SOULLESS (Black Thorns, #2) Read Online Free PDF

tonight?”
    “Not tonight, no,” she says in a small whisper.
    I take a step towards her. “What’s his name?”
    “Steven,” she murmurs.
    Fuck. Why’d I ask for a damn name? Makes it too real putting a name to the asshole.
    “You…with him?”
    “No.”
    I move closer ‘til I’m right in her face, but I can’t see her expression. Her head’s bowed, still looking down at the ground. “So, what? He just a dick for you to ride? That it? Are there more? You just spread your legs ‘round this new city of yours now? Give all the guys a go?”
    In the back of my mind, something’s screaming at me to shut the fuck up, telling me I’m being a bastard. But I can’t stop. Knowing another man’s touched her is twisting me up inside. And it ain’t even her fault. It’s mine. I walked. I made the choice for both of us. I’m such a fucking hypocrite too, cuz it ain’t like I ain’t touched the club whores throwing themselves at me. Sure, I couldn’t get off in the end with any of ‘em, but I still messed ‘round with ‘em.
    But that don’t seem to matter here. All I can see is red. All I can imagine is heading back to that damn party, finding that guy she’s fucked and ripping his damn head off.
    She. Is. Mine.
    Mine!
    “Rox?” I press. “Asked you a question.”
    She don’t answer.
    And then I hear sniffling.
    She’s crying.
    I step back, shocked.
    Crying? Rox is crying?
    This ain’t her.
    The girl I know woulda punched me out by now for mouthing off to her like this. But she ain’t. She’s just been…taking it. She ain’t fought back at all.
    “I’m sorry,” she chokes through her tears.
    What the fuck?
    What’s happening here?
    I step into her and cup her face in my hands, coaxing her to look at me.
    Red eyes filled with tears meet the shock in mine.
    “Babe, you crying cuz of what I said? I’m sorry. I lost my temper thinking ‘bout him touching you.”
    She shakes her head.
    “Then why?”
    I wipe away her tears with the pads of my thumbs. “Rox. Talk to me. This ain’t you.”
    That just causes her to cry harder. Shit. I ain’t good at this. Ain’t used to needing to be with her. Rox weren’t never sensitive like this. Hell, the woman could dish it out better than me. She had a vicious bite when someone pissed her off. The old Rox woulda knocked me on my ass by now.
    I can’t stand her crying. It cuts into me. Her pain is like a physical assault on me.
    “Babe, I’m sorry. Shouldn’t have lost my temper.” I blow out a breath and tell her, “This ain’t like you, Rox.”
    “It’s who I am now.”
    “Nah, babe.”
    “It is.”
    My eyes go to her tats. A simple black cross on her left forearm that’s a tribute to the kid we lost. And, on her right arm, there’s a sun surrounded by black thorns—her and me. I tell her, “Yeah? That right? I don’t believe it. For one, you still got your tats. They’re all ‘bout us . The old you. The real you.”
    She shakes her head, biting her lip.
    I drop to my knees and hold her waist. “Babe, I’m sorry. Didn’t come here to upset you.”
    She wraps her arms ‘round my shoulders and leans her head against mine. My hands slide up and down her hips, rubbing gently to soothe her.
    They slide lower to her thighs and she grunts in pain.
    What the hell?
    “Rox? You hurt?”
    “A scratch,” she murmurs into my hair.
    “That dickhead I put down?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Where? Show me.”
    She grabs the hem of her silky dress and pushes it up her thighs. She presses two fingers to a spot on her right thigh. I see it. Her skin’s bruised and there’s a faint stain of blood. Fucker drew blood?
    I growl in fury at seeing a mark on her soft, flawless skin.
    Before I can stop myself, my mouth is on the mark and I’m kissing it better, tryin’ to soothe it. She wavers on her feet and I tighten my grip on her right hip to hold her steady.
    I grin up at her. “Better?”
    I’m relieved when I see a smile from her. “Much.”
    I’m