Page 66 of A Heart So Savage

“Your secretary… did you hire her because she came from Doctor Abbot’s charitable endeavors?” Ava traced a finger over a lion’s head bust sitting on the corner of his desk. Carved from a single chunk of alabaster, it appeared antique and very heavy.

“No. Jane is the niece of my favorite art dealer.”

“She’s very pretty.” Ava glanced back at him over her shoulder, gauging his reaction. “She’s also in love with you.”

Kingston’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he finally stalked toward her. Grabbing her hand, he pulled Ava around his desk and seated himself in the plush leather chair. He pinned her against the desk’s edge as he slid her purse from her shoulder. It dropped onto the glass desk with an audible clank.

Inwardly, Ava winced, wondering if the hidden weapon would finally be revealed.

“So?” Kingston murmured absently, his gaze lingering on her lips.

Ava felt that heartbreaking tremble of envy once more. She tried sounding nonchalant but failed miserably. “It’s probably very painful for her. Seeing you with another woman.”

Kingston settled his hands on her hips. Lightly gripping her, he leaned back so he could peer up into her eyes. “Whatever Jane feels, it’s not reciprocated, Ava. I don’t fuck my employees in this sector of my business ventures.”

“But the women working at your club…you’ve obviously slept with some of them.”

“I have in the past, yes,” he admitted slowly. “I’m a man of few morals and particular tastes. And no desire for attachments of the romantic nature. The women employed by LIST understand this.” Moving his hands up, Kingston cupped Ava’s breasts, molding them to the shape of his palms. His thumbs rubbed over her nipples, coaxing the twin points into diamond-like hardness. “What’s this all about, Ava? Tell me the truth.”

She shivered as he touched her with such expertise. Like a musician tuning his favorite instrument, he casually explored her body until she wanted to rip off her clothes and invite him to feast on her.

It was foolish, but witnessing the gentler side of Kingston, a man helping broken women start new lives, giving them jobs in hisalmostlegal organization, splintered her heart open just a little more. Despite his protests to the contrary, he was not a complete monster.

“I don’t like thinking of you with someone else,” Ava said in a rush. Embarrassment flooded her. She should not have admitted that out loud, but it was the god-awful truth. She was becoming too territorial over this man, and that was dangerous.

Kingston laughed softly, his dark gaze holding hers. “No more than I can stand the thought of you with another man.” He pinched her nipples until a whimper of need rose in Ava’s throat. “I’ll kill any man who touches you, Ava. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Do you agree that you are mine?” His beautifully cruel mouth lifted at the corners, revealing the pleasure he found in forcing her admission that she belonged to him.

“Yes,” she whispered, drowning in her desire. “I’m yours, Kingston.”

“And I’m yours, little lamb.” His gaze flicked to the purse laying on his desk. A hard glint shimmered in the blue-black of his eyes. In a torturous descent, his hands left her breasts, skimming down to her thighs before tracing the inside of her legs.

His admission shocked her, but Ava couldn’t think rationally when the pressure of his palms forced her legs further apart. Moving her hands to the desk behind her, she braced her palms flat on the glass. If he pushed her midsection, she’d have no choice but to sprawl back across the desk and over the folder containing… what was it Jane said?

Booking reports.Whatever those were. It didn’t really matter. Those reports were in danger of becoming a scattered mess as the blood in her veins pounded in a wild dance. Hoping Kingston would touch her there at the apex of her thighs, she was also frozen with fear that he would discover the weapon in her purse.

I can explain it away. Say I’m an undiagnosed kleptomaniac. That I love stealing forks from various restaurants. It’s a thrill and completely harmless. It’s not like I would ever stab a man with it. Really, I wouldn’t… not even a deranged kidnapper deserves that.

“Is there something you want to tell me before we leave my office?” Kingston purred, drawing circles over her pussy using only his thumbs. The sensations were muted because of the fabric covering her flesh, but Ava’s heart still lodged in her throat. She suddenly wished she’d followed his “no jeans or pants ever” edict. She wanted his hands touching her everywhere.

Shaking her head, she resisted the urge to look down at her purse.

“Are you sure?” He pressed one thumb hard against her clit.

Ava let out a helpless groan. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kingston stared at her for a long moment, faint disappointment crossing his rugged features before he transferred his hands from the inside of her thighs to her forearms. He tugged her upright, holding her steady when she swayed.

“I’ll pull it from you eventually, Ava, using methods you never dreamed existed.”

Ava shivered with the threat. “If I was guilty of something, that might actually frighten me.”

His gaze was intent and almost contemplative. “Maybe tonight I’ll do just that. Maybe I’ll take you down into LIST and show you the delights of the dungeon there.” Raising her hand to his mouth, he kissed the tips of her fingertips, one by one. “Trust me and be rewarded, Ava. Or keep your secrets and be punished. As always, it is your choice.”

ChapterTwenty-Six

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