Page 17 of A King So Savage

“Go away!” Ava cried in response to the macabre taunting. “Go away!”

“You can’t keep me out, Ava.” He could tell she had her weight pushed against the other side, her uninjured hand tightly gripping the knob in case he tried turning it. “There’s no lock on this door, and even if there were, I’d tear down any obstacle between us with my bare hands. Now, voluntarily open this door and let me run your bath. Every second you hesitate only adds to your punishment.”

“Punishment?!” she screeched in outrage. “You are insane… I’m not letting youpunishme for rational behavior. Anyone with half a brain would do whatever necessary to escape you. You cannot punish me…”

Kingston laughed softly. More than inciting his lust, she was actually beginning to amuse him. “Oh, but I can. And I will after we’ve dispensed with this bath business. Don’t you want to wash away the imprint of my brother’s hands upon your skin?”

There was a moment of silence, then Ava blurted out, “Yes! His andyours. I want to erase you both. One is as bad as the other.”

Scrubbing his chin, Kingston experienced a twinge of anger. He was a bad man, this was true, but Oliver was sadistically cruel.

And Kingston didn’t like being lumped in with his brother.

“Open the door. Now, Ava. I’m done asking. It will go worse for you if I’m forced to break it down.”

Something in his tone must have frightened her into being somewhat reasonable. The bathroom door’s knob turned, then it inched open just a little.

The moment Kingston stepped through the threshold, a heavy bottle of shampoo flew through the air. It struck a glancing blow to his temple and bounced off. Next, a bottle of conditioner hit him in the chest. A chunky bar of soap struck his midsection a split second later.

Through the barrage of toiletries turned into weapons, Kingston saw Ava positioned in front of the built-in nook. She went through the items systematically. Throwing each one with the precise aim of a professional baseball player.

Tears streaked down her cheeks, but there was also that same grim determination he’d witnessed in his office. She was fierce and scared and half-wild, and the thought of taming her made Kingston’s dick harder than it had ever been for a woman.

Instead of dodging the missiles, he strode straight toward her and halted her in mid-throw. Grabbing her uninjured wrist, he held it tight.

“Let me go, you bastard,” she seethed while twisting and turning. “Let me go this instant.”

“No chance of that now, little lamb.” Kingston chuckled low in her ear. Spinning her around, he pulled her arms behind her, her wrists anchored in one large hand at the small of her back. Using his body, he shoved her flush against the wall and held her there. “I warned you how much I love it when you struggle. Now, you must deal with the consequences.”

He gave her heart-shaped rear a couple of rapid slaps with the palm of his hand. Then, as she processed the sting of those unexpected strikes, he wrapped his arm around her waist. He pushed against her with a low growl of appreciation as she yelped in surprise.

Firm and round, her ass was made for spanking. And if she didn’t watch herself, she’d get the full force of his hand on her bare bottom.

Ava stopped moving when his cock rubbed her backside.

“You can’t do anything with me… You can’t do…that,”she choked out. “Not if you expect to sell me off.”

Kingston considered her words, squeezing her wrists harder than he probably should. “It is a conundrum, I’ll admit. Especially when I wonder what fool would pay more than two million dollars for a woman. Perhaps I’m setting myself up for failure.”

“Well, you’re the idiot who took me to force repayment of a debt. So, now who’s the stupid one?” Ava turned her head from the heat of his lips brushing her ear.

“Perhaps we should see what you are worth?”

She froze in place, her body crowded by his, his larger form swallowing hers. He could take what he wanted from her, but oddly enough, he hesitated.

Reluctant admiration for this girl curled inside Kingston. She was bravely foolish, even while teetering on the very brink of a breakdown.

He was fascinated by her, never imagining she would be like this. She’d always been meekly obedient. A quiet, sweet girl. The perfect daughter. The favorite of her parents and a despised younger sister to her older brother. She could do no wrong and had been doted on since birth.

A true princess. Tormented by her cruel prince of a brother.

And a tiny part of Kingston hated her for having the things he’d been denied in life. Attentive parents. Security. A sense of belonging.

Love.

“There’s one way to discover if you are worthy of erasing your brother’s debt,” he murmured, settling his mouth in the curve of her neck. Her scent was of desperation and honeysuckles, her hair a soft tangled mess brushing his cheeks. When he licked her, his tongue tracing from a spot below her ear to the round softness of her shoulder, Ava whimpered.

“Please, don’t.”

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