Page 69 of A Heart So Savage

“Thank you, Mary. Thank you for being so kind and patient with me,” Ava murmured softly.

Once Mary exited the room and the door closed behind her, Kingston quietly locked it. When he turned back to Ava, he found her huddled in the robe, her cheeks flushed with charming embarrassment.

“Oh my God, Kingston. She must be thinking the very worst.” Ava clutched the robe high against her neck with a nervous laugh. “It won’t take me thirty minutes to dress. Maybe five at the most.”

“Don’t get off that table,” he instructed calmly when Ava went to hop down.

She stilled, her eyes wide. “What?”

“Remove the robe and lie back down.”

“But why?”

Ava wore such a look of adorable confusion that Kingston could not contain a dark chuckle. “Because I want to examine you. See how good of a job Mary did.”

Ava clenched her teeth. “Don’t you think you saw enough from your vantage point?”

“Some things require, ah, a hands-on inspection.” His smile was warm, but his tone was firm. He expected obedience and he would get it. “Now, be a good girl and let me examine you.”

“They’ll know what we are doing in here. Or, at the very least, suspect what we are doing,” she argued in vain. “They’ll think this is some kind of devious kink we share.”

“I own this spa, lamb, so I really don’t care what they think.”

The admission hung in the silence between them, and Kingston waited until Ava slumped with the revelation, relief flashing across her features. Like a lion stalking prey, he moved carefully toward her with a determined purpose.

“You do?” Ava’s voice was trembly, full of unasked questions. Kingston knew her well enough to know she was silently wondering how many women had been brought here before her. Wondering how many times he sat in that same chair and watched this same procedure undertaken on a lover.

“I’ve never done this before, Ava,” he assured her. “I would have requested Mary come to the penthouse, but I thought you would be more comfortable this first time in the professional setting of the spa.” He stood so close now he could see her eyes were dilated, the green of her irises slowly swallowed by darkness. She was aroused, too, and he reveled in it. “My hope was you would find it less intimidating. Knowing other people were around… women like yourself having the exact same thing done in the other rooms… would make you feel safer.”

“Oh,” Ava squeaked, clearly affected by this unexpected thoughtfulness expended on her behalf. He could also see the wheels of her mind turning as she tried to determine if this was a trick of some sort or a truly sincere gesture.

“Oh, indeed.” He grinned, reaching out to tuck a strand of her soft blonde hair behind her ear. “Now, lie down so I can see what belongs to me.”

ChapterTwenty-Seven

I’m unhinged

Just like you.

Unbalanced together.

Hearingthe cool possessiveness in Kingston’s voice, Ava quickly shrugged out of the robe, tossing it aside. Swinging her legs back onto the table, she took a deep breath and slowly lay prone.

Blood pounded in her veins. Hot. Heavy. Thick.

“You heard what Mary said.” Ava forced herself to relax, but Kingston’s nearness made it impossible. Between her thighs, a throbbing need arose. The intensity of it was maddening.

“What’s that, lamb?”

“No sex,” she blurted out. That directive was a terrible shame because it was all she could think about. Sex with this man. Sex that made her forget her name and cry out his. Sex that forever changed who she was.

“No sex,” Kingston repeated in bemused agreement. He stood beside the table now, his gaze sweeping over her nude body. She tried not to move, tried not to react to the intense scrutiny, but the trembling in her body could not be concealed. Her nipples contracted into hard, little buds begging to be warmed in the heat of his mouth.

“Are you cold?” he asked softly.

“No,” Ava quickly answered. “I-I just don’t know what you intend to do. It scares me. And the fact Ialmostlike being scared only scares me more.”

“I’m not going to hurt you, Ava. At least not right now. Or even tonight.” Kingston trailed his index finger over the top of her thigh in a teasing manner. “But I haven’t forgotten you owe me one of your secrets.”

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