Page 58 of Brazen King

He’s not just coercing me into sleeping with him. He’s convinced me that Iwantit. And that he wantsme. He’s sorely mistaken if he thinks he can make an easy target of me.But then, hasn’t he already?Because the emotional turmoil raging inside if me is more than just about feeling used. It’s the fact that, somewhere along the way, I started falling for him. And I did it without even noticing.

I can’t let those unexpected, unwanted feelings control me.

“You’re right,” I agree. “Tonight was just another way he tried to manipulate our family. I was stupid for even entertaining the idea that I could care about that arrogant jerk.”

Rising from my bed, Tatiana pulls me up from my seat and into a hug. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Catching the attention of a man like that…I get why it would be easy to think it’s something more.”

Giving my sister a tight squeeze, I appreciate her words of wisdom—and reassurance. Still, I find my resolve wavering. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never questioned where my loyalties lie before.

But every time I picture Killian, my chest aches at the notion of ending his life.

I need to pull myself together. I can’t keep messing around.

And if I don’t do this tonight, I’m not sure I’ll ever find the strength to kill the man I’m falling for.

25

KILLIAN

It’s past midnight. And still, I sit in my leather reading chair, waiting in my dark bedroom as I watch both entrances to see which one Natasha will try to come through tonight.

I suppress the sneaking suspicion that she might not come at all.

She has to after I barged into her father’s house like I did. If he wasn’t going to entertain the idea of a marriage proposal, he’s sure to have sent his best weapon to try killing me once again.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Natasha since I left the Sokolovs’ towering penthouse earlier tonight.

That formfitting red dress, the fullness of her ruby lips, both emphasizing the beautiful red highlights in her thick burgundy hair. She pulled out all the stops for dinner, looking every bit the seductress in her strappy, red-soled heels and signature braid that keeps her hair out of her striking silver-gray eyes.

It was jarring tonight to see her act like the soft-spoken young high-society woman she pretends to be in public. I wonder how I ever, for even a second, believed her disguise in the first place.

Now, when I look at her, it’s as if the willful and lethal woman who’s completely captured my attention is apparent in every line of her body, every movement she makes, every word she speaks—or doesn’t speak.

My heart twists at the memory of watching her keep that shy mask in place. Especially in my presence. It was like having dinner with a stranger, though, at this point, Natasha and I are quite intimately acquainted.

And it felt dangerously satisfying to strip her of that mask—even if it took getting her alone before I succeeded in doing so.

My cock aches with the memory of having her pinned against the dining room wall as she fought like the fierce tigress I kept waiting for a glimpse of.Is it strange that I find her proclivity toward knives to be such a turn on?I can’t say, and I’m not sure I care. Everything about her calls to me like a siren song, urging me to bow before her perfection.

Why she wants to keep resisting me when we both see what’s happening between us, I don’t know. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the chase, so I don’t mind playing her game.

Tonight, though?I’m ready to skip right to the good stuff.

Reaching up her skirt to feel the heat between her thighs—teasing the soft lace of her panties, it was just enough of a taste to drive any man crazy. And though I turned my bedroom lights off hours ago, it seems that Natasha is determined to make me wait for my reward—to stew in my desire until my balls are bruised with the need to be inside her.

The subtlest of movements on the balcony catches my eye, and my heart somersaults as I spot Natasha’s catlike landing before she settles into a crouch.Did she just actually come down from the roof?

That woman. I can’t say I’ve ever met someone so intoxicatingly fascinating. I could watch her for hours. I don’tknow how she makes even the most gravity-defying feats look not just effortless but insanely sexy.

My muscles tense, urging me to get off my butt and meet her halfway. But I’m curious to see if she’ll count our little scuffle at dinner as an assassination attempt or ifshe’ll come at me again.

I doubt her father will have let it fly that I managed to walk out their front door tonight. From the look on his face, he was seconds from committing murder himself. Though his stunned expression as I exited the dining room alive was priceless.

The balcony door slides open, and Natasha slips silently inside. She’s dressed in her typical assassin’s outfit—black bodysuit, dark mask that covers everything but her eyes and the bridge of her nose. It shows off every sharp angle and sensual curve of her body.

And suddenly, I can’t hold out to see if she intended to draw the knife attached to her thigh or not. Rising from my chair, I stride confidently across the room, closing the distance between us in three long steps.

Natasha gasps as I catch her off guard, pulling her firmly into my arms. She wasn’t anticipating my approach, and likely, her eyes are still adjusting to the dark after she had to dodge my security spotlights outside.

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