Page 34 of King of Wrath

I place my hand over her heart, feeling its wild beats. “How many boyfriends have you had, sweetheart?”

She blinks up at me, slow, like she doesn’t understand before her tongue darts out to lick her lips. “None.”

She’s got to be lying, right? My cock doesn’t think so. It gets even harder, pressing into her slick folds.

Because part of me knows she isn’t. I’ve watched her. No dates until Gris. No public outings.

And there is so much she’s completely naïve about. I know she’s telling the truth.

She rolls her hips again and the head of my cock starts to sink inside her heat.

But it’s not long before it stops, her tightness keeping me from going further.

That and the tensing of all her muscles.

I immediately retreat, pulling back out. Nia is going to need some stretching and I shouldn’t rush this anyhow.

She needs time, we need trust, and I need…information. “Baby girl,” I start before I softly kiss her lips. “We don’t need to do it all in one morning.”

She nods, her eyes wide, her features tight. “I didn’t expect it to hurt that much.”

I’m easing up, pulling her with me. My cock gives a needy throb like he didn’t just unload.

“Why haven’t you dated?” I ask as I stand, pulling her into my arms and carrying her toward the bathroom.

Since we’re already naked, we might as well shower. And this way, I can check it for any critters.

She shakes her head. “I think you know enough already to know that I’ve been afraid.”

I look back at the bruises peppering her body. I know about that. And I hate myself all over again. She’s struggled to trust in the past and by some miracle, she’s starting to put some faith in me.

Part of me wants to cherish that, celebrate it. But another thought niggles in the back of my brain, something she said that I ought to remember despite the haze of lust, but I can’t call it back.

I get in the bathroom and turn on the shower, Nia craning herneck to check the tile floor. I chuckle. “I promise I won’t let you shower with snakes again.”

She gives me a shy smile. “Going to keep me safe, Da?—”

“Nia,” I rumble out because my cock is fucking jumping again.

And then it hits me. What she said… Toni wasn’t her father. Did she mean that in a “he’s dead to me” kind of way? Or is he really not the man who sired her?

Which makes my arms tighten.

Because my brother had an affair with her mother. It’s what got him killed and it’s why I am going to make certain Toni is punished.

“What?” she asks innocently with a sweet little smile. She knows the nickname is getting under my skin.

I take a deep breath. My brother slept with Maria Carcetti a decade ago. A full decade after Nia was born. I let the air out of my lungs in a long rush.

So, not my niece. Thank fucking God.

But I do remember my brother telling me that sex with Maria was like nothing he’d ever known.

Is it hereditary?

It doesn’t matter. I push those thoughts aside for the more important ones. The ones I’m here to find out.

Because as much as I’m starting to feel like Nia is the person I need to protect, I’m here to help my family.

---