Page 41 of Hostile King

“Tomás…” Carina pauses in the doorway, the straightened lengths of a high ponytail snake her regally poised shoulder like a pet serpent waiting to attack. Extraordinary rings of fire halo dark discs that hold me under a staggering spell. “Would you like me to wash it off for you.” She approaches with caution, her sexy thin heels tapping the slate gray tiles.

I shake my head and exhale slowly. “That won't be necessary.” She nods in acceptance and watches me dab the wound on my hand until I’m certain it's stopped bleeding. “The only thing I need is an answer about your future. Whether it’s with me or not.”

The uncertain look she gives me builds like the blocks of a skyscraper, soaring high enough to keep me at a safe distance. It’s that barricade she wraps around herself that fills me with fear. An unease I’ve never felt before, not even from the threat of death.

Long black lashes lower. “That depends on you,” she says softly.

A shudder rattles through me that has nothing to do with the inevitable destruction ahead. The thought of never seeing her again gnaws at my backbone until it weakens.

“I understand,” I growl in a shredded voice I hardly recognize. “I’m not going through with the wedding, if that helps you decide.”

A tiny speck of my dark soul could easily abandon the mother who raised me and the loyal brothers who were tortured by our father just as much as I was. He had wanted ruthless leaders more than he desired sons and that’s exactly what he got.

I could run away with Carina and spend my days nurturing an emotion I never craved, but suddenly can’t escape. Except this life is where I belong. It’s etched into every cell in my body and ingrained in my psyche.

I’d change for her, do whatever it takes.

However, I can’t outrun my destiny, or my fate.

I scratch the stubbled edge of my jaw and force myself to move past her, prowling to the closet where the hotel staff have unpacked my overnight bag. She follows a step behind, silent in her observation of me. I sense her every move like the flightpath of a missile ready to wipe out its target.

There’s no way I can wear a white shirt, so I grab a black one to cover the arresting claret branding and make sure each button is done in order. My head is well and truly fucked, this is something I’d never do, let alone survive.

The knowledge of my unclean chest doesn’t welcome the unruly darkness like it normally would. Rather, I like it there, as if it’s eternally binding.

When I turn into her, she swallows hard and stares up at me with amber eyes of sheer courage. “I either stand beside you, Tomás, or not at all.” She folds her arms across her midriff. “I’ll never agree to be your dirty little secret or become a second thought.”

A muscle spasms in my jaw. She’s been at the forefront of my mind since I saved her from my father’s paranoia. Even then my instincts had told me she was special. “You’re too headstrong to be anyone’s mistress,” I muse, the edges of my mouth remaining tight. “I choose you, Carina.”

“Prove it,” she whispers.

“That’s exactly what I intend to do. Now, stay in this suite. No answering the door and don’t leave.”

Before my mind has time to reprogram itself, I thumb her cheek in a gesture so unexpectedly gentle, it sends volts into my chest. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay…” she murmurs, her face tilting into my touch.

I won’t be held accountable for my actions if anyone hurts her. If she decides a life with me isn’t what she wants, then controlling the nuclear devastation would be impossible. It’s not even a viable option.

And if she stays, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it means giving her a gun to use againstme. For the mindless moments when my dysfunctional brain glitches and I lose control. Eventually, in an almighty cluster fuck of sex, lust, and power, I could do the unthinkable.

Our lamentable ending is written in the heavens with the stars as our witness and the gods as our authors. The inevitability of history is destined to repeat itself.

I would kill her.

So, she’d have to kill me first.

Without a millisecond of hesitation, I’d take a lethal slug into my flesh to save her. All because these coiled, abnormal, obsessive emotions ruling my head and heart must be love.

Leaving her alone, I make sure the suite is guarded by two armed men and swiftly return to the ladies’ restroom where Shane babysits Bianca.

He eyes me in silence, his judgment not important as he gives us the room. His unconditional acceptance is all I require.

“Tomás…what did you do to that woman?” Bianca stares up at my immaculately pressed shirt, unaware of what lies beneath it.

“Don’t play coy, Bianca. You know what fucking is, right?” I chuckle to sound cavalier.

“Is that what you call it?” She sneers, edging the vanity, a hand settling on her stomach. Confusion contorts her fine features, her scrunched forehead heavy over searching eyes. “It looked like she'd been assaulted. Did you do that to her? Is that what you meant by meeting the real Tomás Souza? You’re one of those sick bastards who has so much power he has to make women bleed just to get a rush.”

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