Page 59 of A Heart So Savage

“When I made you come, it was more pleasure than your body could handle after being denied for so long.” Rubbing a thumb over Ava’s mouth, Kingston tugged her bottom lip free of her teeth. “The crash you experienced is normal, but I should have been prepared for it. I wasn’t. And for that, I am sorry, Ava. When you drop the next time we play, I’ll catch you a lot quicker. I promise.”

“Next time?” Ava breathed. Her tone was an odd compound of both trepidation and innocent curiosity.

Kingston cupped her chin in the palm of his hand. “I intend on giving you unimaginable pleasure on a regular basis. This will happen again. I’m asking that you trust me not to hurt you.”

Ava’s gaze hardened. “A prisoner doesn’t have the luxury of trusting their jailer, Kingston.”

Kingston’s jaw clenched. Was it any wonder Ava did not believe him? After the horror her brother put her through, and all the things Kingston himself had done, could anyone blame her for doubting a man’s sincerity?

He should tell her the video of her assault had been found. He should reveal the full extent of Carson’s betrayal and his part in her parents’ death. It would drive home the incredible danger she was in.

But selfishly, Kingston clammed up. He could not reveal that kind of horror and despair on a morning already flooded with sunshine.

He wanted to enjoy Ava’s company today. Wanted to see her smile. Hear her tinkling laughter. He wanted to witness her quiet, intelligent contemplation as they perused the artwork of the closest museum. He wanted Ava to voluntarily grab his hand and entwine her fingers with his.

Most of all, he wanted to steal quick, warm kisses from her cinnamon-infused mouth, courtesy of a cup of warm apple cider purchased from a little antique bookstore and café located less than a block away. He’d take her there and lead her to the back of the store. Push her against the dusty shelves filled with fragile, forgotten books and kiss her until they were both breathless.

Why he wanted all of that didn’t make sense. It was infuriating those thoughts bounced around inside his brain. But when Ava looked at him, the innocence of her expression so pure and sweet, he forgot why he fought this obsession.

“Let’s negotiate our time together, lamb,” he slowly replied. “I escort you around the city today. You allow it and enjoy it.”

Suspicion flitted across her delicate features. “What do I have to do?”

“Not a damn thing, other than stay close by my side the entire time and be a good girl. You can do that, can’t you?” Kingston’s lips twitched with amusement at the sudden fierceness of her glare. “Be a good girl, that is?”

Ava might be a natural submissive, but there was also a rogue streak of newfound strength that Kingston found fascinating. Maybe she would do as he requested and obey, but it was just as likely she wouldn’t. This would open up an opportunity for her to escape but it would be easy enough to track her down.

“I won’t try to run, if that’s what you mean,” Ava finally responded with a stubborn glint in her eyes. “It would be stupid to even try. I’ve no money. No ID. I don’t even have my cell phone to call someone to come get me. Lucky for you, I never memorize phone numbers.”

“9-1-1 is easy enough to remember,” Kingston pointed out.

Ava’s face smoothed into a blank canvas. She was becoming more adept at hiding her emotions when it suited her purposes. “The police would just return me to you, though. Wouldn’t they, sir?”

A wide grin spread across Kingston’s mouth. “I think you are finally beginning to understand your situation.”

How he’d gone so quickly from captor to protector was mystifying, but Kingston would not shy away from the responsibility.

Yes, Ava was his, and seeing evidence of her abuse left him with an almost desperate need to keep her safe. Images from the video kept flashing in his mind. Like clips from a horror movie flickering across a dark screen in rapid succession, they played out until Kingston wanted to howl with rage.

“Carson,” Ava sobbed. She twisted in vain against the attackers’ hard, hurtful hands, eyes wild with panic as she sought out her brother’s form where he stood in the darkened corner. Lightning lit up the space in a blinding burst of energy. Thunder immediately rumbled behind it. Paired with the distant thumping bass of the music downstairs, it nearly drowned out her cries. “Carson, help me! Make them stop.”

“Don’t fight them, sis,” Carson advised. The men holding her down laughed like a deadly pack of hyenas, pulling her dress apart. After ripping away her bra, they went into a frenzy over her exposed breasts. Licking and squeezing every inch that was bare. Judd bit her nipple after sucking it into his mouth, the expression of ecstasy on his face hard to conceal. When she let out a muffled scream, he merely laughed and ravaged her other breast.

Jeff gripped both of her hands, forcibly rubbing them over the erection in his jeans while Judd shifted until he loomed over Ava’s midsection. He licked her face, savoring her tears as Brad jerked her legs, forcing them to spread wide apart.

Kingston’s insides clenched.

His poor little lamb.

He was going to thoroughly enjoy carving up the motherfuckers who dared to hurt her. Hunting them down and hearing their screams for mercy as he sliced them into pieces was the only way to make this right. After all, he was the only one allowed to torment Ava Blue. The only one who deserved her tears, her sweet cries. Although Ava most certainly did not appreciate his obsession, she damn well better get used to it.

Because she was his.

Had been since the day he laid eyes on her in her mother’s kitchen. And despite his vow that he would release her someday in the future, Kingston knew it wouldn’t happen. He would break his word… something he never did… and he would do it for her. They were bound to each other. Caring for her was a vulnerability he couldn’t afford, but he cared anyway with a wild, feverish abandonment that would probably end up getting him killed.

Ava was his. He was hers. It was always meant to be.

He accepted it and she would, too. Ava Bella Blue had wiggled her way into his cold, lifeless lump of a heart and was breathing life into it. Intohim.

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