flinched at his joke.

Despite it all, she smiled brilliantly at him.

“I want to pocket that smile,” he murmured helplessly. “I want to carry it with me, Skye.”

Her breath slowed as they stared at one another, so many loaded emotions, none expressed because…

Skye wouldn’t bridge the gap.

She was scared.

And Hunter…Well, he was powerless, completely bound to her in the most helpless way.

If this—holding her, seeing her smile for him, shine for him—if this was all he would get from her, he would still be pleased.

She tucked her head under his chin, burrowing into him likehewashersafe place. She held him tightly, her body pressed into every inch of him. He felt her everywhere. He had to shut his eyes and stop getting lost in the way it felt—

How good it was—

Shit.

Then he felt her lips brush along his neck. Featherlight kisses. Ones that made him press his heels into the mattress to stop dropping his head down to capture her mouth against his.

Sheneeded to do it.

That was the agreement he made with Leo.

And Hunter didn’t want to ask if he could do it either—

She grabbed his hand and laid it over her hip, shattering his thoughts in a single moment. Like it was second nature, he squeezed her hip, fingers digging into her flesh in a needy way. Her hand roamed his chest, tracing his curves, and he found himself doing the same thing. He ran his hand up her stomach, feeling along her ribs, his giant hand swallowing her waist.She was so soft.He looked down at her, and she looked up at him. They breathed quietly, mouths close but not connected. Just breathing as they lightly explored each other’s bodies. She tucked her hand beneath his shirt, tracing her finger along his waistband—

He squeezed at her breast, and he felt himself grow hotter. His skin prickled, his senses were on high alert. “Skye…” he whispered.

She brushed her lips against his mouth, running her tongue along his bottom lip. He quivered at the sensation, feeling like he might combust.

“My prince…” she said, wrapping her leg around his waist. She buried her face back into the crook of his neck, kissing him gently over and over again.

As his body came down from the excitement, he felt her drift off into sleep. With her scent all around him, her touch still lingering in places she’d never explored before, his heart took forever to calm down.

He did not sleep.

Rather, he pined in the darkness, rubbing at his eyes, feeling that savage in him throb with equal might.

*

His father liked to prod him with the pointed end of anything he could find, be it a hangar or a fork or even a piece of plastic. He’d dig it deep enough to break the skin. Hunter often bled as a result of this. He bled a lot, actually. And then the tiny wounds would heal, sometimes get infected, and Hunter found find himself digging into the skin so he could watch himself bleed all over again.

He didn’t know why it felt good to do this—it just did. It was better than feeling the other emotion that was always there. He didn’t know what it was called until one day Skye told him.

“You’re sad,” she said. “I can see it in your eyes, Hunter.”