Page 8 of A Heart So Savage

So deep you scarred my heart.

“I trusted you.”

“Come on. Did you really? Why?” Kingston appeared genuinely puzzled by Ava’s statement. “Look at me. There is nothing that could be considered even remotely trustworthy.”

Ava’s gaze fluttered down. “I trusted you anyway. After what happened with Malcolm...”

“That’s a terrible mistake, lamb. Trusting me.” His eyes were so dark. So dark they were almost black. “And your bad luck if you ever did.”

“You were never this cruel before,” Ava whispered, searching his features. There must be a sliver that remained of the serious but decent man her father admired. “What happened to you, Kingston? Were you hiding behind that façade to fool my parents into helping you? To trick them?” She bit her lip, backing away from him. “To trick me?”

He stiffened. “I became what was necessary to survive. You’re fortunate I did since I’m the one keeping you safe right now.”

“But I’m not safe, am I?”

Kingston followed her retreat until she was pinned against one of the richly paneled walls. Above their heads, a massive water buffalo glared at them with dead eyes.

“Here is what is going to happen, Ava.” His voice was smooth. Low. Deadly. And threatening. Always threatening. “You will sign this contract. And when you do, I’m gonna fuck you. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow. But at some point, I’m gonna fuck you and fuck you hard. I won’t stop until you agree that you are mine. Not until you say the goddamn words and quit fighting me at every turn.”

From his suit’s breast coat pocket, Kingston withdrew a gorgeously crafted fountain pen of burled wood and gleaming gold.

“Sign it, Ava.” He trailed the ornate pen from the point of her chin down to the valley between her breasts. “Sign it so we can begin. Or...” He smiled, his dark eyes flashing with anticipation. “Don’t and I’ll have your things moved back down to the cell within the next fifteen minutes.”

Ava shoved his hand away. She snatched the contract up from the billiard table, but in her fury, she could not read it. The words jumbled together in a blur of lines and symbols, the rules he’d verbally given her spelled out in stark black and white.

Sections of the contract assaulted her like whiplashes. Single words jumped off the pages.

Words likewhenever.

Owner.

Master.

Want.

Knees.

Ava’s eyes watered. What she would give up for the sake of this man’s greedy lust was almost more than she could bear. But she had no choice.

Kingston was terrifyingly confident that she would sign this contract with the Devil. His ability to manipulate and control her was a force she could not withstand.

“Give me the pen.” Ava snatched the instrument from his hand. Slapping the contract on the pool table, she quickly scrawled her name across the bottom of the last page. “Happy now? I’ve signed my life over to you.” When she hurled the expensive fountain pen at him, it bounced off his chest and landed on the thick rug at his feet. “Now you’ve permission to do whatever you want, you monster.”

Very slowly, Kingston bent at the waist and retrieved the pen. It was tucked back into the pocket on the inside of his coat with careful movements, as though he was considering her defiant attitude and how best to proceed.

When he straightened to his full height, Kingston’s blue-black eyes glowed with retribution. “That contract is a blueprint for everything I intend to do with you.”

Ava skittered to the opposite side of the billiard table, her movements quick and cat-like. So quick, in fact, that Kingston’s eyes widened in surprise when she was suddenly out of his reach.

His upper lip quirked with amusement. A predatory air stole over his features. It was dark and dangerous and frightening. “Must I hunt you again? You know how much I enjoyed it the last time.”

Ava’s gaze flickered to the pool stick, still laying where Kingston tossed it earlier. What would he do if she dared strike him with it?

“Careful, Ava,” he warned, eyes narrowed. “Unless you want those punishments to begin immediately, I would advise against following through on that particular thought.”

He moved closer while Ava inched away. Her hand rested on the smooth edge of the table, fingers twitching with the urge to snatch up the weapon. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt me.”

His grin was genuine. “No. I said I wouldn’t allow anyone else to harm you. Pay attention, little lamb.”

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