Page 57 of A Heart So Savage

Passing though the master bedroom starkly decorated in shades of white and ebony black, they entered an expansive bathroom constructed entirely of marble and gleaming silver fixtures. Kingston withdrew new toothbrushes and toothpaste from one of the vanity drawers. He waved a hand at Ava, indicating she should begin brushing her teeth while he did the same.

There was a strange familiarity in the actions of readying for bed. As though the two of them were a normal couple rather than prisoner and captor. Surprisingly, Kingston found himself enjoying the illusion of domesticity when he’d once sworn against such situations.

But this was vastly different from time spent with other women. Those meaningless, faceless, forgettable women meant nothing to him.

Yes, this was different. What he and Ava shared felt incrediblyright.

He wordlessly pulled Ava into the walk-in closet, opening a set of drawers containing a selection of lingerie. While she stood motionless, Kingston stripped the silvery blue dress from her body. For a few seconds, she stood bare before him, so perfect and beautiful that it left his mouth dry. Hands shaking, he settled a black chemise-type nightgown over Ava’s head and tugged it until the silk flowed around her body.

“I prefer you wearing nothing at all when you are in my bed, Ava,” he murmured, spinning her around so she faced away from him. The urge to press his mouth against the tenderness of her bare nape was ignored as he carefully extracted bobby pins from her hair. The dark blonde waves tumbled almost to the middle of her back. He wanted to rake his fingers through the mass, use the silken strands as a way of holding her still so he could ravage her mouth. “Tonight, however, I’m making certain concessions based on your fragile state.”

Ava did not respond as he took care of her.

One bedside lamp was burning when Kingston tucked her beneath the thick comforter. Ava silently regarded him when he finally stepped away, his hands shoved into his trouser pockets.

“Go to sleep now. I must take care of some business before I join you.”

“What kind of business?” Her voice was husky with exhaustion. She slid further into the cloud-like softness of the bed covers, prompting a little sigh of pleasure that shot like a lightning bolt straight to Kingston’s cock.

“Just the usual world domination type stuff,” he replied in an almost teasing manner.

Ava’s mouth curved with the beginnings of a real smile. “No rest for the wicked, I suppose.” She snuggled deeper into the pillows, hugging one to her chest. Her eyes were already closing. “I’m pretty sure you’ve cornered the market on domination.”

“We’ve yet to fully explore that concept.” Kingston turned the lamp down until it was a soft glow. “But we will. Go to sleep now, Ava.” He nearly reached out to stroke her hair before clenching his fist against the urge. Instead, he quickly exited the room, pulling the door closed before making his way back to the living room.

After pouring himself a scotch, he flung himself onto the couch and withdrew his phone. Clicking on Paulie’s number, he waited impatiently for the man to answer.

“What’s the news?”

“Hackers finally got it,” Paulie replied. “I’ve sent you the file under the secret account in an unlabeled file. I also took the liberty of having IT assign it an encrypted password.”

“Give me a second to pull it up.” Kingston made his way down the hall and entered his office using the fingerprint security pad. Firing up his laptop, he punched in the information Neil provided. Sure enough, there it was.

He hesitated to open it right away. The cursor arrow hovered over the file icon, blinking like a cheap neon sign. “Has anyone seen what it contains?”

“Just me, boss,” Paulie replied, his tone grim. “And only the first minute or so. I wanted to be sure they’d captured the right file.” There was a long moment of silence before he angrily continued, “The bastards were laughing while they held her down.”

“All the individuals we suspected are visible on the video?”

“Yeah. Even the brother. Son of a bitch recorded himself for about five seconds before the camera focused on her.”

Kingston rubbed his forehead with the tumbler of scotch, attempting to dull the sudden pain blooming in his temples. Realizing there really was video evidence of Ava’s assault at the hands of Carson and his friends knotted his stomach with overwhelming rage.

“What else?” He swallowed a gulp of scotch, his head pounding with dread. Clicking the file, he waited for it to load.

“Just what you expected, King. Collaborated by both text and email correspondence. Carson was with Judd Vanderhoff the night of the wreck.” Paulie did not bother hiding the disgust in his voice. “They planned it together after Carson blackmailed him and the others with the video. And Judge Vanderhoff orchestrated the cover-up to conceal his son’s involvement.”

“Don’t worry, Paulie,” Kingston murmured as lightning from the storm on that fateful night lit up Carson’s face in the video. “I’ll take care of matters in the only way that makes sense to a man like me. The only way that permanently ensure Ava’s safety.”

ChapterTwenty-Two

The truth can be brutal.

And betrayal illuminating.

Nothing remains in the darkness forever

Kingston slid beneath the covers,one arm curving around Ava’s silk-clad form. He was careful not to wake her as he hauled her closer against his naked body.

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