Page 16 of Savage Kingdom

“Gid—” I didn’t get to finish saying his name because he was kissing me. My lips were on fire, the cut he had made earlier throbbing. The kisses burned, starting in my lips, spreading down to my core. This kiss was filled with want and dipped in blood—a vow on his end, and betrayal on mine.

Gideon swallowed my moans. His hips held a brutal rhythm, and his beautiful whiskey eyes had a bit of mania in them. I’d never tell him, but I loved the way he gave himself entirely to me.

My nails dug into his back; my back arched as the violent tidal wave of my release washed over me.

“Gid,”I moaned into his mouth.

He stopped kissing me and rose to hold on to my hips as he pounded his release in me. His hair was messy, and blood dripped from his lips, and he was still the most beautiful man I had ever seen.

“You got your cunt fucked. That’s what you wanted from me, right? Go…leave.” He glared at me as he pulled away. He lay next to me, his chest rising and falling hard.

Emotions were a weakness that got beat out of me from a young age, so I rarely felt them…and when I did, they scared the shit out of me. Because our bodies were side to side, when I moved, I felt him stop breathing. When I turned to my side to face him, he let out a relieved breath, but he was still pretending like he didn’t care whether I stayed or I left.

Slowly, I rested my head on his shoulder where he had a tattoo of half a goddess and half death. My hand went to his stomach, tracing the hard edges of his abs and the lines of his tattoo. His body was covered in black ink, with no color. It was a sight to see the whole tattoo glory, something I never let myself see. I had enough of him imprinted on me. I didn’t need more, or it would kill me, but tonight I was going to force myself. Because this might be the last time I’d ever get to be close to him.

“If it’s all right with you, may I stay?” I whispered the words, hating how they tasted on my tongue.

Gideon gave a sharp intake of breath, not responding for a second. Then slowly, his hand slid down stopping briefly over the scars that had not been there last time, then he curved it to my waist and pressing my body to his. His other hand came to my chin, tilting my face so I could look at him.

“I know you are up to something, Petal, and you’re using me… The thing is I don’t fucking care. So this is me giving you permission to fucking kill me, love.”

Guilt wasn’t an emotion I felt often, and right now, it was crushing me. Bravery and deception—now those two I knew how to do, so I did them now.

“The first time we met, you didn’t surprise me. I had heard your footsteps before you made it to the room. At any given moment, I could have escaped. I didn’t need to stay with you, but something in me wanted to stay.” The admission flowed smoothly. My heart was trying to stop me from making a mistake, but my mind was made up years ago, and one man wasn’t going to change that.

“Through my darkest times, there’s been revenge, and then there’s been you.”

The words had barely left my lips before Gideon was on top of me. His hand was at my throat, his hardness rubbing my leg.

“All I’m getting from this, Petal, is that you’d been mine for a fucking long time.”

Staring into his eyes, it killed me to answer. “You once forced me to make a vow in blood.” I brought palm up, the one he had cut a long time ago. He didn’t stop staring at me, but he licked the scar. “I’ve kept that vow.”

“Fuck,” he groaned as he slid into me.

My legs wrapped around his waist, my hands holding on to his strong shoulders. In one fluid movement, Gideon moved us so I was on top. My hands now rested on his chest as I started to move my hips.

“I’m torn between tearing your pussy or worshiping it,” he confessed. “Now, fuck me.”

So I did. I forced myself to look into his eyes, knowing this was set to kill me one day. Knowing that if he died, I would have to live with this regret for the rest of my life.

To understand how I got to this place, we need to go back to the beginning, back to the unlucky moment Gideon and I crossed paths. It’s not pretty, nor a fairy tale. It’s a nightmare with pain and deception, but the thing about beauty is that it can be found anywhere, you just have to change your perspective. And mine was twisted and mangled. I saw the beauty in him.

I moaned when I rocked my hips.

“Shut the fuck up before I gag you again,” Gideon hissed. I loved that my pleasure was only for him.

I bent to kiss his lips, my hands coming to his cheeks. He was handsome, he looked refined, but there was a madness to him that I loved.

“Tear me up, mark me, make it so I never forget,” I whispered against his lips.

I permitted him to kill me before I did the same to him.

Past

I have gunpowder in my chest instead of a heart now,

And it escapes my lips shaped like a bullet

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