“I’m not just talking about your hand. I’m talking about all of it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. She inched away, gaze downcast. I grabbed her hand and pulled her near again. “If I’d known what he did to you—”

“It’s my fault you didn’t.”

“It doesn’t matter, Alex. I took every fucking thing that happened to me in the last eight years and dumped it on you.” Holes riddled my soul, each one representing something I’d never get back. My father’s funeral, the first years of my son’s life, having my career snatched from me—all because of Zach’s jealousy. Even knowing she was a victim didn’t quench my thirst for her pain, and that made me the vilest form of a bastard. “I got off on hurting you.” I stared at her long and hard so she’d understand just how screwed up I was. “I still want to hurt you, so fucking much.”

Her breath escaped in a shaky sigh. She wiped underneath her eyes, though she tried to hide it.

I hauled her onto my lap, unable to contain myself, and settled her knees on either side of me. The sheet draped open, and her hot pussy smothered my lap through my jeans. My cock sat between us, hard and painful, a reminder we had unfinished business.

“It’s all my fault,” she said, clutching my shirt.

“You were just a kid. You need to know it wasn’t your fault.” I swallowed hard as memories of my own assault broke free. I’d learned to contain them, to continue getting out of bed every morning and living life without freezing whenever something—a smell, a sound, or simple touch—triggered the flashbacks. “Zach knew better. Fuck, he was my age, and I sure as hell knew better.” I ran a hand through her hair, fingers catching in the tangles, and pulled. She winced, but I didn’t stop. “For fuck’s sake, he was your brother.”

“Step-brother.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” How it was possible for us to carry on this conversation with her naked and in my lap, my erection growing by the second, was beyond me. “He had no right to touch you.” Instantly, I dropped my hand from her hair as my own words came back to me like a boomerang. “I’m no better. I shouldn’t have taken you.” And I sure as fuck shouldn’t entertain the thought of bending her over the couch and pushing into her.

“I’m glad you did.”