Nykyrian flinched as she started tugging at his glove. He…

““Nykyrian flinched as she started tugging at his glove. He balled his hand into a fist. “Don’t. I’ll take them off later.” But she didn’t listen. Instead, she uncurled his fingers one by one. “I want to see.” He ground his teeth as he forced himself to endure this. It’d been almost twenty years since he last touched a woman. Twenty long, hard years. Please don’t reject me. He held his breath, waiting for her to cringe as she uncovered his scarred hands and laid them bare. His hands were hideous and no woman wanted him to touch her once she saw them. Not that he blamed them for that. He couldn’t stand to look at his hands either. It was why he always wore gloves. But for her curiosity, he endured this humiliation. Kiara forced herself not to react as she saw what had been done to him. Each fingernail had been torn out, leaving behind a twisted nail bed that looked as if someone had fused or cauterized it to keep the nail from growing back. The two middle fingers were twisted from all the injuries that had been done to them and his entire hand was scarred from wounds she could only guess at. Meeting his gaze, she brought his hand to her lips and kissed each scar. Nykyrian shook as she did what no one ever had. And when she kissed his palm … He was lost to her now. He would never again have any power over her. She owned a part of him that he hadn’t even known he possessed any longer. His bloody heart.””

— Sherrilyn Kenyon