Page 70 of Vengeful Princess

Why was Milo even waiting for me, anyway? And more to the point, how the fuck did he have a keycard for my room? I planned to ask him once I had the energy. Which would be at least a week from now. Possibly longer.

“Thea, I’m going to undress you.” Under different circumstances, this would be an exciting - and also inappropriate - moment, but I couldn’t summon any enthusiasm at Landon’s words.

Steam filled the bathroom as Landon slid my hooker skirt down my thighs. It occurred to me that if I’d still been wearingmy red wig, he might have had a few tricky questions, but luckily for me, I’d left it in the derelict barn. It was probably being put to good use as a new home for the local rodent population.

“Sorry, but this is gonna hurt, baby.” He lifted my arms to remove my top. All three of the guys hissed when they saw the black bruises across my torso. Torrance hadn’t gone easy on me. The fucker never did.

“Jesus,” Milo muttered from the doorway. I nearly laughed. If he thought this was bad, he’d have been horrified to see the state of me after I failed the first big assignment my father sent me on.

I’d failed to kill my target that night. Perfectly understandable, given I was only 12 years old. My punishment had lasted for days.

“Hurry up, asshole, or she’ll expire from hypothermia,” Kyril snapped.

“Be quiet. I’m trying not to hurt her any worse than she already is,” Landon replied through gritted teeth. I felt like screaming when he inadvertently bumped my broken rib, but forced the sound down. He was trying his best, and honestly, I was a tiny bit grateful none of them had asked too many questions.

“Let’s get you warmed up,” Landon said as he helped me step into the steam. Hot water cascaded down over my head like a million tiny needles on my cold skin. Painful in the extreme, but also welcoming after the frigid cold of the rain-soaked moor.

Thank God Landon had left my underwear on because there was no hiding my nipples. Not that he was looking. He’d been very respectful so far. They all had, much to my surprise. Even Kyril, who’d been anythingbutrespectful a few hours previously.

But I wasn’t thinking about how he’d fucked me with his tongue and given me the best damn orgasm of my life. Nope.

When I was clean, Landon wrapped me in a thick towel and helped me back to bed. There was a glass of water and some painkillers waiting, which I took without being prompted. Then I lay down and tried to find a comfortable position for sleep.

The guys murmured to each other in low voices as I closed my eyes and waited for the painkillers to kick in. Thankfully, it didn’t take long. Once my body stopped screaming at me, I passed out, too exhausted to care about the three busybodies in my bedroom.

When I next woke, the room was silent. I moved my head to one side and saw some more painkillers next to my bed, which I was thankful for because I was in agony.

My ribs screamed each time I inhaled too deeply, and if I looked in the mirror, I bet I could give the elephant man a run for his money. But I was alive, so there was that. And so far as I could tell, Torrance didn’t know I’d almost had sex with Kyril.

I shivered as the memories of his tongue between my legs washed over me. The sweet pleasure he gave me. How when I climaxed, I forgot all about the horror movie that was my life.

Nobody had ever gone down on me before, although Dar and I had come very close to crossing that line once. I’d read about it, of course. Imagined what it would feel like. Last night had far surpassed my expectations and raised the bar impossibly high for all the men in my future.

I almost laughed at that, becausehello, there wouldn’t be any more men in my future. Not if they wanted to remain in one piece. I had no doubt that my father would make sure I regretted it if I allowed some random man between my thighs. And after he’d married me off to an aged pervert, my new husband wouldn’t let me out of his sight.

Like all mafia brides, once I’d produced an heir, I’d be locked away in an ivory tower, wheeled out only for social engagements where a wife was seen but not heard.

It was a miserable life. No doubt my mother had been relieved when she unexpectedly died giving birth to Verity. I was only seven then, but she couldn’t have been happy married to my father.

I reached out for some painkillers and the glass of water. “Ah, you’re awake,” came a male voice, jolting me out of my reverie.

A shadow fell over me as Kyril eased himself up from the desk chair, his bulky frame momentarily blocking the light from the small window. He looked almost as rough as me. Like he’d had no sleep at all. If he’d been sitting here for hours, he probably hadn’t.

“Why are you still here?” I asked, annoyed. I didn’t need a bodyguard.

“Because you’re in no fit state to protect yourself at the moment, and if whoever beat the absolute shit out of you comes back, you’re in big trouble.” His voice was calm, but I detected the undercurrent of rage.

Was he angry I’d been stupid enough to get beaten up, or angry he hadn’t been there to prevent it from happening?

“He won’t be back.” Torrance was probably miles away by now. He wouldn’t care if I got lost on the moor and died. Natural selection, he liked to call it. Survival of the fittest.

“He?” I inwardly cursed. Kyril didn’t need to know only one man did this. I pushed my hands beneath the covers to hide the lack of damage, which showed I hadn’t fought back.

“Leave it, Kyril,” I snapped. “Please go and take your White Knight complex with you.” The sooner he left me alone, the sooner I could drag my sorry corpse out of bed and empty my bladder.

“No.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.“No?”

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