Page 48 of A King So Savage

Ava took the glass of tea from his hand and sipped it, her lips delicately skating over the glass rim. Oliver’s eyes were practically glued to her mouth, his desire so apparent it was almost comical.

“You expect to betray your brother and come out unscathed?” Her head tilted. “And that I will escape unharmed? I may be naïve, but even I know Kingston won’t allow that kind of betrayal to go unpunished.”

“If you do as I say, you’ll be far out of his reach. Trust me.” Oliver stretched out his leg, rubbing his boot over Ava’s bare toes.

“Trust you?” Ava snatched her foot out of his reach, quickly folding her legs and tucking her feet under her body. While Oliver chuckled at her aversion to his touch, she turned her gaze back to the gardens and admitted softly, “I’d be very stupid placing my faith with anyone in this house.”

ChapterFifteen

Little lamb, save me

I’m so damaged

And the night is so black

No moon to see you by

After spendingthe morning exploring all the places she was allowed to go in the huge mansion, Ava inexplicably found herself back in the cell.

“I want to get the shampoo I’ve been using,” she stammered in response to Jack’s raised eyebrow when she asked to be taken down below the mansion.

The man did as Ava requested, respectively staying outside the cell as she hurried into the bathroom and grabbed the bottles she wanted.

Coming back out into the cell’s main area, she glanced around the room where she’d spent the last ten days.

The books had not yet been moved to her new quarters. They still lay scattered about the room. Ava compulsively set about tidying up the haphazard stacks. She could not examine too closely the real reason she’d come back, but her gaze continually strayed to the wall with its embedded manacles. With every helpless glance, her stomach tightened.

“I’ve men for that, lamb.”

Ava let out a little scream and dropped the small pile of books while also tripping over a stack by her feet. She wound up on the floor, braced on her elbows, wincing at the dull pain in her wrist.

Glaring up at Kingston, she snapped, “Why did you do that?”

“Christ, you’re a jumpy little thing,” Kingston muttered, hurrying forward. “Your wrist. Have you injured it again?”

“What do you care?” she mumbled as she was hauled to her feet. “And I’ve good reason to be jumpy. In case it’s slipped your mind, I’ve been abducted by a bunch of psychos.”

Kingston’s hard hands gripped her elbows. “How can I forget? I upended everything when I took you from your dreary little existence.”

“You mean the normal life I was living until you decided I was worth an unpaid debt?”

Kingston’s eyes did not soften, but his hold loosened enough that Ava could place some distance between their bodies.

“Why are you down here?” he asked in his usual gruff tone.

“Why are you?” Injecting as much insolence into her tone as she dared, Ava countered, “Don’t worry,sir. I’ve not strayed from the approved areas, and Jack never left my side.”

“Hmmm. I know.”

“Of course, you do.” Her chin tilted higher as she met his liquid gaze. “You’ve been spying on me again, haven’t you?”

His mouth twitched with the accusation. “Guilty. I even zoomed in a few times, if you want the terrible truth.”

Ava’s eyes flared. Why she suddenly found that so damn hot was beyond her comprehension. It should disgust her rather than make her heart thump faster.

“I came to get the shampoo I’ve been using. I like the scent.”

Kingston nodded. “I know. I included it with the toiletries stocked in your bathroom upstairs.”

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