Page 55 of Kinks of a Billionaire
“The last person who tried to steal from me ended up in a coma,” I said dryly, cutting him off. “Consider it fair warning. I hate to damage that pretty face.”
Royce scoffed, judging by his expression, he wasn’t concerned at all. After all, the fucker thrived on challenges. I’d bet he spent his days in the military with a hard-on.
“Whatever it is, it’s here now. Let’s drop it,” Willow chimed in, trying to calm her husband. “As long as it’s not illegal.”
Royce rubbed a thumb across his bottom lip. “The last person who tried to fuck withmeended up castrated.”
Jesus Christ, and he’s bragging about it.
My gaze flicked to Willow who paled slightly. I’d seen pictures of what Royce had done to Stuart Harris. It wasn’t a pretty sight. If she’d witnessed it, it was pretty remarkable she agreed to marry him.
“Fuck with me, Royce, and you won’t like the outcome,” I remarked wryly. “If you need money?—”
“Why would I need your money?” Damn prick. “Anyway, moving on. Why did you have the boat’s navigation locked to get us here?”
“So you could bring me my shit. Duh.”
“Ummm… what’s going on?” Royce’s new wife watched us, wide-eyed, her head swiveling as she tried to follow our exchange. “I feel like I missed an important piece of conversation here. I thought we were renting the boat, Royce.”
“You were, until you weren’t,” I told her smugly, then extended my hand. “I’m Asher Varangr.”
She hesitantly took my hand and shook it. “Willow Auc?—”
“Ashford.” Royce was quick to correct her. I almost expected him to pound on his chest like a gorilla and shoutmine. Pathetic.
“Well, at least you saved money on initials,” I retorted dryly while Willow flashed her new husband an intimate smile, causing a pang of jealousy to hit me and catching me totally offguard. I’d never been close to anyone, not my mother or my grandfather. The former died before I’d uttered my first word, and the latter only knew how to discipline. The truth was my grandfather was bitter for missing his chance with hisblast from the past,and he held it against my mother and myself.
“Well, since you’re here, why don’t you join me for a party that I’m hosting,” I said, addressing Royce. “You might remember it as the one your brother Winston usually hosts.”
His eyes flashed in surprise. “When did he stop?”
“When he married Billie.”
A calculated look passed my half-sibling’s expression, and I knew he was caught in a memory. The party always drew the kinkiest guests, and Royce fell into that category.
“What kind of party?” Willow asked curiously. “Is there a dress code?”
My lips twitched. “There sure is. I’ll let your husband fill you in.”
With that, I urged them forward, bringing my plan one step closer to fruition.
Chapter 27
Royce
“Ithink the arrest warrant for my wife and me is a bit too much,” I drawled, Byron on the other side of the phone. Willow was taking a shower, so I took advantage of the moment alone and called my brother. She was excited for the party despite the fact I’d warned her it would be scandalous—particularly if it was anything like the ones Winston used to host.
“A bit too much? You castrated the man,” Byron bellowed like a madman over the speaker. Thank fuck he wasn’t in the same room. “His parents found him naked. Stuart almost bled to death. Are youtryingto put our family under a microscope?”
“When are we not under a microscope?”
“For fuck’s sake, Royce. With the shit that happened with Father, we can’t have people looking into us.”
Ah yes—our brother Winston finally put an end to the great Senator Ashford, and we were all the better for it. But that secret would never leak. The media had always been obsessed with our family, calling us the Billionaire Kings due to the fortune left to us by our mother. If we weren’t careful, they would be sniffing for details about our family twenty-four seven. We’dbeen holding them at bay for the past few decades, and we’d keep doing it now. Byron, as usual, was making an elephant out of a fly.
“What do you want me to say about Stuart?” I said nonchalantly, flicking a glance to the bathroom door. The shower had just stopped running, which meant Willow would be out any moment. “If anything, I did him and his temper a favor. Hopefully he’ll have better restraint now.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.”
