Page 64 of A King So Savage

“Night terror?” Kingston frowned.

“Yeah.” Jack straightened, returning his gun to its holster. “It’s like a nightmare but the person never remembers what happened. She’ll come out of it eventually. My sister always did, and she wouldn’t remember a damn thing about the commotion she’d caused.” He chuckled. “Gotta admit, I just about shit myself hearing Miss Blue scream that first time.”

Ava was finally quieting down within the circle of Kingston’s arms. Realizing his own pistol was ready to fire, he flicked the safety and laid it on the bed.

The matching robe to her gown lay across the end of the mattress. Snatching it up in his free hand, he settled it over her quaking shoulders.

“I think I might have lost a few years myself,” Kingston said in a low voice. “It would be an impossible feat in this house with all safety measures in place, but I thought someone had gotten to her. Oliver… her brother… one of my enemies.”

Jack did not say anything, but he moved to the bedroom door and hesitated in the opening. “My sister outgrew her night terrors, although she still has them when she’s stressed out. She almost always has a migraine prior to an episode. But there’s no rhyme or reason to these things. Sometimes they can be from prior trauma, but more often than not, it’s just one of those weird things some people suffer from. Doctors told my parents it was no cause for alarm and they were right.”

Kingston’s jaw clenched tight at the mention of trauma.

Had he done this to Ava with his own actions? Had he terrorized her enough that she had nightmares about him?

“She probably shouldn’t be left alone, King,” Jack commented with just enough concern in his voice to set Kingston’s teeth into a firm clench. “Want me to stay in here with her?”

Fuck no, I don’t want you in here with her like this. I don’t want any other man around her.

Kingston barely kept from blurting out something completely out of character for him. Shaking his head instead, he tucked the robe tighter around Ava’s body before rising from the bed with her slight weight nestled in his arms. His gun rested in the same hand he curled around her shoulders. Big and ugly in comparison to Ava’s delicate beauty.

She settled against him with a low sigh, a small frown creasing her brow, even as she continued sleeping as though she’d been drugged.

Seeing Kingston’s confusion, Jack offered, “Night terrors are exhausting. She probably won’t wake up until morning.”

“I’ll take her back to my room.” Kingston wasn’t sure how he remained so calm. Every instinct he possessed and every fiber of his being was firing off with the explosive need to hold and protect this girl. It left him slightly woozy. “You’re off duty, Jack. I’ve got her for the rest of tonight.”

Jack gave his signature two-finger salute and exited the room to wait in the hallway. Once Kingston passed through the doorway, Jack pulled the door shut and made sure it was secure.

Once inside his own suite of rooms, Kingston deposited Ava on the bed and removed the robe from her shoulders. His weapon was replaced in its specialized hidden space on the headboard, and with a sigh of consternation, he slid under the covers beside her.

Laying on his back, he tucked an arm beneath his head and stared up at the ceiling. He’d never had a woman share his bed. Never slept with one for an entire night. This was totally new to him.

Would Ava be angry once she woke and discovered where she was? Would she scream and fight? Try to get away? All unknown factors. And Kingston hated unknown factors.

Beside him, Ava moaned and rolled closer. Kingston held his breath as her lithe body snuggled beside him. Her sweet scent drifted over him, and he found himself relaxing. What a strange thing this was. To be so disturbed and yet calmed by another human being.

“Hmmm,” Ava mumbled, and in the next instant, she was fully against him, one arm thrown across his chest as though he were nothing more than a huge body pillow. She burrowed in so close, her breath feathered his neck.

“Shit.” Kingston sighed. His body was instinctively reacting to hers. He grew harder, his cock swelling in response to her soft warmth.

He positioned his arm so she used his shoulder as a pillow, then shifted so she naturally moved closer. Damn. He wanted her badly. Badly enough to disregard how utterly wrong it would be to fuck an unconscious woman.

Which reminded him of this apparent issue with night terrors. Why did he not know of this condition? How was it possible this slipped his investigation into every aspect of this girl’s life and background? He kneweverythingabout her. It was unacceptable that he was just now learning about this.

The most pressing question was how long she’d suffered from the condition. When did it start? What was the catalyst? Did it have anything to do with her asshole of a brother? Was it possible this was a result of her parents’ untimely death?

Or was this her first episode?

Could it be that he was responsible for such a violent occurrence?

A spearing of guilt twisted Kingston’s insides. Maybe he was to blame. After everything he’d done to this girl since her arrival at The Den, he wouldn’t be surprised.

After all, she was innocent in all of this. This ruthless mission to make her brother pay. This punishment of others who dared cross or cheat him. While his terrifying reputation dictated such actions, Kingston reluctantly acknowledged that dragging Ava into the middle of it was wrong.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

It was a concept he’d not concerned himself with for many years. He did what was best for himself and his interests.

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