Walking to the door, I pressed my ear against the wood, but nothing, just falling water. Knocking, I asked, “Lilah, you good?”

No answer came, and my heart started racing. “Lilah? Say something.”

Again, sweet fuck all, so I tried the doorknob; it was locked. “Lilah, say something now or I’m coming in,” I warned.

When there was still nothing from the other side, I moved back, then using all my strength, smashed my shoulder against the door, splintering wood as the door burst open.

Steam from the shower clouded the room and I could hardly see my hand before me. “Lilah? Where the fuck are you, baby?”

I caught a sniffling from the shower and followed the sound, the steam clearing some through the open door, allowing me to see Lilah huddled naked on the floor, her arms wrapped around her legs.

“Lilah!” I yelled and threw open the shower door, turned off the water, and dropped to my knees. Lilah was soaking wet. I checked her over with my eyes, not seeing any blood or injury.

“Lilah? Talk to me!” I ordered.

“I cannot get up,” she whispered, her head still down.

I moved forward and searched her legs—nothing.

“Why can’t you get up?”

Lilah’s head lifted and she looked right at me. Her face was pale, she had red rings around her eyes from crying, and her wet waist-length blond hair was stuck to her cheeks.

“I… I began to cleanse, but I kept thinking about what happened just now, the guns, Mae… No more Order… everything, and I dropped to the floor. Now I cannot get back up.”

“Baby…” I trailed off and ran my finger down her cheek. My stomach clenched as I looked at her. I had this overwhelming need to protect her. My insides were almost tearing apart with the need to hold her, to fuckin’ have her close, to stop her shaking, to stop her fear.

“I… I cannot move,” she hushed out and dipped her head. “And I am indecent… I am bared to you. I am sinful, weak…”

Ignoring her self-loathing, I picked up Lilah's body in my arms and carried her out of the bathroom, my bitch still curled up in a ball. Her nose tucked into my neck, her left hand lifted and settled on my cheek. I glanced down, shocked by the action as her finger began tracing the shape of my lips.

I’d killed, in cold blood, more people than I could count. I’d faced death laughing, been shot, stabbed, and sliced… but I’d never felt fear like I was feeling at this moment as I looked down at the most stunning bitch that ever existed, fear that I could’ve lost her, fear that I could lose her still.

Sitting on the bed, I kept her in my arms, pulling the blanket off the end of the mattress and wrapping it around her wet skin.

“You cold?” I asked, my voice sounding way too low.

She shook her head, her hand still on my face, her eyes still fixed on mine. “You saved me,” she whispered, and my stomach flipped. “You… jumped in front of a bullet for me.”

“Yeah,” I rasped, looking on her face, water shining in her eyes.

“You saved me… You saved my life.”

Shifting at the too-high emotion between us, I held her tighter, feeling her bare warm skin in my arms. “Ain’t no way you were dying on me, sweet cheeks.”

Lilah’s finger left my lips to stroke down my chin. “Why am I so important for you to save? I am a burden thrust upon you.”

Gripping her finger, I brought it to my lips and kissed it, my chest almost exploding as I confessed, “Because I fuckin’ love you, Li… I’m fuckin’ insane over you. You ain’t no burden.”

Lilah sucked in a deep breath and her eyes widened. “Ky… why?”

I huffed out a laugh. “Stupid fuckin’ question, sweet cheeks,” I replied. “Like asking me the impossible. I just do. I fuckin’ love your crazy pilgrim ass.”

Lilah stared at me for the longest time before she wet her lips with her tongue, dropping her gaze to my lips. My cock hardened and her eyes shot up to mine, her cheeks blushing scarlet red.

“Really fuckin’ love you,” I added.

Lilah reached up, and with tears filling her eyes, pressed her lips to mine. My hands fisted in her long strands of hair, and I deepened the kiss, my tongue lapping against hers.

My hand left her hair to slowly skirt down her bare arm and over the blanket to grip the back of her thigh.

Our mouths clashed with more fury, and my dick grew harder, so hard it was painful. Lilah pulled away, her eyelids half-mast, fuckin’ punch drunk from our kiss. We were both panting hard and I was working on calming down, but with her tight body squirming on my lap, it wasn’t really going as planned.