Page 9 of Tarnished Reign

“You’re astonishing,” I say to her. “Where the hell did scum like Dorian find a gem like you?”

“Dimitri,” one of my men calls from the doorway before she can answer. “We have Dorian on deck, restrained. Alexis says he’ll ensure he gets taken to the safe house. Ari and two of the other senior members of the group aren’t on the boat, and haven’t been. That means they’re out there still.” He glances around him. “You’ll need to take the girl somewhere else while we clean up these cabins.” He indicates the bloody mess in the doorway where the skinny kid was knifed. “There are two free bunks down a separate corridor that haven’t been used. Maybe put her in there while we get the wet work done and the cleaning carried out.”

“Can I go home?” Little blue speaks clearly for the first time.

I shake my head, sorry in a way for what I must do next. Yet, in another sick way, I’m not sorry at all.

“Oh, no, little blue, you can’t.” I smile, trying to soften my words. “You see, for now, you need to be seen as mine.”

Little blue, it suits her, and I think of it as her name now. Little blue. Bluebird, blue eyes, and a sadness raging inside her that’s so beautiful it makes my chest ache.

I reach down and gently pick her up. She’s fragile in my arms and shaking.

Something ignites in me. An anger at the people who put her in this position. A strange protectiveness despite me now also becoming her captor.

Both of these sensations war with the surging desire I feel. The kind of desire I haven’t experienced in years.

I grab a throw from the chair as we leave the room and cover her, wanting to quiet my raging need and make her feel a sense of safety too. I find one of the unused rooms and kick the door open and carry her inside.

Thank God this place doesn’t have the headache-inducing color scheme presumably favored by Dorian.

When I think of him, I smile inwardly. He’s going to be in a world of pain soon.

This woman can’t be the vector for my feelings, but I’m all jacked up on adrenaline, and fucking would be a great release. I guess I’ll just have to work it out of my system with violence instead of sex. Dorian can be the receptacle to pour my rage into.

“Is Mila okay?” Littleblue’s voice is croaky. She needs some water. “And her friend, Josie?” she adds.

“You know Mila?” If she does know Mila, this is going to complicate things.

“We all made a promise to look after one another,” she says.

“Huh.” It’s a lie; I can taste it. Still, she doesn’t need to worry because I am going to look after her. So fucking good. She’s the first person I’ve wanted to look after in a long time. I also want to fuck her, which is kind of contradictory.

No fucking, I tell my reptilian brain.

Not yet.

This will be a seduction, not an assault. I don’t want her that way. Not giving in because she’s scared and compliant, or because she thinks she has no choice. I need her desire too. I don’t know her, but I crave her freely given submission, in bed at least. The things I could show her. I want to play her body like a violin and make her sing under my touch.

For that, I need her to want me in return.

Could I make her desire me?

We all want something, every single one of us. We’re driven by our needs and desires. What does my Littleblue want? What does she need? If I can give her those things, perhaps she will want me in return. If I can be the person who delivers whatever her deepest, darkest need is on a platter, would she let me in?

“Mila isn’t your concern now.” I gently place the girl on the bed.

“Let me go,” she whispers, and for a startling moment, I almost do.

The brokenness in her voice has me almost … almost holding that door open for her. If I let her go, where will she run to? Someone sold her for a million dollars.

There are metaphorical fire-breathing dragons waiting out there for my fairy tale princess. Much better to keep her here, in the castle, with me. After all, I am the heir, the Bratva prince, and while my kingdom might be tarnished by sin, better she be part of it than twisting in the wind.

“Sorry, Littleblue. I can’t. Not quite yet.” I retrieve a bottle of water from the mini fridge in the corner of the room and hand it to her.

She gulps it greedily.

“Are you hungry?”

---