I shook my head and held my hands up. “No. Never. Jesus, Dad.”

“He is not hurting me,” Lila practically yelled as she stormed back in, her hands resting at the hem of her shirt.

Beneath the fabric were worse bruises, bite marks, the evidence of my depravity for her. A sight I wouldn’t allow him to witness.

“Lila, no.” A sliver of her milky white skin peeked out from between her skirt and shirt, but I managed to stop her before things got worse.

“No. He has to see.” She continued to pull at the hem while I pushed them back down. “I will not allow your father to think you are abusing me! That you are hurting me!”

I pushed at her hands again, forcing them down. “I said no, baby. Only I get to see you without your clothes, even if my father is a doctor.”

The little vixen wasn’t backing down, and the beast purred while my dick twitched, excited for the explosive fuck that was to come.

A crackle filled the air as we faced off. I waited for her to back off. There was a strength in her, a determination that fueled her in a way I’d only seen a few times before. She was submissive to a point, awkward to the outside world, but beneath the scars, I had a feeling my girl had the strength of a goddess.

“Fine,” she said, the fight leaving her.

I would win anyway.

She moved her hands up to her hair and pulled it away.

Yeeesssssss. Ours!

Mine.

Fuck I loved to see the marks I’d left on her skin. The proof that she was mine. I’d marked her in every way I could. There were still more ways, but I couldn’t risk any more than I already had.

Even my father’s gasp couldn’t tamp down the pride I had for them.

“I’m an easy bruiser, Mr. Thorne. Malice and hate does not mark me. Nathan’s passion and need do. I know the sting of an angry hand, and that is something Nathan does not have with me.”

The beast whimpered, and I reached up to caress the marks. Her skin beneath my fingers was electric, filled with the heat I so desperately needed.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against her skin, soothing the bite mark I’d left the night before. So engrossed was I with my lips on her that I didn’t even notice her reach up and pull my collar back to reveal her own marks on me.

“See? He’s not doing anything to me that I don’t want him to. We just get a little…carried away, is all.”

Dad cleared his throat, and I realized I was getting a little sidetracked. One last kiss to her skin, and I backed off, slipping my hand in hers.

“I’m sorry, Lila, Nathan. I was just concerned.” He let out a hard breath before steadying his gaze on me. “It’s apparent your anger is getting out of control. I mean, look at what you’ve done to the entryway in the past few months.” He motioned to the chunks of missing drywall. “I was just worried that you…Darren told me you haven’t been by in months. He wanted me to let you know he won’t refill your prescriptions anymore unless you get back in to see him.”

Fuck.

Fucking fuck fucker fucking making me…

I released her hand and rubbed my face, mashing the heels into my eyes. “I know, I know.”

I’d been putting it off, mostly because I knew I’d be too tempted to ask about Lila. Darren was her doctor as well, but I hadn’t told her yet.

“This is serious, son. I want you to get better. I want to see you smiling again. I want to see you happy.” I didn’t miss his eyes glance over to Lila. “But you’ll never be any of those if you don’t get help.”

I couldn’t stop the snort that came out as I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, because the last three and a half fucking years of therapy have done wonders.”

“It only works if you actually want help and work at getting better. Not going in months, not talking to him about your new relationship… Things are changing for you, and you need some support to help you get through this, work through this. To move on, so you aren’t weighed down any longer. You deserve it, as does Lila.” I saw the concern etched into his features. Everything he said was true, but I couldn’t risk it. “You’re going through your meds at a much faster rate than usual. David also told me you missed your last appointment.”

“I had to reschedule it, that’s all,” I snapped. I had a long list of doctors, but only two that I saw regularly—one for the head and one for the body. “And I’ll call and get in with Darren this week.”

“Because you’re out of meds?” he asked, though it was more of a statement.

I nodded.

“Well, I should be headed out now before your mother begins to worry.” He stood and walked over to me, his arms wrapping around me for a hug. “I love you, Nathan.”

I pulled him tight and nodded. “I love you too, Dad.”

He then turned to Lila and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, Lila. Please take good care of him.”

Lila froze, my father exposing one of her social flaws. The awkwardness in her, the inability to understand social cues, was astounding. I had a little insight into her past, much more than she did to mine, but I knew whatever happened to her stunted her in so many ways that she had no knowledge on how to handle some situations.

“Have a good night. I hope to see you at dinner sometime soon. Your mother misses you,” he said, shoving the knife further into my heart. “Oh, and don’t forget to bring this lovely young lady with you. Your mother would love to meet her. It was such a pleasure meeting you, Lila.”

“You too,” she said as he stepped through the door.

I stared after him, my gaze moving to Lila every once in a while. No words came to me in reaction to what had happened, and she offered nothing.

“Dinner?” she asked.

My stomach rumbled, deciding to answer for me. We both let out a laugh, which broke the tension.

Once fed, a different kind of hunger took hold. I tried to fend it off with cleaning up the cooking mess we made, but having Lila right beside me and remembering what she’d done, I was worked up.

There was a swimming rule of waiting thirty minutes after eating, and I wondered if that applied to sex as well. I decided it didn’t matter.

I pulled her into my arms and gave her a light, teasing kiss. Lila refused to be teased again and wrapped her arms around my neck, holding me in place as she stretched up.