Page 67 of A King So Savage

“You’re right about that. There is no comparison, lamb. Shall I list the differences between their sordid behavior and my own depravity?Theydidn’t make you wet. They didn’t leave you panting with lust or limp with satisfaction.” Kingston’s hand inched up the hem of her nightgown, tugging it higher until his fingers gained access to bare skin. “They didn’t make you come like I make you come.Theydidn’t even try.”

“What are you doing?” The desperation in the question made Kingston smile.

“Pleasing us both,” he replied, his hand slipping closer to the tiny scrap of her thong. “Have you kept yourself shaved for me?”

She made a frustrated noise in her throat and squirmed against him. “I’m not answering that!”

Ignoring her indignation, he nipped her ear. “Tell me, Ava. Have you?”

He knew the question both embarrassed and angered her. When it became apparent he expected an answer and would have it regardless, she finally snarled, “Yes,” in an almost inaudible voice.

“Good girl,” he praised, and damned if she didn’t subtly arch against him with a reluctant purr.

Kingston’s fingers danced closer to the gusset of her underwear. “You like being my good girl, don’t you, Ava?”

“No,” she choked out angrily while writhing her ass against his crotch.

“Liar.” His chuckle drifted over her neck, followed by his lips as he pressed a warm kiss there. Her sweet innocence intrigued him. It softened him in ways he didn’t quite understand. He shouldn’t care whether he had her approval or surrender, but for some inexplicable,insanereason, he asked, “May I touch you, Ava? Will you let me make you feel good?”

The request for permission didn’t startle Ava nearly as much as it did Kingston himself. Because heneverasked for permission. He just took what he wanted, when he wanted it.

Why he deviated from his usual MO now was shocking, but the words, once spoken, could not be retracted.

Ava was still for a long moment, then her body relaxed in slight degrees against his.

Something intangible shifted between them. A meeting of mutual desires of some sort. Silent acknowledgment and acceptance of the attraction between them and the inevitability of the course it would take.

“Would you stop if I said no?” Her question was a whisper.

Kingston frowned, but still, his lips moved over her neck once more. “I don’t know. Maybe. But I guarantee I’ll not ask permission a second time.” He nipped the spot where her pulse beat just below her jawline. “I suppose this is an unforeseen opportunity for you. You may deny me this once.”

She seemed to think it over, and Kingston swore the heat of her body increased with every passing second. His fingers twitched, waiting for her response. Whichever she chose—surrender or rejection—would destroy him.

“Will you hurt me?” Ava finally asked in a murmur so low he could barely make out her words.

“Probably, lamb. But I think you’ll like it.”

“Yes,” she agreed in a strangled voice that held all the tortured confusion of the moment. Disappointment, desire, and anger at her own weakness laced the words. “Yes, I want this. Whatever this is. It’s wrong and dangerous, but I’m tired of resisting. Tired of pretending it’s not extraordinary when your hands are on me. Please touch me, Kingston. Please.”

ChapterTwenty-Two

Gossamer threads bind us

Blind us

Intention and reason

Delicately ripped away.

Ava knew it was madness.

She’d just invited the lion to rip her apart. To feast on her at his leisure. To devour her until nothing remained of her soul.

This man would take and take until there was nothing left for her to defend.

But still, she nearly wept with pleasure when he growled against her neck and his hand delved fully between her thighs, pushing past the silk of her underwear as though it did not exist.

Cupping her mound, the heat of his large palm branded bare skin. His hum of approval vibrated her body.

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