Page 43 of A Heart So Savage

“Don’t you fucking dare remove that. It stays until I decide it comes out.”

“What is it?” Her terrified squeak amused him because the lines around his eyes crinkled.

“Something designed for our mutual enjoyment. An app on my phone controls it.”

“Take it out,” she demanded in a shrill voice threaded with panic.

Kingston pulled up the app, flashing the screen of his cell phone at her so she caught a quick glimpse of the vibrator’s capabilities. “Where would be the fun in that? This will keep you on edge all night if that’s what I want. Try running from me and I’ll push this little control here to the max. You’ll drop to your knees where you stand, Ava. You’ll come so damn hard you won’t be able to get up from the floor without my help.”

“Why would you do something so awful?” Ava scrambled away the best she could within the limo’s confines. She reached again between her legs, intent on yanking out the offending object but found her wrist captured in Kingston’s large hand. He squeezed in warning but stopped short of hurting her. Which was surprising because if he truly wished to show off his power, he could easily grind her bones to dust.

“I’m dangerously close to handcuffing you and leading you into the restaurant like this, Ava. You belong to me. Your body belongs to me. Your cunt belongs to me. And that vibrator stays inside you so there is no doubt who controls you. Now, do you want to enter the building cuffed, on fire with the need to come and the inability to do anything about it? Or will you be a good girl and behave?”

Ava choked on a furious sob. “People will know… if you… if you… turn this thing on. They’ll know what you are doing to me, you monster.”

Kingston grinned, dark blue eyes flashing with the thrill of controlling her. “I certainly hope they do. I want everyone to know, sweet Ava. I want them to hear you beg me to let you come. But you didn’t answer my question. Will you be a good girl?”

Even as her mind whirled with a hundred possible ways of outsmarting him, Ava deflated in defeat. There was no other choice. Kingston would activate the diabolical toy with the slightest provocation, either real or imagined. She knew her infuriating captor well enough by now, and he would not hesitate to truss her up in handcuffs and parade her around like the spoils of war.

“Yes. I’ll behave,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

“Excellent. Now, dry your tears and reapply your lipstick. We’ve arrived, and as I expected, the paparazzi and tabloid reporters are hanging around. Smile pretty, stay close to me, and for God’s sake, don’t answer any of their questions. Just follow my lead and ignore them.” Kingston pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, his hand gripping the curve of her jaw to hold her in place. “Relax and breathe, Ava,” he murmured. Tilting her chin with the slightest pressure of his thumb, he stared into her eyes. “You may actually enjoy yourself tonight.”

* * *

The instantthe car door swung wide, a blinding array of flashes popped. They invaded the limo’s softly lit interior like a swarm of angry lightning bugs.

Jack was already on the sidewalk, busily pushing the more aggressive paparazzi out of the way. A steady stream of shouted questions accompanied the flashbulbs as Kingston exited the limo. He reached a hand back into the car to help Ava emerge.

She took it, although what she really wanted more than anything was to shrink back into the vehicle’s luxurious safety.

“Mister Winter, what do you say to the accusations you’ve abducted a young woman?”

“Is this the person in question, Mister Winter? Do you have a statement?”

“Do you always bring your prisoners out on dates, Mister Winter? Or is this the first time?”

“Back the fuck up,” Jack said calmly, planting an elbow into the ribs of the closest reporter.

Kingston merely smiled that wolfish grin of his before dragging Ava up alongside his hard, muscular body. For a moment, they stood motionless. Hip to hip. Molded to each other from the waist up as his arm slipped around her waist. It was a pose. An illusion. A photo his enemies could examine and admire. A display of Kingston’s power and his newest possession. They could have a Hollywood super couple traipsing down the red carpet based on the dazzling pop of flashes and the clicking of camera shutters.

The urge to sink into his warmth, the sense of protection sheshouldn’tfeel around him, swamped Ava. Instinctively huddling closer, she wished Kingston’s arm was tighter around her waist as the moment ended. He gave a mocking wave to the photographers before propelling her toward the building’s vaulted entrance.

“Miss, are you a member of LIST? Do you and Mister Kingston come here together often?” One man surged closer through the throng. He thrust a cellphone into Ava’s face, somehow maneuvering around Jack’s impressive wall of muscle. “Did you meet him in one of the dungeon rooms? Were you forced into having kinky sex with him? Is he forcing you now?”

Ava was stunned by the reporter’s crudeness and the rapid-fire questions. When he grabbed her elbow as they pushed through the crowd, a tiny yelp of alarm escaped her. The reporter’s hands were hard and cruel.

Kingston whirled on the man, his expression forged of cold fury.

“Get your goddamn hands off her.” He shoved the guy back with one hand. Using his body as a shield, he whipped Ava behind him. The quickness of his actions made her dizzy, and she clutched his waist just to keep her balance in the silvery high heels. Her shimmery wrap had torn during the altercation, one end now hanging in a ripped tatter of material.

“Touch her again and I’ll cut off every single one of your fingers. And then gift them to her like they’re a fucking bouquet,” Kingston snarled, his manner so ferociously protective that even Ava blinked in surprise. The way his eyes softened the tiniest bit when he turned to check her over was intoxicating. He looked at her as though he truly cared for her safety. As though he would burn the world down for her if she asked him.

The reporter was stunned, but with blatant disregard for his own safety, he again pushed forward.

“Isn’t it true you snatched Miss Blue off the streets of Savannah just over a month ago? Have you held her hostage in upstate New York while bribing authorities to look the other way? Some say you’re following in your father’s footsteps but better at hiding your crimes and looking legitimate. What do you say to that? Do you have a statement for us?”

“Get her inside, boss. Unless you want a brawl out here on the sidewalk,” Jack warned Kingston, pushing the reporter aside again. “I’ll handle this.”

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