Page 58 of A Heart So Savage

Bad idea.

Everything inside him roared to life, his cock swelling with the feel and smell of her. That honeysuckle perfume was a potent aphrodisiac. God, how he wanted her.

But fucking her was an even worse idea than holding her. He wouldn’t do it. Not after what he’d already put her through. He’d spanked her, edged her with a vibrating toy, and finished her off with his fingers. No wonder she dropped.

Look at yourself, asshole. Feeding her chocolate and strawberries, for fuck’s sake. She’s my prisoner. My property. Not my goddamn girlfriend. I could fuck her right now if I wanted. A monster would. A monster like me would take whatever he wanted—however he wanted.

But then he would be no different than Carson. No different than Judd Vanderhoff. Or Brad and Jeff, the twins who held her down during the assault. It was of little comfort that those two would be found dead soon enough. One brother would die from a drug overdose, the other, suicide by hanging. The arrangements were already in place for what Kingston considered low-hanging fruit. Those two pieces of scum deserved to die for their callous treatment of Ava.

What makes me any different?

It was an unavoidable fact he had asserted his authority over Ava upon her arrival at The Den. Yes, he had restrained her on multiple occasions. He even trapped her into giving him a blowjob while his men listened as the encounter played out. But didn’t he always counter those moments of degradation with great pleasure for Ava? Wasn’t it true he had granted her too many orgasms to count?

What I’ve done to her is much worse. I used her responses to my touch, her need for approval, and the thrill of danger as justification for my own actions. I’ve used her craving for my own pleasure. And I’ll do it again, no matter how much I hate myself for it.

It did no good to beat himself up about all that now. She was here in his bed and for the near future, he could do whatever he wanted with her. Testing that theory, Kingston experimentally rocked his dick against her backside. It felt good, the silk of her nightgown caressing his flesh. But it would feel even better if it was her bare pussy sliding against him.

Ava mumbled something in her sleep, her ass wiggling against the cradle of Kingston’s crotch.

Stars flashed before his eyes, but somehow, Kingston strangled his reaction. His brain whirled with a million thoughts. How easily he could slide into Ava’s pussy from behind. His hands cupping her breasts while his fingernails scraped her hard nipples until she begged him to taste them. God, he would devour her whole in a matter of moments if he obeyed his body’s demands.

But he wouldn’t. Even if he owned her to the tune of two point six million dollars and could do as he pleased, Kingston hesitated. Torn between ignoring what the Devil insisted was his for the taking or listening to that tiny sliver of decency still lurking deep inside his soul.

A scene from the video, Judd Vanderhoff caressing and licking Ava’s naked breasts, flashed in his mind.

“Shh, Ava. Relax and enjoy it.” Judd laved the tip of her exposed breast with his tongue. “Doesn’t this feel good?”

Fucker. Kingston already planned on ripping the man’s tongue out, stomping on it, and feeding it back to him.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he shifted until there was a healthy bit of space between his and Ava’s bodies. He could just make out the elegant curve of her bare shoulder peeping over the edge of the blanket, his arm resting lightly in the hollow of her waist. It was the only part of himself touching her now.

Somehow, he lassoed a leash around his urges. There were so many things he must focus his attention on. Namely, Ava’s brother and the weak men stupid enough to be blackmailed over a video. He would put aside his lust and do whatever was necessary in securing Ava’s safety.

But Kingston knew this self-imposed restraint wouldn’t last. The demons he harbored would eventually break free of their chains. He would use Ava until she cried for mercy, and then use her some more. It’s what any monster would do with such an entrancing prize caught within his claws.

And if he was anything in this life, it was a monster.

* * *

The sun was creepinginto the room when Kingston opened his eyes.

Stretching out his free arm, he half rolled toward Ava, intent on moving her off his bicep so he could stretch that one as well.

“Good morning,” Ava whispered.

Kingston eased back against the pillows, twisting his body until they were face to face. “Good morning.”

Silence fell between them. Ava chewed her bottom lip. She appeared reluctant to move from her current position so Kingston stayed where he was, waiting for her to dictate how the morning would begin.

“You, um, you took care of me last night.” Ava’s expression was serious. “Thank you for doing that.”

“I’ll always take care of you, Ava. Don’t you realize that by now?”

A tiny frown creased her brow. Tucking her hands beneath her chin, her gaze drifted helplessly over Kingston’s naked torso until it landed on the tattoo inked across his heart and the motto scrawled along his ribs. “I don’t understand what happened to me. Why I felt so… so strange. Like I was, I don’t know, floating maybe. Everything was fuzzy and yet, my body felt so alive. Then, it was gone, and I wanted to curl into a ball. Shut everything out.”

Kingston took one of her hands and kissed the tips of her fingers. “I gave a very basic explanation last night but you probably didn’t understand. You were on a sensory high, Ava. Every interaction between us, beginning with what occurred on the jet, pushed your body into a heightened sense of awareness.”

He paused, acutely aware of her reaction to this information. Her pupils dilated when reminded of the spanking, the green of her irises swallowed up by black. The pulse in her neck fluttered wildly against creamy skin as her breathing increased. The memory of the toy inside her as he drove her to the very cusp of an orgasm stained her cheeks pinks with embarrassment.

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