Page 66 of A King So Savage

Kingston’s arm tightened again, effectively moving her closer. When his hand splayed across the flat plane of her stomach, Ava inhaled a sharp breath. With her free hand, she gripped his wrist, preventing any further movement.

“You promised you wouldn’t until there was word from Carson one way or another.”

Hetsked-tskedin mock disappointment.

“I never promised anything of the sort. I said I would let you go if he paid. Does my touch worry you, Ava? It shouldn’t. I won’t do anything you don’t like,” he growled in her ear, his body settling more firmly against her until there was no mistaking his arousal. “Let loose of my hand. Now.”

“No. You’re twisting what we agreed to last night…”

An annoyed grunt escaped Kingston. Fuck, she was persistent in these attempts at making him behave. And she was partially correct in her accusations. He purposefully manipulated their negotiations to his satisfaction. Ava was insane if she thought he would agree to those conditions. There was just no way that was going to happen. Not when he was already addicted to her smooth skin under his fingertips. Not when he needed it, neededher,like the air in his lungs.

His hand moved lower and Ava trembled. Her fingernails dug into his skin, leaving little half-moon indentations behind.

“I won’t fuck you, but I will touch you as I please,” he said. “Now, let go of my hand before I decide punishment is in order.”

“Y-you tricked me. This isn’t fair.”

“I’m a bad man, remember? You can’t expect someone like me to play by the rules when it comes to something I want.”

Ava slowly loosened her grip as the truth of his statement and what she’d negotiated sank in. “Will you at least answer my question? How I ended up here?”

Kingston stroked her belly through the silk of her nightgown, ignoring her hum of distress. “You don’t remember, obviously, but you suffered a nightmare of some sort. The screaming woke me up. When I entered your room, you were hysterical but also still asleep.”

“Oh.” Her tone held no surprise at hearing this. Just a sort of sad resignation.

“You nearly scared Jack half to death. I’ve never seen the man turn so white.”

“I’m sorry. For Jack’s sake, anyway.”

“You’ve had this happen before?” Kingston frowned, his hand stilling in its sensual caresses. “This wasn’t the first time?”

Her body, already tense, tightened even more until she was a slab of unyielding marble lying beside him. “Being your prisoner does not give you unlimited access to everything that makes me who I am,” she argued. “It’s really none of your business, Mister Winter.”

“Everything about you is my business, Ava.”

The words murmured into her hair made her soften for the briefest moment before she regained her composure.

“Your concern is unnecessary and unwanted.Idon’t want it.”

“That smart mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble,” Kingston calmly replied, his hand resuming its subtle caressing through the silk gown. “I answered your question, lamb. Now, you will answer mine. You’ve had these incidents in the past?”

Ava hesitated as if considering how to respond before she grudgingly replied, “Yes. It’s happened before.”

“When did it start?”

“The year my parents died.” Her voice quivered. She went to chew her fingernails, but with his free hand, Kingston stopped her.

“I’m gonna break you of that habit, Ava. Maybe give you something else to put in your mouth every time you feel the need.”

The intention behind the threat was clear enough. Ava immediately lowered her hand with a defeated sigh.

“Does this stem from the night Carson’s friends assaulted you,” Kingston probed.

“Maybe. I don’t know,” she snapped, frustrated by the interrogation. “Does it even matter?”

Kingston was already making plans to eliminate those men from the face of the earth. A necessary thing that should have taken place years ago. “It matters to me.”

“Why?” Ava’s incredulous laugh rang out. “Nothing they did compares to what you’ve done.”

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