Page 11 of A Heart So Savage

Ava quickly slid her fingers up to his wrist. “Wait.”

Head tilting at her soft order, Kingston’s hands went motionless. A questioning light sparked his gaze. The dark blue depths were an ocean Ava had no idea how to navigate.

“I’ll do it.” Her voice was resolute as she tugged his hands away from the edges of the blouse. Would he let her control this encounter? Allow her the right to orchestrate her own destruction?

Kingston’s hands lowered, even while his brow slightly furrowed in puzzlement.

Ava’s fingers were clumsy as she unfastened the row of pearl buttons. When she finally reached the last one, the emerald green silk hung in two fluttering pieces, framing her breasts like pieces of art for Kingston’s appreciative gaze.

“What a surprise you continue to be, Ava.” The husky timbre of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. Their breaths met and swirled together in the quiet of the room. Ava swayed toward him.

“Do you want me to keep going?” She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth as Kingston’s fingertips drifted over her exposed chest. Large, slightly calloused hands gently explored the dips and curves of flesh not contained within the boundaries of the lacy black bra. Memorizing her in the most primal way, his determined touch incinerated her efforts to control the situation.

A shocked gasp escaped her when Kingston lightly pinched one nipple through the fabric.

“Not yet. Let me look at you first.” His gaze was hot. Dark, burning, and filled with promises of pleasure for her unexpected obedience. He stroked her nipples through the fabric, palming the fullness of each breast. Staring into her eyes, he gently squeezed.

Warmth flooded Ava’s panties. He was deliberately making her wet for him. God, how she hated that about her body. Hated how easily he could excite her and extort these unwilling responses.

You are doing what is necessary to survive. Give in. Be submissive. Let him have what he wants. And this will all be over that much sooner.

It was the smartest thing she could do. The most sensible course of action. Only… a dark and twisted portion of Ava’s soul writhed in full rebellion. Reminding her how much she wanted this. She craved the danger along with the semblance of controlling her own path deep into this treacherous labyrinth of lust and possession.

Kingston deftly unsnapped the bra’s front closure. Like her blouse, the fabric separated into two halves.

Ava sucked in a breath. Kingston’s fingers coasted over her flesh, down along her stomach, then traced the button of her jeans. His knuckles brushed across her bellybutton in a rhythmic motion that made the muscles there clench.

“You’re so soft.” His fingers dragged over herskin in a leisurely motion. “Like velvet. Fuck, I cannot wait to have you wrapped around me.”

Hearing the triumph in his words, Ava swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. Her bravery was short-lived. She was falling apart at the thought of Kingston claiming her. “Here?” The words came out in an almost comical squeak. If the situation wasn’t so horrific, she might have even giggled.

“Yes, here. Were you expecting a bed of roses and romantic candlelight?”

Ava shook her head at that ridiculous notion.

Kingston dipped his fingers below the waistband of her jeans, tugging at them and pulling her closer. “It’s as good a place as any to claim what’s mine.”

“There will be… you know… um…blood.” The words came out in an agonized whisper. She’d not thought this through at all.

“I know. I’m counting on it.” His hand slid even further into her jeans.

“This beautiful table… it will be ruined.”

Kingston huffed out a laugh. “I’ll buy a dozen more and fuck you on all of them just to prove a point. Wherever and whenever I want you, I’ll have you.”

Ava’s eyes closed. “Oh, God.”

His grin flashed white. “At least let me get inside you before you start praying to me.”

Ava’s lips clamped tight, her hands splaying across his wide chest as if that little bit of resistance would hold him back. The warmth of his skin burned her palms through his elegant dark suit.

“Take your blouse off.” He cocked his head, removing his hand from the low waist of her jeans.

He was waiting for her obedience to die a quick death. Expecting her to halt this madness. The flare of brutal excitement in his eyes clearly said he anticipated taking what he wanted. And how much he would enjoy it.

Ava’s chin lifted. The slightly red imprint of her hand on his cheek, and the curved scar she’d given him that first day in his office, swelled her heart with a burst of shocking pride.

Kingston might own her for the moment, but she’d left her mark on him. She had physically wounded this violent, heartless man. Was it possible to inflict even more damage by taking away the element of his domination?

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