Page 25 of Fortress of the King

“It really wasn’t as bad as that,” she maintains, but I’m already seeing red.

I can’t imagine some fuckface laying their filthy paws on her in that way. A slap is the same as a punch, it’s still fucking assault.

“I should have broken his fucking face,” I mutter to myself.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m sure that will be the end of it.”

“Well, it better be.” I continue, “I can tell you one thing,Carina, he’s just messed with the wrong fucking guy. Trust me when I say some of the unsavory rumors I’m sure you may have heard about me could very well be true.”

She gulps, my eyes flick to her throat. I want to bite her neck and mark her with my mouth all over her beautiful creamy skin. I want to suck on those tits and fuck her into oblivion; it takes all my strength to not pull her closer to me along the seat and feast away.

I take what I want, when I want. But I don’t want to scare her. I’m a powerful man, but I’ve still got principles.

And anyway, this is foreplay to me. I fucking love the chase.

I shift uncomfortably at the thought of doing what I like to her, my dick kicking, alive and well, and pour myself another drink.

“Andyoudon’t hurt women?” she blurts out from nowhere. Clearly the champagne is going straight to her head, so I let the tone slide.

I laugh without humor. Of course, she thinks this about me, how little does she really know. “These hands have done a lot of things in their time, sweetheart, but beating up on a woman isn’t one of them.” I pull out the Dom Perignon again and top her glass up, I kind of like it’s making her a little brazen.

Her eyes are on mine when I glance at her, she’s trying to gauge if what I’ve said is true. She’s heard all sorts about me, I know it. There’s no way in hell she’s ever going to be able to size me up, but it turns me on big time at the attempt.

“Thank you, though... for getting me out of that situation,” she says softly after a moment of silence. “It was quite an unpleasant way to end such a great evening.”

“It’s no problem. I’m glad I was there, ex-husbands are my specialty.” I flash her a grin in the dim light.

“What does Carina mean?” she asks me after a moment, almost a little shyly, like she’s been thinking about it.

I grin, not expecting the question. “It’s a term of endearment, it means cute or nice. I’ve never said it to anyone, but I think it suits you.”

“You think I’m cute?”

“Very much so, I also think you’re very stunning Rayne, among other things.”

I know I have an effect on her. I know that even in this darkness, she wants this as badly as I do, even if she won’t admit it. I want her to feel her effect on me too, and with my raging libido around her, my dick is as hard as a rock every time we meet.

I have to stop thinking about sinking it into her sweetness, hard but slow. I could do things to her that would make her head spin and have her begging me for more. I’m not a selfish lover, I like to give pleasure as well as receive it. It turns me on the way she’s a little conservative, a little reserved, and it only drives me further to want to know what lies beneath the surface.

I want her in my fucking bed.

Patience, hotshot.

I glance at her beautiful eyes; she has long, full lashes and perfectly arched eyebrows. Her makeup isn’t heavy, and she’s blessed with clear, creamy skin that gives off a glow about her. I can see freckles on her nose—a natural beauty.

She’s way too pure for me, which makes me like it even more. Even if I can control the darkness within me, she could never understand the life I lead. She’d never believe the half of it. I don’t profess to be a saint, but I don’t look at myself as a complete devil either. I’ve killed people, yes, but it wasn’t like they didn’t deserve it. Trust me, they all did. Every last one of them.

Am I a vigilante with a heart of gold?Nope. But I take no prisoners in business or in my personal life. If people get too close to my affairs, my family, or something I care about, there will be consequences.

“Why do you want to have dinner with me?” she asks suddenly. I know we can’t be far from her place now, only strangely, I don’t want her to go.

“I find you interesting, Rayne, intelligent, and obviously attractive. Aren’t those good enough reasons for a man to be smitten? When someone piques my interest, I owe it to myself to find out more about them, to see if we’re compatible.”

Her eyes go slightly wide at my confession.

Maybe I should just fuck her and be done with it.

I feel like she’s just reeling me in, and I never let women reel me anywhere. Her naturalness is beguiling. Without sounding like a total asshole, I’m not used to being around women who have to think about being taken out to dinner.

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