Page 2 of Catch a King (Five Kings 1)

I close my eyes as the blade rests against my throat, and if there was ever a time to think on my feet, this is it. I feel his hand inching up inside the denim skirt that barely covers my ass and he whispers, “Do you like to feel skin, or steel against these thighs, both can be arranged?”

His words roll off me like rain on wax, and a strange sense of calm grips me as I shift to a place I haven’t needed until now. Hell, I never even knew it existed inside me, but they have obviously taught me well because I know exactly how I’m going to deal with this asshole and as the realization hits me how this is gonna end, I hear, “Drop her, Slade.”

Slade, the animal has a name.

Momentarily, it catches him off-guard and his grip tightens. The blade is one more inch from ending my life and I hear the low growl of menace heading out of the darkness as a deep voice says, “Drop the girl and find a willing one. This…” he stops just short of my vision and I hear the disgust in his voice as he snarls. “This… is not worth it.”

This. Is. Not. Worth. It.

Instantly, every word wounds my soul much deeper than the blade and spills my blood to the ground. Squeezing my eyes tightly shut, I let his words wash over me like the venom of the most poisonous snake. Not worth it. How many times have I heard those words, how many times have I let them wound me, and how many times must I prove myself to be soveryworth it?

I feel the blade drop and I’m shoved so hard, I fall to the dirt and my assailant laughs softly. “Fine, have it your way brother, but we both know this one is very much worth it. Just remember I saw her first and if anyone’s teaching her how things work around here, it’s me.”

The sound of his boots walking away is a welcome one as I squeeze my eyes tightly shut to stop the tears from falling. Words are way more hurtful than force, and his have wounded me far deeper than he probably intended.

So, it’s with some surprise that when a hand reaches down and pulls me to my feet in one swift move, it takes me a moment to catch my breath. Then, as that same hand pulls me close and grips my wrist hard, my first reflex is to struggle. However, this hand that grips my wrist gives me no room to protest and his voice comes out of the darkness in a low menacing growl.

“Walk away. If you value yourself, your morality and your decency, walk away now. If you want more out of life, walk away now. If you want to be raped on repeat, morally and physically then carry on walking and if you have no morals, are empty inside and have a death wish, then welcome home.”

I look up in shock and that was my first mistake because I almost take a step back as I gaze into two pools of rage and horror. Dark flashing obsidian eyes rip the breath from my body with no anesthetic and leave me feeling burned inside. The scowl on the face of what can only be described as a god among men, is trying its best to scare the hell out of me and the fact this man is taller, broader and wrapped in leather and evil intent, sends a message straight to my soul.

Fuck me, I’ve just met the devil himself.

Chapter 2

Millie

He releases me at once and turns his back on me, reinforcing the fact he thinks I’m just a piece of dirt that’s blown into the yard.

For some reason this angers me more than anything else and I shout, “Hey!”

He keeps walking and I feel the rage burning me up inside. “Hey, you dumbass shit, don’t you walk away from me when I’m speaking.”

He carries on and I run behind him, intent on maiming him for life because I am so not going to allow these fucking creeps to talk to me like that.

I make it across the yard in record speed and grab his arm and pull it hard. “Stop!”

He sighs heavily and turns and the look in his eye should have any sane person running for cover and the grit in his voice as he snarls, “Take your fucking hand off me.” should have me backing up with self-preservation.

However, I have obviously left my common sense at home because I snarl, “You don’t get to fucking talk to me like that, you, or your brother.”

I let the disgust drip from my tongue to highlight the fact they don’t scare me. “You think I’m scared; you think I’m weak and you think you hold all the cards. Well, for your information, I don’t need help protecting myself from that creep,oryou, so newsflash, Iwillbe coming into that Castle as you call it and I willnotbe raped, mentally or physically by any of you assholes. I am here for one reason alone and that’s for the job that has been so kindly offered to me, so shut the fuck up, don’t ever talk to me, look at me, or even acknowledge I’m in the same room as you and you can tell that fucking asshole of a brother of yours, the same goes for him. Touch me again and I’ll make it so the only think you fuck in the future is your hand because no other woman, or guy, if you like that sort of thing, will want to deal with the wreck that you once called your fucking dick. Now, step aside and let me do what I was employed to do and go inside and leave you to fuck yourself because frankly you obviously couldn’t desire anyone more than you love yourself.”

For effect, I push him hard and even mange to make him stumble back a little and before he can react, I hear a loud cheer from the doorway and as my breath struggles to catch up with me, I look up and see a woman standing there laughing fit to burst.

“You must be Millie, what took you so long?”

She smiles and then turns her attention to the creep next to me. “I see you met Axel’s newest recruit. Maybe you should warn the guys off before he does.”

He doesn’t even look in my direction as he walks away and the woman heads over, shaking her head. “Man, that was the best entertainment I’ve had in years. You’ve got balls, I’ll say that much.”

She holds out her hand. “Contrary to opinion, we’re not all assholes here. I’m Marina, Axel’s old lady, he told me to look out for you.”

“Millie, hi.” I smile and shake myself mentally because that exchange got me so fired up, I need a drink to steady my nerves.

“Come, I’ll take you to meet Axel. It might be best if we avoid the bar for now, at least until the guys are all drowning in beer and deep inside one of the girls.”

“Sounds good to me.” I laugh softly as she links her arm in mine and says happily, “Honey, I’m so glad you’re here. We need more women like you in this rat-infested shit heap and I can’t wait to see you hand the guys their balls on a plate every night.”

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